A Typology of Knowledge Creation in Design Science Research Projects

There is considerable debate in IS-DSR community about what constitutes design knowledge and whether they are best represented as design principles or design theories. While designing an IT artifact to solve a problem addresses the “how” question, we agree that the “why” question (why did this work?) is important to answer. This essay attempts to shed light on two fundamental questions in this domain: (1) What are the various ways that knowledge contribution in DSR can be stated? (2) What pathways exists to create and re(use) knowledge in DSR projects? We present a simple 2 × 2 framework that explains with concrete examples four knowledge types - design principles, design attribute postulates, design theories, and good design practices from DSR projects. We further present a dual-use of design knowledge framework that shows pathways and re(use) of knowledge in DSR. We think that this typology is a useful theoretical contribution that can benefit both academics and practitioners conducting DSR projects.