The Second Phase of the Design Science Cycle: Synthesis Phase

Before being able to synthesize, during the exploration phase and by using different research techniques like interviews, observations, and surveys, but also from secondary research from peer-reviewed journal articles, large quantities of data are gathered. Data from various sources, including existing theories, empirical studies, and practical insights can be involved. These data need to be reduced and synthesized into meaningful and actionable chunks through inductive as well as abductive sensemaking (for abduction, see Sect. 2.2.3 ) to inform the further design process. This is the main activity in the synthesis step, to enable the formulation of design requirements and initial design propositions. So, the outcome of the synthesis phase are the design requirements, which can play a role when scoping the initial design propositions [The initial design propositions are the outcome of the literature synthesis and formulated according to the CAMO logic. During the evaluation phase of the design science cycle, when the solution concept is evaluated, they can be adjusted based on the evaluation findings and become design propositions which can be added to the specific body-of-knowledge].