Design Drift and Reflective Conversation in Design Science Research: A Case Study of Problem Formulation

Design Science Research is a well-established theoretical and methodological approach to design, build, and evaluate IS artefacts. However, research suggests that the engagement of subjective and ethereal processes of design are not well documented in literature, highlighting a significant challenge to understanding design praxeology, or the study of practices and processes of design. This paper explores the artefact conceptualization stages of DSR using a case study focused on the utilization of emergency management information systems to propose two approaches to understanding and presenting the design process. Design drift and reflective conversation are proposed and applied to a DSR project to create a conceptual design for a mindfulness-based evaluation framework for EMIS supported decision making. By removing some of the mysticism often associated with abductive reasoning, the study demonstrates ways researchers can be more effective in using cognitive mapping tools and communicating approaches to illustrate the inferential processes that are unique to DSR.