Design Implementation: the Transition from Design Principles to Implementation Principles

With an outset in design-based research, this paper addresses the question of how to move from design, and empirical testing of design, to actual implementation. In doing so, we draw on design research constructs of design principles and design characteristics, introducing the notion of implementation principles and implementation characteristics, mirroring the former. The study discusses the potential of this approach to the implementation processes of innovation, exemplified by a specific case of design research presented at previous CERME conferences. In the transition from design research to implementation research, it is found that a well-articulated theory of change may play a crucial role in linking the two. The paper thus aims to contribute to the theoretical infrastructure of design and implementation research, coined as design implementation.