Management Of End-user Computing Research Articles

A Multiple Case Study on the Nature and Management of Shadow Information Technology

ABSTRACTIn several organizations, business workgroups autonomously implement information technology (IT) outside the purview of the IT department. Shadow IT, evolving as a type of workaround from nontransparent and unapproved end-user computing (EUC), is a term used to refer to this phenomenon, which challenges norms relative to IT controllability. This report describes shadow IT based on case studies of three companies and investigates its management. In 62 percent of cases, companies decided to reengineer detected instances or reallocate related subtasks to their IT department. Considerations of risks and transaction cost economics with regard to specificity, uncertainty, and scope explain these actions and the resulting coordination of IT responsibilities between the business workgroups and IT departments. This turns shadow IT into controlled business-managed IT activities and enhances EUC management. The results contribute to the governance of IT task responsibilities and provide a way to formalize the role of workarounds in business workgroups.

The Management of End User Computing in a Distributed Decision Support Systems Environment

Due to the heavy use of End User Computing (EUC) at all levels within organizations, there is a need to integrate user-developed systems and other subsystems to effectively support organizational management and decision making. In this paper, the authors examine issues related to EUC in a subsystem-interface based distributed Decision Support Systems (DSS) environment from which several guidelines on managing EUC are recommended. These guidelines include: 1) the planning of EUC should be incorporated into the design of DSS; 2) the management of EUC should be oriented to the effectiveness of organizational decision making; and 3) the management of EUC cannot be separated from the management of communication activities.

Understanding and measuring user competence

End User Computing (EUC) is experiencing a resurgence of importance as managers realize it is tied to the new knowledge economy through knowledge-worker productivity. Assessing individual's capabilities with respect to end user technologies is central to both research on EUC and management of EUC in organizations. For this reason, we advance a new construct, User Competence, which is multi-faceted. It is composed of an individual's breadth and depth of knowledge of end user technologies, and his or her ability to creatively apply these technologies ( finesse). Several issues are explored, including what User Competence means, how users differ in their capability, and how these differences relate to other individual characteristics. The experimental study of 100 subjects shows that the dimensions of competence relate differently to individual factors, such as gender, education, self-efficacy, and specific software-syntax skills. Reasons for and implications of these observed relationships are discussed.

Organization Designs for the Management of End-User Computing: Reexamining the Contingencies

To date, little research has been directed at the management infrastructure for end-user computing (EUC) from an organization design perspective. This study reports on the testing of a previously published contingency model in which two different structural forms are modeled for four states of EUC implementation: (1) an organic design (characterized by a decentralized, highly participatory form of decision making with loose controls), and (2) a mechanistic design (characterized by centralized decision making with a more tightly controlled form of management). Based on questionnaire data from 63 companies, statistical support is found for only the two states of EUC implementation for which a mechanistic design is modeled. Although only moderate support for this contingency model is found, the results of this study provide additional evidence for the effectiveness of a more controlled approach to EUC management under a low EUC growth objective at an early stage of implementation. This finding has important implications for other EUC management models and organization design options for assimilating new information technologies in general. The article concludes with recommendations for future empirical research, including a revised contingency model.

The management of end-user computing

The development of computing applications by the people who have direct need for them in their work has become commonplace. During the 1980s, development of applications by “end users” accelerated and became a key management and research concern. Known as “end-user computing,” the phenomena and research associated with this trend cross a variety of disciplines. This article critically surveys the published literature on end-user computing (EUC) management according to a comprehensive research model. The article introduces the EUC management research model, identifies prior research contributions, and offers guideline for the future. The focal points of the model are two EUC management components which represent two different levels of theorizing found in the literature. The first level focuses on the organization factors of strategy, technology, and management action. The second level focuses on the individual factors of end user, task, tool, and end-user action. The remainder of the model includes factors typically investigated as the antecedents (context) and consequences (outcomes) of EUC. More than 90 English-language articles published from 1983-1990 are mapped into the model. Specific variables for each factor are identified; research streams are interpreted; findings are synthesized; and gaps in our knowledge are highlighted. We then raise a number of substantive and methodological issues that need to be addressed and suggest two themes we envision as important for EUC management research in the 1990s: EUC as an extension of organizational computing and EUC as a social learning phenomenon. Guidance is offered for using these theme to inform future research.

