Interactive Television and Electronic Marketplaces

Technology designers ’ representations of how and by whom a technological system will be used infl uence how such a system will be ultimately shaped. De-signers make assumptions about user groups, their preferences and compe-tencies, their ways of using and the con-text of use. These assumptions—often built into what will from now on be re-ferred to as scenarios of use—infl uence decisions on functionalities, interface design and the design of supporting ma-terial such as manuals and help func-tions. They infl uence where and how a technology can be accessed and which complementary technologies and skills are presumed to be present in the us