ABSTRACT
This chapter looks for conclusions and lessons learned from the results of the theorizing delivered in the previous chapters. A major point concerns the methodology of technology assessment resulting in a new perspective. Technology assessment requires specific methods or method sets tailored to relevant assignments, backgrounds, and actor constellations, which always have specific properties dedicated to the individual case. This adds a contextual and pragmatic note to the choice of methods: they have to be fit for purpose and appropriate with respect to context, leading to a strong implication: The methodology of technology assessment cannot consist of a kind of toolkit or of a set of methods simply to be applied. Instead, a reflexive step has to be foreseen in designing the method mix for a specific project, taking care of the conditions of applicability of the various methods, blind spots, and shortcomings. Further considerations address criteria of success, quality, the scope of TA, its professional ethics, and the issue of teaching TA.
