| Towards a Comprehensive Online Peer Assessment System | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 1-8 | |
| Dmytro Babik; Lakshmi S. Iyer; Eric W. Ford | |||
| The business of business education is rapidly evolving because of changing
economic and social conditions. At many institutions, class sizes are growing,
more curricula is being offered online and traditionally successful pedagogical
standards are being threatened unless they are adapted to the emerging economic
realities of the 21st century. In response to the economic threats and
consumers' preferences, numerous IT artifacts are being created to facilitate
online teaching in the hope that both quality and cost concerns will be
ameliorated (albeit not always using the precepts of design science). The
purpose of this 'work-in-progress' paper is to apply design science principles
to outline an algorithm for a computer-aided peer assessment system, named
Double-loop Mutual Assessment (DLMA). The project's goal is to emulate the case
method online, improve students' learning experience and increase grading
efficacy. The DLMA yields two IT artifacts: a method and an instantiation. The
DLMA method artifact involves two loops of assessment: 1) a summative and
formative mutual peer assessment algorithm for essays; and 2) a summative peer
assessment of the feedback's quality. An instantiation of DLMA system -- a
prototype and a beta-version has been implemented and described. Future
directions of researching behavioral and operational aspects of the system are
outlined. Potential applications of the artifact's capabilities beyond the
business necessity are discussed. Keywords: design science; design artifact; design process; online; prototype; peer
assessment; double-loop mutual assessment | |||
| Designing Digital Innovation Contests | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 9-27 | |
| Anders Hjalmarsson; Daniel Rudmark | |||
| In recent years, the phenomena of open data have lent a promise to expand
the innovation network of an organization. By allowing this type of access to
organizational resources, developers beyond the organizational realm may hence
generate new innovative artifacts surpassing existing capabilities. However, as
an organization utilizes these innovation capabilities they simultaneously
loose significant control over the innovations' alignment with existing
organizational goals. One way to nurture and harness this type of innovation is
to arrange a contest where third party developers are invited to attend. Using
a Design Science Research approach, such a contest -- a type of artifact we
coin Digital Innovation Contest -- was designed and field-tested in 2011. The
contest, WestCoast TravelHack 2011, summoned 76 developers distributed on 20
teams and was based on an idea to both generate novel digital service
prototypes and having these applications promote the organizational goal of
less energy-consuming ways of everyday travel. We conclude that by following
our empirically grounded and theoretically informed guidelines, this type of
contest can indeed increase the likelihood of both producing innovative
artifacts and aligning these innovations with organizational goals. Keywords: Digital Innovation Contest; Open Data; Design Science Research; Digital
Innovation | |||
| Evaluating APIs: A Call for Design Science Research | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 28-35 | |
| Bala Iyer; George Wyner | |||
| In a business world characterized by ecosystem-based competition, APIs are
key determinants of success. However, there is very little guidance on how
organizations should go about making decisions about APIs. API design must
account for the needs of both present and future application developers who use
the API, and API outcomes depend on the success of the applications which
incorporate that API. As a result, the design of APIs poses unique challenges
that would benefit from design science inquiry. At the same time, these
multiple sources of input in API design pose special challenges for carrying
out design science research. This paper focuses on developing a foundation for
future design science research in the API domain by addressing the first two
steps of the design science research methodology recommended by Peffers et al:
We view these as preliminary steps towards the development of a methodology for
the design of APIs. Keywords: API; kernel theory; modularity; stakeholders; strategy | |||
| Designing for Recombination: Process Design through Template Combination | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 36-51 | |
| Arvind Karunakaran; Sandeep Purao | |||
| Process design remains an important yet difficult concern for postindustrial
organizations. We posit that processes 'become' processes in these
organizations only via their anchoring in concrete artifacts. Consequently, we
identify and refine two design principles: processes as anchored in concrete
material artifacts (not abstract process representations); and process design
through recombination of existing processes (instead of designing anew). Our
research starts by building a research artifact, ReKon, that instantiates these
two principles. The paper describes this artifact with the meta-model, an
implementation and the fine-granular process units, as template chunks created
from 1,200 real-world templates, to populate the tool. We revise and refine the
design principles via successive cycles of implementation of the research
artifact, formative evaluation with student teams, and insights obtained from
an ongoing field study. We conclude by pointing to directions for future
research. Keywords: Business Process; Templates; Artifacts; Granularity; Recombination | |||
| Design Principles for Inter-Organizational Systems Development -- Case Hansel | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 52-65 | |
| Heikki Lempinen; Matti Rossi; Virpi Kristiina Tuunainen | |||
| In this paper, we report new findings of an on-going action design research
(ADR) study in a public organization, Hansel Ltd, the central procurement unit
of the Finnish government. A procurement organization acts as a middleman in
public sector procurement. In order to coordinate large-scale procurement
supported by a third party, inter-organizational systems (IOS) are needed.
