User-Centered Design in Procured Software Implementations

Jen Hocko

Journal of Usability Studies, Volume 6, Issue 2, February 2011, pp. 60 - 74

Abstract

Beginning in 2008, the author’s IT department started looking at Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products as an alternative to custom developed applications. Over the next two years, the company would transition from a “build” to “buy” philosophy, and it would be necessary to evolve the role of usability specialists to help incorporate user-centered design practices into both COTS evaluations and implementations. This case study describes how the author contributed to an enterprise-wide implementation of Microsoft SharePoint, as well as some of the challenges faced and lessons learned. It also suggests other ways that usability specialists can participate in COTS implementations.

Practitioner’s Take Away

For usability practitioners whose organizations are increasingly considering COTS product purchases, this author recommends the following:

• Getting involved early in product evaluations—this is the best opportunity to identify and assess usability issues of products on the market, potentially influence a procurement decision, and help project teams understand potential issues that could impact user adoption. Also, being involved in the evaluation portion of a COTS project paves the way for usability to be included in the implementation portion once a procurement decision has been made.
• Helping your organization create, refine, and consistently use processes and tools that incorporate usability and user-centered design considerations for COTS evaluation and implementation projects. Then, even when usability departments can not fully staff COTS evaluation and/or implementation projects, some aspects of usability will still be included. Working these processes and tools into usability departments’ service frameworks and/or the overall IT process documentation is a must for wide-spread buy-in and communication. As discussed above, working with vendors who do not have usability practitioners may also help them understand and attend to usability issues more in the future.
• Clearly establishing and frequently communicating how usability can add value to COTS projects. (This is especially true for COTS implementation projects, when out-of-the-box “configuration” appears simple at first glance and the perceived need for usability may be low.) Having a good understanding of
• the unique needs and challenges inherent in COTS evaluation and implementation projects (including the change management emphasis described in the Recognizing the COTS implementation as a change management problem section);
• the typical reasons why some more popular types of COTS implementation projects (e.g., ERP systems) fail, and the critical factors that have been identified as required for successful implementations (Plant & Willcocks, 2007; Kumar, Maheshwari, & Kumar, 2002; Sumner, 2000); and
• the company-specific risks or concerns that worry project team members can help usability practitioners align skills previously associated with custom application development to this new world of software procurement and configuration.

Article Contents

• Introduction
• Case Study: The Microsoft SharePoint Implementation
• Setting the Stage for Usability Involvement
• Piloting a UCD-Infused Migration Process
• Early Challenges and Realizations
• The Revised Implementation Process
• The Final Push Toward a Distributed Implementation Model
• The Future of Usability in COTS Implementation Projects
• Conclusion
• References

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User-Centered Design in Procured Software Implementations