The Effect of User Involvement on System Success: A Contingency Approach

Despite the fact that commercial computer systems have been in existence for almost three decades, many systems in the process of being implemented may be classed as failures. One of the factors frequently cited as important to successful system development is involving users in the design and implementation process. This paper reports the results of a field study, conducted on data from forty-two systems, that investigates the role of user involvement and factors affecting the employment of user involvement on the success of system development. Path analysis was used to investigate both the direct effects of the contingent variables on system success and the effect of user involvement as a mediating variable between the contingent variables and system success. The results show that high system complexity and constraints on the resources available for system development are associated with less successful systems.