THE ROLE OF IT DEPARTMENTS IN SUPPORTING THE
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE PROCESS
EDWIN NEUENSCHWANDER
University of Groningen
Faculty of Economics & Business
Msc Business Administration
Specialization Business & ICT
THE ROLE OF IT DEPARTMENTS IN SUPPORTING THE
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE PROCESS
Author: Edwin Neuenschwander
Student number: s1497065
Email: e.neuenschwander@upcmail.nl
Supervisor: Dr. E. Harison
PREFACE
In September 2006 I started with the final assignment of my study Business & ICT at the University of Groningen. My initial plan was to finish this assignment around January or February 2007. Having a HBO (‘Higher Education’) background, it took some time to get used to the academic way of doing research. Despite the fairly long startup I still presumed to finish on time and therefore I already started applying for my first real job. I obtained a contract at a large IT consulting firm with a hiring date of April 1st. This meant that I would have one month off before starting the new challenge of ‘working life’. However, it went an entirely other way. A few weeks in the new year the ‘inevitable’ writers block presented itself while the start date for my new job came closer.
So I started with my first project, followed trainings and enjoyed the other interesting things that come with ‘consulting life’. Nevertheless, in the back of my head there was still that feeling that I was not yet done with my student days… And so after a long time I finally went back to (re)writing the last parts of my thesis, resulting in the document that you are reading right now.
Since this page is the place to say ‘thank you’, I first want to thank the N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie in Groningen and especially Pieter Jousma for providing the opportunity to carry out the final assignment for my study. Due to the reasons mentioned above, this research project probably turned out a bit different than Pieter expected (as it did for me…). Nevertheless, I hope this thesis is still useful and of interest to Pieter and Gasunie. Besides offering the possibility of writing my thesis, Pieter also sparked my interest in the topic of Business Intelligence in general and the combination with SAP in particular. To me this latter ‘Net Benefit’ is also something I am really thankful for.
I also want to thank my supervisor Dr. Elad Harison. He helped me to get started with my first real academic research, which he did really well. Elad must also be one of the most patience people on earth. Even after missing several of my planned dates for submitting my thesis, he still motivated me to go on and emphasized that he was always available if I needed help. Thanks too to friends, fellow students and (ex-)collegues who also stimulated me directly or indirectly to ‘take a few days off to finish your stuff’… Something I should have done much earlier than I ultimately did.
Lastly, and as the cliché goes certainly not least, I want to thank my parents for supporting me throughout my ‘study career’, from elementary school to those last weeks at the University they always motivated me to go on. Maybe I did not always show appreciation for your support but in fact I was thankful for it. Looking back it has also helped me with finishing my thesis, thanks a lot!
ABSTRACT
The process of gathering data, analyzing it and using the obtained information as a basis for making business decisions is called the Business Intelligence (BI) process. Although the last years practical research focusing on how a company gets the most out of its ‘BI experience’ has risen, in the academic literature the topic of BI remains scarce.
This research focuses on the role which Information Technology (IT) departments can play in supporting their organization with regard to BI.
As the name (Business Intelligence) implies, the successful accomplishment of the BI process is the responsibility of the business. However, for carrying out the BI process, people often make use of an Information System (IS). Traditionally, the Information Systems of an organization are developed, controlled and maintained by the Information Technology (IT) department. Besides this rather technical function, there are other roles that can be applied by the IT department of an organization, especially when looking at the characteristics of the BI process. Based on a literature study and some practical research the following roles for IT departments have been identified besides the technical support function: IT departments as service provider, IT departments as leader of change (promoter), IT departments as
knowledge broker and IT departments as a member of a BI Governance Committee. To measure the role of IT departments, there has been made use of the Updated DeLone & McLean model for IS Success. This model consists of six dimensions that collectively
identify the success of an IS: Information Quality, Service Quality, System Quality, Use, User Satisfaction and Net Benefits.
Although the original goal of the DeLone & McLean model was to measure the success of an IS, this research shows that it can also be used to assess the role which IT departments have played reaching this success (or which roles should be applied to turn non-success into success).
There has been identified that from a theoretical point of view, each of the proposed roles can be matched with one of the five roles that influence the sixth dimension (Net Benefits), this is shown in the model below:
To determine if the model is also valid in practice, a case study has been carried out at the N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie in Groningen. By making use of semi structured interviews, all identified factors have been addressed in relation to the (non)success of a system.
TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ... 3 ABSTRACT ... 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ... 6 1 INTRODUCTION... 7 1.1 Research Questions ... 8 1.2 Research approach... 8 1.3 Outline... 9 2 LITERATURE REVIEW... 10
2.1 Business Intelligence: definitions and concepts... 10
2.1.1 Business Intelligence... 10
2.1.2 The Business Intelligence Process ... 11
2.1.3 Business Intelligence Information Systems ... 13
2.2 The position of IT departments in the BI process ... 15
2.3 The role of IT departments in supporting the BI process: theoretical foundations... 16
2.3.1 IT departments as technical support function ... 16
2.3.2 IT departments as service providers... 18
2.3.3 IT departments as leaders ... 19
2.3.4 IT departments as knowledge brokers... 20
2.4 The role of IT departments in supporting the BI process: practical recommendations . 21 2.4.1 BI end-user support ... 21
2.4.2 Characteristics of the IT department and users with regard to BI... 22
2.5 The role of IT departments in supporting the BI process: proposed roles ... 24
3 RESEARCH METHOD... 26
3.1 Measuring the role of IT departments ... 26
3.1.1 Information System Success ... 26
3.1.2 Service Quality and Information System Success... 27
3.1.3 Information System Success revisited... 27
3.1.4 From IS Success to BI Process Support ... 29
3.2 Factors that influence IS success... 30
3.2.1 Net Benefits... 30
3.2.2 Use and User Satisfaction ... 31
3.2.3 Information Quality... 33 3.2.4 Service Quality... 33 3.2.5 System Quality ... 35 3.3 Research method ... 36 4 RESULTS... 37 4.1 Research site... 37 4.2 Interview results ... 38 4.2.1 Financial Controlling (FCC) ... 38 4.2.2 Purchasing Support (FP-S)... 39 4.2.3 Marketing (LTM) ... 40 4.2.4 Front office (LTF) ... 41 4.2.5 Back office (LTB) ... 42 4.2.6 Installations (TOI) ... 43
4.2.7 Mechanical Engineering (TOSW)... 44
4.2.8 Operational Data Center (TOSO)... 45
4.3 Discussion of findings ... 47 4.3.1 General ... 47 4.3.2 System Quality ... 47 4.3.3 Service Quality... 48 4.3.4 Information Quality... 48 4.3.5 Use... 49 4.3.6 User Satisfaction ... 49 5 CONCLUSIONS ... 52 6 RECOMMENDATIONS ... 54
6.1 The IT department as technical support function... 54
6.2 The IT department as service provider... 54
6.3 The IT department as knowledge broker... 55
6.4 The IT department as leader of change/promoter ... 55
6.5 The IT department as member of a BI Governance Committee ... 56
1 INTRODUCTION
In his extensive 18th century poem “The Rime of The Ancient Mariner”, Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the line: “Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink” which refers to the mariner’s crew who thirst for a drink, but the only water that is available is the salt sea in which their ship hopelessly floats.
Nowadays, all modern ships used for a long journey are equipped with an engine which prevents that they will be stuck “Day after day” when there is no wind. And even if it will be stuck, most of the time there is plenty stock of water and due to modern communication techniques usually it will be just a matter of hours before the ship and its crew are rescued. As the old fashioned sail boats nowadays are replaced by modern ships, the line in Coleridge poem can also be slightly changed to put in a current perspective: “Data, data everywhere, but none to help me think”.
The environment of organizations changes faster every day. Therefore, the speed of thinking, deciding and acting also becomes more important. For making the right decisions and taking the correct actions, organizations are dependent on information which is derived from data. The data overload experienced by organizations today combined with the changing
environment, increases the time that is needed to obtain the right information. Concurrently, the available time to make decisions decreases.
Many consultancy and research firms have stepped into this high demand for information, the activities that are performed to obtain this information and the techniques that can be used to do so. All those elements are collected under the moniker ‘Business Intelligence’ (BI), resulting in a stream of ‘how-to guides’, BI process models and practical studies providing advice about the way in which a company can enhance its “BI Experience”. However, most of those studies are either too general or just too extensive and do not focus on one aspect. Besides that, they are all derived from practical research but in the academic literature the topic of BI remains scarce (Negash, 2004).
