User involvement has long been considered a critical component of effective system implementation. However, the perspective has suffered from mixed results of empirical tests and the lack of a theoretical explanation for the relationship (Ives and Olson, 1984; Baroudi, et al., 1986). Our purpose is to present a theoreticallygrounded perspective to account for effects of involving users during implementation, and to provide an initial test of this perspective. We propose that: (1) system implementation represents a threat to users’ perceptions of control over their work and a period of transition during which users must cope with differences between old and new work systems; (2) user involvement is effective because it restores or enhances perceived control. Results of a field experiment designed as a preliminary test of this perspective are discussed.

Restoring a Sense of Control during Implementation: How User Involvement leads to System Acceptance.

User-led development is gaining popularity with organizations wishing to increase user involvement and control. Typically in this approach a small group of users is given the responsibility for managing the project and representing the user community in determining requirements, testing, training, and system implementation. This paper explores the end user's perception of the quality of his or her representation and satisfaction with the application system within an organization employing user-led development. The end-user communities for two systems developed in a large Australian government corporation were surveyed. The results indicate that the user perception of representation is the most significant influence on user satisfaction-the correlation scores for the two systems studied were in excess of 0.6. Also of importance is the user's perception of management support. Both systems recorded a low average score for user representativeness (2.5 and 2.7), which is attributed in part to the large number and geographic spread of the users and to the approach adopted by the user representatives in the user-led development team.

Exploring individual user satisfaction within user-led development

User information satisfaction: IS implementability and effectiveness

Variations in users' definitions of an information system

Cet article etudie une application du concept de conception d'un tel systeme dans une compagnie d'assurance. A travers les methodes de recherche longitudinale, les evenements des processus de developpement sont decrits et interpretes dans 2 voies. La premiere interpretation fait ressortir les objectifs et methodes rationnels dans le developpement. La seconde interpretation de ces memes evenements identifie les schemas politiques. Ces deux perspectives coexistent et se complementent

An Investigation of User-Led System Design: Rational and Political Perspectives.

The results of a field study of management information systems (MIS) in different organizations in Australia which investigates the relationship between type of user, user involvement and user information satisfaction are reported. The results show that user MIS success (UIS) varies between users of the same MIS based on their organizational function and that user involvement in the systems development life cycle has a significant positive effect on UIS. The significance of the effect of user involvement varies for users based on their organizational function. Technical users are less satisfied with MIS than administrative users. Also, the relationship between user involvement/user control of the systems development process and UIS is significantly different for administrative and technical users. >

P. Nicholas

Papers

Variations in user satisfaction with MIS