Problem Analysis for Situational Artefact Construction in Information Systems

The goal of Design Science Research in Information Systems is to construct artefacts that are useful solutions to certain classes of (Information System) design problems in organisations. An essential part of Design Science Research in Information Systems is therefore to delineate the addressed design problem class, to illustrate its importance and to understand the design problems within this class in sufficient detail so that solution artefacts can be purposefully and systematically constructed. Although most authors discuss the relevance of a design problem class, its boundaries are often not delineated systematically, and the issue of genericity vs. utility is not rigorously addressed. We therefore propose a field study-based technique which overcomes this deficit by not only clearly specifying a design problem class, but also by identifying relevant design situations within this class – an important prerequisite for situational artefact construction. The proposed technique is demonstrated using a situational artefact construction exemplar. In our discussion, we identify the need for additional research to incorporate economical considerations.