A review of the nature and effects of guidance design features

Guidance design features in information systems are used to help people in decision-making, problem solving, and task execution. Various information systems instantiate guidance design features, which have specifically been researched in the field of decision support systems for decades. However, due to the lack of a common conceptualization, it is difficult to compare the research findings on guidance design features from different literature streams. This article reviews and analyzes the work of the research streams of decisional guidance, explanations, and decision aids conducted in the last 25 years. Building on and grounded by the analyzed literature, we theorize an integrated taxonomy on guidance design features. Applying the taxonomy, we discuss existing empirical results, identify effects of different guidance design features, and propose opportunities for future research. Overall, this article contributes to research and practice. The taxonomy allows researchers to describe their work by using a set of dimensions and characteristics and to systematically compare existing research on guidance design features. From a practice-oriented perspective, we provide an overview on design features to support implementing guidance in various types of information systems.