However, it is challenging to develop these, as the stakeholders are scattered
and not necessarily interested in supporting the development of systems. Our
goal is to identify and formulate design principles for efficient and effective
inter-organizational systems development in the procurement context. With the
particular focus on power relations between the involved organizations as well
as their separate interests in the IOS being built, we develop design
principles for such systems. In addition to being useful for our case company,
we illustrate how these design principles can be applied to a class of similar
problems. Keywords: information sharing; public procurement; power relations; interest in IOS;
action design research | |||
| Using Design Science Research to Develop a Modeling Technique for Service Design | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 66-77 | |
| Lysanne Lessard; Eric Yu | |||
| Knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) such as consulting and research
and development services are important factors of performance and innovation in
industrialized economies. However, current modeling techniques aimed at
supporting service design do not account for their core characteristics such as
the relational nature of exchanges among providers, clients, and other actors.
Using data from a case of academic research and development service as a type
of KIBS, we present a modeling technique that can support the design of
successful service engagements in this domain. This work is guided by the
understanding of service as a process of collaborative value creation, or value
cocreation. Beyond the contribution of the modeling technique to KIBS design,
our work shows the strength of using a Design Science Research methodology in
creating design artifacts that are strongly aligned with the problem domain for
which they are developed. Keywords: Design Science Research; KIBS engagements; service design; value cocreation;
modeling technique | |||
| Towards a Decision Tool for Choosing a Business Process Maturity Model | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 78-87 | |
| Amy Van Looy; Manu De Backer; Geert Poels | |||
| The importance of maturity models and business process management (BPM) is
already recognized, resulting in many business process maturity models (BPMMs)
to progress in BPM. Nonetheless, practitioners have no overview of existing
BPMMs and their differences, which makes an informed choice difficult. Choosing
the right model is, however, important, as our previous research indicated a
great diversity of BPMMs. Therefore, we will design a decision tool that
organizations can use to select a BPMM that best fits their needs. The current
article introduces possible decision criteria for the tool. Furthermore, the
methodology and the conceptual model are discussed. It is argued that the final
decision tool can be extended with additional criteria and BPMMs, and
translated towards other (maturity) models. Keywords: business process maturity; design research; decision tool; decision table;
consensus-seeking decision-making; Delphi method; multi-criteria
decision-making; Analytical Hierarchy Process | |||
| Implementing Design Principles for Collaborative ERP Systems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 88-107 | |
| Wendy Lucas; Tamara Babaian | |||
| Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems are notoriously difficult for
users to operate. We present a framework that consists of a data model and
algorithms that serve as a foundation for implementing design principles
presented in an earlier paper for improving ERP usability. The framework
addresses the need for providing user, task and process context of each
system-user interaction. It is intended to form an integral part of the
system's data model, which can be queried in real time to produce the
information required for a variety of user interface enhancements. We have
implemented the framework within an ERP prototype and used it in a laboratory
emulation of ERP usage. Using the log data from this laboratory emulation, we
present examples demonstrating how the framework meets its design goal of
providing contextual and historical information. Keywords: Usability; human-computer collaboration; enterprise systems; ERP;
human-computer interaction | |||
| Applying Design Science Research for Enterprise Architecture Business Value Assessments | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 108-121 | |
| Martin Meyer; Markus Helfert; Brian Donnellan; Jim Kenneally | |||
| In the effort to measure the business value and impact of Enterprise
Architecture (EA), we need to adapt an appropriate form of information systems
research in order to cope with the encountered challenges. For this purpose, we
employed Design Science Research (DSR), a problem-driven approach to provide a
solution represented as artifacts to provide the required utility to our
stakeholders. The main contribution of this research is the detailed focus on
how artifacts are actually conceived in an organizational context and the
realization that a complex environment demands for more than just one artifact.
