User Stories
- Scenario 1
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- This first scenario describes a common situation that many people traveling abroad face. It is too often the case where an elderly family member living alone rarely communicate with their younger relatives. Though meaning well, the younger relatives may rarely have time to call or visit. Sarah, a student studying abroad in the Japan describes this common situation: or turn on the light of the house. So she can feel that I am thinking of her.
- ''My grandfather passed away only a couple of months ago and my grandmother now lives alone. I would like to stay with her in order to help take care of her, but because I am a student, this is impossible. I am many years away from graduating and because of my busy schedule, I rarely have a chance to travel home. Though it isn't a substitute for actually being there with her, the Forget-me-not plant allows me to at least express my love and care for her. The health of the forget-me-not plant will serve to remind her of my attention to her and she'll know that I am always thinking of her.''
- Scenario 2
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- In the second scenario, while on her study-abroad program in Japan, Sarah meets Akiko, a fellow student, and quickly becomes great friends. They spent all their time together but when their academic life came to a close after graduation, they parted ways. Over time, they found it increasingly difficult to stay in contact as they both went on in different life directions. Sarah describes how her friendship with Akiko evolved after graduation:
- ''When I was a student at the University of Tokyo, I had become the best of friends with Akiko -- we spent all our time together. However, after graduation we tried to stay in contact but it was very difficult because of our busy schedule, the time difference, not to mention the cost of international phone calls and postage. E-mail worked sometimes, but I once lost an email from Akiko in my spam box and another time I lost her e-mail in the dozens of other work e-mails I get every day. I recently we sent each other a Forget-me-not plant and it has helped to solve a lot of these problems. Even though we can't communicate like we used to, we can still feel our reciprocal attention and affection.''
- Scenario 3
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- The last scenario describes another common situation that people within relationships face. It is commonly a problem where one partner has more expressive ability than the other. Sarah describes her relationship troubles with her husband:
- ''My husband, John, has always had a lot of trouble expressing his feelings. He rarely tells me that he loves me and when we fight, he has a hard time apologizing. He means well and I know he loves me but it was still making me upset. With the Forget-me-not, my husband found a way to express his emotions. He was never very good with plants, but when I see in our living room that the plant is healthy, I know he cares for me.''
