Design Science research

Information Security (IS) is increasingly becoming an integrated business practice instead of just IT. Security breaches are a challenge to organizations. They run the risk of losing revenue, trust and reputation and in extreme cases they might even go under. IS literature emphasizes the necessity to govern Information Security at the level of the Board of Directors (BoD) and to execute (i.e. plan, build, run and monitor) it at management level. This paper describes explorative research into IS-relevant Governance and Executive management practices. Answering the main research question: "Which practices at the level of Governance are relevant for Business Information Security Maturity" The initial phase of this research consists of a review of academic and practice-oriented literature on these relevant practices. This list of practices is then examined and validated through expert panel research using a Group Support System (GSS). The paper ultimately identifies a list of 22 core principles. This list can function as frame of reference for Boards of Directors and Management Teams in order to increase their level of Business Information Security (BIS) Maturity.

This paper presents an innovative Soft Design Science Methodology for improving information systems security using multi-layered security approach. The study applied Soft Design Science Methodology to address the problematic situation on how information systems security can be improved. In addition, Soft Design Science Methodology was compounded with mixed research methodology. This holistic approach helped for research methodology triangulation. The study assessed security requirements and developed a framework for improving information systems security. The study carried out maturity level assessment to determine security status quo in the education sector in Tanzania. The study identified security requirements gap (IT security controls, IT security measures) using ISO/IEC 21827: Systems Security Engineering-Capability Maturity Model (SSE-CMM) with a rating scale of 0-5. The results of this study show that maturity level across security domain is 0.44 out of 5. The finding shows that the implementation of IT security controls and security measures for ensuring security goals are lacking or conducted in ad-hoc. Thus, for improving the security of information systems, organisations should implement security controls and security measures in each security domain (multi-layer security). This research provides a framework for enhancing information systems security during capturing, processing, storage and transmission of information. This research has several practical contributions. Firstly, it contributes to the body of knowledge of information systems security by providing a set of security requirements for ensuring information systems security. Secondly, it contributes empirical evidence on how information systems security can be improved. Thirdly, it contributes on the applica-How to cite this paper: Mshangi, M., Nfuka, E.N. and Sanga, C. (2017) An Innovative Soft Design Science Methodology for Improving Development of a Secure Information System in Tanzania Using Multi-Layered Approach.

Previous researches in pedagogy and project management have already underlined the positive contribution of serious games on project management courses. However, the empirical outcome of their studies has not been translated yet into functional and technical specifications for "serious games" designers. Our study aims at obtaining a set of technical and functional design guidelines for serious game scenario editors to be used in large classes of project management students. We have conceived a framework to assess the influence of different serious games components over student's perceived acquired competency. Such frameworks will allow us to develop a software module for reflective learning, which is meant to extend theory of serious games design.

In order to measure dedicated aspects of 'maturity', a wide range of maturity models have been developed in the field of information systems by both, practitioners and academics over the past years. In spite of its broad proliferation, the concept has not been untroubled by criticism. Unnecessary bureaucracy, poor theoretical foundation, and the impression of a falsified certainty to achieve success are just a few examples for that. As there is still a significant lack of knowledge on how to design theoretically sound and widely accepted maturity models, it is the aim of this paper to open the discussion on the design decisions when developing these kinds of models. Based upon analogy and informed arguments we synthesize a generic but adjuvant framework that consists of five common design steps and eighteen decision parameters that may help practitioners as well as researchers in the development of maturity models.

Mainstream organizational research is based on science and the humanities. Science helps us to understand organized systems, from an outsider position, as empirical objects. The humanities contribute to understanding, and critically reflecting on, the human experience of actors inside organized practices. This paper argues that, in view of the persistent relevance gap between theory and practice, organization studies should be broadened to include design as one of its primary modes of engaging in research. Design is characterized by its emphasis on solution finding, guided by broader purposes and ideal target systems. Moreover, design develops, and draws on, design propositions that are tested in pragmatic experiments and grounded in organization science. This study first explores the main differences and synergies between science and design, and explores how and why the design discipline has largely moved away from academia to other sites in the economy. The argument then turns to the genealogy of design methodologies in organization and management studies. Subsequently, this paper explores the circular design methodology that serves to illustrate the nature of design research, that is, the pragmatic focus on actionable knowledge as well as the key role of ideal target systems in design processes. Finally, the author proposes a framework for communication and collaboration between the science and design modes, and argues that scholars in organization studies can guide human beings in the process of designing and developing their organizations toward more humane, participative, and productive futures. In this respect, the organization discipline can make a difference.