Therefore, we are in need of a flexible research methodology. The DSR in this
case is conducted within a well-known information systems research framework
and follows widely accepted principles and guidelines. We explain the business
need that arose from the current business practices in the course of a case
study and describe the flexible research methodology we pursue and how we
intend to solve the problems we identified as current DSR approaches lack the
necessary flexibility we were looking for in practice. This flexibility greatly
improves the management of our project in the organizational environment in
terms of planning and implementation. Furthermore, we outline the evolutionary
state of the artifacts during our adapted research process. Keywords: Design Science; Enterprise Architecture; Business Value Assessment | |||
| Designing-in-the-Large: Combining Local Perspectives to Generate Enterprise-Wide Integration Solutions | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 122-138 | |
| Sandeep Purao; Narasimha Bolloju; Chuan Hoo Tan | |||
| Local perspectives are important in designing effective enterprise
integration solutions because they provide deep understanding of how each
system may interact with others. Combining these local perspectives into a
global solution is, however, equally important to develop a coherent enterprise
integration blueprint. The participants in this exercise tend to be managers
who have local but informal knowledge, and designers who may have a global but
incomplete view that must be translated into formal models necessary for
implementation. We develop a method and supporting modeling constructs aimed at
such 'designing-in-the-large' that facilitates this bridging from local
perspectives to global solutions, and from informal representations to formal
models amenable for implementation. We present the result as design science
outcomes -- a Method and Modeling Constructs -- that have benefited from
multiple design-and-test cycles, and describe an authentic demonstration. Keywords: Designing-in-the-Large; Systems Integration; Design Science Research | |||
| Emergency Response System Design: An Examination of Emergency Communication Messages | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 139-146 | |
| Rohit Valecha; Raj Sharman; Raghav Rao; Shambhu Upadhyaya | |||
| The current state of emergency communication is dispatch-mediated i.e. the
messages from the scene are directed to responders and agencies through the
dispatch. Emergency dispatch provides essential support to emergency responders
during emergencies. However, there are several problems associated with the
dispatch-mediated communication. Utilizing IBM's message modeling concept, we
develop a messaging model to provide support for computer-mediated
communication (CMC) systems. Keywords: Computer-mediated Communication; Messaging Model; Design Science; Emergency
Response | |||
| An Approach for Smart Artifacts for Mobile Advertising | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 147-151 | |
| Upkar Varshney | |||
| Mobile applications and services have received significant attention among
researchers, developers, wireless carriers, and content providers. Many of
these applications, such as Google Latitude and Find My Friends, use
location-based information from GPS or wireless networks to support
location-awareness. For mobile advertising, location information is certainly
important, however deriving and utilizing user's dynamic context can
significantly improve the effectiveness of advertisements. In this
"research-in-progress" paper, we present a design-science method for building
artifacts for context-aware mobile applications. The method supports sensing,
processing and deriving the most current context based on both live and stored
information including current activities, location, and user profile. Several
important research issues are also presented. Keywords: context-awareness; artifact; mobile advertisement; location-based services | |||
| Towards a Unified Design Theory for Creativity Support Systems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 152-173 | |
| Matthias Voigt; Björn Niehaves; Jörg Becker | |||
| A magnitude of predominantly qualitative empirical and conceptual work has
identified design principles that provide for the design of creativity support
systems (CSS). Numerous kernel theories have been utilized to inform CSS design
principles. However, the logical next step for design research is pending: this
rich field of research may now allow for more quantitative empirical research
on the actual effects of particular CSS design features on creative
performance. Against the background of this research gap, we first analyze
