The successful application of communication or educational technology in developing nations is dependent upon a favorable mix of planning factors and the more predominant contextual factors of local settings. Planning strategies should be adopted to search for those contexts that promise the best results from a rationally planned application of technology. This would avoid the planners' often irrational hope that technology can overcome the major social problems faced by a society, offering instead a useful tool for societies who have already attacked these problems. Examination of recent technology projects in developing nations, including the planning and implementation stages, indicates that these internal and external factors are the most likely to constrain the achievement of benefits: (1) criteria for successes are based on an implicit or explicit set of values; (2) in the past, judgment has been too restricted to internal efficiency standards; (3) contextual factors have largely been ignored; (4) equity as a criterion for success imposes its own criteria; and (5) a mix of contextual and planning factors is required. A bibliography of 27 references is included. (RAA)