System Metaphor
An XP-style system metaphor. One shared picture of the system that the whole team, our client, and the librarians can all use.
Library Navigator is the reference desk, open at two in the morning.
You walk up and describe what you need in your own words. The person behind the desk knows what this library actually has, not what libraries have in general, so they do not send you to a site that wants a card you were never issued. They do not just point at a shelf either. They walk you over, show you where the login is, and wait while you try it. And when they are not sure, they say so and go ask someone, instead of guessing and sounding confident.
Why this one
We wanted a metaphor our client and the librarians could use without translation, and the reference desk is the thing our system is replacing after hours. It also settles arguments. When we cannot agree whether a feature belongs, the question becomes whether a good reference librarian would do it. One would not lecture you about database licensing, or bluff when they were unsure. They would get up and walk you over.
It keeps us honest about the hard parts too. The reason the assistant refuses to answer at low confidence is not a technical rule we invented. It is what the person at the desk does when they are unsure.
The names it gives us
XP asks that the metaphor carry through into what we call things. These are the words we use in design discussions and in the code.
See also the architecture diagram, which shows the same pieces as software rather than as people.