Innovation and Ontologies

Design Science 223
The following figure presents the conceptual framework which Hevner et al. (2004) propose for
‘understanding, executing and evaluating IS research’. Its components are subsequently
introduced.
figure 78 The Information Systems research framework (Hevner et al., 2004)
The environment defines the problem space (Simon, 1998) containing the phenomena of interest.
For IS research, environment encompasses people, (business) organizations, and their technologies
(Silver, Markus & Beath, 1995). The environment holds the goals and problems which define the
business needs as recognized by the people within the organization. These perceptions are
characterized and influenced by the roles, capabilities, and characteristics of people within the
organization.
Assessment and evaluation of business needs takes place with respect to organizational strategies,
structure, culture and existing processes. Existing technology infrastructure, applications,
communication architectures, and development capabilities build the frame of reference against
which perceived needs are weighed.
Business needs, as characterized by people, organizational conditions and the technology
situation define an IS problem as perceived by the researcher; research relevance is ensured as
business needs are addressed.