Type of Publication: Article in Collected Edition

Exploring the Abstraction Levels of Design Principles: The Case of Chatbots

Author(s):

Wache, Hendrik; Möller, Frederik; Schoormann, Thorsten; Strobel, Gero; Petrik, Dimitri

Title of Anthology:

Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI)

Location(s):

Nürnberg, Germany

Publication Date:

2022

Keywords:

Design Principles, Prescriptive Design Knowledge, Design Science

Citation:

Download BibTeX

Abstract

Formulating design principles is the primary mechanism to codify design knowledge which elevates its meaning to a general level and applicability. Although we can observe a great variety of abstraction levels in available design principles, spanning from more situated to more generic levels, there is only limited knowledge about the corresponding (dis-)advantages of using a certain level of abstraction. That is problematic because it hinders researchers in making informed decisions regarding the (intended) level of abstraction and practitioners in being oriented whether the principles are already contextualized or still require effort to apply them within their situation. Against this backdrop, this paper (1) explores different abstraction levels based on a sample of 69 design principles from the chatbot domain as well as (2) provides a preliminary positioning framework and lessons learned. We aim to complement methodological guidance and strengthen the principles' applicability, leading to knowledge reuse.