lecture 8: collaboration with users Flashcards
user involvement
user involvement can have different purposes - improving the requirement of the system or the design to make the implementation easier.
its important to remember that user involvement can take place in different stages, be achieved by different methodes and can be both symbolic involvement or strong control involvement
frame
a build-up repertoire of tacit knowledge that is used to impose structure upon, and impact meaning to, otherwise ambitious social and situational information to facilitate understanding.
nature of technology
images/understanding of technology
technology strategy
why organizations acquire and implement technology
technology-in-use
how it will be used
technological frame
Subset of members’ organizational frames that concern the assumptions, expectations, and knowledge they use to understand technology in organizations.
• This includes not only the nature and role of the technology itself, but the specific conditions, applications, and consequences of that technology in particular contexts of use.
How to use: Examining the underlying assumptions, expectations, and knowledge that people have about technology.
Change agent
a change agent is a person or a group mostly from inside the organization who helps an organization transform itself by focusing on such matters as organizational effectiveness, improvement and development.
how to manage user involvement properly
Know the work the system should support: Users typically have significant knowledge of the application domain, the tasks they perform, work practices, context of the system use and their behaviour and preferences.
Some knowledge is tacit: A part of the knowledge is tacit thus difficult to be articulated with typical elicitation techniques (such as interviews).
Better requirements and solutions: User involvement might improve the quality, accuracy and completeness of requirements.
The role of user involvement: analysis
Involving users during early phases of development like requirements elicitation is necessary to capturing their needs and to make sure that systems are aligned with business processes.
The role of user involvement: Design
having users participate in prototyping. By involving user in design the IT-systems and future work practices can be aligned. Furthermore requirements can be validated.
The role of user involvement: Programming
answering questions and clarifying requirements.
The role of user involvement: Testing
Verifying that the system actually comply with the requirements and is useful.
The role of user involvement: implementation
change agents.
benefits: phycological
user satisfaction
user system acceptance
facilitating change
better users attitude toward system
increasing relevance to the system by users
increasing customer loyalty
assist in maintaining long term relationship with users
benefits: Managerial
better communication
improved management practice
developing realistic expectation
reducing cost of conflict resolution
benefits: Methodological
better understanding of user requirements
improving quality of resultant application
improving quality of design decision
helping in overcoming in implementation failures
benefits: culture
increased system usage
facilitating knowledge sharing
improving user skills
benefit: political
democracy in workplace
challenges: phycological
users lack of motivation user behavior problem user expertise not appreciate idea of change confidentiality concerns users expectations
challenges: Managerial
system complexity communication skills of users budget lack of top management support project uncertainty effort required by users ineffective user representation user training
challenges: mehological
task complexity
user identification
impact of change
challenges: cultural
impact of changes
challenges: political
degree of involvement
conflicts
power assymetry
identify the users
• Who will be affected?
• What are the characteristics of people in each user category?
• What are the characteristics of the task performed by each user category?
• What do different users like and dislike about their jobs?
How are the different users likely to react to the system? Who might help / inhibit implementation?
where to achieve the benefits
To achieve the benefits in methodological and psychological perspectives, user involvement in requirements phase seems to be the most effective.
For political and cultural benefits, users need to be involved in design and implementation phases
shape understanding and action
By shaping individuals’ interpretations of organizational phenomena, frames implicitly guide individuals to make sense of and take action in organizations
sharing frames
members of a community often have individual interpretations but share some core values/frames - These frames are transmitted e.g. through training, socialization and community membership.
Create shared understanding between users and developers
By analysing and aligning users and developers technological frames.
