CollECTeR 2002 A Multi-perspective Model for Assessing the Value of User Participation in E-Commerce Systems Development

The utility of a Web site from the user perspective is critical to success, and evidence suggests that an unrewarding initial experience will thwart further interaction with the site. Since the 1960’s, a commonly cited factor in the literature pertaining to system success has been user involvement in the systems development process. Among other things this is likely to lead to increased user satisfaction and the perceived usefulness of the application. This study proposes and validates a model to examine the role of key users or stakeholders in ecommerce application development. This framework for analysing user participation and system success takes into account the different requirements of each distinct group. Despite the business need for remote, untrained users to quickly feel comfortable and satisfied in an e-commerce site encounter, it appears that organisations are making very little effort to engage users in e-commerce site developmental activities.