1.1 Research Questions
In order to fulfill the goal of this research, the following main question an accompanying sub questions have to be answered:
Main question
Which role or roles should IT departments in organizations apply in order to successfully support the BI process of an organization?
Sub questions
1. What is BI and what is the BI process?
2. What is the role of IT departments in organizations?
a. What is the position of IT departments in the BI process?
b. What is the traditional or common role of IT departments in organizations? c. What research has been done with regard to the role of IT departments in
organizations and which new or future roles can be derived from it? 3. How can the roles of IT departments be matched with supporting the BI process? 4. How can the role of IT departments be measured?
5. Which conclusions and recommendations can be made based on the factors derived from both the literature and case study?
1.2 Research approach
The main part of this research consists of a literature review with regard to the concepts and definitions used in the field of BI, the role of IT departments in organizations and the impact of those roles for supporting the BI process.
Based on the famous DeLone & McLean model of Information System (IS) Success, a model for determining successful IT support with regard to the BI process is established and applied in practice by conducting interviews at the N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie in Groningen.
1.3 Outline
The outline of this paper will follow the research questions and research method as described: In the next chapter the concepts with regard to BI and the BI process are discussed in more detail, to serve as a basis for what follows and to emphasize the importance of a well established BI process and organization. There is also described in which part of this particular process the IT department should play a role.
Next the role of IT departments in organizations is treated. After describing the traditional role of IT departments, literature which proposes additional roles is discussed.
In the third chapter, the updated IS Success model of DeLone & McLean is discussed as a basis for determining factors that influence successful BI process support. There is argued that this model can be used for assessing the influence of the IT department on the success (or the lack of it) of the BI process after which the factors used in this research are being discussed. The factors derived from the established model have been used as input for the interviews. The results of those interviews are described and discussed in the chapter four.
Based on both the literature study and the interview results, conclusions are derived for successful BI process support by the IT department in a large organization. Finally, those conclusions are matched with the current situation at Gasunie to provide some
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter the theoretical foundations of the research are described. In the first subsection, the concept of Business Intelligence (BI) is discussed. The terms BI and BI process are
defined and there is focused on the function of an Information System (IS) for supporting this process. After that, the position of the Information Technology (IT) department in an
organization with regard the BI process is discussed. In the third subsection literature regarding the role of IT departments is reviewed, examining the roles which IT departments perform or should perform. Recommendations derived from practical research regarding BI are also taken into account. The possible roles are discussed in relation with the
characteristics of BI, the BI process and a BI Information System, to determine if the proposed general roles can be applied to the IT department with regard to supporting the BI process. Those roles are summarized in the fourth subsection.
2.1 Business Intelligence: definitions and concepts
Since the introduction of the term ‘BI’ in the 1980’s by research firm Gartner, it has been assigned many different definitions; some use it for every activity with regard to analyzing data, others for identifying a certain IS or for referring to information about competitors. To distinguish between the different uses of the concept, several authors have made the
distinction between the product BI, the process which ‘produces’ this product and the technical infrastructures that are available to support this process (for example Den Hamer, 2005, Van Beek, 2006). All three concepts are relevant for a clear understanding of the subject in this thesis and therefore those concepts are discussed in more detail in this subsection.
2.1.1 Business Intelligence
Every organization collects data: raw, unanalyzed facts, figures and descriptions of things, events, activities and transactions, which may or may not have a meaning for an individual or a group of people (Boddy et al., 2005). Those data can be collected from the internal
processes of the organization as well as from the outside world.
The data can be transformed through people, procedures, hardware, software et cetera into information which has meaning for the receiver. When the data means something to the people using it, it is called ‘information’ which can be judged by the receiver as useful, significant, urgent and so on (Boddy et al., 2005). When this is the case, the information can be used for supporting the daily tasks and activities of people. For example data about the products that are sold to a certain customer, will be information for the person that is responsible for creating the invoice belonging to this particular transaction.
towards action; whether this means decision making, improving processes or controlling an organization's activities (Boddy et al., 2005). This is depicted in the figure below:
Figure 1 - the links between data, information and knowledge (Boddy et al., 2005).
This information or knowledge about the business (internal and external) that predispose people towards action, based on the analysis and interpretation of this information is called ‘Business Intelligence’ (Van Beek, 2006).
