First eADR Iteration: Problem Refinement

Previously, it was argued that designing effective managerial costing systems should rely on a comprehensive understanding of systems thinking, business process analysis, and cost accounting. This chapter initiates the empirical design process using the guiding stages and principles of the action design research methodology. The primary focus here is on the problem-centric diagnosis iteration of the detailed elaborated action design research approach. In this particular iteration, the research team consisted of industry experts who possess extensive senior management experience in manufacturing and manufacturing-related consulting. During collaborative interactions, the team carefully assessed and verified the existence of the problem being investigated, improved the initial process flows for each key aspect based on our assertions, and transformed the acquired knowledge into three comprehensive developmental guides. When undertaking a project to design a managerial costing system, these developmental guides could be utilized as helpful checklists to guarantee the consideration of pertinent realities and the collection of all relevant information.