DONT UNDERESTIMATE THE PROBLEMS OF USER CENTEREDNESS IN SOFTWARE-DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS - THERE ARE MANY

On the basis of a longitudinal field study of 29 commercial software d evelopment projects, the pros and cons of user centredness in software development were analysed. We looked at two concepts: user participat ion-an organizational device-involving a user representative in the te am, and user orientation-a cognitive-emotional concept-which pertains to positive attitudes towards users. Both were found to be associated with project difficulties relating to process and product quality as w ell as overall project success. We suggest that the issue is no longer whether or not to involve users, but instead to develop a realistic u nderstanding of the difficulties associated with user centredness.