The term ‘intelligence’ may have a negative tone since it may be associated with espionage activities, hence for example the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). However, the moniker of intelligence is used to point out that the data has become a ‘higher level’ of information. Although the designation BI may be fairly new, collecting and analyzing information has been done for centuries. Whether it has been done to discover the world, determine strategies on the battlefield or performing market research, the need for ‘intelligence’ about the
environment, products, processes et cetera has always been there. It is just because of the ever-growing data load for organizations which made Business Intelligence such a great point of interest.
BI consists of information derived from data about both the organization itself (in terms of input, process and output) and the external environment in which the organization operates. The collected information can be used on different levels in the organizations: the operational, technical or strategic level depending on the extent to which decisions have to be made. In short: BI is aimed at getting more knowledge or intelligence about the business.
2.1.2 The Business Intelligence Process
The process of collecting and registering data, analyzing it and using the obtained information or knowledge in decision processes (for example for improving the organization) and finally turning this knowledge into actions (actually improving the organization) is called the
Thus the BI process is a repeating, cyclical process which is also known as the ‘BI cycle’ (Den Hamer 2005). This process is shown in the model below:
Figure 2 – The BI process, based on Van Beek (2006) and Den Hamer (2005).
Aiming
The BI process starts by determining the information needs. This is done by first making clear about what exactly decisions have to be made, after this there is determined what is needed to make those decisions: which data has to be collected?
Searching and Collecting
In this phase the process of collecting is prepared (which information sources are available, how can these be accessed, which technology should be used et cetera), and executed.
Analyzing
After the desired data are collected, they are analyzed to judge if and how this can impact the decisions that have to be made.
Distribution and Application
The obtained intelligence is distributed to the relevant organizational departments or individuals, which on their turn will use it as input for their decision making processes. As is the same with the ‘product’ BI, the steps and activities of the BI process also have been around for a long time. The establishment of a process model of BI may be something of the last couple of years but in fact the basis is equal to the underlying foundations of the
Management Paradigm of De Leeuw (1982), wherein he distinguishes between three aspects of organizations: the Environment, the Managing Institution and the Managed System. The Managed System consists of the core and additional processes and functions of an
organization. The Managing Institution is responsible for looking after the correct
Institution needs data for assessing and controlling the system. This is displayed in the picture below:
Figure 3 – Management Paradigm of De Leeuw (1982).
The activity of managing and controlling the operational processes in an organization, based on information, can be considered as carrying out the different steps of the BI process as shown in figure 2. However, since the model is an abstraction it can also be applied to other organizational levels. Thus, it is not only the Management of an organization that can execute the activities regarding BI, but those activities can also take place at lower levels, for example a department.
What is important to note is that the BI process is a continuous process which causes a constant stream of information requests; the BI process is never ‘done’. It should also be noted that the BI process is most of the time accomplished as an ‘unaware activity’. Unlike traditional processes which are in general carried out in incremental steps, the BI process does not follow strict patterns. Although the BI process can be described and pictured as a cycle consisting of separate phases, in reality the activities are performed ‘unconsciously’. No one employee in an organization will say that he or she is going to do ‘some BI for the next hour’. However, for writing and research purposes it is useful to describe explicitly the process and its different phases, as has been done in the discussed BI process model.
2.1.3 Business Intelligence Information Systems
make better decisions. As such, the BI task includes little that is new and addresses very old managerial problems (Lönnqvist & Pirttimäki, 2006). In the paradigm of De Leeuw an IS can also be positioned in both the Managing and Managed Institution, to show that the decisions made by the Managed Institution are often based on data derived from an Information System:
Figure 4 – Management Paradigm of de Leeuw (1982) with Information Systems.
What is different compared to traditional Information Systems is that the available data in the modern business environment has taken on extreme proportions compared to the situation centuries or just decades ago. The use of an IS can simplify the activities of making sense of the data. In fact, every tool that enhances the way in which data can be analyzed can be identified as a BI system. For example, Microsoft Excel or Access are used commonly in organizations as a fast way to analyze data for answering ad-hoc questions or sometimes even for providing structural reports.
However, when it comes to really big amounts of data, the most widely used system for supporting the BI process in large organizations is a Data Warehouse (DW). Although
sometimes this is regarded as just a very big database, a data warehouse is much more. Inmon (1992, cited Chen et al, 2004) defines a Data Warehouse as a: subject-oriented, uniform, time-variant, nonvolatile collection of data organized to support management needs.