existing CSS design theories applying an analysis framework encompassing
obligatory design theory components. On that basis, we extract the underlying
independent (latent) variables addressed in design principles. Our contribution
entails a unified design theory for CSS, laying the basis for future research
in IS design science on creativity-support. Furthermore, we reflect on our
approach to develop a unified design theory and discuss its implications for
the philosophy of design science. Keywords: Design Theory; Creativity Support Systems; Empirical Evaluation | |||
| What Makes Corporate Wikis Work? Wiki Affordances and Their Suitability for Corporate Knowledge Work | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 174-190 | |
| M. Lisa Yeo; Ofer Arazy | |||
| Wikis were originally intended for knowledge work in the open Internet
environment, and there seems to be an inherent tension between wikis'
affordances and the nature knowledge work in organizations. The objective of
this paper is to investigate how tailoring wikis to corporate settings would
impact users' wiki activity. We begin by synthesizing prior works on wikis'
design principles; identifying several areas where we anticipate high tension
between wikis' affordances and organizational work practices. We put forward
five propositions regarding how changes in corporate wikis deployment
procedures may impact users' wiki activity. An empirical study in one
multi-national organization tested users' perceptions towards these
propositions, revealing that in some cases there may be a need for modifying
wiki's design, while in other cases corporations may wish to change their
knowledge work practices to align with wikis' affordances. Keywords: Wiki; Affordances; Knowledge Management | |||
| Design Science as Design of Social Systems -- Implications for Information Systems Research | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 191-205 | |
| Andreas Drechsler | |||
| There are indications that contemporary IS research is increasingly
concerned with the organizational environment in which information systems are
part of or used in. This means that IS design science approaches could benefit
from concerning themselves with the organizational environment its design
artefacts are going to be implemented in, or even extend their perspectives to
organizational design, in which aspects of IS usage then play a central role.
This paper presents a design science approach for social systems from
organizational science and discusses its implications for contemporary IS
research. Keywords: design science; IS design; organizational design; social systems design;
socio-technical systems design | |||
| Towards Design Engineering of Ubiquitous Information Systems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 206-219 | |
| Wolfgang Maass; Sabine Janzen | |||
| Designing complex information systems is a task performed by design teams
with team members coming from different domains with different expertise.
Shared understanding between members of a design team throughout a project is
still a challenge. A design framework is presented that integrates individual
design knowledge, explicit design knowledge used by design teams, and
computational design knowledge. For each type of design knowledge, several
modeling languages for expressing conceptual models are known. Translation
processes between these characteristic design knowledge explications are
introduced. Core elements of this design framework, i.e., modeling languages
and translations, are discussed by a Ubiquitous Information System (UIS)
development project that was conducted over the period of several years. Keywords: Conceptual modeling; shared understanding; design methodology; Ubiquitous
Information Systems; semantic technologies; patterns | |||
| Technical Action Research as a Validation Method in Information Systems Design Science | | BIBA | Full-Text | 220-238 | |
| Roel Wieringa; Ayse Morali | |||
| Current proposals for combining action research and design science start
with a concrete problem in an organization, then apply an artifact to improve
the problem, and finally reflect on lessons learned. The aim of these
combinations is to reduce the tension between relevance and rigor. This paper
proposes another way of using action research in design science, which starts
with an artifact, and then tests it under conditions of practice by solving
concrete problems with them. The aim of this way of using action research in
design science is to bridge the gap between the idealizations made when
designing the artifact and the concrete conditions of practice that occur in
real-world problems.
