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Design Science Research Process: A Model for Producing and Presenting Information Systems Research
Ken Peffers, Tuure Tuunanen, Charles E Gengler, Matti Rossi, Wendy Hui, Ville Virtanen, Johanna Bragge
TL;DR
The paper addresses the limited adoption of design science research in information systems and the absence of a shared process for conducting and presenting it. It designs and demonstrates the DSRP, a nominal six-activity process and mental model, in two case studies. The authors conclude that the process is consistent with prior literature and may support rigorous, recognizable, and publishable design science research.
Problem
Information systems lacks a shared conceptual process and mental model for conducting, presenting, recognizing, and evaluating design science research.
Method
The authors synthesize prior design science literature into the DSRP and demonstrate it through its own development and two case studies.
Results
The DSRP is consistent with prior design science literature and provides a nominal process model and mental model for design science research output.
Takeaways & Limitations
The process offers a roadmap and presentation template intended to help IS researchers produce design science research and help reviewers recognize and evaluate it.
Takeaways & Limitations
The demonstrated case studies cover only two research problems, so further use is needed to determine where the process requires extension or performs poorly.
Abstract
from arXiv · showhide
The authors design and demonstrate a process for carrying out design science (DS) research in information systems and demonstrate use of the process to conduct research in two case studies. Several IS researchers have pioneered the acceptance of DS research in IS, but in the last 15 years little DS research has been done within the discipline. The lack of a generally accepted process for DS research in IS may have contributed to this problem. We sought to design a design science research process (DSRP) model that would meet three objectives: it would be consistent with prior literature, it would provide a nominal process model for doing DS research, and it would provide a mental model for presenting and appreciating DS research in IS. The process includes six steps: problem identification and motivation, objectives for a solution, design and development, evaluation, and communication. We demonstrated the process by using it in this study and by presenting two case studies, one in IS planning to develop application ideas for mobile financial services and another in requirements engineering to specify feature requirements for a self service advertising design and sales system intended for wide audience end users. The process effectively satisfies the three objectives and has the potential to help aid the acceptance of DS research in the IS discipline.
THE DESIGN SCIENCE RESEARCH PROCESS: A MODEL FOR PRODUCING AND PRESENTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH
The paper proposes the Design Science Research Process (DSRP), a conceptual process and mental model intended to guide, present, and evaluate design science research in information systems. It addresses the lack of a shared IS design science methodology through a nominal six-activity process demonstrated in two case studies.
- Problem identification and motivation: IS research is often explanatory rather than explicitly applicable, while design as an applicable research paradigm remains questionable in major IS journals.The paper links this context to limited acceptance and publication of design science research in IS.
- Problem identification and motivation: The paper identifies a missing conceptual process and mental model for conducting, presenting, recognizing, and evaluating design science research in IS.Prior guidance and frameworks existed, but the authors report no explicit consensus process for IS design science research.
- Objectives of a solution: The DSRP objectives are consistency with prior design science processes, a nominal research process, and a mental model for design science research output.These objectives define the intended scope of the proposed model.
- Design and development: The synthesized DSRP consists of six activities in a nominal sequence and can support communication of the problem, artifact, utility, novelty, rigor, and effectiveness.The sequence is nominal rather than mandatory: researchers may enter at different activities and move outward according to how the research originates.
- Demonstration in two case studies: The authors demonstrate the DSRP through the process’s own development and two case studies in IS planning and requirements engineering.The cases address generating ideas for new applications and developing requirements for a self-service advertising system.
- Demonstration in two case studies: In the Digia case, workshop feedback exceeded expectations and supported initial proof-of-concept validation of the method.Digia intended to use the resulting applications for continued product development planning.
Evaluation of the DSRP model
The DSRP model is evaluated against prior design science literature, its use as a nominal research process, and its role as a presentation template. The authors report consistency with prior work and use across four projects, including publications structured with the model.
- The evaluation addresses DSRP consistency with prior literature, usefulness as a nominal process, and value as a mental model for research outputs.
- DSRP is consistent with prior design science concepts in information systems and related disciplines.
- The authors used DSRP on four projects, including the model itself, two case studies, and an ongoing global end-user application project.
- DSRP served as a template for four research publications, with two case-study papers accepted by well-ranked IS research journals.
CONCLUSION
The paper develops a conceptual DSRP model to guide design science research and present its outputs in information systems. It argues that the model addresses a missing roadmap and provides a template, while noting that broader testing remains necessary.
- The paper seeks a DSR process compatible with IS and related disciplines that guides researchers and structures design science research outputs.
- The DSRP model supplies an explicit roadmap for conducting design science research in information systems, addressing a limitation in prior literature.
- The model provides a mental template for the expected components of design science research outputs for researchers, reviewers, editors, and audiences.
- The model has been demonstrated in only two research problems, so further use is needed to test usability and identify domains requiring extension.
APPENDIX 1: KEYWORD SEARCH PROCEDURE
The authors searched four consensus-selected requirements-related keyword sets to identify design science research in requirements engineering. The searches yielded 840 references, reduced to 768 after deduplication, and then to 15 articles in four top-ranked IS journals.
- The review aimed to determine how many design science research papers had been published in requirements engineering.
- The search used four keywords or keyword phrases spanning requirements analysis, determination, elicitation, and engineering.The terms were selected by author consensus, reflecting usage in software engineering, computer science, and information systems research.
- 840 references were retrieved across the four searches conducted on 27th September 2005.
- 768 references remained after duplicate publications were eliminated.
- 15 articles remained after restricting results to the four top-ranked journals: JMIS, MIS Quarterly, ISR, and Information & Management.