SUPPORTING THE CHALLENGES OF CROSS- BOUNDARY TEAMWORK THROUGH DESIGN SCIENCE RESEARCH

In this doctoral dissertation, I relate six studies I have performed to address three challenges that cross-boundary teams (teams with great knowledge diversity) face: the challenge of coordinating knowledge and contributions, the challenge of forming cooperative attitudes, and the challenge of solving wicked management problems. These studies are inscribed in design science research, which is a paradigm of research aiming to develop prescriptive knowledge through artificial and theoretical contributions for practical problems. The artificial contributions in this research project are (1) the Coopilot App which addresses the coordination challenges by allowing individuals to evaluate how much shared understanding there is between them on the four requirements for coordination (joint objectives, joint commitments, joint resources, and joint risks), and (2) the Team Alignment Map which addresses the cooperation challenges by supporting the emergence of shared leadership through a process of cooperative joint inquiry into the four requirements. Design principles for managing coordination and supporting cooperation (the two first cross-boundary challenges) are drawn from the two artifacts. This manuscript also provides a design theory for managing the third cross-boundary challenge, i.e. wicked problem solving. By comparing the Team Alignment Map with two other similar design science research projects (the Business Model Canvas and the Data Excellence Model), I develop a design theory for visual inquiry tools that help practitioners inquire into specific wicked problems. The theoretical contributions of my research project consist in prescriptions on how team members should interact between them to collaborate effectively and overcome the three cross-boundary challenges. I propose a new conceptualization of cross-boundary teamwork as a process of joint inquiry. The view I propose is different from traditional accounts, in that I stress the importance of language. I highlight the cognitive conditions that should be met through communication to done down the boundaries between cross-boundary team members

Analyzing and Evaluating today’s Power of Open Source: The Open Source Value Canvas

The drastically progressing digitalization of society and economy shines a new light on the open-source paradigm. Previously, open-source was merely a developer paradigm to share code openly and make it available to others. However, given the need for innovation and optimization, companies can leverage open-source components to use out of the box, build services on top, or replace commodifiable services. Subsequently, there is great potential to create new value in companies using open-source components. To assist companies and researchers in achieving this, the paper presents the Open Source Value Canvas for companies’ collaborative and interdisciplinary identification of open-source value. It particularly aims at analyzing and aligning the open-source potentials from the business and IT perspectives. We draw on rich insights from an ongoing research project providing tailored open-source components for the European logistics sector

Structuring Conversations Around Course Design

Constructive alignment helps both students and teachers to achieve intended learning outcomes. The workshop proposes to introduce participants to the elements and mechanics of the pedagogical coherence canvas (PCC), a tool developed to improve constructive alignment throughout course design. Participants will familiarise themselves with the process by applying it to the design of a course or training. This hands-on workshop will help participants to develop a practical understanding of how to use the PCC to design a course following constructive alignment principles

Special Issue Editorial – Accumulation and Evolution of Design Knowledge in Design Science Research: A Journey Through Time and Space

Sir Isaac Newton (1676) famously said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Research is a collaborative, evolutionary endeavor—and it is no different with design science research (DSR), which builds upon existing design knowledge and creates new design knowledge to pass on to future projects. However, despite the vast, growing body of DSR contributions, scant evidence of the accumulation and evolution of design knowledge has been articulated in an organized DSR body of knowledge. Most contributions rather stand on their own feet than on the shoulders of giants, and this continues to limit how far we can see, curtailing the extent of the broader impacts that can be made through DSR. In this editorial, we aim at providing guidance on how to position design knowledge contributions in wider problem and solution spaces. We propose (1) a model conceptualizing design knowledge as a resilient relationship between problem and solution spaces, (2) a model that demonstrates how individual DSR projects consume and produce design knowledge, (3) a map to position a design knowledge contribution in problem and solution spaces, and (4) principles on how to use this map in a DSR project. We show how fellow researchers, readers, editors, and reviewers, as well as the IS community as a whole, can make use of these proposals, and also illustrate future research opportunities

Paving the Way for Enriched Patient Experience - On the Development of a Process Architecture for a Hospital