Similar to the BI process where needs and requests of information change constantly, the desired output of a Data Warehouse also changes over time. Due to the cyclical character of the BI process, the information requests by the users of a Data Warehouse change
continuously. Authors like Gardner (1998) in this case talk about Data Warehousing, thus in a process sense. In fact, a Data Warehouse is constantly in development: Maybe not so much in the way of changing the underlying technology as well as changing the desired output of the system.
This differs with a regular IS. Although other Information Systems are also used for
supporting a process, those processes always have more or less the same outcomes. Due to the changing needs, the requirements of the system also change. Simply put: an IS used for
supporting the BI process is never finished.
There has to be emphasized that the goal of BI is not an IS per se. An IS is just a useful tool which can greatly enhance the BI process and product. As seen in the previous paragraph, the term process indicates that ‘accomplishing BI’ is a continuous activity and that it does not stop after an IS is implemented. Indeed, most of the time the BI process starts after a system is implemented. Thus, although an IS is certainly a highly important factor for supporting the process, it is not synonymous with ‘doing BI’.
2.2 The position of IT departments in the BI process
As indicated above, collecting data, analyzing it and using the outcome as the basis for making decisions has been done for a long time and the information and knowledge derived from it have been used for different purposes. In case of BI, this is done to make decisions regarding an organization and its environment, hence the name Business Intelligence. This implies that the different steps of the process have to be carried out by the business (for example, Managed Institutions like the marketing department and the research & development division or the Managing Institution itself).
Since the IT department of an organization is a staff function and therefore not directly involved in making business decisions, it may be concluded that the IT department is not a part of this process. However, for accomplishing the BI process there has been identified that most of the time people make use of an IS. Since the Information Systems of an organizations are the domain of the IT department (this will be discussed in more detail in the next
subsection), the IT department is indirectly a part of the BI process. By supporting the BI system(s) used in an organization, the IT department is responsible for supporting the BI process:
For identifying roles which IT departments can or should apply regarding their position in the BI process there should be focused on the support they provide vis-à-vis the Information System(s) used in this process, while taking into account an IT department’s organizational position.
2.3 The role of IT departments in supporting the BI process: theoretical foundations
The goal of this research is to investigate which roles IT departments perform, can perform or maybe even should perform in order to provide successful support to the BI process in
organizations. In the previous paragraph there has been determined in which phase of the BI process an IT department and its activities come in sight, that is when the business turns to the use of a BI system (for example a DW) for analyzing their data. Since the topic of BI and especially the role of IT departments in supporting the BI process has flown under the academic radar (Negash, 2004), it is difficult to find literature which address this subject. Therefore in this section literature regarding the role of IT departments in general is discussed and matched with the concepts of BI. In addition to the traditional technical role, the role of IT departments as ‘service providers’, ‘leaders’ and ‘knowledge brokers’ is discussed.
2.3.1 IT departments as technical support function
Traditionally, the primary tasks of IT departments consist of developing, implementing and maintaining the technical applications and infrastructure that are used for supporting the business processes of an organization (Boonstra, 2001). In fact this role description is twofold: first the IT department is responsible for developing (and implementing) technical applications and the accompanying infrastructure, second the IT department is responsible for maintaining those applications. Both responsibilities promote a technical role, which is further confirmed by authors like and Laudon and Laudon (1991, cited Pitt et al, 1995) who state that the key deliverables for IT departments include operations manual, usage statistics,
enhancement requests and bug-fixes.
As seen before, the IT department can be positioned in the phase of the BI process where the individuals that are responsible for carrying out the BI process make use of a BI system to satisfy their information needs. Like traditional Information Systems, the end-users of an IS, whether they are on the Management or Operational Level, are nearly always dependent on the technical support provided by the IT department when there is made use of an IS for executing the BI process: the technical infrastructure has to be maintained, data has to be loaded on time, user authorizations need to be set up, it has to be made sure that the system is ‘up-and-running’ when users need to use it et cetera. Therefore, when it comes to supporting the BI process, the role of IT departments consists for a great part of maintaining the
necessary infrastructure.
