Treatment of metaphors in software engineering education

While much attention has been given to the forms of representation and methods used during systems analysis, relatively little research has been undertaken into the communication process between analyst and client. In particular, the role of metaphors in this communication has only recently been addressed. This paper examines evidence for the importance of metaphors in analyst-client communication, particularly during discussions on requirement definitions, and considers how the study of metaphors may be integrated into software engineering educational curricula.