Design Science Research Articles

CiteSaga: Conceptualisation of a Serious Game for Citation and Reference Styles

This article asserts that serious games (SGs) are effective tools for teaching citation and referencing styles in higher education. The proposed SG aims to enhance students' understanding and application of these styles through an engaging, game-based approach. We use an agile design cycle combined with educational design and design science research methodologies. The SG's key elements include objectives, rules, mechanics, learning outcomes, and assessment strategies, all integrated into higher education curricula.

Design Framework for VR Games in the Police Domain

The escalation in the number of conflicts poses various implications and consequences to society, demanding a comprehensive understanding from a law enforcement perspective. The surge in conflicts introduces significant challenges related to public safety, necessitating adaptive strategies for both conflict and crime prevention and resolution. Accordingly, effective policing must adapt to the evolving dynamics, employing a nuanced approach that addresses the root causes of conflicts and enhances community resilience to avoid or mitigate them and their broader societal impact. A pivotal role is this direction is played by the ongoing technological advancements that facilitate actions like enhancement of situational awareness, analyzing patterns and anticipating potential hotspots and activities, facts that sustain both proactive and reactive measures. In particular, technological advancements in Virtual Reality (VR) present a valuable avenue for addressing policing challenges, especially in relation to conflict resolution, mitigation, and prevention. Building VR simulations for training purposes offers a controlled yet realistic environment for officers to practice e.g., de-escalation strategies and decision-making under stress. These gaming simulations provide a platform to expose officers to diverse scenarios, fostering adaptability, encouraging communication and collaboration, and enhancing their ability to properly handle conflicts with precision and self-control. At the same time, VR systems can be developed for societal awareness and educational purposes, fostering better understanding and communication between law enforcement and the public. While a broad range of governmental, practitioner, and academic efforts exist aiming at building and incorporating VR solutions for various purposes in the police domain, specific areas that involve other societal forces and bystanders need more attention. It is then the aim of this article to capture existing design and evaluation principles as well as lessons learned from existing VR solutions in the police domain. This is done by proposing a design framework for responsible VR gaming solutions in the police domain following the Design Science Research methodology in a transdisciplinary approach.

Peningkatan Kepatuhan Regulasi Melalui Pengembangan Sistem Informasi Keuangan Bagi Badan Usaha Milik Desa Menggunakan Teknologi Berbasis Website

This study highlights the inability of village-owned enterprises (BUMDesa) to prepare financial reports according to guidelines, indicating a lack of financial accountability. Researchers attempted to develop a web-based platform to generate BUMDesa financial reports following Ministerial Decree Number 136 of 2022. We focus on the perspective of public sector accounting and accounting information systems to respond to research questions. Furthermore, application development considers the research and development (R&D) method and design science via the software development life cycle stages. A total of six BUMDesa contributed to developing this application. The result is a web-based financial reporting application platform that meets these criteria and guidelines. We also provide a platform usage procedure to facilitate its operation. The contribution of this study is to develop a financial information management platform for BUMDesa that emphasizes reporting accuracy and compliance.

Modeling inter-organizational business process governance in the age of collaborative networks

Collaborative networks require inter-organizational business process governance (IO-BPG) mechanisms to define ownership over shared resources and activities, accountability over operations, inter-organizational roles and responsibilities, and strategic partner alignment. We developed an IO-BPG modeling approach aiming to incorporate (1) IT governance activities (e.g., IT performance measurement), (2) data governance activities (e.g., data strategy management), and (3) “shadow” parallel governance-related operations. Resulting from a design science research project, our contributions include the building blocks (domain attributes, ontology, and requirements) of a novel BPMN extension, its demonstration in logistics operations, its evaluation, and design principles to guide IO-BPG modeling. Suggestions for the development and evaluation of future BPMN extensions are also highlighted based on the lessons learned in this project. For practitioners, our contribution can improve accountability reports over data assets and operations, identify dataset ownership, assist in the coordination of governance activities in networked businesses, and comply with regulations and strategic partnership agreements.

