Future-oriented technology analysis

Futures studies

Concepts
Accelerating change Cashless society Global catastrophic risk Future Earth Mathematics Race Climate Space exploration Universe Historical materialism Kondratiev wave Kardashev scale Moore's law Peak oil Population cycle Resource depletion Singularity Swanson's law
Techniques
Backcasting Causal layered analysis Chain-linked model Consensus forecast Cross impact analysis Delphi Real-time Delphi Foresight Future-proof Futures wheel Future workshop Horizon scanning Reference class forecasting Scenario planning Systems analysis Threatcasting Trend analysis
Technology assessment and forecasting
Critical design Design fiction Exploratory engineering FTA Hype cycle Science fiction prototyping Speculative design TRL Technology scouting
Related topics
Futarchy Transhumanism
v t e

For other uses of "FTA", see FTA (disambiguation).

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

Future-oriented technology analysis shares common methods with horizon scanning.

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. ... encompasses the broad technology foresight and assessment studies of the public sector and the technology forecasting and intelligence studies in private industry."
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."

Methods

Methods and their families
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

^ Filip, F. G.; Dragomirescu, H.; Predescu, R.; Ilie, R. (2004). "IT tools for foresight studies". Studies in Informatics and Control (13): 161-168.
"Technology futures analysis: Toward integration of the field and new methods". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 71 (3): 287–303. 1 March 2004. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2003.11.004. ISSN 0040-1625. S2CID 18904868.
Sánchez-Torres, J. M.; Miles, I. (16 December 2017). "The role of future-oriented technology analysis in e-Government: a systematic review". European Journal of Futures Research. 5 (1): 15. doi:10.1007/s40309-017-0131-7. ISSN 2195-2248. S2CID 9744177.
Eerola, A.; Miles, I. (1 April 2011). "Methods and tools contributing to FTA: A knowledge-based perspective". Futures. 43 (3): 265–278. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2010.11.005. ISSN 0016-3287.
Tagiew, Rustam; Witzler, Sebastian; Portier, Martin (14 July 2022). "Towards Assessing Digital Technologies for the Future of Mobility". Social Science Research Network. SSRN 4151745. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
"Technology futures analysis: Toward integration of the field and new methods". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 71 (3): 287–303. 1 March 2004. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2003.11.004. ISSN 0040-1625. S2CID 18904868.
Cagnin, Cristiano; Havas, Attila; Saritas, Ozcan (1 March 2013). "Future-oriented technology analysis: Its potential to address disruptive transformations". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 80 (3): 379–385. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2012.10.001. ISSN 0040-1625. S2CID 60530892.
"Technology futures analysis: Toward integration of the field and new methods". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 71 (3): 287–303. 1 March 2004. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2003.11.004. ISSN 0040-1625. S2CID 18904868.

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