EFFECT OF UNCERTAINTY AND STRATEGIC ASSES SMENT OF USER REQUIREMENTS ON INFORMATION-SYSTEM PROJECTS

The objective of the early phases of information systems (IS) developm ent projects is to determine users' information requirements. Systems analysts' primary concern is to secure information requirements that a re stable over the duration of the project. The reality of the profess ion has shown that obtaining information requirements which reflect us ers' true information requirements and which remain stable over time i s not always an easy matter. In this study, we attempted to validate a n information requirements determination (IRD) theoretical model. Deve loped by Naumann and Davis (1978), this model defines the best IRD str ategy as a function of the uncertainty present in the project. Three h ypotheses were derived from the model and tested using data collected on 67 IS projects. Established measures were used to measure the varia bles of the model. Statistical tests led to the rejection of the hypot heses relating project size, task structure, and the congruence variab le to user satisfaction. The results obtained show that human factors are the most important in an information system development project.