Invited Lecture: Notions of 'Theory' and their Practical Consequences in the Discipline of Software 'Engineering' (including Information Systems Design)

Abstract

This contribution provides the full text to the invited lecture which I gave at the Annual Seminar of the Southern African Chapter of the Association for Information Systems (AISSAC), September the 14th, 2020. In this contribution, which thoroughly elaborates some of my earlier thoughts on this topic, I argue science-philosophically that the quest for a so-called 'general theory of software engineering' (GTSE) is, all-in-all, not feasible. More positively I also argue that software 'engineering' (which includes information systems design) might well become a 'proper' engineering discipline via the development and appropriate application of a multitude of domain-specific micro theories, by which successful engineering disciplines are typically characterized. Since different meta-theoretical opinions can be found even about what is a 'micro theory', I also explicate which definition of the notion of 'micro theory' is most appropriate in (and for) this particular domain of discourse.