Search and Evaluation of Coevolving Problem and Solution Spaces in a Complex Healthcare Design Science Research Project

This article employs design ethnography to study the design process of a design science research (DSR) project conducted over eight years. The DSR project focuses on chronic wounds and how Information Technology (IT) might support the management of those wounds. Since this is a new and complex problem not previously addressed by IT, it requires an exploration and discovery process. As such, we found that traditional DSR methodologies were not well-suited to guiding the design process. Instead we discovered that focusing on search, and in particular, the coevolution of the problem and solution spaces, provides a much better focus for managing the DSR design process. The presentation of our findings from the ethnographic study includes a new representation for capturing the coevolving problem/solution spaces, an illustration of the search process and coevolving problem/solution spaces using the DSR project we studied, the need for changes in the purpose of DSR evaluation activities when using a search-focused design process, and how our proposed process extends and augments current DSR methodologies. Studying the DSR design process generates the knowledge that research project managers need for managing and guiding a DSR project, and contributes to our knowledge of the design process for research-oriented projects.