However, there are also differences, especially in the way new applications are developed. When a regular IS is implemented, it generally does not require many adjustments. Of course there has to be a certain level of maintenance and control, but that does not change the way the supported process is executed. For example, when an accounting system has to be developed, the requirements will consist for a great part of the book keeping system. When the system is finished and employed by the financial department, the need for new
which do not need constant involvement of IT in the accounting process. Accomplishing BI on the other hand, constantly involves making new decisions and changing information requests, which may result in the adjustment of a system used for supporting the BI process. This difference of a BI system compared to a more traditional IS has an impact on the
members of the IT department that are responsible for building new ‘applications’: They have to be constantly aware of the changing needs of the end-users of the system.
In most organizations the development of new systems or data models is carried out as an IT project and are managed by making use of techniques like ‘The Waterfall Model’, the System Development Method or the System Development Life Cycle, which restrict ‘the IT’ as a technical function, controlled by the IT department.
A development or implementation project is usually considered as a one-off-a-kind job. A project can be defined as: “a controlled process that uses input of people, machines, materials and other resources to produce a final product that is used to achieve a goal in a finite period. Although during time things may change; in general the goal, the final product and means are known.
Although the implementation of (changes to) a BI system can also be carried out as a project, the characteristics of the BI process insist that after a system is implemented there should be more support than just ‘keeping the system up and running’. This asks for a different role of the IT department with regard to supporting a BI system.
Kakabadse and Kakabadse (2000) have written an extensive monograph where they identify the need for a changing role of IT professionals and discuss relevant literature on this topic. They describe the change in the role of IT professionals as the “IS/IT paradigm shift”: the IT professional of the future may need to be more focused on the business rather than the technical processes. The literature that is discussed by those authors makes clear that in modern organizations it is generally agreed that the role of IT professionals with regard to the Business – IT relationship has changed, promoting a more business focused role.
Following this change, the view of system development as a mere technical process has been challenged by a number of scholars who present systems development as a form of social action and so later methodologies were developed which included the user into the process of design, development and/or implementation (Peppard & Ward, 1999). Examples include Joint Application Design, Rapid Application Development and Prototyping (Taylor-Cummings 1998).
2.3.2 IT departments as service providers
In 1995 Pitt et al. proposed a refreshingly look at the role of IT departments in organizations; they stated that the role of IT departments had broadened considerably since the introduction of the first Information Systems. While initially Information Systems were introduced in organizations for automating tasks in order to provide efficiency and cost savings, Pitt et al. indicated that nowadays the IT department is more than a technical support function. Although in modern organizations Information Systems are still used to automate tasks that previously had to be carried out manually, nowadays most of the time Information Systems are used to enhance the tasks of the users of an IS. In fact, users do not explicitly ask for an electronic resource: they have work to do and they seek ways to support their activities. One such way is by making use of an IS. In such, they seek a way to accomplish their tasks and therefore will request assistance, product knowledge, training, system support et cetera from the IT department. Viewed from this point of view, the tangible products that are part of the domain of IT departments (the hardware) actually include a major intangible or service component.
In the light of the subject of this thesis, it is interesting to note one of the examples that Pitt and his colleagues use to support their point of view:
“[IT departments] have always had a service role because they assist users in converting data into information. Users frequently seek reports that sort, summarize, and present data in a form that is meaningful for decision making.”
Although not explicitly mentioning it, in fact the activities described in this example are actually part of the BI process: transforming data in such a way that it has meaning for the receiver (the user) to use it for decision making purposes.
Pitt et al go further by stating that:
“The conversion of data to information has the typical characteristics of a service. It is often a customized, personal interaction with a user.”
Looking from this standpoint, the role of IT departments should comprise more than just offering technical support. The IT department should not only be more involved in the
business as has been proposed by the ‘new’ system development methodologies mentioned in the previous sub section, but they have a much broader role: in fact IT departments are much more like service providers.
