Obstacles to User Involvement in Software Product Development, with Implications for CSCW

Abstract This paper addresses one particular software development context: large product development organizations. It describes common obstacles that product developers face in obtaining knowledge about actual or potential users of their systems and applications. Many of these obstacles can be traced to organizational structures and development practices that arose prior to the widespread market for interactive systems. These observations apply to user involvement in human-computer interface development in general, but have particular relevance to CSCW and groupware development.

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