Readapting Propp’s character archetypes to explore the relational dimension of city data: a design-oriented approach

This paper presents the approach and tools created to critically investigate roles and relationships among city stakeholders regarding data-related processes in order to inform future design solutions of open data portals. The approach to explore the relational dimension of data in local activities is based on mapping the operational roles of the organisations involved in the city data ecosystem with a set of archetypes readapted from the characters of the Propp's theory on the narrative structure. A probes toolkit associated with storytelling techniques helped to test the proposed approach during a workshop organised in the city of Milton Keynes (UK). The authors expose their motivations, constraints and rationale for the definition of the approach and the construction of the toolkit as part of a design-oriented strategy of inquiry, discussing the insights gained in the testing experience.