Using scenario planning in the evaluation of information security applications

This paper provides a broad overview of the scenario approach as it relates to the evaluation of location based services (LBS) technologies and their appl ication. A scenario is a plausible vision of the future, based around a particular technology or application and developed via a scenario planning methodology. The main worth of the scenario planning approach is that it allows an application to be evaluated in terms of potential social impacts as well as technical merit and commercial viability. A sample scenario is presented within the paper to illustrate how the scenario planning methodology can be used. This scenario is analysed via deconstruction to draw out major issues presented regarding the use of LBS. The major contribution of this paper is a demonstration of the merits of scenarios in evaluating new technologies.