The technique is most commonly used in the formulation of high-level strategies or policy. The future, therefore, is susceptible to modification and change by these entities. Thus, the future can best be projected by examining the stated and implied goals of various decision makers and trendsetters, by evaluating the extent to which each can affect future trends and events, and by evaluating what the long-term results of their actions will be. Impact Analysis provides a simple, formal method for taking into account the fact that, in a complex society such as ours, trends, events, and decisions often have consequences that are neither intended nor foreseen. The technique combines the use of left brain and right brain thinking to project the secondary, tertiary, and higher-order impacts and implications of such occurrences.
Results are qualitative in nature.
The technique is often used to analyze potential consequences of projected technical advances or to determine areas in which forecasting efforts could best be directed. Content Analysis is founded on the concept that the relative importance of social, political, commercial, and economic issues are reflected by the amount of media attention the issue receives. Thus, by measuring changes in such factors as column-inches in newspapers, time allocated on television, and, more recently, numbers of items on the Internet, forecasters can project the direction, nature, and rate of change. In the technical arena, this technique can, to some degree, be used to project advances in new technologies, as well as growing market attraction. The results are often displayed in a quantitative format.