The finding of thorns: user participation in enterprise system implementation

This paper presents a study of a major, multinational program of Enterprise Systems (ES) implementation. The case study subject is a hi-tech manufacturer. The study focuses on the issue of user participation. The investigation inquires into the fact that the implementation method espoused user participation even though the outcome of the project was already known. (Regardless of user input, the ES would be deployed). The paper reports that user participation was deployed to serve the interests of the project manager in reporting local circumstances as the implementation project moved across different sites. The framework for this inquiry was Multiview2, the latest generation of the Multiview information systems (IS) method. The structure of Multiview2 was used as a diagnostic device in order to inquire into the characteristics of the ES method used at the case study sites.