From a database perspective, business constraints provide an accurate picture of the real world being modeled and help enforce data integrity. Typically, rules are gathered during requirements analysis and embedded in code during the implementation phase. We propose that the rules be explicitly modeled during conceptual design, and develop a framework for understanding and classifying spatiotemporal set-based (cardinality) constraints and an associated syntax. The constraint semantics are formally specified using first-order logic. Modeling rules in conceptual design ensures they are visible to designers and users and not buried in application code. The rules can then be semiautomatically translated into logical design triggers yielding productivity gains. Following the principles of design science research, we evaluate the framework's expressiveness and utility with a case study.
Two paradigms characterize much of the research in the Information Systems discipline: behavioral science and design science. The behavioral science paradigm seeks to develop and verify theories that explain or predict human or organizational capabilities by creating new and innovative artifacts. Both paradigms are foundational to the IS discipline, positioned as it is at the confluence of people, organizations, and technology. Our objective is to describe the performance of design-science research in Information Systems via a concise conceptual framework and clear guidelines for understanding, executing, and evaluating the research. In the design-science paradigm, knowledge and understanding of a problem domain and its solution are achieved in the building and application of the designed artifact. Three recent exemplars in the research literature are used to demonstrate the application of these guidelines. We conclude with an analysis of the challenges of performing high-quality design-science research in the context of the broader IS community.
Application-driven, technology-intensive research is critically needed to meet the challenges of globalization, interactivity, high productivity, and rapid adaptation faced by business organizations. Information systems researchers are uniquely positioned to conduct such research, combining computer science, mathematical modeling, systems thinking, management science, cognitive science, and knowledge of organizations and theft functions. We present an agenda for addressing these challenges as they affect organizations in heterogeneous and distributed environments. We focus on three major capabilities enabled by such environments: Mobile Computing, Intelligent Agents, and Net-Centric Computing. We identify and define important unresolved problems in each of these areas and propose research strategies to address them.