Withfour inspiringconferencesthattookplaceinClaremont,Pasadena,Atlanta and Philadelphia, the International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology (DESRIST) has developed into a premier conferencefordesign-orientedresearchinInformationSystems.Becomingatruly global conference series, DESRIST was held in St.Gallen, Switzerland, in 2010. DESRIST2010broughttogetherresearchersandpractitionersengagedindesign science research from all over the world to provide global perspectives on both design science and design research in the broadest sense. The design science research paradigm has been discussed thoroughly in - centyearsandisnowgaininggroundfor bothbuildingknowledgeandimproving practice in information systems and several related disciplines. As opposed to naturalandsocialresearch,designresearchdoesnotcraveultimatetruths,grand theories or general laws, but seeks to identify and understand real-world pr- lems and propose appropriate, useful solutions.
It is commonly believed that design research involves building, investigating and evaluating innovative ar- facts such as constructs, frameworks, models, methods, and information system instantiations in order to solve practicalproblems. Moreover,the study of me- ods, behaviours, and best practices related to the problem analysis and artefact development process are encompassed - commonly referred to as design science. Anongoingdebaterelatedtothenature,scopeanddominantideologiesofdesign science research, however, shows that the paradigm is still emerging. Its core, its boundaries and its interplay with other research approaches are increasingly being revealed and de?ned. The topical theme of DESRIST 2010 is "Global Perspectives on Design S- ence Research". Once more, the DESRIST conference successfully serves as a forum for raising and discussing new ideas in the area of design science research.