The paper presents a framework to interpret information systems development (ISD) as composed of activities for the creation and exchange of knowledge. The framework is based on the five inquiring systems presented by Churchman (1971).The main contribution of the framework is to show that the inquiring systems, when applied in practice, are complementary. They include rationalism, empiricism, idealism, dialectic, and pragmatism are used by participants in ISD projects in accordance to the scenarios they face in an opportunistic way. For each ISD activity there is a predominant inquiring system. Since the framework focuses on the knowledge created during the interaction of individuals and groups (or the lack there of) rather than on the specific development process the framework is robust enough to be adaptable to different ISD methodologies. While methodologies are largely centered on specific paradigms for knowledge creation, the presented framework focuses on micro-level activities and suggests specific management practices to support the different knowledge creation situations