Engineering:Future-oriented technology analysis

From HandWiki

Future-oriented technology analysis (FTA) is a collective term from futures studies for analyzing future technology and its consequences.[1][2] It includes technology intelligence, technology forecasting, technology roadmapping, technology assessment, and technology foresight. Technology Futures Analysis or Technology Future Analysis (TFA) is a synonym.[1][3]

Future-oriented technology analysis shares common methods with horizon scanning.[4][5]

Definitions

Year Definition
2004 Technology futures analysis is "any process to produce judgments about emerging technology characteristics, development pathways, and potential impacts of a technology in the future. ... [TFA] encompasses the broad technology foresight and assessment studies of the public sector and the technology forecasting and intelligence studies in private industry."[6]
2013 Future-oriented technology analysis is "an umbrella term to denote several decision-preparatory tools - (technology) foresight, forecasting and technology assessment - and thus it is not a discipline with solid, widely accepted theoretical foundations."[7]

Methods

Methods and their families[8]
Method Family
Agent based modeling Modeling and simulation
Analytical hierarchy process Valuing/decision/economic
Backcasting Descriptive and matrices
Bibliometrics Monitoring and intelligence, Statistics
Brainstorming Creativity
Cross impact analysis Modeling and simulation, Statistics
Delphi Expert Opinion
Multicriteria decision analyses Valuing/decision/economic
Relevance tree Descriptive and matrices, Valuing/decision/economic
Risk analysis Descriptive and matrices, Valuing/decision/economic
Roadmapping Descriptive and matrices
Scenarios Scenarios
Social impact assessment Descriptive and matrices
Stakeholder analysis Descriptive and matrices, Valuing/decision/economic
Sustainability analysis Descriptive and matrices, Modeling and simulation
System dynamics Modeling and simulation
Technology assessment Descriptive and matrices, Modeling and simulation
TRIZ Creativity

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Filip, F. G.; Dragomirescu, H.; Predescu, R.; Ilie, R. (2004). "IT tools for foresight studies". Studies in Informatics and Control (13): 161-168. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251920253. 
  2. "Technology futures analysis: Toward integration of the field and new methods" (in en). Technological Forecasting and Social Change 71 (3): 287–303. 1 March 2004. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2003.11.004. ISSN 0040-1625. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040162503001380. 
  3. Sánchez-Torres, J. M.; Miles, I. (16 December 2017). "The role of future-oriented technology analysis in e-Government: a systematic review" (in en). European Journal of Futures Research 5 (1): 15. doi:10.1007/s40309-017-0131-7. ISSN 2195-2248. 
  4. Eerola, A.; Miles, I. (1 April 2011). "Methods and tools contributing to FTA: A knowledge-based perspective" (in en). Futures 43 (3): 265–278. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2010.11.005. ISSN 0016-3287. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016328710002697. 
  5. Tagiew, Rustam; Witzler, Sebastian; Portier, Martin (14 July 2022) (in en). Towards Assessing Digital Technologies for the Future of Mobility. Social Science Research Network. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4151745. 
  6. "Technology futures analysis: Toward integration of the field and new methods" (in en). Technological Forecasting and Social Change 71 (3): 287–303. 1 March 2004. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2003.11.004. ISSN 0040-1625. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040162503001380. 
  7. Cagnin, Cristiano; Havas, Attila; Saritas, Ozcan (1 March 2013). "Future-oriented technology analysis: Its potential to address disruptive transformations" (in en). Technological Forecasting and Social Change 80 (3): 379–385. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2012.10.001. ISSN 0040-1625. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040162512002454. 
  8. "Technology futures analysis: Toward integration of the field and new methods" (in en). Technological Forecasting and Social Change 71 (3): 287–303. 1 March 2004. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2003.11.004. ISSN 0040-1625. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040162503001380.