Organizational Issues in Development and Implementation of Interactive Systems

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the effect of organizational differences on system and application implementation—the process of bringing systems into organizations, including adoption and use—and on development, which also takes place in a broad range of settings. The organizational context of computer use is often clear. Even in an apparently organization-free setting, group and organizational influence is felt. The organizational context affects the implementation of computer systems—their introduction and use. The chapter argues that understanding the organizational context of use is critical for designers and developers. In addition organizational context affects interactive system development because development takes place in different kinds of organizations. Small software start-up companies provide certain possibilities, constraints, priorities, and pressures. Development labs that employ thousands of people are a very different context. Other experiences are still encountered in the systems group of a large user organization such as a hospital, bank, or government agency. Organizational differences affect all aspects of development, including the design of human-computer dialogues and interfaces.