Transforming Design Science Research into Practical Application: Experiences from Two ECM Teaching Cases

vom Brocke J; Simons A; Schenk B

Abstract
Research -- not only in the discipline of Information Systems (IS) -- must address the tasks faced by practitio-ners. The goal must always be to transform the ideas and findings into real-life business solutions. In IS re-search, this entitlement is particularly acknowledged by the design science research paradigm. Whereas the goal of behavioural science is truth, design science generally aims at developing an ``IT artefact'' highly use-ful for practitioners. Utility is commonly evaluated on the basis of case studies or simulations, for example. We argue that these evaluation methods must not necessarily be applied by the researchers themselves: Teaching cases represent a suitable alternative by also providing new potentials for refining the artefact. As an example of application, we refer to a newly emerging field in IS research, Enterprise Content Management (ECM). We present the results and experiences from two ECM project seminars that have been set up on the basis of work-shops and interviews with a large-scale international enterprise. The teaching cases are based on firsthand accounts from our research in the field of ECM -- a framework for content analyses. Accordingly, both courses focussed on analysing the company's content situation. The company highly valued the results gained in the seminars and has since applied our framework within additional application areas.

Keywords
Design Science Research