In this emergent research forum (ERF) paper, we report on a project from a state-funded hospital located in one of Europe’s microstates. The hospital is currently planning a new building site and, in addition, plans to adopt new information technologies (IT) to improve patient safety and enrich the patient journey. However, the hospital lacks a systematic overview of its processes and their interrelationships as a basis for further BPM initiatives and, most importantly, improving the patient experience from admission to discharge and beyond. By applying a design science research (DSR) approach, we develop the first draft of a process architecture by considering a patient’s journey. We discuss this framework and present the next steps as part of our future research

The Design of the Agile Culture Transformation Canvas

In today’s fast-paced environment where priorities are constantly changing, organisations are increasingly turning towards agile. When doing so, organisations ought to consider their organisational culture because being agile is inherently a matter of culture. This is however a challenging task, in particular, because what is meant by having an agile culture highly depends on the organisation. Therefore, to help organisations in this journey we have initiated a design science research project to design the Agile Culture Transformation Canvas (ACTC). The ACTC is a visual tool that offers a collaborative space for its users to analyse their current culture, co-design their desired agile culture and define steps on how to close the gap between the two. In this short paper, we present the steps we have already taken in the design journey of the ACTC and along with the next ones planned

Guiding Design Principle Projects: A Canvas for Young Design Science Researchers

Particularly young researchers face challenges in organizing large design science research (DSR) projects and often struggle to capture, communicate, and reflect on important components to produce purposeful outcomes. Making informed decisions at the project start, such as selecting suitable kernel theories and development procedures, is of great relevance because they affect the entire design process and the resulting design products. Although DSR can produce different types of outcomes, from more situational artifacts to more abstract design knowledge, scholars point to the need for generalizing insights collected in such projects to advance the knowledge base. As design principles are among the prevailing forms of such design knowledge, this paper builds a visual inquiry tool—represented as a canvas—that navigates researchers through common components for crafting design principles and leverages collaborative reflections on essential project decisions. To build our canvas, we adapt inquiry-based learning (IBL) guidelines and visual inquiry tools to DSR education. Evaluations with doctoral students revealed promising indications for the canvas’s applicability and usefulness in guiding iterative DSR projects, reflecting on basic components, and communicating work-in-progress to other scholars and practice. Overall, we complement the body of DSR literature by providing an educational visual inquiry tool for producing design principles

Leveraging Business Modeling Tools For Ecosystemic Business Model Design

Business modeling tools are crucial for designing and implementing successful business models. However, there exist instances—which we refer to as the design of ecosystemic business models—in which developing a business model requires simultaneous consideration of both one’s own business model and that of ecosystem partners. In these instances, standard business modeling tools focusing on representing business models in isolation may be inadequate. Based on a real-world example of a business ecosystem from the maritime logistics industry, we highlight five significant design challenges for ecosystemic business models. We then reflect on and discuss the extended role of the business model as an instrument for inter-organizational alignment, and draw out three implications for business modeling tools. The objective of this paper is to deduce implications and functional design requirements for business modeling tools from a conceptual perspective

DESIGN THINKING IN DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS

Design thinking (DT) as an innovation method has gained increasing importance in recent years, both for traditional and digital products. However, the rapid acceleration of digitalization across all domains of the modern working world has changed the way innovation management and DT are conducted. As a result, highly interactive offline workshops have been replaced by remote online workshops, which are supported by digital tools. This radical shift warrants a reconsideration of the potentially socio-psychological dynamics within DT workshops. To address this, we conducted 16 qualitative in-depth interviews with DT experts from different backgrounds and contextualized our interview findings with construal level theory and embodied cognition. Thus, we show how the DT process is affected by the changing socio-psychological dynamics created by the shift to digital environments. In sum, we identify both chances and challenges of DT in digital environments and derive implications for future research and practice in this area

Transformer(s) of the Logistics Industry - Enabling Logistics Companies to Excel with Digital Platforms

Platformization is a prevailing trend that changes industries at their core. The rise and dominance of platform-based companies require incumbent companies and start-ups to rethink how they approach that novel challenge and leverage its full potential. To successfully steer and initiate this digitally enabled industry transformation, even in traditional industries like logistics, the incumbent companies require IT and specific platform design support. However, designing a digital platform is a complex task riddled with design options, potential pitfalls, and complex underlying mechanisms. Consequently, research and practice require tools to leverage past design knowledge and generate digital platforms in a goal-oriented fashion. This paper addresses precisely that issue as we report on a design science research study that developed a visual inquiry tool for digital platform design. Ultimately, the visual inquiry tool provides researchers and practitioners with the means to develop digital platforms more efficiently and strategically