Knowledge Creation through Systems Development

There is a distinction between the descriptive and design sciences where, according to Simon (1981), “design sciences do not tell how things are but how they ought to be to attain some ends”. Design sciences aim not only to develop knowledge for the design and realisation of artefacts but also to improve the understanding of how to solve the social and organisational problems for which the artefact is designed. IS research draws its significance from the uniqueness of computer-based information and communication tools and their place in shaping recent human, social and organisational history. Advances in the field result from a better understanding of how to develop and use these tools and what impact they have on the way we work, and live. The question posed by Gregor (2002, p. 12) is: what constitutes a contribution to knowledge when research is of this type? Papers describing such research typically contain “no hypotheses, no experimental design and no data analysis” (ibid, p. 13) and so often pose a dilemma for reviewers. This does not necessarily invalidate this type of research and the challenge is to conduct and report it in ways that identify the rigour and contribution of the research making it acceptable to journal editors and reviewers.