Design theory in practice - Making design science research more transparent

Abstract

Design Science Research seeks to develop new generalizable knowledge about design processes, design products, and designed artifacts while solving organizational problems with new work practices based on information technology. However, the ability of Design Science Research to generate knowledge has been challenged by some scholars, due weak connection of the designed artifact to the knowledge base. Design Theories offer a promising approach to codify and generalize some aspects of the knowledge created, in particular that pertaining to design processes and products for a given class of information technology-based solutions. We present a case example to support our argument that Design Theory can be integrated into the context of Design Science Research to make the connection between the design and the knowledge base more transparent, rendering it easier to defend the rigor and generalizablity of the knowledge Design Science Research yields. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.