The integration of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) activities has gained importance over the last years. This paper presents an analysis of the GRC integration efforts in information technology departments of three large enterprises. Action design research is used to organize the research in order to assess IT GRC activities based on a model with five dimensions. By means of semi-structured interviews key findings concerning the status quo of the three IT GRC disciplines, their integration and their relation to GRC on the corporate level are identified and rated. Five key findings explain the main commonalities and differences observed.

-- Abstract: The basis of Schemas Theory in the structure of the Western Worldview, Kinds of Being, the Divided Line, Semiotics and the Circulation of Projection. Companion for a complementary paper published by Springer Systems Science Handbook.

-- Keywords: Schemas, General Schemas Theory, Systems Engineering, Systems Theory, Synergistic Engineering, Philosophy of Science, Plato, Kant, Heidegger, Derrida, Deleuze

-- Original Paper https://www.academia.edu/34831626/General_Schemas_Theory basically rewritten for publication by Springer as the first paper in this pair. The rewritten paper became too complex and so I pulled out the excess material and present it here as the second paper of the pair.

-- Companion paper:
Palmer K.D. (2021) General Schemas Theory. A New Basis for Systems Engineering Practice. In: Metcalf G.S., Kijima K., Deguchi H. (eds) Handbook of Systems Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0370-8_73-1
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-981-13-0370-8_73-1

Design is a discipline, a field, and a profession. Inherently interdisciplinary, often focused on a future that does not yet exist, the work of design involves solving problems for multiple stakeholders in a complex changing world. Designers also seek to create and to invent. Educating people for the design field today involves the legacy of the past and the challenges of the future. Comparable to medical education at the start of the 1900s or business education in the late 1950s, design education is a practical art and an emerging science that requires the full resources of the modern university at a time when the university itself faces extraordinary demands. This lecture examines questions, proposes possible answers, and considers problems that will not be easy to solve.

Structured data stores have been the dominating technologies for the past few decades. Although dominating, structured data stores lack the functionality to handle the ‘Big Data’ phenomenon. A new technology has recently emerged which stores unstructured data and can handle the ‘Big Data’ phenomenon.

This study describes the development of an artefact to aid in the analysis of NoSQL document data stores in terms of relational database model constructs. Design science research (DSR) is the methodology implemented in the study and it is used to assist in the understanding, design and development of the problem, artefact and solution.

This study explores the existing literature on DSR, in addition to structured and unstructured data stores. The literature review formulates the descriptive and prescriptive knowledge used in the development of the artefact. The artefact is developed using a series of six activities derived from two DSR approaches.

The problem domain is derived from the existing literature and a real application environment (RAE). The reviewed literature provided a general problem statement. A representative from NFM (the RAE) is interviewed for a situation analysis providing a specific problem statement.

An objective is formulated for the development of the artefact and suggestions are made to address the problem domain, assisting the artefact’s objective.

The artefact is designed and developed using the descriptive knowledge of structured and unstructured data stores, combined with prescriptive knowledge of algorithms, pseudocode, continuous design and object-oriented design. The artefact evolves through multiple design cycles into a final product that analyses document data stores in terms of relational database model constructs.

The artefact is evaluated for acceptability and utility. This provides credibility and rigour to the research in the DSR paradigm. Acceptability is demonstrated through simulation and the utility is evaluated using a real application environment (RAE). A representative from NFM is interviewed for the evaluation of the artefact.

Finally, the study is communicated by describing its findings, summarising the artefact and looking into future possibilities for research and application.

The large information flow creates new artifacts and professional demands related to design, management and production of information. The purpose of this article is to show some subject intersections connected by the information, and also to make room for the discussion about the Design Science Research applicability in projects and subjects related to the informational artifacts and scientific knowledge production. This exploratory and bibliographic research uses theoretical contributions from Information Science, Information Design, Information Systems and from Design Science Research. The bibliographic
surveys focused on the interdisciplinary relationship between the fields allowed a better comprehension of the potential cooperation of the areas in a project or a subject related to the Information Design, as it allows a glimpse of the Design Science Research application in scientific and practical proceedings.

