Towards Design Patterns for Information Systems – Finding Suitable Artefact Type Candidates for a Design Problem

Abstract

The artefact is at the core of Design Science Research in Information Systems (DSR). The growing variety and complexity of designs makes selecting the best-suited artefact type in a research project more challenging. Extant classification approaches do not provide much support for identifying the most promising solution paths, as they focus on artefact properties and less on problem characteristics. As already illustrated in related disciplines like engineering science, differentiation of a functional (problem-oriented) and a construction (solution-oriented) perspective promises to be useful for supporting the design process. Our study intends to develop and utilize this differentiation for DSR projects. Based on associations between problem and solution classes, design patterns could help researchers to identify the most promising artefact type candidates, and thus avoid less promising con-struction paths. First, we develop a classification scheme for the functional design perspective. Second, we modify existing DSR artefact classifications to develop a scheme for the construction design perspective. Third, based on a polar sample, we identify initial functional clusters and develop preliminary design patterns as associations between functional clusters and construction types. Our contribution constitutes a first, exploratory step towards more effective design guidance in the early DSR stages.