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On the Way to the Best Information System of the Future – Reflections on Scenarios in Favor of Good Technology Development

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Software Business (ICSOB 2024)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 539))

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Abstract

Shaping the future is preceded by imaginations of a desired future. This applies in particular to imaginations in an ethical way. In technology development, future imaginations are traditionally represented through scenarios. Our paper builds on scenario development but supplements it with metaethics, a sub-discipline of ethics dealing with the moral connotations of language, alongside stakeholder theory. Our research design in favor of a good future accounted for various aspects of understanding the good (e.g., functional vs. moral) and different perspectives on the good (from various stakeholders). The interdisciplinary scientific foundations are supplemented in exemplary application with experts from computer science, information systems, ethics, psychology, education, and industry partners. We contribute a transdisciplinary perspective, viewing the future as a task to be shaped and making this tangible in technology development. We provide scientific and methodological guidance to developers, designers, and decision-makers to include ethical considerations in software development.

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Acknowledgments

This work originates in the LIONS research project. LIONS is funded by dtec.bw - Digitalization and Technology Research Center of the Bundeswehr which we gratefully acknowledge. dtec.bw is funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU. We also thank all the experts who participated in the world café.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Neubiberg, Germany

    Isabelle Fries, Maximilian Greiner, Manfred Hofmeier, Michael Hofmeier, Razvan Hrestic & Ulrike Lechner

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  1. Isabelle Fries
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  2. Maximilian Greiner
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  3. Manfred Hofmeier
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  4. Michael Hofmeier
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  5. Razvan Hrestic
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  6. Ulrike Lechner
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Correspondence to Isabelle Fries .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Efi Papatheocharous

  2. Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Siamak Farshidi

  3. Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Slinger Jansen

  4. LUT University, Lahti, Finland

    Sonja Hyrynsalmi

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Fries, I., Greiner, M., Hofmeier, M., Hofmeier, M., Hrestic, R., Lechner, U. (2025). On the Way to the Best Information System of the Future – Reflections on Scenarios in Favor of Good Technology Development. In: Papatheocharous, E., Farshidi, S., Jansen, S., Hyrynsalmi, S. (eds) Software Business. ICSOB 2024. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 539. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-85849-9_6

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