Dynamic Spatiotemporal Scheduling for Construction Building Projects

For building projects, the manager is responsible for coordinating the work of subcontractors at the construction site. This includes operations, material flows, and storage. In summary, one of their main roles is to ensure smooth team rotation, maintain fluid circulation, and avoid congestion or relaxation on the site. However, traditional tools lack the ability to consider the planning and management of worksite spaces when calculating the execution schedule and critical path. Consequently, three-week planning is usually carried out separately on independent plans, often using spreadsheets. In addition, a construction site is highly dynamic and mobile in nature, and the positioning of resources and workers can change daily. This makes the management of available space even more complex, and effective space management becomes an imperative. To address this challenge, this paper develops visual dynamic artifacts that present different operation types. The methodology and the conceptual framework facilitate the calculation of the Occupancy Rate (OR) that enables construction project managers to create simple yet dynamic spatiotemporal models of the construction schedule. By incorporating factors such as crew turnover and occupancy evolution, managers can simplify the calculation process and effectively optimize construction work by utilizing site occupancy rates. In summary, this paper presents the Dynamic Model of the Occupancy Rate Schedule (DMORS), a methodology developed through design science. This model utilizes created artifacts representing various operation types to ensure accurate calculations of dynamic occupancy by floor and sector in a site. Consequently, it enables the construction of a more realistic schedule based on critical space ideologies. The DMORS enables managers to use the OR for different floors and sectors of a site, allowing for better space management. A proof of concept demonstrates that this tool can enhance the efficiency and productivity of construction projects by optimizing crew schedules and resource allocation based on site OR.

Enhancing localisation in public procurements: A framework for evaluating suppliers' capabilities

This study investigates a framework for assessing suppliers' capabilities in public procurements to bolster localisation objectives. The study utilises the Action Design Research (ADR) methodology, combining the strengths of Action Research and Design Science, to examine the 'Ten Products Group' initiative within Iran's oil industry (2014–2023). This approach allows for the investigation of an applied problem within its specific contextual framework. The research highlights the importance of a comprehensive capability evaluation framework that includes qualitative assessments of suppliers' organisational, technological, and manufacturing capabilities. The framework incorporates both self-reporting and independent outside evaluation, enabling the inclusion of competent participants in public procurements and aligning contractual duties with the objective of localisation.The study emphasises the need for a transparent and thorough capability evaluation framework, contributing to the development of local industries and economic growth in situations where suppliers lack necessary capabilities. It suggests that a well-designed capability evaluation framework can facilitate the growth of local industries through public procurements, enabling the inclusion of competent suppliers and supporting economic development. The study's limitations include its focus on the context of localisation in public procurement and the potential challenges associated with implementing the proposed capability evaluation framework in practice.

Experiences of Digital Transitions in Health and Social Care Services in Later Life: Findings and Reflections from a Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Exploratory Review

Health and social care services are increasingly shaped by the emergence of new digital developments. Research suggests that older adults are less likely to use digital devices and, therefore, risk missing out on essential health and social care services as these become more digital by design. We carried out an exploratory literature review using the terms ‘onboarding’ and ‘offboarding’ within the design, engineering, health, and social science literature to understand how researchers are currently thinking about older adults’ digital service needs, informed by discussions of stakeholder engagement with older adults in Edinburgh to explore their own experiences of digital transitions. The review process was implemented based on the methodology of Arksey and O’Malley for scoping reviews, and the findings were reported according to the PRISMA-ScR checklist. The databases used were Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL Plus, IEEE Xplore, Engineering Village, PsycINFO, ASSIA and ACM. In total, 18 studies were finally included. Our findings show different interpretations of onboarding across disciplines and a lack of use of offboarding in the design of digital interventions. Additionally, our findings reveal inequalities in digital onboarding, as evidenced by the limited number of studies. Finally, we share a snapshot of our findings, together with reflections on interdisciplinary and collaborative processes.

