New Forms of Inquiry: Futuring, Design, and Imagination
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Item Future Archeologies: A Novel Method for Creating Artifacts-from-the-Future(2025-01-07) Maciejko, Maria; Lecuna, AlejandroThis paper introduces the “Future Archeologies Method” as a novel approach for creating preposterous Artifacts from the Future, enhancing speculative imagination, and fostering critical thinking. Through exploring preposterous futures it calls for engaging with the unexpected and venturing beyond the possible. The four-step “Future Archeologies Method” proposes a guided approach for creating artifacts-from-the-future, progressing from a tactile exploration of “Future Mystery Bag” to scenario development, then to future artifacts, and finally to critical reflection. The method was tested during a design workshop, providing valuable insights for researchers and practitioners. This paper contributes to the field of Information Systems and Future Studies by offering novel strategies for engaging with speculative futures.Item Futures’ Fingerprints: Joint Scenario Assessment via Graspable Boundary Objects in Digital Decision-Making Spaces(2025-01-07) Klöckner, Hermann W.; Rudzinska, Caroline V.; Mueller, Roland M.; Schierding, Jonah L.This paper introduces a novel approach for the joint evaluation of future scenarios with a focus on ambidextrous cross-stakeholder collaboration using the ‘Futures Cone’ dimensions. The contribution is in the introduction and evaluation of a joint decision-making boundary object called ‘Futures’ Fingerprint’ on a digital round table canvas, facilitating joint scenario assessment. Based on a systemic approach around ambidexterity, an initial empirical study has been conducted and evaluated in terms of experience and outcome. The suggested artifact and method enhance Delphi studies, and contribute to joint decision-making spaces around future-oriented boundary objects.Item Future-Ready Creative Organization: Unleashing Creative Confidence in Organizations by Reflecting on Their Cultural Values(2025-01-07) Quan, Yilin; Gonçalves, MileneAs a key element for futuring, creativity is becoming increasingly essential in today’s workplaces and organizations. Although creativity is an innate ability, not everyone feels confident enough to express their creative ideas. While organizational culture plays a significant role in shaping the creative climate, the influence of creative cultural values on employees’ creative confidence remains unclear. In this paper, two studies were conducted: a preliminary study involving interviews to map out creative cultural values at two Dutch national companies, and a follow-up study to propose and evaluate a design intervention. As a result, it was found that the two organizations share a similar creative culture. Key creative cultural values and their impact on creative confidence were identified, leading to the development of the CreatOrg workshop toolkit. This toolkit aims to enhance employees’ creative confidence by increasing their sensitivity and awareness towards specific creative cultural values, identified in the preliminary study.Item Pushing the Boundaries of Reality: Imagination and Design in Science(2025-01-07) Hovorka, Dirk; Thoring, Katja; Mueller, BenjaminThis paper introduces a framework of ‘imagination and design’ as a relevant form of scientific inquiry. While the Information Systems (IS) discipline is mainly concerned with the evaluation of existing phenomena, we argue that much potential for scientific progress lies in the envisioning of new concepts and not-yet-existing worlds, systems, and artifacts. Envisioning and externalizing such imaginary concepts allows the discussion and evaluation of possible futures and the development of suitable interventions. We shed light on the concept of imagination from various perspectives, including philosophy, epistemology, evolution, design, and creativity and link it to creative mechanisms and design activity. The resulting conceptual framework of theoretical perspectives enables the IS community to better estimate and assess the value of introduced concepts that are not yet to be considered as ‘justified true belief.’Item The Role of the Unknown and Unknowability in Digital First Futures(2025-01-07) Thakral, Yogita; Hylving, LenaDigital systems, grounded in established data, algorithms, and predefined parameters, are frequently characterized by their effectiveness, efficiency, and precision in computational processes. Consequently, the shift towards a digital-first paradigm is rapidly gaining momentum. This paper highlights the unknowabilities emerging from the interplay between digital technologies and human agents. By introducing the concept of symbiotic unknowability through an imaginary narrative featuring a future Digital Oracle, it critiques the current digitalization trajectory reliant on known data. The paper argues for acknowledging the limitations of digital systems to deal with the unknown and complex realities. It emphasizes the necessity of balancing reliance on data and human judgment by highlighting the interaction between human capabilities and digital algorithms introducing unique unknowabilities, that neither can foresee independently. This highlights the importance of recognizing and addressing these emergent unknowns in the evolving digital landscapeItem Making Space for Reflective Judgments in Designing Technology Future(s)(2025-01-07) Chiasson, Mike; Davidson, ElizabethAdvancements in information technologies and systems will dramatically alter the future(s) of work, and the serving or under-serving of human interests. How people are engaged in the design of technologies greatly influences whether and how human interests are addressed. These circumstances call for meaningful and substantive participation by those affected by information systems. In this paper we draw from Andrew Feenberg’s critical philosophy of technology to challenge a tacit reliance on determinant judgments from the categories and structures of today’s participatory methods and technologies. We argue that the development of reflective judgments from individuals’ previous and on-going experiences with technology opens technological design to a greater depth and breadth of human values and interests. To do so, greater lateral dialogue across people and stakeholders from experiences would make space for these reflective judgments, helping to generate technological designs that better serve human values and needs.Item Introduction to the Minitrack on New forms of Inquiry: Futuring, Design, and Imagination(2025-01-07) Hovorka, Dirk; Thoring, Katja; Mueller, Benjamin