Designs, Designing, Designers, and Design Science Revisited

Design science has gained popularity in information systems. In essence, it is about designing, building, and evaluating artifacts. Despite the popularity and a lot of associated research, plenty of problems still remain. To this end, this position paper presents a critical reflection of the design science field in information systems. Building on existing research and other reflections, including literature reviews, seven important and relevant arguments are raised. Among these are the ontological and epistemological foundations; by argument, designs should be separated from artifacts, and from designing and designers. In addition, the arguments include observations and critical points about terminology, longitudinal research and the evolution of designs and artifacts, evaluation of artifacts and designs, ethics, and education. With these critical arguments, the paper contributes to the disciplinary discussion in the design science field and information systems in general by elaborating problems that need attention. By fixing the problems in future research, the design science field can advance further.