ABSTRACT In order to ascertain and measure dedicated aspects of social and technical systems 'maturity', a wide range of maturity assessment models have been developed by both, practitioners and academics over the past years. In spite of its broad proliferation, the concept has not been untroubled by criticism. Unnecessary bureaucracy, poor theoretical foundation, and the impression of a falsified certainty to achieve success are just a few examples for that. As there is still a significant lack of knowledge on how to design theoretically sound and widely accepted maturity assessment models, it is the aim of this paper to discuss the typical phases of maturity model development and application by taking a design science research perspective. Given that both, development and application are intimately connected, different decision parameters are identified that are relevant in respect to rigour and relevance of the maturity assessment model.

Implementing and maintaining Business Information Security (BIS) is cumbersome. Frameworks and models are used to implement BIS, but these are perceived as complex and hard to maintain. Most companies still use spreadsheets to design, direct and monitor their information security improvement plans. Regulators too use spreadsheets for supervision. This paper reflects on ten years of Design Science Research (DSR) on BIS and describes the design and engineering of an artefact which can emancipate boards from silo-based spreadsheet management and improve their visibility, control and assurance via an integrated dash-boarding and reporting tool. Three cases are presented to illustrate the way the artefact, of which the realisation is called the Securimeter, works. The paper concludes with an in-depth comparison study acknowledging 91% of the core BIS requirements being present in the artefact.

Everywhere in the world governments consider the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to drive improvements in service delivery with wide ranging e-government initiatives. The health sector in particular faces the twin challenge of growing populations requiring services and dwindling resources in the face of reduced funding. Yet developments in ICT present an opportunity to streamline service offering in a way that maxim-ises the available meagre resources. These e-Health initiatives require the input and the support of the public that health institutions serve. Design thinking has over the last twenty years developed into a " design paradigm " that can assist service providers to craft solutions to problems that take into account the needs and views of stakeholders involved. Using a design science research approach underpinned by a pragmatist philosophy, this study develops a model for consolidating empathy input in a design thinking process. The model was iteratively tested in a healthcare setting focusing on the provision of postnatal care services in a developing environment setting.

In the wake of the second digital turn in architecture (Carpo, 2017), this paper questions the opinion of Gershenfeld (2012) that ‘’a new digital revolution is coming, this time in fabrication.’’ It questions the widespread use of digital fabrication from industry and investigates the impacts on architecture and society. It's not a pure architecture lecture but multidisciplinary research which tackles the 3D printing industry as we know it today. Specific examples from digital software such as processing would be given in order to demonstrate how the new tools give computational power to architects and produce a new architecture. The paper debates the above phrase through different approaches towards digital materiality, the use of digital tools in fabrication, the goal of mass customization-collaboration and the relation of design with making. Moreover, It searches the origins and the development of the idea of digital fabrication from antiquity to 21st century. Specific examples are presented towards the prospects of digital fabrication regarding its opening to the society, its further development of embodied technology, and the overcoming of temporal limitations of cost, speed, and quality. Finally, it concludes with useful findings and questions for further research in the field.

Entrepreneurship scholars are increasingly interested in conducting work at the interface of design and science. However, a consistent methodological framework for this type of work is missing. In this paper, we therefore develop such a framework. First, three examples of entrepreneurship scholarship at the design-science interface are outlined. From these examples, we infer two key characteristics of design science (DS). For one, research outputs not only include theoretical constructs and models, but also values, principles and practices. In addition, creative design and scientific validation are complementary and equivalent research activities in DS. Whereas design and validation are legitimate research approaches in their own right, we conclude that the interaction between the two can drive the continual renewal of the entrepreneurship field and unlock the potential of an inclusive body of knowledge that is both rigorous and relevant.

The present essay discusses the ontology, epistemology, methodology and ethics of design science. It suggests that Information Systems as a design science should be based on a sound ontology, including an ontology of IT artifacts. In the case of epistemology, the essay emphasizes the irre-ducibility of the prescriptive knowledge of IT artifacts to theoretical descriptive knowledge. It also expresses a need for constructive research methods, which allow disciplined, rigorous and transparent building of IT artifacts as outcomes of design science research. The relationship between action research and design science research is also briefly discussed. In the case of ethics, the essay points out that Information Systems as design science cannot be value-free.

