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Are Journals and Repositories Enough? Design Knowledge Accumulation as a Diffusion of Innovation Practice
Abstract
The accumulation of the design knowledge (DK) resulting from Design Science Research (DSR) requires other DSR researchers to appropriate, use, evaluate, modify, and/or extend prior DSR artifacts. Unfortunately, much DK (especially software artifacts) is never appropriated by other researchers for further DSR activity. The lack of take-up of DSR outcomes by other researchers represents a significant waste of resources, reduces the contribution of a DSR project and, most significantly, is a major barrier to the accumulation of DSR knowledge. We believe this problem is mainly a social one. DK appropriation is a decision supported by a communication effort, which suggests relevance of Diffusion of Innovation (DoI) theory. While journals and repositories can make quality DK and IT artifacts find-able and available for reuse, supplementary and alternative communication channels may better enable and encourage DK appropriation decisions and thereby, DK accumulation longitudinally over multiple DSR projects. Based on this perspective, this paper explores a peer-to-peer decentralized communication pattern for DK dissemination and appropriation for further DSR projects and DK accumulation. Specifically, we propose (1) a model of DK accumulation as a DoI process (2) two new ‘communication channels’ (i.e., Appropriation Sessions and Marketplaces), and (3) questions (based on UTAUT) to (self-)assess the likelihood of new DK appropriation.KeywordsDesign Science ResearchDesign KnowledgeDesign artifactAppropriationKnowledge accumulation
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Design science research strives to be practical and relevant. Yet few have examined the extent to which practitioners can meaningfully utilize theoretical knowledge produced by design science researchers in solving concrete real-world problems. Are design theories developed by scientists readily amenable to application by practitioners? Does the application of a theory by practitioners always lead to the outcomes predicted (by the scientists)? We examine a particularly difficult challenge-ensuring that development and deployment of an IT artifact by practitioners based on a design theory results in appropriate changes in the environment predicted by the design theory. As we show in our paper, a gulf exists between theoretical propositions and concrete issues faced in practice-a challenge we refer to as design theory indeterminacy. Design theory indeterminacy can result in considerable ambiguity when implementing a design theory in practice and reduce the potential relevance of information systems knowledge. In this paper, we articulate the problem of design theory indeterminacy, examine factors that contribute to it, and suggest fruitful directions for future research to help reduce it.
Sir Isaac Newton famously said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Research is a collaborative, evolutionary endeavor-and it is no different with design science research (DSR) which builds upon existing design knowledge and creates new design knowledge to pass on to future projects. However, despite the vast, growing body of DSR contributions, scant evidence of the accumulation and evolution of design knowledge is found in an organized DSR body of knowledge. Most contributions rather stand on their own feet than on the shoulders of giants, and this is limiting how far we can see; or in other words, the extent of the broader impacts we can make through DSR. In this editorial, we aim at providing guidance on how to position design knowledge contributions in wider problem and solution spaces. We propose (1) a model conceptualizing design knowledge as a resilient relationship between problem and solution spaces, (2) a model that demonstrates how individual DSR projects consume and produce design knowledge, (3) a map to position a design knowledge contribution in problem and solution spaces, and (4) principles on how to use this map in a DSR project. We show how fellow researchers, readers, editors, and reviewers, as well as the IS community as a whole, can make use of these proposals, while also illustrating future research opportunities.
This chapter presents a theoretical and methodological approach to the study of communication and its effects through the diffusion of innovation from a communication approach. It demonstrates through the history of diffusion research how diffusion of innovations occurs and how it impacts communication outcomes. Based on rural sociology of the 1930s and 1940s, the impact of communication platforms and an "inside out" approach are introduced as ways to test and evaluate communication change through message and source strategies.
The paper motivates, presents, demonstrates in use, and evaluates a methodology for conducting design science (DS) research in information systems (IS). DS is of importance in a discipline oriented to the creation of successful artifacts. Several researchers have pioneered DS research in IS, yet over the past 15 years, little DS research has been done within the discipline. The lack of a methodology to serve as a commonly accepted framework for DS research and of a template for its presentation may have contributed to its slow adoption. The design science research methodology (DSRM) presented here incorporates principles, practices, and procedures required to carry out such research and meets three objectives: it is consistent with prior literature, it provides a nominal process model for doing DS research, and it provides a mental model for presenting and evaluating DS research in IS. The DS process includes six steps: problem identification and motivation, definition of the objectives for a solution, design and development, demonstration, evaluation, and communication. We demonstrate and evaluate the methodology by presenting four case studies in terms of the DSRM, including cases that present the design of a database to support health assessment methods, a software reuse measure, an Internet video telephony application, and an IS planning method. The designed methodology effectively satisfies the three objectives and has the potential to help aid the acceptance of DS research in the IS discipline.
