SGER: Toward a Science of Design for Small, Highly Dynamic Digital Information Collections

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This Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) project opens a science of design for a new and critical field of information management research: small, highly dynamic digital information collections (SDICs) such as evolving documentation repositories supporting critical incident management; changing research article collections for emerging localized science communities; rapidly developing project websites; etc. SDICs are are among the most widely used types of information collections, yet there is currently little theory of the type of cyclic redesign essential for these localized information repositories. Interestingly, the localized subject focus and the highly dynamic nature of SDICs makes them excellent candidates for new theories of design: First, their design depends on highly local and idiosyncratic requirements, resources, and constraints, instances of which have not yet been generalized in to scientific design principles. Second, their design is continuous and repeated, as information content, interpretations, requirements, and participants enter and leave the design space. This project develops generalized dimensions of the design space for SDICs. Next, it generates a model of the use-drivers for SDICs and their essential dynamic properties. Third, it will provide prototype software that demonstrates the how the design space and use-drivers can be coupled into dynamic configurations of SDIC software. This work will generate rapid impact in the research community, providing both preliminary design theory and example platforms that generate further experimentation. Finally, it will help to galvanize research-community interest in the science of highly dynamic, focused-content information systems, their core research issues, and effective approaches for designing them.