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Design Science Research (DSR) advances the scientific knowledge base while at the same time leading to research results of practical utility. Several guidelines for DSR have been proposed to support researchers in their work. Collaborative forms of DSR require that knowledge be created across the boundaries of the research community and the practitioners' community. Only little research, though, has been undertaken so far investigating the topic of knowledge creation in collaborative DSR settings. Answers to fundamental questions are still missing: What knowledge creation processes are used? What problems may occur during researcher-practitioner collaboration? This paper addresses the gap in literature by taking a knowledge creation perspective on DSR. Based on a literature review and findings from the field it proposes a set of principles for knowledge creation in collaborative DSR.
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Boris Otto, Hubert Österle
Orlando, FL
December 18, 2012
Principles for Knowledge Creation
in Collaborative Design Science Research
© IWI-HSG – Orlando, FL, December 18, 2012, Bot / 2
Agenda
1. Motivation and Research Approach
2. Knowledge Creation and Design Science Research
3. Principles for Knowledge Creation in DSR
4. Conclusion and Outlook
© IWI-HSG – Orlando, FL, December 18, 2012, Bot / 3
Over the last decade Design Science Research (DSR) has evolved into a
widely-applied research paradigm
DSR is based on the transfer of design-oriented research principles to Information
Systems (IS) research (March and Smith 1995; Simon 1998; Walls et al. 1992)
DSR results in design artifacts and design theory, aiming at advancing the scientific
body of knowledge and being useful for practice (Hevner et al. 2004; Venables 2006)
Collaborative DSR projects require involvement of both researchers and practitioners
(cf. Matthiassen and Nielsen 2008; van den Ven 2007)
Major DSR guidelines stipulate combining knowledge and expertise from both
communities (e.g. Peffers et al. 2008)
Little methodological guidance exists for creating knowledge in collaborative
DSR
© IWI-HSG – Orlando, FL, December 18, 2012, Bot / 4
The research at hand addresses the issue of knowledge creation in
collaborative DSR
What approaches and measures are being used for knowledge creation in collaborative DSR?
What problems and obstacles do researchers and practitioners encounter?
What principles should be followed to overcome the obstacles in knowledge creation in
collaborative DSR?
Research Questions
Literature analysis
Expert interviews
Online survey
Research Process
© IWI-HSG – Orlando, FL, December 18, 2012, Bot / 5
The conceptual model takes a knowledge creation perspective (Nonaka
1994; Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995) of collaborative DSR
© IWI-HSG – Orlando, FL, December 18, 2012, Bot / 6
Researchers use a variety of approaches for knowledge creation in DSR
Socialization Externalization Combination Internalization
Analysis AR, Face-to-Face
Interaction, Living
Requirements Space,
Participatory Design,
Scenario Building,
Storytelling
AR, Appreciative Inquiry,
CSR, Expert Interviews,
Feasibility Studies, FG,
Metrics, Reviewing
Practitioners Publications,
Reverse Engineering,
Scenario Building,
Storytelling, Surveys, User
Site Visits
AR, Brainstorming,
Creativity
Techniques
AR, FG,
Simulation
Design AR, Participatory Design,
Positive Lens Design,
Prototyping, Scenario
Building
AR, Feasibility Studies,
Functional Tests, FG,
Scenario Building
AR, Brainstorming,
Creativity
Techniques,
Participatory Design,
Prototyping
AR, FG,
Simulation
Evaluation AR, Experimentation, Face-
to-Face Interaction,
Participatory Design
AR, CSR, Expert
Interviews, Feasibility
Studies, Functional Tests,
FG, Surveys
AR, Artifact
Implementation,
Brainstorming,
Participatory Design,
Prototyping
AR, FG,
Informed
Argument,
Prototyping
Simulation
Diffusion AR, Experimentation,
Scenario Building
AR, Scenario Building AR, Artifact
Implementation,
Brainstorming,
Prototyping
AR, Prototyping
Legend: AR - Action Research; CSR - Case Study Research; FG - Focus Groups.
© IWI-HSG – Orlando, FL, December 18, 2012, Bot / 7
Among the most often used approaches are Action Research, Case Study
Research and Focus Groups
S E C I
A
De
Ev
Di
Action Research
S E C I
A
De
Ev
Di
Case Study Research
S E C I
A
De
Ev
Di
Focus Groups
cf. Action Design
Research (Sein et al.
2011)
cf. Case Study Research
to justify and evaluate
(Hevner et al. 2004)
cf. Focus Groups in DSR
(Tremblay and Hevner
2010)
Legend: A – Analysis; De – Design; Ev – Evaluation; Di – Diffusion; S – Socialization; E – Externalization; C – Combination; I – Internalization; – approach is used.
© IWI-HSG – Orlando, FL, December 18, 2012, Bot / 8
However, a set of obstacles can be identified when it comes to knowledge
creation in collaborative DSR
Obstacle Description Evidence in literature
O1 Lack of appropriate skills (Clark 2008), (Holmström et al. 2009),
(vom Brocke et al. 2008)
O2 Diverging stakeholder interests (Avital et al. 2006), (Henningson et al.
2010), (Mathiassen 2002)
O3 Inappropriate methods (Anggreeni and van der Voort 2008),
(Avital et al. 2006), (Mohrman 2007)
O4 Access to the “right” resources (Henningson et al. 2010)
O5 Disconnection of artifact design and artifact
implementation (Avital et al. 2006), (Pascal et al. 2009),
(Wastell et al. 2009)
O6 Insufficient research capacities (Mathiassen 2002)
© IWI-HSG – Orlando, FL, December 18, 2012, Bot / 9
Six principles are proposed for knowledge creation in collaborative DSR
are
Principle Description Operationalization
P1 Formalize shared goals Researchers and practitioners put up a common project agreement
Researchers and practitioners commonly define requirements for the
solution to be developed and the artifact to be evaluated
P2 Collaborate through action Researchers and practitioners develop common design principles
Researchers and practitioners perform joint design activities
P3 Conduct full learning cycle Practitioners test artifacts in real-life environments at practitioners’
sites
Researchers triangulate findings at multiple sites
P4 Allow for trial and error Researchers and practitioners prepare for multiple design/test cycles
and heuristic search activities
P5 Make significant
commitments
Practitioners contribute with their resources (time, expertise, funding)
Researchers and practitioners collaborate over a significant amount
of time
P6 Involve complementary
roles
Practitioners grant access to multiple carriers of knowledge in their
organization
Researchers provide both research and management skills
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The results lay the ground for further research
Results are among the first exploring knowledge creation in collaborative DSR
Limitations result from the nature of qualitative research
The paper forms the baseline for methodological guidelines for researcher-practitioner
collaboration in DSR
Response to the demand in the so-called “Aho report” for more effectiveness in EU
funded research
© IWI-HSG – Orlando, FL, December 18, 2012, Bot / 11
Boris Otto
University of St. Gallen
Institute of Information Management
+41 71 224 3220
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