The place and value of documentation in end-user computing

A central problem in the management of end-user computing is providing quality support in a cost effective manner for a variety of application needs and different levels of expertise and motivation. The end-user computing literature has emphasized training and consultation mechanisms whose nature and purpose are much the same in end-user computing as they are in a traditional data processing environment. In the end-user environment, documentation has assumed a new role as a “point-of-need” support mechanism that merits serious attention. This paper identifies the characteristics of early adopters and reluctant users, describes the diversity of their support needs, discusses the advantages of particular support mechanisms for meeting specific end-user needs, and examines the relationship between user documentation and end-user satisfaction using a sample of 326 end-users. Apparently, quality user documentation is an important determinant of end-user satisfaction, especially satisfaction with the information content of decision support applications.

Using End User Characteristics to Facilitate Effective Management of End User Computing

The End-User Characteristics Matrix, a mapping of user characteristics onto four end-user taxonomies, provides a more detailed perspective on the end user as developer/operator of computer-based information systems. Understanding individual end users is probably the most critical element to effectively managing end-user computing in organizations. Yet many managers do not really understand the end user they are attempting to manage. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework which will allow the manager of end users to identify and describe user characteristics which differentiate, define, and help us better understand the end user. Previous literature on end users is discussed where four end-user taxonomies were presented, categorizing end users according to one or more characteristics, along with empirical research which utilized those taxonomies. The Rockart and Flannery end-user taxonomy has been the most widely used framework since 1983. The most comprehensive taxonomy, Cotterman and Kumar’s User Cube, was used as the basis for definitions in this research. The end user located in the developer/operator plane, identified as the fastest growing category of end users, was investigated in depth. Empirical research in end-user computing was examined to identify the set of user characteristics. Researchers studying end-user computing can use the matrix as a starting point to visualize how past research taxonomies and empirical studies are interrelated. Practitioners, anxious to develop policies to manage EUC, can concentrate their efforts on certain user characteristics they observe to be problematic.

Beyond Stage Models for EUC Management

Defines end user computing (EUC). Suggests a dichotomy between information systems (IS) managers and end users, both of whom wish control computing resources. Reviews literature concerning EUC and the stage growth model. Suggests alternative visions of the role of IS and user managements in the growth of EUC.

Effective Management of End-user Computing: A Total Organization Perspective

:Using the constructs of strategy, structure, and performance from organizational theory, the authors provide a framework for critically reviewing the previous research on end-user computing (EUC) management from a total organization perspective. While the growth of EUC and the need for its effective management have been well documented, our knowledge about what Eve management infrastructure is most effective for a given organization at a given point in time is incomplete and without a common theoretical basis.Adopting the assumption that EUC is an organizational innovation, the authors develop a two-cell model of EUC management effectiveness that synthesizes selected MIS and innovation management literature. An exploratory investigation of the validity of the primary assumptions of this model is described. Interview data from IS managers in five organizations are presented as mini-cases. A revised model of EUC management effectiveness, which incorporates both the findings from this field study and previous “conflicting” EUC literature, is then proposed for further research.

The Information Center Concept: A Normative Model and a Study of Six Installations

The principal current concern of corporate information centers is the support and management of end-user computing. This paper presents a normative model of an information center in terms of the end-user computing environment, discusses the results of extensive field interviews with information center managers, staff, and end-users, and draws conclusions and generalizations that are relevant for both future research and information center management.

Key Information Systems Issues for the 1980's

Knowledge of the most important issues in the information systems field would help focus research and educational efforts. A Delphi study, using leading information systems (IS) professionals, was used to identify and rank ten key IS management issues for the 1980's. Measures were also taken to the amount of agreement achieved on these issues and rankings. The number one issue identified was improved IS planning, followed by facilitation and management of end user computing. This article describes the research approach involved and discusses the results.