The starting point of this research is the relationship between Information Science and Web Design. Intersections identified, structured and deepened
through a bibliographical research, allow the glimpse of a strong approximation between the two fields, and open up important discussions about the relationship between theory and practice, as well as between science and design. The literature review allows forecasting information design as a discipline able to concentrate studies on information architecture, information visualization and usability, making use of theoretical and practical methods. In the search for a methodological support to allow a more natural relationship between areas, including the design proccess without sacrificing scientific rigor, Design Science emerges as a scientific field capable of facilitating interdisciplinary relationship that guides this dissertation.

Digital Innovation (DI) is the use of digital technologies during the process of innovation or as the result of innovation. DI is a dominant research topic in the fields of information systems (IS). As digital innovation has vital importance for organizations, there is a need for the engineering of it and identifying the research areas and contributions to understand its concept and applicability. Design Science in IS has seen great attention as a research methodology and we see a proper correlation between Design Science Research (DSR) and DI and claim that applying DSR concepts
will allow the method for the engineering of digital innovation to have practical relevance and rigor. Thereby, in this paper, we perform a systematic literature review on papers, with a special focus on DSR, published in well-known journals and IS conferences from DI research streams, over the last decade from 2010 to 2020. We analyze the papers regarding three research questions, which allow us to get an overview of the current research focuses on DI. The result shows that the authors not only concentrate on researching the capabilities and practices of DI but also they propose tools and frameworks needed to support DI in organizations. Based on the study, our contribution is that we come up with an integrated innovation strategies framework to encompass innovation categories to understand the creation, transfer, and generalization of digital innovation ideas. While we see a huge amount of interest in DI research from IS scholars, there is still scarcity in terms of using DSR for the engineering of DI. We shed light on the existing research works considering DI and DSR synergy. The proposed new framework as a result of this study integrates innovation and design strategies and it allows to understand the creation, transfer, and generalization of DI ideas.

This document summarises the principal themes in Mark Gregory's PhD and post-PhD research programme. The title of the thesis is: "What is the contribution of personal information management systems (PIMS) to the working model and personal work system of knowledge workers?" The principal conjecture is that each of us has a personal working model which is supported by a personal work system enabled by a personal information management system. For some people, these are well defined; for most they are not even explicit. By means of structured self-reflection aided by conceptual knowledge modelling within the context of a process of action learning they can be surfaced (made more explicit) and can then be improved. The thesis can be summarised as: Each knowledge worker learns to improve both their individually-enacted, open and continuously evolving knowledge model and the organisation system which informs and is informed by their daily work.

This paper presents an innovative Soft Design Science Methodology for improving information systems security using multi-layered security approach. The study applied Soft Design Science Methodology to address the problematic situation on how information systems security can be improved. In addition , Soft Design Science Methodology was compounded with mixed research methodology. This holistic approach helped for research methodology trian-gulation. The study assessed security requirements and developed a framework for improving information systems security. The study carried out maturity level assessment to determine security status quo in the education sector in Tanzania. The study identified security requirements gap (IT security controls , IT security measures) using ISO/IEC 21827: Systems Security Engineering Capability Maturity Model (SSE-CMM) with a rating scale of 0-5. The results of this study show that maturity level across security domain is 0.44 out of 5. The finding shows that the implementation of IT security controls and security measures for ensuring security goals are lacking or conducted in ad-hoc. Thus, for improving the security of information systems, organisations should implement security controls and security measures in each security domain (multi-layer security). This research provides a framework for enhancing information systems security during capturing, processing, storage and transmission of information. This research has several practical contributions. Firstly, it contributes to the body of knowledge of information systems security by providing a set of security requirements for ensuring information systems security. Secondly, it contributes empirical evidence on how information systems security can be improved. Thirdly, it contributes on the applica