Designing the future of coopetition: An IIoT approach for empowering SME networks

In an era where Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) redefine the boundaries of competition and collaboration, the concept of coopetition — simultaneous competition and cooperation — emerges as a strategic imperative for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study presents the design and development of an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) artefact designed to enable competition among SMEs. Bringing the Service-Dominant Logic (S-D logic) foundations to IIoT, a Design Science Research (DSR) approach was employed. This approach facilitated the integration of design theory with practical problem-solving, creating the Coopetition IIoT-based System. The primary goal of this solution is to augment the dynamics of coopetition networks, with a particular focus on SMEs. The practical evaluation of the Coopetition IIoT-based System is assessed through a prototype evaluation by experts representing twenty-four manufacturing stone SMEs, a crucial sector in the Portuguese economy. The feedback received was highly positive, indicating a positive evaluation rate of 78.9%. This favourable response highlights the Coopetition IIoT-based System’s proficiency in fostering simultaneous competition and cooperation throughout the lifecycle of business opportunities in SME networks, thereby underscoring its potential as a facilitator of effective competition. Theoretically, this research enriches the application of S-D logic in coopetition networks and advances state-of-the-art IIoT systems. Practically, the Coopetition IIoT-based System demonstrates significant potential in boosting the competitiveness of SMEs in developed economies. Nonetheless, the ultimate efficacy of such IIoT systems will be best determined through real-world application and evaluation. Future research should concentrate on the real-case deployment and assessment of Coopetition IIoT-based Systems within coopetition networks.

Increasing maritime cybersecurity awareness through game-based learning

Abstract Increased connectivity, digitalization and emerging autonomous operations within the maritime sector are paving the road for new cybersecurity risks. Such risks are not just a technical concern, as effective awareness and training programs play an important role in increasing the knowledge of relevant cyberattacks and defences, thereby improving security practices among stakeholders. Serious games have emerged as an engaging method to train individuals, effectively communicate an understanding of emerging cybersecurity threats and promote cybersecurity culture and hygiene. This paper delves into the development process of an asymmetrical strategy game for the maritime sector. The game uses a red versus blue paradigm to educate players about critical assets of maritime operations and how they can be exploited. The novelty of this work has been to design a gameplay based on actual incidents that for instance shipping companies have been facing up until today and likely future events. We employ a design science research methodology to ensure problem relevance and utility for practitioners. The game has been designed towards a demography of students from maritime education and training institutions and professionals working in the maritime sector but should be appealing to others looking to expand their comprehension of the maritime cybersecurity intricacies as well. The game serves as a pedagogical learning tool for elevating cybersecurity awareness, preparedness and response in the maritime digitalization sphere.

The Adoption of Blockchain Technology on Company’s Internal Control System in Sales and Purchasing Cycle

ABSTRACT This paper explores the use of blockchain technology to enhance internal control systems for fraud prevention within the sales and purchasing cycle. Despite existing internal controls, significant weaknesses persist in these systems, leading to issues such as poor performance, missing orders, underpricing, rebates, false charges, falsification of order information, late delivery, and order/performance shifting. Using the design science research approach (Hevner, March, Park, and Ram 2004), we propose a conceptual framework that allocates the verification, storage, and management of events to each authorized blockchain node, preventing tampering with verified data. By integrating blockchain’s secure, traceable, and decentralized features with smart contracts, oracles, and the Internet of Things (IoT), our framework aims to automate workflows, track goods in real-time, and measure operational performance accurately. This approach enhances internal control systems, reduces audit workloads, and mitigates the risk of business fraud and misconduct. JEL Classifications: M42; M49.

