END USER COMPUTING

End User Computing

End User Computing

Introduction

End-user computing (EUC) is one of the most significant phenomenon to occur in the information systems industry in the last ten years (Benson, 1983; Lefkovits, 1979), Although still in its early stages, signs of rapid growth are evident. In the companies they studied, Rockart and Flannery (1983) found annual EUC growth rates of 50 percent to 90 percent, Benjamin (1982) has predicted that by 1990 EUC will absorb as much as 75 percent of the corporate computer budget. Because of these trends, Rockart and Flannery call for better management to improve the success of end-user computing. Without improved management, they see the adverse effects of the Nolan-Gibson (1974) “control" stage constraining development of this new phenomenon.

To improve the management of EUC. Cheney, et al, (1986) call for more empirical research on the factors which influence the success of enduser computing, Henderson and Treacy (1986) describe a sequence of perspectives (implementation, marketing, operations, and economic) for managing end-user computing and identify objectives for each phase. In the implementation phase, they maintain that objectives should focus on increased usage and user satisfaction. As the organization gains experience with end-user computing, they recommend increased emphasis on market penetration and objectives that are more difficult to evaluate such as integration, efficiency, and competitive advantage.

Discussion

The growth of end-user computing is presenting new challenges for information system managers. Measures of user information satisfaction developed for a traditional data processing environment may no longer be appropriate for an end-user environment where users directiy interact with application software. Indeed, user information satisfaction instruments have not been designed or validated for measuring end-user satisfaction. They focus on general satisfaction rather than on a specific application, and they omit aspects important to end-user computing such as ease of use. Hence, this study distinguishes between user information satisfaction and an end user's satisfaction with a specific application.(Benjamin,1982)

The End-User Computing Satisfaction Construct

In a traditional data processing environment (see Figure 1), users interact with the computer indirectly, through an analyst/programmer or through operations. Routine reports might be requested from operations. For ad hoc or nonroutine requests, an analyst / programmer assists the user. In this environment, a user might be unaware of what specific programs are run to produce reports. In an end-user computing environment , decision makers interact directly with the application software tc enter information or prepare output reports. Decision support and database applications characterize this emerging end-user phenomenon. The environment typically includes a database, a mode! base, and an interactive software system that enables the user to directly interact with the computer system (Sprague, 1980). Although vast improvements have been made in end-user software (Canning, 1981; Martin, 1982), efforts to improve fhe manmachine interface continue (Sondheimer and Relies, 1982; Yavelberg, 1982), Figures 1 and 2 do not depict all the differences between traditional and end-user computing environments. Other differences such as software, hardware, support requirements, and control procedures are not illustrated. Rather, the intent of these figures is to illustrate that, in ...