A mobilidade e onipresença das tecnologias digitais de informação e comunicação têm proporcionado o acesso à educação em condições de igualdade a diversos públicos vulneráveis. Entre eles, pessoas com deficiência visual (PcDVs) podem utilizar os dispositivos móveis para conquistar empoderamento social, cultural e tecnológico. Contudo, ainda são necessários esforços para a formação docente em metodologias ativas e acessibilidade. Para contribuir nesse sentido, defende-se que o planejamento didático para experiências de aprendizagem inclusivas com uso de recursos de aprendizagem, utilizando a abordagem transmídia, pode potencializar esse processo. Desta forma, um contingente maior de estudantes com deficiência poderá usufruir equitativamente dos seus direitos com autonomia e independência. Este estudo apoia-se nos princípios da continuidade da experiência e da interação em uma situação de aprendizagem do filósofo e educador John Dewey. Tais princípios são parte da teoria da experiência que mobiliza as pessoas para a aprendizagem ao longo da vida. Nesta pesquisa tecnológica desenvolveu-se o método Design Science Research. Na pesquisa centrada no problema, no estudo do ambiente identificou-se quatro classes de problemas: ação docente, material didático, tecnologias e infraestrutura. Para definir o foco ação docente, investigou-se a experiência do estudante com deficiência visual por meio de entrevista, numa abordagem qualitativa, que apontou a necessidade de professores melhorarem as estratégias pedagógicas e de ampliarem o uso de tecnologias digitais. A partir daí, levantou-se junto aos professores, como planejam, as tecnologias que utilizam e os desafios no atendimento a estudantes com deficiência. Na pesquisa centrada na solução, por meio de revisão integrativa, identificaram-se elementos das experiências de aprendizagem relacionadas à transmídia, entre eles, aspectos pedagógicos, de planejamento e recursos. Na pesquisa centrada no design e desenvolvimento, concebeu-se para o uso dos professores, uma proposta de design educacional visando o planejamento para experiência de aprendizagem inclusiva no contexto digital. Nesse processo, desenvolveram-se dois artefatos: o modelo conceitual da proposta de design educacional que apoiará o planejamento, intitulado Experientia, e o projeto de um aplicativo gamificado que cumprirá dois papeis. O primeiro é o de materializar o planejamento para que o professor possa aplicá-lo em suas atividades; o segundo, oportunizar ao docente conhecimento tanto para selecionar ou elaborar recursos de aprendizagem acessíveis, quanto para desenvolver a abordagem transmídia. Dessa maneira, poderá aprender na prática como planejar de forma inclusiva, aplicando recursos de mídia para experiências de aprendizagem que favoreçam a autonomia e equidade dos estudantes com deficiência visual. A pesquisa centrada no contexto visou verificar tanto a utilidade, relevância e aplicabilidade quanto aspectos educacionais e de design. Assim, especialistas em Educação, representantes das instituições, avaliaram o modelo de design educacional Experientia, enquanto professores avaliaram um dos componentes do aplicativo. Afora os resultados positivos e pontos a observar dessas avaliações, o estudo contribui para o avanço do conhecimento do programa de Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento, na linha de pesquisa Mídia do Conhecimento na Educação. Numa visão transdisciplinar, a investigação reuniu percepções de estudantes com deficiência visual, professores e especialistas em educação, buscou dialogar com as complexidades desses atores e agregou aporte científico das revisões sistemáticas para o desenvolvimento dos artefatos. Além das contribuições explicitadas em conhecimento, identificou novos desafios para estudos futuros na Educação e no Design para experiência. Sabe-se que há novas jornadas a serem exploradas para que a inclusão seja reconhecida como natural e transparente na sociedade. Espera-se que esta tese seja um dos passos nesse sentido.

