Theorizing About Systems

Theorizing about Group Support Systems

Theory is critical to science. Group Support Systems (GSS), as a field of scientific inquiry is no exception. The important issue about theory in GSS is then not why theory, but where should theory come from (or how should theory be developed) and how to assess it (or evaluate its usefulness). This paper expounds on these issues by considering various approaches to theorizing about GSS, and del...

Theorizing about software development practices

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t The paper focuses on the challenge of generating theoretical support for software development, especially when human software developers are involved in the software development process. We outline a model, " Coat Hanger " , for theorizing about development practices. The model focuses on the intended rationale for the actual realization and resulting impac...

Design Theorizing Individual Information Systems

An individual information system is an activity system in which individual persons, according to idiosyncratic needs and preferences, perform processes and activities using information, technology, and other resources to produce informational products and/or services for themselves or others. These small information systems have evolved with increasing complexity around the increasing computing...

Beyond Sociomaterial: An Alternative Approach to Theorizing About Digital Artifacts

Information Systems researchers often study artifacts in light of their purpose, use, and effects. Their research is often conducted relying on a socio-technical or sociomaterial based ontology. For these realism-based approaches, ever-present security vulnerabilities, conflate the properties of the digital artifact making it impossible to conceive of a universal artifact. This paper explores h...

Deficits and Institutional Theorizing About Households and the State