The book is organized in four chapters, each one containing its own bibliographic references:
Chapter 1 provides a panoramic view of the content of the book as well as the motivation for doing the research we have done and publishing it. Chapter 2 literally tells a software development story. Although it is a piece of fiction, which we wrote to use as a uniform constant reference for subsequent explanations and discussions, it is – as with many literary novels and short stories – “based on true facts,” which we have put together to build a compelling plot. Thus, the chapter reads as a short piece of technical fiction where readers will easily identify elements of the content presented in this introduction to the book. In subsequent chapters, parts of the story are revisited, examined, expanded, illustrated, and discussed.
Chapter 3 is the longest one. It presents, illustrates, and explains SigniFYI. Our aim is that interested readers will be able to use it as a guide to work with semiotic engineering tools in research, professional practice, or educational contexts. Chapter 4 concludes the book with our own reflections about the promises and limitations of our contribution to HCC.
Electronic publications now allow readers to select which chapter(s) of a book they want to read. We have therefore structured this book in such a way that chapters can usually be read independently of others. Chapter 1 has been written for readers who just want to have an overview of SigniFYI and the gist of our argument in favor of investigating meanings inscribed in software.
Chapters 2 and 3 have been written for readers who are interested in learning our methods and using the SigniFYI Suite to carry out semiotic studies of meaning inscription in software artifacts. Because all illustrations in Chapter 3 are based on the short story presented in Chapter 2, the former depends on the latter. However, Chapter 2 can be read in isolation by readers who are interested in a compelling thought exercise. Finally, Chapter 4 can also be read in isolation by readers who are acquainted with semiotic engineering. It can be read in combination with Chapter 1 by readers who are more interested in the overall rationale of a semiotic approach to HCC.
