Tensions in design principle formulation and reuse

Designing can be viewed as a collective activity that accumulates and reuses knowledge over time and, in the information systems field, such knowledge often takes the form of design principles. While design principles are now a predominant from to capture, accumulate, and reuse design knowledge, their reusability cannot be taken for granted. In this paper, we present the preliminary findings of an ongoing series of experiments that aim to explore the characteristics of design principles that facilitate or inhibit their reuse. Our preliminary findings suggest that, interestingly, these characteristics occur as contradicting elements. We situate the tensions in the light of hermeneutics, expert intuition, and C-K design theory. We hope that, through our ongoing work, we can trigger further discussion on design principles reuse in the DSR community.