The paper analyzes the role of idealization in design science and compares it with the requirements of rigor and relevance. It then proposes a way of bridging the gap between idealization and practice by means of action research, called technical action research (TAR) in this paper. The core of TAR is that the researcher plays three roles, which must be kept logically separate, namely of artifact developer, artifact investigator, and client helper. Finally, TAR is compared to other approaches of using action research in design science, and with canonical action research. | |||
| Decision Enhancement for Sourcing with Shared Service Centres in the Dutch Government | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 239-255 | |
| Arjan Knol; Henk Sol; Johan van Wamelen | |||
| Primarily in order to save costs, many shared service centres (SSCs) are
being established in organisations. However, establishing SSCs is a challenging
task for many organisations, including the Dutch government. This design
science research aims to enhance SSC establishment with a decision enhancement
studio for sourcing & sharing in the Dutch government. The proposed studio
consists of a set of services for studio participants to analyse decision
alternatives and improve collaboration. In this paper a studio design is
presented with four decision enhancement services for sourcing & sharing
that are delivered with an online tool and predefined scripts (called
sourceLets). Future research will be dedicated to the scientific evaluation of
the studio design by applying it to multiple case studies in the Dutch
government. Keywords: Decision; Enhancement; Sourcing; SSC | |||
| Designing a Framework for Virtual Management and Team Building | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 256-270 | |
| Jan Pries-Heje; Lene Pries-Heje | |||
| To cope with seven identified problems in virtual and distributed management
in Danske Bank we used a design science research approach to design a
conceptual framework for team building in virtual and distributed project
teams. The conceptual framework combines a six-phase teambuilding model with
the notion and elements of social capital. Thus in each phase of teambuilding
you build up all six elements of social capital. The complete six-by-six
framework was diffused in Danske Bank in January 2011, and evaluated very
positively in the summer of 2011. The framework is being implemented throughout
Danske Bank in 2012. This paper gives an account of the framework content and
the results from the evaluation. Finally the paper discusses how the
contribution can be generalized and used in other companies. Keywords: Virtual and distributed teams; teambuilding; social capital; design science
research | |||
| Integrating Organisational Design with IT Design | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 271-286 | |
| António Rito Silva; Michael Rosemann | |||
| Most existing requirements engineering approaches focus on the modelling and
specification of the IT artefacts ignoring the environment where the
application is deployed. Although some requirements engineering approaches
consider the stakeholder's goals, they still focus on the IT artefacts'
specification. However, IT artefacts are embedded in a dynamic organisational
environment and their design and specification cannot be separated from the
environment's constant evolution. Therefore, during the initial stages of a
requirements engineering process it is advantageous to consider the integration
of IT design with organisational design. We proposed the ADMITO (Analysis,
Design and Management of IT and Organisations) approach to represent the
dynamic relations between social and material entities, where the latter are
divided into technological and organisational entities. In this paper we show
how by using ADMITO in a concrete case, the Queensland Health Payroll (QHP)
case, it is possible to have an integrated representation of IT and
organisational design supporting organisational change and IT requirements
specification. Keywords: IT design; Organisational design; Enterprise modelling; Adaptive
structuration theory; Case study | |||
| Common Citation Analysis and Technology Overlap Factor: An Empirical Investigation of Litigated Patents Using Network Analysis | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 287-293 | |
| Srikar Velichety; Sudha Ram | |||
| Companies incur huge costs in filing and defending patent lawsuits. A part
of the problem arises from the fact that companies do not have a comprehensive
understanding of the patents that they have cited and the patents that have
cited their patents. By empirically analyzing the forward and backward
citations of a set of litigated patents in the smart phone industry, we provide
a method for profiling patents and identifying citation patterns. Our results
show that while some patents share common forward and backward citations,
others do not share any backward citations but share a lot of forward
citations. We hypothesize that this maybe an indication of the convergence of
different types of technologies. We also propose a new metric -- Technology
