Managing Boundary-Spanning Cognition Through Emergent Problem-Framing in Enterprise Systems Design

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a study of the co-design of business processes and IT systems at the enterprise level. The findings suggest a punctuated equilibrium model of boundary-spanning design that is driven by a series of coordinating representations of the design problem-structure. These become more complicated as the design proceeds, adding new perspectives and dimensions to prior representations, and calling upon salient surface-structures that are helpful in conceptualizing the context of design. This finding challenges the notion of design as the exploration of deep organizational structures or as goal-driven design.