The Design Science Research Process : A Model for Producing and Presenting Information Systems Research

The authors design and demonstrate a process for carrying out design science (DS) research in information systems and demonstrate use of the process to conduct research in two case studies. Several IS researchers have pioneered the acceptance of DS research in IS, but in the last 15 years little DS research has been done within the discipline. The lack of a generally accepted process for DS research in IS may have contributed to this problem. We sought to design a design science research process (DSRP) model that would meet three objectives: it would be consistent with prior literature, it would provide a nominal process model for doing DS research, and it would provide a mental model for p…

Metamodeling editor as a front end tool for a CASE shell

Customizable Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools, often called CASE shells, are penetrating in the market. CASE shells provide a flexible environment to support a variety of information systems development methods. CASE shells are often cumbersome to use and in practice few people can model and implement methods in them. To overcome these problems we have developed a graphical metamodeling environment called MetaEdit and a method modeling interface to the CASE shell RAMATIC. Using this interface the methodology engineer can develop graphical models in RAMATIC's model definition language and then easily generate the resource files that control the operations of RAMATIC. MetaEdit…

Introduction to the Minitrack on Advances in Design Science Research

Method Engineering: Current research directions and implications for future research

In this study we investigate method engineering research by classifying studies into three contexts: technology, language and organization. Within each context we examine research bias, research outcomes and use of alternative research methods. This survey reveals the inherent bias of ME research towards tool and language development at the cost of empirical studies. We lack investigations of why organizations develop their own “variants” of system development methods, and how they manage their method engineering efforts. These observations lead us to suggest some directions for future research, which relate both to actual research questions and to the use of complementary research methods.

MetaEdit+ A Fully Configurable Multi-User and Multi-Tool CASE and CAME Environment

Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) environments have spread at a lower pace than expected. One reason for this is the immaturity of existing environments in supporting development in-the-large and by-many and their inability to address the varying needs of the software developers. In this paper we report on the development of a next generation CASE environment called MetaEdit+. The environment seeks to overcome all the above deficiencies, but in particular pays attention to catering for the varying needs of the software developers. MetaEdit+ is a multi-method, multi-tool platform for both CASE and Computer Aided Method Engineering (CAME). As a CASE tool it establishes a versatile an…

Metrics in method engineering

So many software development methods have been introduced in the last decade, that one can talk about a “methodology jungle”. To aid the method developers and evaluators in fighting their way through this jungle we propose a systematic approach for measuring properties of methods. We describe two sets of metrics, which measure the complexity of diagrammatic specification techniques on the one hand, and of complete systems development methods on the other hand. Proposed metrics provide a relatively fast and simple way to analyse the technique (or method) properties, and when accompanied with other selection criteria, can be used for estimating the cost of learning the technique and the relat…

Evolution of OO Methods: the unified case

This paper takes an evaluative look into OO methods and especially the evolution of the new snified method from its ancestors, OMT and OODA. The paper ries to classify the components of the earlier ethods and identify the parts that have been taken into the Unified ethod. The research applies the method metrics approach. For the sake of compactness we limit ourselves to the class diagram technique of all methods. We make observations about the number of concepts in each variation and show how the metrics can be used to analyse the changes in the techniques.

A comparative review of CASE shells: A preliminary framework and research outcomes

Abstract Because of rigidity and weak support of the user's native methods and methodologies in existing CASE tools, there is a growing need for customizable CASE tools (CASE shells). The nature of CASE shells is different from ordinary CASE tools supporting a fixed set of methods. With CASE shells, organizations can define tools to support their own methods, instead of choosing a tool that supports them. Existing CASE shells have different features and architectural principles that make them appropriate for different tasks. Obviously, a framework for comparing them is needed. In this paper we develop one such framework. It takes into account different tasks in customization and the effecti…

Modeling Requirements for Future CASE

In this paper we discuss some requirements for future CASE Computer Aided Software/Systems Engineering environments. These requirements include increased modifiability and flexibility as well as support for process and agent models. We claim that they can only be addressed by developing more powerful representation and modeling techniques. As a possible basis for modeling various techniques, we outline a general information architecture for a future CASE environment. In addition, we propose primitive types for specifying techniques, the development process, and agent models, and use these types for modeling an example methodology and examine how the requirements are or can be supported in o…

On Integrating Action Research and Design Research

IS research has been criticized for having little influence on practice. One approach to achieving more relevance is to conduct research using appropriate research methods that balance the interests of both researchers and practitioners. This chapter examines the similarities between two methods that address this mandate by adopting a proactive stance to investigating information systems in organizations. These two approaches, action research and design research, both directly intervene in “real-world” domains and effect changes in these domains. We investigate these similarities by examining exemplars of each type of research according to the criteria of the other. Our analysis reveals int…

A Functional Framework for Evaluating Method Engineering Environments: the case of Maestro II/ Decamerone and MetaEdit+

CASE environments with method customisation capabilities and Computer Aided Method Engineering (CAME) environments have emerged during the last few years. While many research papers discuss the principles of method engineering and suggest requirements for new environments, we do not have critical evaluations of CAME environments using a wider method engineering framework. The aims of this study are twofold: 1) to build a preliminary framework for comparative studies of CAME environments, and 2) to increase the knowledge of the ‘state of the art’ in CAME by evaluating two CAME environments. We adapt a functional framework — originally built for CASE technology — to examine the following two …