Design and action. These theories describe “how to do” things, that is, they are prescriptive. Design science (Simon, 1996; Hevner et al., 2004; Hevner and March, 2003; March and Smith, 1995) is influential here. Although there is usually an implicit prediction that following the design principles will be beneficial, it is a matter of opinion as to whether this category describes theories (March and Smith, 1995).

D. I. K. Sjøberg, T. Dybå, B. C. D. Anda, and J. E. Hannay, “Building Theories in Software Engineering,” in Guide to Advanced Empirical Software Engineering SE - 12, F. Shull, J. Singer, and D. K. Sjøberg, Eds. Springer London, 2008, pp. 312–336. [Springerlink]