Strategic Choice And Responsible Innovation: Integrating Approaches To Foster Sustainable Business Development

The study focuses on addressing businesses' growing need to integrate sustainability into their decision-making processes, given the recognized worldwide environmental impacts derived from industrial and technological growth. The study proposes a decision-support artifact that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In light of the principles of Design Science Research (DSR), it combines the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA), which helps manage uncertainties, with Responsible Innovation (RI) principles to guide the socially and environmentally conscious innovation process. As another novel, this artifact adopted the Borda voting system to select the best sustainable development courses of action. Data from a Brazilian solar energy company were considered to demonstrate the artifact’s application. Our results deliver a decision-making support artifact whose results serve as inputs for strategic planning for the business. These artifacts highlight the importance of collaborations for decision-making within the scope of sustainable development. This paper proposes a novel and holistic approach that recognizes peculiar aspects of managerial commitment to advancing sustainability within a business context, contributing to the literature. Managers also can apply this decision artifact to improve sustainability performance.

HealthCheck: A method for evaluating persuasive mobile health applications.

Objectives: This paper introduces HealthCheck, a novel evaluation method for persuasive mobile health applications, aiming to fill the critical gap in quick and effective evaluation tools for this domain. Methods: Following Design Science Research, HealthCheck was developed through problem identification, solution design, implementation, evaluation, and iterative refinement. The implementation involved testing with seven experts to assess its applicability and effectiveness. Results: Feedback from the evaluators indicated that while a few heuristics in HealthCheck were considered irrelevant by some, the majority found the heuristics to be both pertinent and beneficial, especially within the caregiving context. This feedback highlights the practical value of HealthCheck and its potential to offer meaningful insights into improving the usability of persuasive eHealth applications. Conclusion: The study shows HealthCheck effectively evaluates persuasive mobile health applications, offering actionable insights to enhance usability. This validates the relevance and robustness of HealthCheck's heuristics, advancing information systems and human-computer interaction research.

From Dis-empowerment to empowerment: Crafting a healthcare cybersecurity self-assessment

Due to the valuable and sensitive nature of its data, the Australian healthcare sector is increasingly targeted by cyberattacks. Existing cybersecurity evaluation methods often lack the specificity required to address the unique vulnerabilities within this sector, especially in terms of engaging stakeholders and fostering a proactive security culture. These evaluations often overlook psychological empowerment, which enhances individuals’ confidence in managing cybersecurity.This study aims to develop a tailored cybersecurity self-assessment index for the Australian healthcare system. It will focus on enhancing psychological empowerment alongside technical assessments to improve overall sector resilience against cyber threats.Using a design science research approach, the index was developed using expert reviews, online surveys, and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, including healthcare providers, consumers, and government entities. This iterative process involved identifying gaps in existing cybersecurity measures and designing an index to address technical and human factors.The index’s evaluation through a pilot study revealed that it effectively raised awareness and empowered individuals within the healthcare sector to take ownership of cybersecurity practices. Participants reported increased confidence in managing cybersecurity risks and found the index’s actionable recommendations helpful in improving their security posture. However, challenges related to its applicability across diverse healthcare environments and regulatory constraints were identified.The Australian Healthcare Cybersecurity Self-Assessment Index shows promise as a tool for strengthening cybersecurity in the healthcare sector by integrating psychological empowerment with technical assessments. Further research is needed to refine the tool, incorporate quantitative data, and explore its scalability across different healthcare settings and global applications.

ORSO: The Organizational Structure Ontology

ABSTRACT Organizational structure information is deeply embedded in the different functional activities of accounting. This paper presents ORSO (ORganizational Structure Ontology), an ontology for describing organizational structures that can be reasoned with as part of accounting applications, developed following the principles and guidelines of design science research. ORSO allows the representation of key organizational constructs to meet internal and external accounting needs, including financial reporting requirements, analysis of an organization’s governance structure, economic analysis of agent and group performance, the definition and monitoring of controls, and responding to political and social inquiries about agents and other needs. A prototype is presented that demonstrates three possible types of applications of ORSO systems: (1) analysis of organizational structures, (2) accounting analysis through the integrated use of Resource-Event-Agent (REA) transaction data and ORSO specifications, and (3) constraint definition and monitoring. Data Availability: Additional information is available from the authors. JEL Classifications: M4.

