Date of Award

2014

Degree Type

Dissertation

Department

Monte Ahuja College of Business

First Advisor

Tukel, Oya

Subject Headings

Business -- Data processing, Management information systems, Information storage and retrieval systems, User involvement, project management, business requirements, structural equation modeling, functional requirements, presentation requirements, information systems

Abstract

Information systems (IS) development has been studied from many perspectives. Information systems are being viewed as a service as the economy shifts from being industrial-based to service-based. This shift is motivating the business user to become more involved with the development of the system. The once clear roles of user-as-specifier and IT professional-as-developer are blurring. This research addresses three objectives. First, we survey the actual business users themselves for their perception of activities and satisfaction with the completed system. Second, we analyze the separation of business requirements into two constructs representing the functional and presentation dimensions of these requirements to advance our understanding of user involvement on information system projects. Third, we explore the combinations of user characteristics and their activities that can improve IS project performance. A new comprehensive model is proposed to represent the business user as an active participant in system development. A survey instrument is developed from a widespread literature review of IS project performance, user involvement and project management. The instrument was tested to ensure its ease of completion and its comprehensibility. The revised instrument was sent to 3,419 U.S. business users in multiple industries from which 205 valid surveys were received. Structural Equation Modeling was used to validate the measurements and analyze the hypotheses and the overall model. The results confirm some previous findings and document new discoveries regarding the users, their activities and the impact on user satisfaction

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