Principle-Based Design: A Methodology and Principles for Capitalizing Design Experiences for Information Quality Assurance

We know that information quality affects the performance of relief agencies during emergency management processes. Yet, recent studies keep revealing that relief workers faced information quality challenges during emergencies. While this can be partly attributed to the fragmented nature of the incompatible information systems that were designed from a single-agency perspective in order to support routine processes, there is a desperate need for overarching architecture principles that allow for the support of non-routine, interagency information needs. Principles are defined as normative, reusable and directive statements that guide architects in designing the capabilities needed to achieve overarching goals. This study presents a methodology for extracting such principles for information systems that can be employed for emergency management processes. Based on literature review, case surveys, interviews with architects and qualitative analysis, 12 principles are proposed for information quality assurance. Architects working at relief agencies can adopt these principles to redesign information systems in order to assure information quality from an interagency perspective. Due to the absence of an interagency system governing body, the main challenge lies in promoting and monitoring the adoption of such principles across relief agencies.