Building an Information System Design Theory for Vigilant EIS

Abstract

This paper defines an information system design theory (ISDT) to be a prescriptive theory which integrates normative and descriptive theories into design paths intended to produce more effective information systems. The nature of ISDTs is articulated using Dubin's concept of theory building and Simon's idea of a science of the artificial. An example of an ISDT is presented in the context of Executive Information Systems (EIS). Despite the increasing awareness of the potential of EIS for enhancing executive strategic decision-making effectiveness, there exists little theoretical work which directly guides EIS design. We contend that the underlying theoretical basis of EIS can be addressed through a design theory of vigilant information systems. Vigilance denotes the ability of an information system to help an executive remain alertly watchful for weak signals and discontinuities in the organizational environment relevant to emerging strategic threats and opportunities. Research on managerial information scanning and emerging issue tracking as well as theories of open loop control are synthesized to generate vigilant information system design theory propositions. Transformation of the propositions into testable empirical hypotheses is discussed.

The Effect of Perceived Expected Satisfaction with Electronic Health Records Availability on Expected Satisfaction with Electronic Health Records Portability in a Multi-Stakeholder Environment

“…Following Walls, Widmeyer, and El Sawy's (1992) information system design theory (ISDT), availability and portability system features as meta-designs that support organizational requirements as meta-requirements were proposed to form the base of the system-level investigation of this study. A meta-analysis of other system features is covered in the Appendix, however, these features are beyond the scope of this paper.…”

“…In the methodology section, the meta-kernel is embedded into the metarequirements following information systems design theory as presented in Walls et al (1992).…”

“…The activities, then, were categorized into the above four major sequence blocks, each of which were identified as different level of availability and portability needs across the stakeholder groups. Walls et al (1992) suggest that meta-requirements should be formed in an abstracted fashion to support the design theory's purpose of solving a class of problems. Therefore, the metarequirements are still on the meta level, but inferred from the problem identified and guided by the solution objectives, to which the kernel theory is applied.…”

Homeward Bound: Ecological Design of Domestic Information Systems

“…The findings of the two studies will be presented and discussed, before moving on to a more general set of reflections on the design science program, motivated by recent debate over its nature and agenda (Chatterjee and Hevner 2006;Hevner et al 2005). As an instance 2 Design theory falls into two broad categories (Venable 2006;Walls et al 1992): knowledge about the design of products and about the design process itself, corresponding to the two senses of design as noun and verb. Both categories are relevant here; we are interested in the design of complex information systems and also the methodology of design.…”

“…Van Houwelingen and Van Raaij (1989) showed that goal-setting in conjunction with feedback (a novel "energy cost indicator") produced a significant reduction in energy consumption. tradition with a lineage reaching back over many years (e.g., March and Smith 1995;Markus et al 2002;Walls et al 1992), IS design research remains a minority genre. This is as true for the deliberations of IFIP WG8.6 as it is for the field in general.…”