Solomon (2005) also mentions that both business managers and IT agreement on the Data Warehouse landscape is critical. On his list of “Major Data Warehouse Project Tasks”, he also included ‘end-user support’ stating that it is important to focus on quality of the end-user experience rather than only on a particular tool or software suite; just technical support is not enough:
“As long as one uses mainstream tools, it will not be the tool that determines success; rather,
As with a service, the result of the BI process is also not a tangible product. Although the information derived from a system can be presented in a tangible format, for example a printed report, this is not the actual product of the BI process. The valuable results comprise of the actions that are taken based on this information (Kelly, 1993, cited Lönnqvist & Pirttimäki, 2000). There has to be noted that the information does not automatically provide value, it has to be analyzed and interpreted in the right way before it can be used. The actual value is derived when the use of the information predisposes people towards action (Van Beek, 2006). In their research about Data Warehousing, Chen et al (2000) indicated that a great deal of satisfying the users of a DW depends on the interaction between the IT department and the business. When it comes to matters like training IT departments in fact provide a service that supports the users of an Information System in their accomplishment of the different steps of the BI process.
Thus, the Service Provider role would fit an IT organization really well. Although this may be true for every IT organization in general, the above makes it clear that this role is especially of value when looking at supporting the BI process: IT departments should offer services that can enhance the BI activities of users: training to make users familiar with the system, making users aware of the possibilities of the system, provide help in getting hold of the right data, being a ‘walking encyclopedia’ when it comes to the underlying techniques and so on.
2.3.3 IT departments as leaders
In their study amongst CIO’s of various midsize to large companies, Reich and Nelson (2003) went even beyond the role of IT departments as service providers. They found out that in various organizations it was reported that the role of IT departments had to shift to take on a much stronger leadership role and that IT departments had to provide and demonstrate business value. In other words: the time that IT departments are just there for technical support has gone by in present-day organizations. Not only new technical innovations can provide value to an organization, IT departments can add more value to the business by proactively identifying opportunities instead of just responding to requests (Reich and Nelson, 2003).
This is especially true when it comes to supporting the BI process. Although the actual BI process is carried out by the business, the IT department can be of value by making clear the opportunities and advantages of ‘accomplishing BI’ and through pointing out new techniques that for example can be used for analyzing or displaying data.
Consequently it would be better to turn the term ‘leader’ into ‘leaders of (organizational) change’. IT departments are not the leaders of the business nor are they the main actors in the BI process, but looking at their own field of expertise, IT departments should be able to support the business in clarifying their needs, explaining the possibilities and signaling opportunities. By doing so this may enhance the accomplishment of the BI process by the business.
striking observations (new tools or data mining techniques) but may not inform the users since the business requires that the IT department only focuses on the technical side of
support. Hence, the demand for more interaction of IT departments with the business (“the IT-paradigm shift” as described by Kakabadse and Kakabadse) once more comes through as a prerequisite for successful IT support.
2.3.4 IT departments as knowledge brokers
Pawlowski and Robey (2004) assign the task of knowledge brokering to IT professionals for bridging user organizations. They state that due to the position of the IT department in an organization, especially when there is made use of a shared IS, their employees can be
particular of value for transferring information or signaling important issues in the conduct of business. They conclude that until now IT professionals have played a restricted role when it comes to knowledge management: They were assigned the task to build and maintain tools for capturing and distributing organizational knowledge, thus giving only responsibility for the technical side (technical support role). However, their research shows that it is needed to reevaluate the role of IT professionals who design, implement, and support shared systems. Therefore, the authors suggest the role of brokers of organizational knowledge: “Knowledge brokers facilitate the transfer of knowledge among organizational units, thereby contributing to organizational learning” (Pawlowski and Robey, 2004).
As seen before, the traditional tasks of IT departments include the design, implementation and maintenance of Information Systems. With the introduction of the Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) systems in the seventies, the development and support of standalone Information Systems shifted to a more integrated approach. This resulted in Information Systems that are shared across the whole enterprise, with an opportunity that may lead to more interaction between the prospected users and members of the IT department. An IS used for BI purposes, especially a Data Warehouse, is often ‘cross-departmental’, meaning that it contains data derived from every level in the organization and thus indeed is a shared system. Furthermore, a Data Warehouse is often used as an enhancement to an ERP system. Therefore the role of knowledge brokers could be applied in this context.