The success of information systems (IS) development strongly depends on the accuracy of the requirements gathered from users and other stakeholders. When developing a new IS, about 80 percent of these requirements are recorded in informal requirements documents (e.g., interview transcripts or discussion forums) using natural language. However, processing the resultant natural language requirements resources is inherently complex and often error prone due to ambiguity, inconsistency, and incompleteness. Thus, even highly qualified requirements engineers often struggle to process large amounts of natural language requirements resources efficiently and effectively. In this paper, we propose a design theory for requirement mining systems (RMSs) based on two design principles: (1) semi-automatic requirement mining and (2) usage of imported and retrieved knowledge. As part of an extensive design project, which led to these principles, we also implemented a prototype based on this design theory (REMINER). It supports requirements engineers in identifying and classifying requirements documented in natural language and allows us to evaluate the artifact's viability and the conceptual soundness of our design. The results of our evaluation suggest that an RMS based on our proposed design principles can significantly improve recall while maintaining precision levels. © 2015, Association for Information Systems. All rights reserved.
Abstract Object-oriented (OO) technology represents one of the most important innovations in software process technology to emerge in the last twenty years. Beginning in the early 1990’s, we performed four longitudinal cases studies of early adoption of OO to gain an understandingof what challenges early adopters face, and what strategies can be used to overcome those challenges. We found the burden of learning how to use the technology and the costs of joining an immature technological network were the most serious adoption challenges. We also found that, while organizations had largely accepted the idea that OO would deliver on its promise of large scale reuse, the reuse actually obtained in practice was not pervasive or systematic. In this article, we describe the actual experiences of the case sites as they made the transition to OO development. We then present a set of four lessons learned: (1) invest in organizational learning, (2) develop a complete technical and process architecture, (3) treat reuse as a process innovation in its own right, and (4) view adoption as a multi-year exercise in process technology R&D. For each lesson we articulate a set of specific tactics that organizations can employ,to increase the chance of success. Key words:object orientation, object technology, software reuse, technology adoption,
Information technology (IT) acceptance research has yielded many competing models, each with different sets of acceptance determinants. In this paper, we (1) review user acceptance literature and discuss eight prominent models, (2) empiri- cally compare the eight models and their exten- sions, (3) formulate a unified model that integrates elements across the eight models, and (4) empiri- cally validate the unified model. The eight models reviewed are the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model, the motivational model, the theory of planned behavior, a model combining the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior, the model of PC utilization, the innovation diffusion theory, and the social cognitive theory. Using data from four organizations over a six-month period with three points of measurement, the eight models ex- plained between 17 percent and 53 percent of the variance in user intentions to use information technology. Next, a unified model, called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Tech- nology (UTAUT), was formulated, with four core determinants of intention and usage, and up to four moderators of key relationships. UTAUT was then tested using the original data and found to outperform the eight individual models (adjusted
The paper motivates, presents, demonstrates in use, and evaluates
a methodology for conducting design science (DS) research in information
systems (IS). DS is of importance in a discipline oriented to the
creation of successful artifacts. Several researchers have pioneered
DS research in IS, yet over the past 15 years, little DS research
has been done within the discipline. The lack of a methodology to
serve as a commonly accepted framework for DS research and of a template
for its presentation may have contributed to its slow adoption. The
design science research methodology (DSRM) presented here incorporates
principles, practices, and procedures required to carry out such
research and meets three objectives: it is consistent with prior
literature, it provides a nominal process model for doing DS research,
and it provides a mental model for presenting and evaluating DS research
in IS. The DS process includes six steps: problem identification
and motivation, definition of the objectives for a solution, design
and development, demonstration, evaluation, and communication. We
demonstrate and evaluate the methodology by presenting four case
studies in terms of the DSRM, including cases that present the design
of a database to support health assessment methods, a software reuse
measure, an Internet video telephony application, and an IS planning
method. The designed methodology effectively satisfies the three
objectives and has the potential to help aid the acceptance of DS
research in the IS discipline.
peer-reviewed A frequent characterization of open source software is the somewhat outdated, mythical one of a collective of supremely talented software hackers freely volunteering their services to produce uniformly high-quality software. I contend that the open source software phenomenon has metamorphosed into a more mainstream and commercially viable form, which I label as OSS 2.0. I illustrate this transformation using a framework of process and product factors, and discuss how the bazaar metaphor, which up to now has been associated with the open source development process, has actually shifted to become a metaphor better suited to the OSS 2.0 product delivery and support process. Overall the OSS 2.0 phenomenon is significantly different from its free software antecedent. Its emergence accentuates the fundamental alteration of the basic ground rules in the software landscape, signifying the end of the proprietary-driven model that has prevailed for the past 20 years or so. Thus, a clear understanding of the characteristics of the emergent OSS 2.0 phenomenon is required to address key challenges for research and practice.