Overlap Factor -- that can help in identifying convergence. In doing so, we
provide a preliminary framework for further investigation and for building a
patent analysis software system. Keywords: Patent Infringement; Backward Citations; Forward Citations; Common
Citations; Technology Overlap Factor | |||
| Environmental Sustainability in Design Science Research: Direct and Indirect Effects of Design Artifacts | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 294-308 | |
| Jan vom Brocke; Stefan Seidel | |||
| There is an increasing consensus that information systems (IS) design needs
to consider effects related to environmental sustainability. While information
technology (IT) can help solving environmental problems, it also causes
environmental problems through emissions, wastage, and the consumption of
renewable and nonrenewable resources throughout its lifecycle. Against this
background, the notions of Green IT and Green IS have evolved. While the former
primarily relates to the energy efficiency and equipment utilization of IT, the
latter pertains to the design and implementation of information systems that
contribute to sustainable business processes. In this paper, we explore how
environmental sustainability can be considered in design science research.
While traditionally design science research has focused on the utility of
artifacts, we propose to also consider a design artifact's environmental
impact. We discuss how the design goal of sustainability relates to artifact
utility and suggest a framework that describes two dimensions of design
artifact environmental impact, namely direct and indirect environmental
impacts. While the first pertains to effects of the physical existence of an IT
artifact through its production, use, and disposal, the latter relates to the
potential of the artifact to contribute to sustainable business processes. Keywords: Design Science Research; Green IS; Green IT; Sustainability | |||
| Design Science Research and the Core of Information Systems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 309-327 | |
| Ahmad Alturki; Wasana Bandara; Guy G. Gable | |||
| Design Science Research (DSR) has emerged as an important approach in
Information Systems (IS) research, evidenced by the plethora of recent related
articles in recognized IS outlets. Nonetheless, discussion continues on the
value of DSR for IS and how to conduct strong DSR, with further discussion
necessary to better position DSR as a mature and stable research paradigm
appropriate for IS. This paper contributes to address this need, by providing a
comprehensive conceptual and argumentative positioning of DSR relative to the
core of IS. This paper seeks to argue the relevance of DSR as a paradigm that
addresses the core of IS discipline well. Here we use the framework defined by
Wand and Weber, to position what the core of IS is. Keywords: Design Science Research; Design Research; Core of Information System;
Routine Design | |||
| Anatomy of Knowledge Bases Used in Design Science Research | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 328-344 | |
| Oliver Gaß; Norbert Koppenhagen; Harald Biegel; Alexander Maedche; Benjamin Müller | |||
| Several papers have addressed the theory foundation of DSR. While
researchers usually emphasize that the existence of such a knowledge base (KB)
is essential for high quality design science research (DSR), opinions depart
what kind of knowledge comprises such a knowledge base and which qualitative
requirements apply regarding the knowledge leveraged. Some researchers demand
that DSR is based on descriptive formal theories, while other scholars extend
the width of the knowledge base also to unverified empirical evidence,
conceptual knowledge and prescriptive knowledge. In order to provide some
guidance for practical DSR, we apply literature review methodology on recent
DSR articles to determine the common practice regarding the use and development
of knowledge bases in previous projects. Based on this investigation, we
discuss current issues, derive implications for future research and suggest
measures to strengthen the role of the knowledge base in DSR. Keywords: Design Science Research; Literature Review; Theory Base | |||
| Characterizing Design Science Theories by Level of Constraint on Design Decisions | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 345-353 | |
| Bill Kuechler; Vijay Vaishnavi | |||
| A current issue in Design Science Research in Information Systems (DSRIS) is
the manner in which to capture and present the knowledge gained in the course
of a DSRIS project. Different conceptions of design science theory have been
suggested. The most firmly established of these is Information Systems Design
Theory (ISDT). Recently a number of authors have suggested that additional
theory formulations are needed to capture higher-level knowledge: higher level
design science theories (HLDST). As more types of theory to capture different
types of information are proposed the question arises: how do these different
theory types relate, to each other and also to the artifact that is constructed
in the course of most DSRIS projects?
