1 FUTURE USER- PRODUCT ARRANGEMENTS : COMBINING PRODUCT I MPACT AND SCENARIOS IN DESIGN FOR MULTI AGE SUCCESS Dr. Steven Dorrestijn, Dr. Mascha C. van der Voort, Prof.dr.ir. Peter-Paul Verbeek [Draft text. Article in press and published online: Dorrestijn, S., Van der Voort, M.C. & Verbeek, P.P.C.C., Future user-product arrangements: Combining product impact and scenarios in design for multi age success, Technological Forecasting and Social Change (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2014.08.005 ] ABSTRACT The presence of four generations in business and organisations and the prevalence of ever-evolving technology, pose questions for technology design; a much wider range of user-product arrangements needs to be forecast and designed for. To provide a theoretical framework that accommodates the need to forecast product appeal for various age groups and contexts this paper compares and combines the dual use of scenarios from scenario based design and scenario planning with the approach of technical mediation in the philosophy of technology. It introduces sĐeŶario based desigŶ and sĐeŶario plaŶŶiŶg as well as ŵediatioŶ theory and specifically the produĐt impact ŵodel. In scenario based design direct product impact can be used for drawing and evaluating scenarios with a focus how ways of doing are directed and changed by products. In scenario planning indirect product impacts are helpful. Utopian/dystopian conceptions of technology help to draw extreme scenarios, while historical patterns in sociotechnical evolution guide the evaluation and definition of realistic forecasts. Our examples suggest that these effects may just as well go in the direction of augmenting the divide between generations, and full attention is called for to prevent or solve this. AUTHORS Steven Dorrestijn (1977) is an assistant professor at the Laboratory of Design, Production and Management of the University of Twente, and Reader in Ethics and Technology at Saxion University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands. His research concerns the influences of technologies on humans and society as well as people's practices of accommodating new technologies in their lives. This approach to technologies in people's everyday lives is a practice oriented complement to theoretical approaches in ethics. At the same time it is helpful for user-centred design in improving product usability and acceptance. ( mail@stevendorrestijn.nl / www.stevendorrestijn.nl ) Mascha C. van der Voort (1974) is an associate professor at the Laboratory of Design, Production and Management of the University of Twente. She is leading the research group on Use Anticipation in Product Design. The research focus is on supporting designers in anticipating use within product design processes with new design approaches and tools for improving user-product interaction. Special attention is paid to the development of scenario based methods and tools that support active stakeholder involvement and participatory design. Techniques as workshops, serious gaming and virtual reality are frequently part of these design supports. Peter-Paul Verbeek (1970) is a professor of philosophy of technology and chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Twente. He is president of the Society for Philosophy and Technology and a member of the Dutch Council for the Humanities. Verbeek's research focuses on the social and cultural roles of technology and the ethical and anthropological aspects of human– technology relations. His research focuses on the development of a theory of technological mediation, for which he received a VICI-award from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.