MIS Quarterly
Volume 28 Issue 1, March 2004, Pages 75-105
 

 Alan R. Hevner College of Business Administration, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Salvatore T. March Own Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Jinsoo Park College of Business Administration, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
Sudha Ram Eller College of Business and Public Administration, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2017217

Abstract
Two paradigms characterize much of the research in the Information Systems discipline: behavioral science and design science. The behavioral-science paradigm seeks to develop and verify theories that explain or predict human or organizational behavior. The design-science paradigm seeks to extend the boundaries of human and organizational capabilities by creating new and innovative artifacts. Both paradigms are foundational to the IS discipline, positioned as it is at the confluence of people, organizations, and technology. Our objective is to describe the performance of design-science research in Information Systems via a concise conceptual framework and clear guidelines for understanding, executing, and evaluating the research. In the design-science paradigm, knowledge and understanding of a problem domain and its solution are achieved in the building and application of the designed artifact. Three recent exemplars in the research literature are used to demonstrate the application of these guidelines. We conclude with an analysis of the challenges of performing high-quality design-science research in the context of the broader IS community.