Existence Results for A Nonlinear Degenerate Parabolic Equation involving -Laplacian Type Diffusion Process

In this study, a nonlinear degenerate parabolic equation is used to describe a nonlinear -Laplacian equation process that arises in many areas of science and engineering in mechanics, quantum physics, and chemical design. This work has the objective of proving the existence of the local weak solution of a nonlinear p(x)-Laplacian equation by the compactness theorem. The uniformly local characteristics of the solutions for the gradients by estimating the regularization problem and using the Moser iterative techniques. Moreover, some properties of the local solutions depend on uniformly bounded situations and the -norm to the gradient is considered.

Design of a conceptual model of open innovation for the decentralization of the science, technology, and innovation system in Colombia from an organizational ecology perspective

Science, technology, and innovation (STI) systems are fundamental to the economic development of any nation. However, their high hierarchy and centralization create inequities for the more dispersed regions to access their benefits. Traditional approaches to STI system decentralization have been through public control and investment policies, posing a challenge for emerging economies. Given these conditions, it is necessary to explore alternative approaches such as open innovation (OI), which can facilitate bringing the STI system to the regions by breaking its hierarchical structure; and organizational ecology (OE), which can contribute to the construction of ecosystemic appropriation of STI in the regions. The objective of this research is to propose a conceptual model that addresses the need to decentralize Colombia's STI system through an alternative approach to public policy governance, utilizing OI and OE. The methodology used for this research is Design Science Research (DSR), which allows for the creation of an artifact-type model, validated through the representational validation technique, supported by a cross-impact analysis matrix completed by 67% members of the subregional STI committees in the department of Caldas. The result is a conceptual model that integrates the components of Colombia's STI system, decentralizes them through OI factors, and ensures the ecosystemic appropriation of STI in the regions through OE factors. Model criteria, such as organizational readiness, collaborative capacity, absorptive capacities, intellectual capital, technological capital, and local niche, are presented as key elements in the decentralization of the STI system and the ecosystemic appropriation in the co-creation of a mutualistic STI system in Colombia's regions. The findings of the model represent an integrated model that unfolds sequentially; the first phase develops the decentralization through OI factors, and the second phase develops the ecosystemic appropriation from OE factors. This research contributes an integrated OI and OE model as an alternative to the traditional STI system decentralization approach from public policy governance and nation-region control, overcoming the hierarchical barrier of the system and granting ecosystemic appropriation of science, technology, and innovation in the regions.

DEVELOPING MACHINE LEARNING APPLICATION FOR EARLY CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) RISK DETECTION IN FIJI: A DESIGN SCIENCE APPROACH

CVD (cardiovascular disease) has become a significant contributor to premature deaths for many years in Fiji. CVD's late detection also significantly impacts annual deaths and casualties. Currently, Fiji lacks diagnosis tools that would enable people to know their risk levels. In this paper, a machine learning mobile application was developed that can be easily accessible to the local population for early prediction of CVD risk. The design science approach was used to guide the development of the application. The design process involved identifying the problem and motivation, setting objectives, creating a machine-learning mobile application for medical record analysis, demonstrating the application to selected participants, evaluating its usability and the machine-learning model's performance, and communicating the findings. The results revealed that the application proposed in this paper is an effective tool for CVD prediction in Fiji.