The mobility and omnipresence of digital information and communication technologies have provided access to education on a level playing field to several vulnerable groups. Among them, visually impaired can use mobile devices to achieve social, cultural, and technological empowerment. However, efforts are still needed for teacher education in active methodologies and accessibility. It is argued that didactic planning for inclusive learning experiences using learning resources such as the transmedia approach can potentiate this process, allowing a larger contingent of students with disabilities to enjoy their rights with equal autonomy and independence. This study draws on the philosopher and educator John Dewey's principles of continuity of experience and interaction in a learning situation. These principles are part of the theory of experience that mobilizes people for lifelong learning. In this technologic research, the Design Science Research method was developed. In the problem-centered research, in the study of the environment, four classes of problems were identified: teaching action, didactic material, technologies, and infrastructure. To define the focus teaching action, the experience of visually impaired students was investigated through interviews, in a qualitative approach, which pointed out the need for teachers to improve pedagogical strategies and expand the use of digital technologies. From there, we surveyed how the teachers plan the technologies they use and the challenges in attending students with disabilities. Through an integrative review, in the solution-centered research, elements of learning experiences related to transmedia were identified, including pedagogical, planning, and resource aspects. In design and development-centered research, an educational design proposal aimed at planning for an inclusive learning experience in the digital context was conceived for teachers' use. In this process, two artifacts were developed: the conceptual model of the educational design proposal that will support planning, entitled Experientia, and the design of a gamified application that will fulfill two roles. The first is to materialize the planning so that the teacher can apply it in their activities; the second is to provide the teacher with knowledge to select or prepare accessible learning resources and develop the transmedia approach. In this way, they can learn in practice how to plan inclusively, applying media resources to learning experiences that favor the autonomy and equity of visually impaired students. Context-centered research aimed to verify both utility, relevance, and applicability, and educational and design aspects. Thus, education experts, who represented the institutions, assessed the Experientia educational design model, while teachers assessed one of the components of the application. In addition to the positive results and points to observe from the assessments, the study contributes to advancing knowledge of the Knowledge Engineering and Management program, in the line of research Knowledge Media in Education. In a transdisciplinary view, the investigation gathered perceptions of visually impaired students, teachers, and education specialists, sought to dialogue with the complexities of these actors, and added scientific input from systematic reviews for the development of the artifacts. In addition to the explicit contributions in knowledge, it identified new challenges for future studies in Education and Experience Design. We know there are new journeys to be explored for inclusion to be recognized as natural and transparent in society. This thesis is expected to be one of the steps in this direction.

During the last decades, product design has yielded several interest by scholars, leading to a great amount of contributions concerning design methodology. Some of them, beyond modeling the whole design process, propose their model of the early design activities devoted to the development of the product concept, i.e. the conceptual design phase. These design approaches are widely diffused in academia. However, some uncertainties appear in literature, concerning their efficacy in performing innovative design. This observation forms the basis of this work, which aims at improving classical design processes by integrating their procedure with the TRIZ base of knowledge. To achieve such an objective, authors' approach consists in considering generally valid steps of the conceptual design process, and then in identifying most suitable TRIZ tools for each of them. A structured list of suggestions concerning the proposed integration is finally presented, together with an explanatory case study application of the proposed improvements.

This study main objective was to assess the viability of development of a Performance Management (PM) system, delivered in the form of Software as a Service (SaaS), specific for the hospitality industry and to evaluate the benefits of its use. Software deployed in the cloud, delivered and licensed as a service, is becoming increasingly common and accepted in a business context. Although, Business Intelligence (BI) solutions are not usually distributed in the SaaS model, there are some examples that this is changing. To achieve the study objective, design science research methodology was employed in the development of a prototype. This prototype was deployed in four hotels and its results evaluated. Evaluation of the prototype was focused both on the system technical characteristics and business benefits. Results shown that hotels were very satisfied with the system and that building a prototype and making it available in the form of SaaS is a good solution to assess BI systems contribution to improve management performance.

Potato is the most popular root crop and plays a crucial role in human nutrition worldwide. However, farmers in Sri Lanka face many challenges throughout at different stages of potato production. This study intends to provide context-specific actionable information using the Packages of Practice (PoP) model through an ICT-based mobile platform. To investigate farmers’ challenges, a field survey was conducted in major potato growing Districts in Sri Lanka. Primary data were obtained using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, formal and informal discussions from 100 potato farmers selected by purposive sampling technique. Low farmgate prices (37%), pest and disease attacks (32%) and high cost of farm inputs (20%) were the major challenges identified in the study area. These challenges were mainly due to the non-adoption of proper agronomic practices, lack of complete information at the right time, scarcity and low-quality agro-technology, etc. Further, identified decision support factors required for each stage in the farming life cycle for better cultivation. The PoP model was designed concerning the farmer context using Design Science Research methodology. Then the designed PoP was verified and validated by the experts in the domain. The ontological crop knowledge base was used to represent the PoP. Finally, knowledge in the PoP model is fed through a mobile application and then according to user requests, information is acquired from the knowledge base. The designed PoP will be modified based on the updated information/knowledge and user satisfaction/feedback. The proposed information flow will be continued cyclically. A mobile-based information system was taken as an effective tool to speed up the process of knowledge sharing among farmers by providing real-time information, promised to overcome common challenges faced by the potato farmers and achieve long-term sustainability in production.

