Dissemination and Importance of the "Method" Artifact in the Context of Design Research for Information Systems

During the last decade, design research (DR) has evolved into a key research paradigm in information systems (IS). DR for IS is aimed at creating solutions so called design products or artifacts to problems of practical relevance. From a product perspective, these artifacts can be distinguished into the five types constructs, models, methods, instantiations, and theories. This paper analyzes the proceedings of the First and Second International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology (DESRIST) and categorizes the presented papers in regard to the topics covered. It turns out that the method artifact is addressed least frequently. Moreover, almost all DESRIST publications which do address the method artifact describe the design of some kind of algorithm or mathematical/statistical technique. The method engineering (ME) discipline is concerned exclusively with the processes of constructing, adapting, and implementing generic methods that are aimed at the design of socio-technical information systems. However, explicit references to the ME discipline and its body of literature are used rarely if at all in the DESRIST proceedings. To overcome this gap, this paper briefly introduces the principles of the ME approach. Moreover, it discusses potential reasons for the lacking integration of DR for IS on the one hand and the ME approach to IS development on the other hand. The paper argues that the transfer and application of the basic ideas of the ME discipline hold a strong potential of bringing forward the DR paradigm.