In this paper we develop a design-decision-constraint framework for characterizing design science theories. Additionally we relate design decisions to the dependent and independent variables of the theories; these traditional elements of theory have been lacking in most discussions of design science theories. By (re)introducing dependent and independent variables to the design science theory conversation we hope to bridge the gap between traditional explanatory theory and ISDT, and thereby help to clarify the discussions of theory in DSRIS. Keywords: design science research; theory categorization; mid-range theory; theory
taxonomy | |||
| On the Relationship between the IT Artifact and Design Theory: The Case of Virtual Social Facilitation | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 354-370 | |
| Björn Niehaves; Kevin Ortbach; Asin Tavakoli | |||
| Both the IT artifact and design theory are fundamental elements of a design
science project. While literature provides an extensive discussion on why IT
artifacts and design theory can be regarded as two sides of the same coin, an
operational detailed model on how to actually decode and translate the one into
the other is not yet to be found. In this paper, we address this important
issue taking the example of social facilitation, a theory perspective that
informs us about how the integration of social media features in IT-based
routine work can increase task performance. With the help of this example we
are able to demonstrate how a lack of discussion regarding the relationship
between the actual implementation (IT artifact perspective) and corresponding
variables (design theory perspective) can create significant issues of
scientific rigor. In order to overcome this gap, we develop a design theorizing
framework that differentiates between the structural model (inner model), the
measurement model, and the design model (both outer model components). Based on
our findings, the paper concludes with discussing potentially fruitful avenues
for future research and theory development in design science. Keywords: Design theory; Framework; Artifact-Theory Relationship; Instantiation;
Virtual Social Facilitation | |||
| Towards a Formal Approach to Information Systems Design Theory Using Category Theory | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 371-380 | |
| George R. Widmeyer | |||
| This paper reports research in progress for the formalization of the notion
of information systems design theory within the framework of formal logic and
category theory. The formalization starts with the concept of four relational
systems (empirical, subjective, conceptual and formal) that are linked by the
four activities for design science research proposed by Venable (2006).
Category theory is used as the basis of representing the concept of an
information systems design theory as a formal framework by representing each of
the four relational systems as either types (theories) or tokens (models). The
arrows (morphisms) between the four concepts are explained using Barwise and
Seligman's (1997) definition of "infomorphisms". The contributions of this
research are that it explicates the role of kernel theory (background theory)
in information systems design theory and it links this design theory to
information fusion and information flow research efforts. It thus provides
structures that represent a formalization of the design of information systems. Keywords: Design Theory; Representations for Design; Category Theory | |||
| Evaluations in the Science of the Artificial -- Reconsidering the Build-Evaluate Pattern in Design Science Research | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 381-397 | |
| Christian Sonnenberg; Jan vom Brocke | |||
| The central outcome of design science research (DSR) is prescriptive
knowledge in the form of IT artifacts and recommendations. However,
prescriptive knowledge is considered to have no truth value in itself. Given
this assumption, the validity of DSR outcomes can only be assessed by means of
descriptive knowledge to be obtained at the conclusion of a DSR process. This
is reflected in the build-evaluate pattern of current DSR methodologies.
