User participation in decision support systems development: Influencing system outcomes

Despite the widely held view that systems are more likely to be successful if users are involved during systems development, there is uncertainty about the exact nature of the relationship between user participation and system outcomes. There has been considerable research activity in this area but findings are inconclusive. Comparatively little qualitative research has been reported. This paper reports an interpretive study that examined the development process for 38 decision support systems in the Australian agricultural sector. The relationship between user participation and system outcome was explored. The degree of user influence in the design process was found to be an important component of this relationship. Degree of user influence was a result of both the type and depth of user participation. Much previous research has focused on whether users were involved in development without detailed consideration of the degree of influence on design features resulting from this participation. The results from this study are significant in that they yield theoretical insights into the phenomenon of user participation and related system outcomes. In addition, the results have practical significance for practitioners developing decision support software.

[1]  T. Grandon Gill.  Early Expert Systems : Where Are They Now ? , 2002 .

[2]  H. Russell Bernard,et al.  Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches , 2000 .

[3]  Murray Sinclair,et al.  User-centred design does make a difference. The case of decision support systems in crop production , 2001, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[4]  A. Strauss,et al.  Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. , 1993 .

[5]  Guy G. Gable,et al.  Integrating case study and survey research methods: an example in information systems , 1994 .

[6]  Mark I. Hwang,et al.  The effect of user engagement on system success: A meta-analytical integration of research findings , 1999, Inf. Manag..

[7]  Aaes Journal.  EXPERT SYSTEMS IN AGRICULTURE , 1990 .

[8]  Varun Grover,et al.  Recognizing the politics of MIS , 1988, Inf. Manag..

[9]  Tor Guimaraes,et al.  Successful Strategies for User Participation in Systems Development , 1997, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[10]  Tor Guimaraes,et al.  The Relationship Between User Participation and User Satisfaction: An Investigation of Four Contingency Factors , 1994, MIS Q..

[11]  Henri Barki,et al.  Measuring User Participation, User Involvement, and User Attitude , 1994, MIS Q..

[12]  Michael D. Myers,et al.  A Set of Principles for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems , 1999, MIS Q..

[13]  Henri Barki,et al.  User participation and user involvement in information system development , 1991, Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[14]  N. Melone.  A theoretical assessment of the user-satisfaction construct in information systems research , 1990 .

[15]  James D. McKeen.  Successful Development Strategies for Business Application Systems , 1983, MIS Q..

[16]  Michael J. Ginzberg,et al.  Early Diagnosis of MIS Implementation Failure: Promising Results and Unanswered Questions , 1981 .

[17]  Shane F. Mulo,et al.  AVOMAN & AVOINFO: SOFTWARE TO IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT OF AVOCADO PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY , 1999 .

[18]  Jim E. Greer,et al.  Explaining and justifying recommendations in an agriculture decision support system , 1994 .

[19]  E. A. Locke,et al.  Participation in Decision-Making: One More Look , 1979 .

[20]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable , 1992, Inf. Syst. Res..

[21]  A. Strauss,et al.  Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. , 1992 .

[22]  Mari-Ann Flyvholm,et al.  A study of the implementation process of an intervention to prevent work-related skin problems in wet-work occupations , 2006, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[23]  P. Atkinson,et al.  Making sense of qualitative data , 1996 .

[24]  Tor Guimaraes,et al.  Exploring the Factors Associated with Expert Systems Success , 1995, MIS Q..

[25]  Thomas W. Malone,et al.  Expert systems: the next challenge for managers , 1986 .

[26]  Blake Ives,et al.  User Involvement and MIS Success: A Review of Research , 1984 .

[27]  K. Lyytinen,et al.  Stakeholders, information system failures and soft systems methodology: an assessment , 1988 .

[28]  C. R. Franz,et al.  Group process and conflict in system development , 1989 .

[29]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  The DeLone and McLean Model of Information Systems Success: A Ten-Year Update , 2003, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[30]  J. M. McKinion,et al.  Expert systems for agriculture , 1985 .

[31]  Maryam Alavi,et al.  Revisiting DSS Implementation Research: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature and Suggestions for Researchers , 1992, MIS Q..

[32]  W. Neuman,et al.  Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches , 2002 .

[33]  Angèle L. M. Cavaye,et al.  User participation in system development revisited , 1995, Inf. Manag..

[34]  Zvi Hochman,et al.  Users' attitudes and roles in the development and evaluation of knowledge based decision support systems for agricultural advisers , 1994 .

[35]  P. Cox.  Some issues in the design of agricultural decision support systems , 1996 .

[36]  M. D. Myers,et al.  A disaster for everyone to see: An interpretive analysis of a failed is project , 1994 .

[37]  Rudy Hirschheim,et al.  Assessing participative systems design: Some conclusions from an exploratory study , 1983, Inf. Manag..

[38]  P. Atkinson,et al.  Making Sense of Qualitative Data: Complementary Research Strategies , 1996 .

[39]  James E. Hunton,et al.  Effects of User Participation in Systems Development: A Longitudinal Field Experiment , 1997, MIS Q..

[40]  Enid Mumford,et al.  Consensus Systems Design: An Evaluation of this Approach , 1979 .

[41]  Daniel Robey,et al.  User Involvement in Information System Development: A Conflict Model and Empirical Test , 1982 .

[42]  R. L. McCown,et al.  Changing systems for supporting farmers' decisions: problems, paradigms, and prospects , 2002 .

[43]  T. Grandon Gill,et al.  Early Expert Systems: Where are They Now? , 1995, MIS Q..

[44]  W. Doll,et al.  A discrepancy model of end-user computing involvement , 1989 .

[45]  Henri Barki,et al.  Rethinking the Concept of User Involvement , 1989, MIS Q..

[46]  Shirley Gregor,et al.  Intelligent support systems in agriculture: how can we do better? , 2000 .

[47]  Peter Caputi,et al.  Issues in predicting and explaining usage behaviors with the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior when usage is mandatory , 2000, ICIS.

[48]  Niels Bjørn-Andersen,et al.  International Conference on Information Systems ( ICIS ) 1986 POWER OVER USERS : ITS EXERCISE BY SYSTEM PROFESSIONALS , 2017 .

[49]  A. Strauss,et al.  Grounded theory methodology: An overview. , 1994 .

[50]  Rien Hilhorst,et al.  Critical Succes and Fail Factors for Implementation of Knowledge Based Systems at the Farm Level , 1995 .

[51]  M. D. Myers,et al.  Dialectical hermeneutics: a theoretical framework for the implementation of information systems , 1995, Inf. Syst. J..