An Approximate Theory for Value Sensitivity

The software engineering community is on a quest for general and specific theories for the discipline. Increasingly, systems constructed for today´s hyper connected world are raising issues of security and privacy, both examples of value concerns. Hence there is a need to articulate a theory for value sensitivity that software engineers can draw upon to evaluate their designs and to embed outcomes into systems that are developed. This paper proposes an approximate theory of value sensitivity in recognition that this is a journey and an interim struggle. The theory is articulated using the framework proposed by Sjøberg et al. An initial evaluation is provided for both the value sensitivity theory and the framework.