Developing a Proof-of-Concept Practices Context Model

Abstract

In this study, we worked in collaboration with ninety-seven Proof-of-Concept (PoC) practitioners in the development and execution of thirty different activities to map PoC practices and their relationships. Adopting a practitioner and designer mindsets, we used a Design Science Research approach to model PoC practices and their interactions, apply and study the model influence in practitioners understanding of context. We identified how practitioners incorporated model concepts and discovered interactions between practices, fostering their co-evolution. As practitioners, we framed practices in the context of activity systems, grounded in sociotechnical phenomena and used Activity Theory to substantiate our reflections on PoC practices and map mediators flowing between them. The paper contributes a conceptual-relational PoC practices context model, as a language contribution to improve reflection on practice, and to further enable the study the role of emergent practices in system design.