The systems development or engineering approach to research in information systems: an action research perspective

This paper is concerned with a type of information systems research that is comparatively poorly understood – the "systems development" (SD) or "engineering" approach. SD is seen as a natural intermediate step linking basic and applied research and as a form of action research. It is argued that we can learn from the view of SD research as action research and thus develop useful criteria for the conduct and evaluation of SD research. An illustration is given of the application of these criteria to an example of SD research in information systems. This illustration demonstrates the importance of recognizing the SD approach and relevant criteria for guiding and evaluating the validity and worth of such work.