Counting the costs and benefits of metaphor

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that the use of suitable metaphors in the user service interface can have a dramatic effect on the way in which the user perceives the services, depending on the category of metaphor chosen. An earlier paper by the authors postulated that interactional metaphors might lead to greater long term usage of services, as they direct the user to thinking about what the services are for, rather than thinking about the services themselves. To test this hypothesis, a model of usage was built, showing the likely impact of using different types of metaphor. The model showed that usage levels over time varied according to metaphor category. These usage patterns were then imposed on existing techno-economic models from specific industry sectors. Interactional metaphors led to the highest long term usage in most industry sectors, although the construction industry showed higher usage with spatial metaphors. In all sectors, inappropriate choice of metaphor would be sufficient to destroy the economic advanatages of advanced communications services.