Recognizing the emergent nature of IT artifacts this build-evaluate pattern,
however, poses unfavorable implications regarding the achievement of rigor
within a DSR project. While it is vital in DSR to prove the usefulness of an
artifact a rigorous DSR process also requires justifying and validating the
artifact design itself even before it has been put into use. This paper
proposes three principles for evaluating DSR artifacts which not only address
the evaluation of an artifact's usefulness but also the evaluation of design
decisions made to build an artifact. In particular, it is argued that by
following these principles the prescriptive knowledge produced in DSR can be
considered to have a truth-like value. Keywords: Design science research; evaluation; design theory; epistemology | |||
| Design Science Research Evaluation | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 398-410 | |
| Ken Peffers; Marcus Rothenberger; Tuure Tuunanen; Reza Vaezi | |||
| The consensus view is that the rigorous evaluation of design science (DS)
artifacts is essential. There are many types of DS artifacts and many forms of
evaluation; what is missing is guidance for how to perform the evaluation, more
specifically, what evaluation methods to use with specific DS research outputs.
Here we find and review 148 DS research articles published in a selected set of
information systems (IS), computer science (CS) and engineering journals. We
analyze the articles to develop taxonomies of DS artifact types and artifact
evaluation methods; we apply these taxonomies to determine which evaluation
methods are associated in the literature with particular artifacts. We show
that there are several popular "artifact -- evaluation method" combinations in
the literature. The results inform DS researchers of usual and customary
combinations of research artifacts and evaluation methods, potentially
providing them with rationale and justification for an evaluation method
selection. Keywords: Design Science; evaluation; artifacts | |||
| Design of Software Agent-Populated Electronic Negotiation System and Evaluation of Human -- to -- Agent Negotiations | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 411-422 | |
| Rustam Vahidov; Gregory E. Kersten | |||
| Negotiation is a flexible mechanism for facilitating effective economic
exchanges. Electronic negotiations allow participants to negotiate online and
use analytical support tools in making their decisions. Software agents offer
the possibility of automating negotiation process using these tools. The
purpose of this work is to make progress towards outlining design-theoretical
principles for agent-enhanced negotiation systems (AENS). This paper describes
an electronic marketplace named DIANA (Deal-making system Incorporating Agents
in Negotiations and Auctions) that allows involving software agents in
negotiations. It also presents the results of experiments in agent-to-human
negotiations. Various types of agents have been configured and paired up with
human counterparts for negotiating product sale. The paper discusses the
results and presents a set of rules for the design of AENS. Keywords: electronic negotiations; software agents; design theory; experimental
studies | |||
| A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluation in Design Science Research | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 423-438 | |
| John Venable; Jan Pries-Heje; Richard Baskerville | |||
| Evaluation is a central and essential activity in conducting rigorous Design
Science Research (DSR), yet there is surprisingly little guidance about
designing the DSR evaluation activity beyond suggesting possible methods that
could be used for evaluation. This paper extends the notable exception of the
existing framework of Pries-Heje et al [11] to address this problem. The paper
proposes an extended DSR evaluation framework together with a DSR evaluation
design method that can guide DSR researchers in choosing an appropriate
strategy for evaluation of the design artifacts and design theories that form
the output from DSR. The extended DSR evaluation framework asks the DSR
researcher to consider (as input to the choice of the DSR evaluation strategy)
contextual factors of goals, conditions, and constraints on the DSR evaluation,
e.g. the type and level of desired rigor, the type of artifact, the need to
support formative development of the designed artifacts, the properties of the
artifact to be evaluated, and the constraints on resources available, such as
time, labor, facilities, expertise, and access to research subjects. The
framework and method support matching these in the first instance to one or
more DSR evaluation strategies, including the choice of ex ante (prior to
artifact construction) versus ex post evaluation (after artifact construction)
and naturalistic (e.g., field setting) versus artificial evaluation (e.g.,
laboratory setting). Based on the recommended evaluation strategy(ies),
guidance is provided concerning what methodologies might be appropriate within
the chosen strategy(ies). Keywords: Design Science Research; Research Methodology; Information Systems
Evaluation; Evaluation Method; Evaluation Strategy | |||