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This paper appropriates the value sensitive design (VSD) framework to examine the role of design values in the development of an information system designed to increase transparency and reduce corruption within the context of a large‐scale e‐governance project in India.

A qualitative case study was conducted and data were collected through interviews with system designers, observations of system design and implementation, and walk‐through of designed systems. Data analysis followed an interpretive approach intended to understand informants' meaning‐making. Analysis occurred iteratively both during and after the field study.

The study reveals the complexity of the role of values in the design of information technology wherein the designers in their pursuit of transparency and reduced corruption have to continuously balance their idealistic and pragmatic values.

This study tests the VSD framework in the context of developing an e‐government system thereby highlighting its usefulness but also outlining ways in which the framework can be expanded to make it more relevant to diverse contexts.

This study extends the VSD framework, particularly in contexts where designers' values are primary drivers of design decisions. A greater understanding of the role of design values across the design process can prove crucial in inculcating and reinforcing design values that lead to a more contextually relevant product.

This research provides valuable lessons on how to approach design of systems that can benefit humans with implications for designers and for public policy.

This is one of the first studies that utilizes the VSD framework to study information system design in a human development context with novel implications for both research and practice.