It is 5 years since the publication of the seminal paper on “Design Science in Information Systems Research” by Hevner, March, Park, and Ram in MIS Quarterly and the initiation of the Information Technology and Systems department of the Communications of AIS. These events in 2004 are markers in the move of design science to the forefront of information systems research. A suf cient interval has elapsed since then to allow assessment of from where the eld has come and where it should go. Design science research and behavioral science research started as dual tracks when IS was a young eld. By the 1990s, the in ux of behavioral scientists started to dominate the number of design scientists and the eld moved in that direction. By the early 2000s, design people were having dif culty publishing in mainline IS journals and in being tenured in many universities. Yes, an annual Workshop on Information Technology and Systems (WITS) was established in 1991 in conju- tion with the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) and grew each year. But that was the extent of design science recognition. Fortunately, a revival is underway. By 2009, when this foreword was written, the fourth DESRIST c- ference has been held and plans are afoot for the 2010 meeting. Design scientists regained respect and recognition in many venues where they previously had little.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology, DERIST 2012, held in Las Vegas, NV, USA, in May 2012. The 24 revised full papers presented together with 7 revised short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 44 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on DSRIS in practice, DSRIS methodologies and techniques, social and environmental aspects of DSRIS, theory and theory building in DSRIS, and evaluation of DSRIS projects.

This book provides guidelines for practicing design science in the fields of information systems and software engineering research. A design process usually iterates over two activities: first designing an artifact that improves something for stakeholders and subsequently empirically investigating the performance of that artifact in its context. This “validation in context” is a key feature of the book - since an artifact is designed for a context, it should also be validated in this context. The book is divided into five parts. Part I discusses the fundamental nature of design science and its artifacts, as well as related design research questions and goals. Part II deals with the design cycle, i.e. the creation, design and validation of artifacts based on requirements and stakeholder goals. To elaborate this further, Part III presents the role of conceptual frameworks and theories in design science. Part IV continues with the empirical cycle to investigate artifacts in context, and presents the different elements of research problem analysis, research setup and data analysis. Finally, Part V deals with the practical application of the empirical cycle by presenting in detail various research methods, including observational case studies, case-based and sample-based experiments and technical action research. These main sections are complemented by two generic checklists, one for the design cycle and one for the empirical cycle. The book is written for students as well as academic and industrial researchers in software engineering or information systems. It provides guidelines on how to effectively structure research goals, how to analyze research problems concerning design goals and knowledge questions, how to validate artifact designs and how to empirically investigate artifacts in context – and finally how to present the results of the design cycle as a whole.

Information Systems Research: Relevant Theory and Informed Practice comprises the edited proceedings of the WG8.2 conference, "Relevant Theory and Informed Practice: Looking Forward from a 20-Year Perspective on IS Research," which was sponsored by IFIP and held in Manchester, England, in July 2004. The conference attracted a record number of high-quality manuscripts, all of which were subjected to a rigorous reviewing process in which four to eight track chairs, associate editors, and reviewers thoughtfully scrutinized papers by the highly regarded as well as the newcomers. No person or idea was considered sacrosanct and no paper made it through this process unscathed. All authors were asked to revise the accepted papers, some more than once; thus, good papers got better. With only 29 percent of the papers accepted, these proceedings are significantly more selective than is typical of many conference proceedings. This volume is organized in 7 sections, with 33 full research papers providing panoramic views and reflections on the Information Systems (IS) discipline followed by papers featuring critical interpretive studies, action research, theoretical perspectives on IS research, and the methods and politics of IS development. Also included are 6 panel descriptions and a new category of "bright idea" position papers, 11 in all, wherein main points are summarized in a pithy and provocative fashion.

In any software design project, the analysis of stage documenting and designing of technical requirements for the needs of users is vital to the success of the project. This book provides a thorough introduction and survey on all aspects of analysis, including design of E-commerce systems, and how it fits into the software engineering process. The material is based on successful professional courses offered at Columbia University to a diverse audience of advanced students and professionals. An emphasis is placed on the stages of analysis and the presentation of many alternative modeling tools that an analyst can utilise. Particular attention is paid to interviews, modeling tools, and approaches used in building effective web-based E-commerce systems.

This book is designed to introduce doctoral and other higher-degree research students to the process of scientific research in the fields of Information Systems as well as fields of Information Technology, Business Process Management and other related disciplines within the social sciences. It guides research students in their process of learning the life of a researcher. In doing so, it provides an understanding of the essential elements, concepts and challenges of the journey into research studies. It also provides a gateway for the student to inquire deeper about each element covered​. Comprehensive and broad but also succinct and compact, the book is focusing on the key principles and challenges for a novice doctoral student.

"This book provides a comprehensive understanding and coverage of the various theories, models and related research approaches used within IS research"--Provided by publisher.

Centered on the impact of information and communication technology in socio-technical environments and its support of human activity systems, the study of information systems remains a distinctive focus in the area of computer science research. Information Systems Research and Exploring Social Artifacts: Approaches and Methodologies discusses the approaches and methodologies currently being used in the field on information systems. This reference source covers a wide variety of socio-technical aspects of the design of IS artifacts as well as the study of their use. This book aims to be useful for researchers, scholars and students interested in expanding their knowledge on the assortment of research on information systems.

Web information systems engineering resolves the multifaceted issues of Web-based systems development; however, as part of an emergent yet prolific industry, Web site quality assurance is a continually adaptive process needing a comprehensive reference tool to merge all cutting-edge research and innovations. The Handbook of Research on Web Information Systems Quality integrates 30 authoritative contributions by 72 of the world's leading experts on the models, measures, and methodologies of Web information systems, software quality, and Web engineering into one practical guide to Web information systems quality, making this handbook of research an essential addition to all library collections.

Qualitative research has become a legitimate approach within the information systems community, but researchers have traditionally drawn upon material from the social sciences given the absence of a single source relevant to them. Qualitative Research in Information Systems: A Reader represents just such a volume and is both timely and relevant. Information systems and qualitative research articles are now widely used for teaching on many upper level courses in information systems, and there is demand for a definitive collection of these readings as a basic reader and teaching text. This book expertly brings together the seminal works in the field, along with editorial introductions to assist the reader in understanding the essential principles of qualitative research. The book is organised according to the following thematic sections: · Part I: Overview of Qualitative Research · Part II: Philosophical Perspectives · Part III: Qualitative Research Methods · Part IV: Modes of Analyzing and Interpreting Qualitative Data Qualitative Research in Information Systems: A Reader should become the benchmark reference point for students and researchers in information systems, management science and others involved in information technology needing to learn about qualitative research.