Reuse of service concept elements for modular service design

PurposeThis research investigates the systematic reuse of service concept elements within modular service design, aiming to offer actionable insights into effective conceptualization of services and extending methodological underpinnings to enhance the approach of service design.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a design science research approach, this study investigates the intentional and targeted reuse of service concept elements for modular service design. It develops four general design principles and applies them in a real-world context to demonstrate and evaluate the purposeful integration of service concept elements.FindingsThis research reveals the efficacy of reusing service concept elements for modular service design, highlighting the benefits of this approach in conceptualizing new services. It theorizes generalizable design knowledge by formalizing four design principles that allow to underpin the reuse of service concept elements.Originality/valueThis research contributes to service design literature by providing actionable insights into the systematic reuse of service concept elements, particularly within the framework of modular service design. We develop and test general design principles and, specifically, apply them for analytics-based digital services.

Designing A Blockchain-Empowered Telehealth Artifact for Decentralized Identity Management and Trustworthy Communication: Interdisciplinary Approach.

Telehealth played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to function as an essential component of health care. Existing platforms cannot ensure privacy and prevent cyberattacks. The main objectives of this study are to understand existing cybersecurity issues in identity management and trustworthy communication processes in telehealth platforms and to design a software architecture integrated with blockchain to improve security and trustworthiness with acceptable performance. We improved personal information security in existing telehealth platforms by adopting an innovative interdisciplinary approach combining design science, social science, and computer science in the health care domain, with prototype implementation. We used the design science research methodology to implement our overall design. We innovated over existing telehealth platforms with blockchain integration that improves health care delivery services in terms of security, privacy, and efficiency. We adopted a user-centric design approach and started with user requirement collection, followed by system functionality development. Overall system implementation facilitates user requirements, thus promoting user behavior for the adoption of the telehealth platform with decentralized identity management and an access control mechanism. Our investigation identified key challenges to identity management and trustworthy communication processes in telehealth platforms used in the current health care domain. By adopting distributed ledger technology, we proposed a decentralized telehealth platform to support identity management and a trustworthy communication process. Our design and prototype implementation using a smart contract-driven telehealth platform to provide decentralized identity management and trustworthy communication with token-based access control addressed several security challenges. This was substantiated by testing with 10,000 simulated transactions across 5 peers in the Rahasak blockchain network. The proposed design provides resistance to common attacks while maintaining a linear time overhead, demonstrating improved security and efficiency in telehealth services. We evaluated the performance in terms of transaction throughput, smart contract execution time, and block generation time. To create a block with 10,000 transactions, it takes 8 seconds on average, which is an acceptable overhead for blockchain-based applications. We identified technical limitations in current telehealth platforms. We presented several design innovations using blockchain to prototype a system. We also presented the implementation details of a unique distributed architecture for a trustworthy communication system. We illustrated how this design can overcome privacy, security, and scalability limitations. Moreover, we illustrated how improving these factors sets the stage for improving and standardizing the application and for the wide adoption of blockchain-enabled telehealth platforms.

Utilizing ISO 27001:2022 In Information Security Design For BPRCCo SME Digital Transformation

In the industrial revolution 4.0 era, organizations like BPRCCo need to carry out Digital Transformation (TD) to remain competitive. However, the main challenge in this process is information security which is often result of TD failure. Previous research highlights the importance of ambidextrous information security management (traditional and agile approaches) for large banks in achieving TD, especially in information security. However, this approach has not been proven for small-scale banks such as BPR. Therefore, this research aims to develop recommendations for information security management system (SMKI) solutions that are relevant for MSMEs and estimate improvements in their capabilities to support TD. The research method involves Design Science Research (DSR), including problem identification, requirements specification, design and development, demonstration, and evaluation. Data was collected through interviews and data analysis, then analyzed using the ISMS framework based on the ISO 27001:2022 standard. Based on the results of risk analysis and mapping of previous research, it was found that AB control in the PDCA and Annex cycles is a priority for BPRCCo. Next, a number of solutions were designed based on ISMS practices. This recommendation is prepared as an implementation roadmap that can help BPRCCo prepare and fully implement ISMS in critical areas to support TD. This research contributes to the understanding of ISMS for small-scale banks, especially as a case study for SME, and for similar organizations.