(Le Philotope, n°14, pp. 197-204) Pour se tenir à distance d’observation d’une tendance supposée émergente et marginale d’une recherche par le faire, le subjectif, l’anecdotique, et le nomade… pour ne pas accepter trop vite de se débarrasser des valeurs de l’analytique, du neutre, de l’objectif et du général d’une recherche supposée dominante, ce texte propose d’opérer quelques décalages : 1) une mise en contexte qui discute des situations entre recherche en architecture et recherche en général, 2) un principe de non-exclusion cherchant à ne pas exclure le concept de science pour imaginer une « philosophie des sciences de la conception » qui peut être explorée à l'aide de 3) la méthode du « sans » empruntée à Anne-Françoise Schmid, qui permet d’envisager une réduction sans réductionnisme introduisant alors à 4) deux attitudes conceptuelles : nominalisme et métadiscours dont 5) l’articulation permet d’approcher une complexité qui n'est pas celle d'un meilleur recouvrement des objets empiriques, mais une complexité épistémologique.

The goal of this research is to develop an integrative modelling technique that is easy enough to be used by most business users with little training, but robust and structured enough to be used in subsequent Information Systems Development (ISD) modelling. This technique attempts to bridge the current gap between modelling on a business level and modelling on a technical level. The overall research methodology is design science research, embedding a grounded approach, to develop an integrative modelling technique. The resultant artefact is applied to a case study to test its applicability and suitability, and the results are evaluated. The results show that the proposed integrative modelling technique that is based on a better understanding of the fundamental entities in business and ISD modelling and their properties, attributes and relationships, can be used as a method to model business situations easily and expressively. By overcoming the divide between business and ISD modelling, the technique also advances informal, mostly textual, business modelling. The paper makes a methodological contribution by establishing a new technique that integrates business analysis with ISD, as well as demonstrating how a single case study could serve as an exemplar of a theory.

All enrolees of the Cagayan State University are required to take the College Aptitude Test (CAT). The CAT result serves as a basis for recommendation and admission to a specific course or field of specialization, thus, result must be accurate. The study aimed to develop a computerized College Aptitude Test (CAT) Simple Checker of Cagayan State University-Lasam Campus to facilitate and to reduce the time of the guidance counsellor in checking many aptitude test papers as well as to ensure accuracy of result. It followed the framework of Design Science Research in Information Systems which consists of six steps such as problem identification and motivation, definition of objectives for a solution based on the identified problem, design and development of the system, demonstration of the system to the guidance counsellor, evaluation of the system's functionality and impact and communication which involves documentation and publication. A combination of Visual Basic 6 as the programming language and SQL Server 2005 as the Database Management System (DBMS) were used in the development of the system. As a result, the system provides support to the guidance counsellor in performing the assigned tasks by reducing the time consumed in checking aptitude test papers that makes the guidance counsellor more effective, efficient and productive.

Implementing and maintaining Business Information Security (BIS) is cumbersome. Frameworks and models are used to implement BIS, but these are perceived as complex and hard to maintain. Most companies still use spreadsheets to design, direct and monitor their information security improvement plans. Regulators too use spreadsheets for supervision. This paper reflects on ten years of Design Science Research (DSR) on BIS and describes the design and engineering of an artefact which can emancipate boards from silo-based spreadsheet management and improve their visibility, control and assurance via an integrated dash-boarding and reporting tool. Three cases are presented to illustrate the way the artefact, of which the realisation is called the Securimeter, works. The paper concludes with an in-depth comparison study acknowledging 91% of the core BIS requirements being present in the artefact

A new taxonomy for design tools: This paper addresses the question of what design tools are, how they work and how they can be used for architectural design. By surveying the body of research published over the last ten years, we now can formulate new answers regarding the initial questions, and propose a new taxonomy for design tools.
Please note: A further developed version of this text, with an expanded matrix, is included in the new edition of: Gänshirt, Christian (2020): Tools for Ideas - Introduction to Architectural Design. Birkhäuser: Basel, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783035622089

As a subset of the Information systems (IS) discipline, Decision Support Systems (DSS) development research needs a broader conceptual lens in order to evaluate design qualities specific to DSS. This paper presents a development-oriented approach for evaluating DSS applications. Based on a design science mental model proposed by Peffers, Tuunanen, Rothenberger and Chatterjeea , our study outlines a new application area of this conceptual approach through a case demonstration of DSS development through various design checkpoints. To assess the proposed developmentoriented evaluation strategy the paper also describes a qualitative investigation that has been undertaken to assess the conceptual approach with target industry DSS users and developers. The findings suggest that this strategy is of use for improving the overall design qualities in every phase of DSS development, and could be useful for evaluating DSS design with target users and DSS designers within a socio-technical design context.

