The design construct in information systems design science

Abstract

The concept of what constitutes design is in flux, and constantly expanding (Stewart, 2011: 515). The industrial revolution is argued to have given rise to design-based disciplines, such as engineering and architecture, and during the 19th and 20th centuries, design emerged as being concerned with the conceptualization and actualization of material things and the shaping of material and artificial environments. The 21st century has, however, seen the proliferation of new design contexts and practices, largely driven by digital information technologies and the globalization that such technologies support. Information systems (IS) design and organizational design are but two examples, important as they represent a fundamental shift from design of the material to the immaterial, with more concern for abstract and animate entities than were the interest of engineering and architectural designers of previous centuries (van Aken et al., 2007). Thus, emerging areas of design are not just focusing on traditional notions of production and functionality, but on more immaterial notions such as systems, processes, organizations, user experiences, on-going interactions, relationships and the situated meaning of things (Stewart, 2011), all important concepts in the broad spectrum of IS research. The concept of design is thus critical in IS, with IS design research needing to accommodate both the material and immaterial foci of design. Given these developments, reconceptualizing design becomes important, as does developing a science of design that encompasses the new notions and perspectives.