published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Software designers must understand the domain, work practices, and user expectations before determining requirements or generating initial design mock-ups. Users and other stakeholders are a valuable source of information leading to that understanding. Much work has focused on design approaches that include users in the software development process. These approaches vary from surveys and questionnaires that garner responses from a population of potential users to participatory design processes where representative users are included in the design/development team. The Design Exploration approach retains the remote and asynchronous communication of surveys while making expression of feedback easier by providing users alternatives to textual communication for their suggestions and tacit understanding of the domain. To do this, visual and textual modes of expression are combined to facilitate communication from users to designers while allowing a broad user audience to contribute to software design. One challenge to such an approach is how software designers make use of the potentially overwhelming combination of text, graphics, and other content. The Design Exploration process provides users and other stakeholders the Design Exploration Builder, a construction kit where they create annotated partial designs. The Design Exploration Analyzer is an exploration tool that allows software designers to consolidate and explore partial designs. The Analyzer looks for patterns based on textual analysis of annotations and spatial analysis of graphical designs, to help identify interesting examples and patterns within the collection. Then software designers can use this tool to search and browse within the exploration set in order to better understand the task domain, user expectations and work practices. Evaluation of the tools has shown that users will often work to overcome expression constraints to convey information. Moreover, the mode of expression influences the types of information garnered. Furthermore, including more users results in greater coverage of the information gathered. These results provide evidence that Design Exploration is an approach that collects software and domain information from a large group of users that lies somewhere between questionnaires and face to face methods.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991.

User development of applications provides end users with an alternative to the traditional process of systems development by allowing them to solve job related problems by developing their own software applications. User developed applications (UDAs) support decision making and organisational processes in the majority of organisations, and the ability to develop small applications forms part of the job requirements for many positions. Despite its pervasiveness, there are many risks associated with user development of applications. These risks result primarily from decreases in application quality that arise when end users have had little training and do not follow system development methodologies. The primary aim of the research described in this thesis is to gain a better understanding of UDA success. In particular, the thesis considers the role of system quality in UDA success and the ability of end user developers to judge whether the applications they develop will have a positive impact on their performance of tasks. The research also investigates factors that might impact upon this ability. The research objectives were addressed through two empirical studies. Two possible models of UDA success provided the starting point for Study 1. The first model is DeLone and McLean’s (1992) model of IS success, and the second model is a version of this model that was modified to address concerns about the DeLone and McLean model and to reflect current research about UDA success. The models were tested using data from a field study involving business people participating in a business policy simulation, where they developed spreadsheet applications to assist in decision making. Structural equation modelling was used to test the models. Neither of the models was well supported by the data. However, the analysis provided strong support for relationships between perceived system quality and user satisfaction, information quality and user satisfaction, user satisfaction and intended use, and user satisfaction and individual impact. It is notable that the model paths that were supported in Study 1 were primarily those that reflect user perceptions rather than objective measures. This study highlighted that user perceptions of information systems success play a significant role in the UDA domain. The results did, however, suggest that there might be a direct relationship between system quality and individual impact. Study 2 was a laboratory experiment and the participants were end users from a range of organisations. A revised research model was developed based on the findings of Study 1, and structural equation modelling was again used to test the model. The model paths that were supported suggest that for small to moderate applications, increases in spreadsheet development knowledge lead to increases in system quality and consequently the development of better quality spreadsheets. They also suggest that for these kinds of applications, end users have realistic perceptions of system quality and hence that user satisfaction may be an appropriate measure of UDA success. The results of Study 2 also provided insight into the role of user involvement in end user development, clarifying the process by which benefits are obtained. The study also provided insight into the importance of spreadsheet development knowledge for successful use (as well as development) of a spreadsheet application. The results described in this thesis have practical implications for the management of user development of applications. They highlight the need either to increase end user levels of development knowledge via training so that end users can cope with applications of greater complexity, or to provide other forms of support for development. The role of organisational standards and guidelines is also be considered in the thesis and it is suggested that there is a particular need for guidelines on what kinds of applications are suitable for end user development.

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2012

Graduate

Research emphasises that effective and efficient end-user training is a vital component of the successful utilization of computer technology and that individual differences (e.g., learning styles, cognitive reasoning schemata) may effect the outcomes of end-user training. This study investigates the relationships between end users' Motivational Intent to use computer technology and individual differences. End users' Motivational Intent to use computer technology is significantly different for between-subjects grouped according to their level of anxiety (i.e., positive, neutral, negative). The empirical results indicate that end users' scholastic ability is an important predictor of the incremental change over time to end users' Motivational Intent to use computer technology. End users' learning styles impact the incremental change over time to end users' Motivational Intent to use computer technology. The results suggest that the tailoring of end-user training methods, techniques and materials to accomodate individual differences may be beneficial and worthwhile. / x, 99 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Alabama, 1991. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-117).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Alabama, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-117).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-202). Also available on the World Wide Web.