What is "scenario"

Scenario \Sce*na"ri*o\, n. [It.] A preliminary sketch of the plot, or main incidents, of an opera.

1868, "sketch of the plot of a play," from Italian scenario, from Late Latin scenarius "of stage scenes," from Latin scena "scene" (see scene). Meaning "imagined situation" is first recorded 1960, in reference to hypothetical nuclear wars.

n. 1 An outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work. 2 A screenplay itself, or an outline or a treatment of it. 3 An outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events.

1. n. an outline or synopsis of a play (or, by extension, of a literary work)

2. a setting for a work of art or literature; "the scenario is France during the Reign of Terror"

3. a postulated sequence of possible events; "planners developed several scenarios in case of an attack"

In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; from Italian: that which is pinned to the scenery; pronounced ) is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play, and was literally pinned to the back of the scenery. It is also known as canovaccio or "that which is pinned to the canvas" of which the scenery was constructed.

Surviving scenarios from the Renaissance contain little other than character names, brief descriptions of action, and references to specific lazzi with no further explanation. It is believed that a scenario formed the basis for a fully improvisational performance, though it is also likely that they were simple reminders of the plot for those members of the cast who were literate. Modern commedia troupes most often make use of a script with varying degrees of additional improvisation.

In the creation of an opera or ballet, a scenario is often developed initially to indicate how the original source, if any, is to be adapted and to summarize the aspects of character, staging, plot, etc. that can be expanded later in a fully developed libretto, or script. This sketch can be helpful in "pitching" the idea to a prospective producer, director or composer.

In computing, a scenario (, ; from Italian: that which is pinned to the scenery; pronounced ) is a narrative of foreseeable interactions of user roles (known in the Unified Modeling Language as 'actors') and the technical system, which usually includes computer hardware and software.

A scenario has a goal, which is usually functional. A scenario describes one way that a system is or is envisaged to be used in the context of activity in a defined time-frame. The time-frame for a scenario could be (for example) a single transaction; a business operation; a day or other period; or the whole operational life of a system. Similarly the scope of a scenario could be (for example) a single system or piece of equipment; an equipped team or department; or an entire organization.

Scenarios are frequently used as part of the system development process. They are typically produced by usability or marketing specialists, often working in concert with end users and developers. Scenarios are written in plain language, with minimal technical details, so that stakeholders (designers, usability specialists, programmers, engineers, managers, marketing specialists, etc.) can have a common example which can focus their discussions.

Increasingly, scenarios are used directly to define the wanted behaviour of software: replacing or supplementing traditional functional requirements. Scenarios are often defined in use cases, which document alternative and overlapping ways of reaching a goal.

Scenario or Scenarios may refer to:

• Scenario, a synopsis of a series of actions and events in a work of the performing arts that lacks a full script, such as a ballet
• scenario, a possible set of future events, see Scenario planning and Scenario analysis
• Scenario - A Journal for Drama and Theatre Pedagogy, a bilingual online journal
• Scenario in films, part of the screenwriting process, precursor to a screenplay
• Scenario (computing), of interaction between a computer user and a computer system or between two software components
• User scenario, used to communicate an idea for a product or experience involving interactivity
• Scenario (album), a 1983 album by Al Di Meola
• Scenarios (album), by Andy Milne and Grégoire Maret
• Scenario (song), a 1992 song by hip-hop group, A Tribe Called Quest
• Scenario (artwork), an artificially intelligent interactive cinema project

Scenario is a 1983 album by jazz fusion guitarist, Al Di Meola. It furthered the musical direction that became apparent on his previous album Electric Rendezvous and saw a greater influence of keyboard player Jan Hammer on the album. Other musicians on this album include Phil Collins (drums - "Island Dreamer)", Tony Levin (electric stick bass - "Calliope") and Bill Bruford (Simmons electric drums - "Calliope"). The Fairlight CMI was heavily used on some tracks, and is visible in the "Sequencer" video.

Scenario is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) computer graphic interactive installation, directed by the artist Dennis Del Favero, and developed in collaboration with scriptwriter Stephen Sewell, AI scientist Maurice Pagnucco working with computer scientists Anuraag Sridhar, Arcot Sowmya and Paul Compton. It is a 360-degree 3D cinematic work whose narrative is interactively produced by the audience and humanoid characters. The title is a Commedia dell'arte term (ʃeˈnarjo) referring to the way dramatic action is dependent on the way actors and audience interact. 1Scenario was developed at the iCinema Centre for Interactive Cinema Research 2 at the University of New South Wales.

"Scenario" is the third single from A Tribe Called Quest's second album The Low End Theory. The song features members of Leaders of the New School. Matt Cibula of PopMatters called the track hip hop's greatest posse cut. The song is commonly considered a breakout moment for LONS member Busta Rhymes.

The music video, directed by Jim Swaffield, plays on an interactive desktop, and features cameo appearances by Spike Lee, De La Soul, Brand Nubian, Fab 5 Freddy and Redman.

Time included the song on its list of the All-TIME 100 Songs.

A remixed version of "Scenario" appeared on the B-side of the 12" single and cassette single as well as the limited edition release of the group's final album, The Love Movement (1998). The remix also features Leaders of the New School and newcomer Kid Hood, who was murdered three days after recording his verse. Blender magazine ranked the remix at number 216 in its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".