Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf: Structuring Large Design Science Research Projects

Design Science Research is an important research approach that has gained increased attention over the past decade in the international scientific community. Recommendations and methodologies for design science-oriented research published in recent years provide good guidance for scientists to conduct and publish design science-oriented research. But little attention has yet been paid to the setup and structuring of large research projects.  Such projects sometimes look like dangerous and greedy big bad wolves that threaten the innocent project participants. Large research projects are special because of the volume and complexity of the research scope and the interaction of participating project members. We look for solutions to tame the wolf and present a framework to confine and structure the content of large research projects into well-defined and individually manageable research segments. This framework is suitable for projects characterized by manifold research tasks and the involvement of many project participants. This article presents the designed framework and illustrates benefits, limitations and practical implications. Its application is illustrated by means of a research project case study that was carried out over a three year period with the participation of several research institutions and partner companies.