Designing Qualitative Simulation Systems for Business

In the business domain, qualitative simulation offers many advantages over quantitative methods. However, the design of qualitative simulation systems (QSS) represents a difficult problem in the organizational context, for which extant design methods are ill-equipped. In this article, Information Systems Design Theory (ISDT) is employed for the design of organizational QSS, and a working prototype is developed. Using a focused example of agent performance in the context of an organizational process, the results demonstrate the use and utility of qualitative simulation for business, in addition to the efficacy of ISDT for QSS design. Additionally, I argue how ISDT will scale well to guide the design of information systems classes other than QSS and identify many elements of the QSS design that are inherently reusable. The article concludes with an outline for future research along these lines.