This research is concerned with an investigation into the reported failures in information systems programmes and of the underlying cause of these failures. The research revealed that end user participation is an important part of the information systems design process for it is rarely the technology that fails but a failure of the information system to meet the expectations of the end user. Research into the literature indicates that a major problem encountered when attempting end user driven participation is that there is a gap in communication between the end users who are experts in the business domain and the developers who are experts in technology. The literature reveals that the challenge of managing this gap in a user driven manner is still the subject of much research. Many attempts to manage the gap that have been reported can be criticised since they are driven by the technical developer and not the end user despite recognising that it is the end user who will be using the information system on a daily basis. The research reported in this thesis provides an account of a unique use of Vickers' notion of Appreciation coupled with the mnemonic PEArL applied in order to first, enable end users to define their information system in a rich and enhanced manner and second, to provide a pathway for end users to 'navigate' the gap (between end users and developers) in a coherent and traceable manner. The developed approach is then applied to a field study in a leading public library in the UK from which lessons are learnt about the approach itself and about end-user driven development of information systems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:556971 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Cooray, Shavindrie Flavia |
| Publisher | University of Portsmouth |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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