Methodological issues in information technology assessment

Technology Assessment (TA) has been in existence for twenty years, mainly through specific governmental institutions, and during that time conceptual and methodological debates have led to a so-called 'new TA paradigm'. The aim of this paper is to discuss the implications of the new paradigm. More particularly, Information Technology (IT) is presented as revealing the necessity of renewed TA approaches. The evolution of the conceptual and methodological debates throughout the TA history will be reviewed briefly; a review then follows of the typical features of IT, to enlighten the orientation of renewed methods in assessment. Finally, a five-task methodological proposal will be made that could be useful for IT Assessment. Research at the TA Research-Unit, the University of Namur (Belgium) (CITA), will be used to illustrate the theoretical developments described, through specific case studies (Electronic Data Interchange and Health Cards).