This study investigates the website issues of the Australian small retail businesses operating online. The aim was to design a new decision support technique for managing the small business websites for their continuous maintenance and improvement, in particularly for assisting small business owners in selecting competitive features on its website. DSS is a well-recognised research practice, which deals with developing the innovative technology-based solution to support managerial decision-making. We adopted a Design Science Research (DSR) approach to identify the problem and develop the DSS technique. The study found that the overall acceptance level of information, communication, distribution, and transaction (ICDT) categories of features on small business websites was significantly lower and small business owners have insufficient knowledge to manage their websites effectively.

In recent years, social technology has changed the ways people collaborate and communicate. With the blurring boundaries between work and personal life, business software vendors have begun to deliberate on the possibilities for enhancing the rather rigid and impersonal structures in enterprise systems (ES) by integrating social features. In doing so, they frequently assume that business users share the same interaction patterns as private users. In this paper, we challenge this belief and explore the factors that stimulate business users to share information in ES environments. By means of a design experiment, we show different use scenarios and explore business users' attitudes toward open and unconditional information sharing in ES. Our results demonstrate that business users are less 'social' and that applying social features in ES is highly context dependent. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for software vendors and researchers who are interested in the social enhancements of ES.

AngeregtvonderPublikation"AreviewofcultureinInformationSystemsresearch:Towardatheoryof informationtechnologycultureconflict"vonLeidnerundKayworth(2006)wirdindiesemBeitraguntersucht, welche Bedeutung "Kultur" als Forschungsgegenstand in der gestaltungsorientierten Wissenschaftsdisziplin"Wirtschaftsinformatik"innerhalbdereinschlägigenFachliteratureinnimmt.Leidnerund KayworthuntersuchteninihremBeitragIT-relevanteVeröffentlichungeninZeitschriftenundKonferenzbänden,diederhauptsächlichimangelsächsischenSprachraumangesiedelten,behavioristischorientierten Wissenschaftsdisziplin Information Systems zugeordnet werden können. Sie fanden bzgl. der unter-suchtenWerkeu.a.heraus,dassüber60%derindenBeiträgengetroffenenEntscheidungenzurGestal-tungvonAnwendungssystemenoderzuProblemlösungsansätzenaufdemDimensionsmodellvonHofstede(1980)beruhen. Nach Leidner und Kayworth (2006, S. 357) spielt Kultur im Rahmen der Informationstechnologie eine erhebliche Rolle, sei es als Unternehmenskultur, die sich insb. auf Geschäftsprozesse zwischen Unternehmen auswirkt oder als Gruppenkulturen bzw. Nationalkulturen, die Auswirkungen auf z. B. die Akzeptanz von und den Umgang mit Informationssystemen haben. Im Umfeld der Disziplin "Information Systems" gibt es eine Vielzahl von Veröffentlichungen, die sich mit kulturellen Einflüssen auf verschiedenste Aspekte der Informationsverarbeitung auseinandersetzen: Besonders berücksichtigt werden u. a.

Designing products implies to deal with a series of issues affecting their entire life cycle, which are often solved by exploiting the benefits offered by modular architectures. Nevertheless, although several studies have been performed on this argument, understanding 'when' and 'how' to adopt modularity still remains a non-trivial task, especially in the early design stages. Indeed, different modularity types can be found in literature, but it is unclear whether they can be linked to specific categories of design problems or not. Attempting to fill this gap, the paper proposes an investigation strategy to highlight the relationship between modular solutions and design problems. An illustrative application of the proposal on a sample of products is presented together with the achieved results. They show that the proposed investigation approach potentially allows to highlight preferred modular solutions for specific problem categories. Moreover, a new set of unambiguous definitions of the modularity types is presented to clearly identify interfaces and interactions among modules.