This paper aims at identifying some of the key factors in adopting or running a company-wide software reuse program. Key factors are derived from empirical evidence of reuse practices, as emerged from a survey of projects for the introduction of reuse in European companies: 24 such projects performed from 1994 to 1997 were analyzed using structured interviews. The projects were undertaken in both large and small companies, working in a variety of business domains, and using both object-oriented and procedural development approaches. Most of them produce software with high commonality between applications, and have at least reasonably mature processes. Despite that apparent potential for success, around one-third of the projects failed. Three main causes of failure were not introducing reuse-specific processes, not modifying nonreuse processes, and not considering human factors. The root cause was a lack of commitment by top management, or nonawareness of the importance of those factors, often coupled with the belief that using the object-oriented approach or setting up a repository seamlessly is all that is necessary to achieve success in reuse. Conversely, successes were achieved when, given a potential for reuse because of commonality among applications, management committed to introducing reuse processes, modifying nonreuse processes, and addressing human factors
Design science research (DSR) is increasingly prominent in the information systems discipline. However, despite a lively discourse, and methodical and conceptual advances notwithstanding, DSR contributions are rarely cumulative and mostly remain isolated. This lack of cumulative research impedes scientific progress and practical impact. Our goal in this paper is to help establish a cumulative tradition in DSR by proposing (1) a general, consensus-oriented, evolutionary process model of scientific progress based on a synthesis of different streams in the philosophy of science, (2) quality criteria for DSR contributions corresponding to the individual steps in the process model, (3) actions that the IS community as a whole can take to facilitate adherence to these quality criteria. We expect that our work can pave the way towards developing a more cumulative research tradition in DSR and thereby foster genuine scientific progress in the field.
Design science research (DSR) is facing some significant challenges such as how to make the knowledge and artefacts we create more accessible; exclusion from competitive funding schemes that require open practices; and a potential reproducibility crisis if scholars do not have access to everything needed to repeat past research. To help tackle these challenges we suggest that the community should strongly engage with open science, which has been growing in prominence in other fields in recent years. A review of current DSR literature suggests that researchers have not yet discussed how open science practices can be adopted within the field. Thus, we propose how the concepts of open science, namely open access, open data, open source, and open peer review, can be mapped to a DSR process model. Further, we identify an emerging concept, the open artefact, which provides an opportunity to make artefacts more accessible to practice and scholars. The aim of this paper is to stimulate a discussion amongst researchers about these open science practices in DSR, and whether it is a necessary step forward to keep the pace of the changing academic environment.
We review the empirical research on Free/Libre and Open-Source Software (FLOSS) development and assess the state of the literature. We develop a framework for organizing the literature based on the input-mediator-output-input (IMOI) model from the small groups literature. We present a quantitative summary of articles selected for the review and then discuss findings of this literature categorized into issues pertaining to inputs (e.g., member characteristics, technology use, and project characteristics), processes (software development practices, social processes, and firm involvement practices), emergent states (e.g., social states and task-related states), and outputs (e.g. team performance, FLOSS implementation, and project evolution). Based on this review, we suggest topics for future research, as well as identify methodological and theoretical issues for future inquiry in this area, including issues relating to sampling and the need for more longitudinal studies.
Design work and design knowledge in Information Systems (IS) is important
for both research and practice. Yet there has been comparatively
little critical attention paid to the problem of specifying design
theory so that it can be communicated, justified, and developed cumulatively.
In this essay we focus on the structural components or anatomy of
design theories in IS as a special class of theory. In doing so,
we aim to extend the work of Walls, Widemeyer and El Sawy (1992)
on the specification of information systems design theories (ISDT),
drawing on other streams of thought on design research and theory
to provide a basis for a more systematic and useable formulation
of these theories. We identify eight separate components of design
theories: (1) purpose and scope, (2) constructs, (3) principles of
form and function, (4) artifact mutability, (5) testable propositions,
(6) justificatory knowledge (kernel theories), (7) principles of
implementation, and (8) an expository instantiation. This specification
includes components missing in the Walls et al. adaptation of Dubin
(1978) and Simon (1969) and also addresses explicitly problems associated
with the role of instantiations and the specification of design theories
for methodologies and interventions as well as for products and applications.
The essay is significant as the unambiguous establishment of design
knowledge as theory gives a sounder base for arguments for the rigor
and legitimacy of IS as an applied discipline and for its continuing
progress. A craft can proceed with the copying of one example of
a design artifact by one artisan after another. A discipline cannot.
Projectability in design science research
- R L Baskerville
- J Pries-Heje
Editor’s comments: advancing research transparency at mis quarterly: a pluralistic approach
- A Burton-Jones
- W F Boh
- E Oborn
- B Padmanabhan
Assessing information system design theory in perspective: how useful was our 1992 initial rendition
- J G Walls
- G R Widermeyer
- O A El Sawy