Design and Evaluation of Management Processes in IS: Application of a Process-Based Research Approach

Behavioural information systems (IS) research delivers concepts and theories that are applied to IS management by practitioners. Designing an IS management process is yet far from being straightforward. Design science in IS aims at bridging this gap by providing a rigid way to bring theory into practice, which is, however, not readily applicable for designing management processes. We found a process based research approach in the operations management discipline that could provide more specific research guidelines. This paper examines and evaluates this process-based research approach from a design science perspective. Moreover, we have used the process-based research approach to design and evaluate an IS management process to test its applicability in the IS discipline. In particular, this paper discusses our experiences of applying the research approach in several in-depth action research studies conducted in the manufacturing and energy sectors.