An Information System Design Product Theory for the Abstract Class of Integrated Requirements and Delivery Management Systems

Information and Communications Technology-enabled international sourcing of software-intensive systems and services (eSourcing) is increasingly used as a means of adding value, reducing costs, sharing risks, and achieving strategic aims. To maximally reap the benefits from eSourcing and to mitigate the risks, providers and clients have to be aware of and build capabilities for the eSourcing life-cycle. China is in a position to become a superpower for eSourcing service provisioning, but most Chinese eSourcing service providers are small or medium-sized and typically work for larger intermediaries instead of end-clients, limiting their business and capabilities development. The extant literature does not offer a comprehensive enough guidance for eSourcing life-cycle management to overcome this limitation. This paper presents an information system design product theory for the abstract class of Requirements and Delivery Management Systems. eSourcing service providers can use it to establish domain-specific design product theories and to instantiate them into information systems that support the design, service provisioning, and breakdown recovery within the eSourcing life-cycle.