The people using an information system in the light of the BI process often do not have sufficient knowledge of the possibilities of the system and its reporting tools. This makes it difficult for them to specify their information needs. Since users often do not see the
possibilities of the available data or even the availability of the data itself, they may miss out opportunities for a better use of the IS, evaluation of the performance of the organization or ultimately the improvement of the current processes which may create value for the
organization as a whole. They may also be unaware of certain events in the organization from which ‘intelligence’ can be derived by making use of the available IS. Since the BI process is a cross-departmental process, the people who are responsible for support should also have knowledge of what is going on in the business. This was also confirmed in the same study of Chen et al (2000) mentioned while discussing the service provider role:
“It is the [IT department’s] responsibility to increase the awareness among the end-users regarding the data in the warehouse”.
this phenomenon to happen is that this role of the IT department is acknowledged in the organization on the managing as well as the operational level. This is demonstrated by the following quote which starts of Pawlowski and Robey’s article:
“What these people don’t necessarily realize is [the IT Department] sees across the
organization (…) I don’t have the boundaries of their department (…) [The IT department] has the responsibility and ability to communicate across [the] departmental boundaries.”
When this is accomplished, it will be possible for IT departments to surface and challenge assumptions made by IT users regarding the used technology and data, translation and interpretation of technical jargon into business language, and relinquishing ownership of knowledge so that the business takes responsibility for it and uses it for fulfilling their needs. Whereas Reich & Nelson focus more on the IT itself (IT departments should point out the possibilities of the technology for supporting the business as a whole), the role of knowledge brokers is more aimed at being a ‘leader’ in pointing out opportunities regarding ‘knowledge’. In the light of the BI process, the responsibilities of this role can be considered as making the organization aware of the possibilities of data, where to find it and the value that can be derived from it.
2.4 The role of IT departments in supporting the BI process: practical recommendations
To complement the findings of the previously discussed research, several recommendations and results from practical research that does focus on the topic of BI has also been taken into account when trying to identify the role of IT departments in supporting the BI process. Where most practical research does not specifically focuses on the role of IT departments regarding the BI process, Matney & Larson (2004) and Gartner (2004) do take this
organizational function into account. Both practical studies are discussed and linked back to the literature in the previous subsection.
2.4.1 BI end-user support
As with all IT infrastructure components, after a BI solution is implemented and employed users will need end-user support. According to Matney & Larson (2004) BI end-user support is a combination of three key elements which should be supported both individually as well as collectively. The three key elements are “data”, “BI tools” and “business expertise”:
Data
The basis for every decision (on which actions can be based) is data; it is the major
component of the BI process. To help end users derive value from those data, it is needed to support ‘data education’: where and when to find the right data, where is it coming from, how can it support business goals? This ‘role’ should be provided by the IT department that
controls the Information Systems structure, hence the resemblance with the ‘knowledge broker’ roles described in the previous paragraph.
Tools
the use of an IS in order to make sense of the data. As already been discussed before, supporting the tools that are used in an organization is one of the responsibilities of the IT department. However, Matney & Larson also emphasize that just technical support (‘keeping the system up-and-running’) is not enough for a successful data warehouse initiative (or another BI tool), but that it should also include interacting with users, providing training, answering questions and ensuring data availability and quality. These activities are the same as the services that IT departments should provide regarding to Pitt et al (paragraph 2.3.2).
Business expertise
Part of the challenge in providing valuable end-user support relates to the combination of technical expertise with business knowledge (Matney & Larson, 2004). As already reported by Reich & Nelson and Pawlowski and Robey, this is needed to cross the organizational boundaries and make the business aware of the value that the IT department can provide in supporting the BI process. Thus, in order to provide successful support to the end-users of a BI Information System, business knowledge of the IT department and acknowledgement in the organization are prerequisites.
BI Governance Committee
To align the different organizational stakeholders involved in the BI process and consequently provide successful BI end-user support, Matney & Larson propose to establish a BI
Governance Committee. A BI Governance Committee is responsible for the overall project direction, alignment and prioritization regarding BI. This committee should accurately reflect the enterprise. The main point of a BI Governance Committee is to provide greater visibility to all of the enterprise initiatives and providing value to each participating entity: each representative is able to bring their team’s perspective and priorities to the table to define ‘where we are and where we want to go’ (Matney & Larson, 2004).
It is interesting to note that the organization of the BI Governance Committee is not described other than that people from all organizational functions (including management and staff functions like the IT departments) should be involved. There is much practical research which insists on establishing a so-called ‘BI Competence Center’, proposing an accumulation of roles including a ‘Business Analyst’, ‘Chief Data Steward’, ‘Technical Consultant’,
‘Knowledge Officer’ and ‘Data Miner’ (for example Miller et al., 2006). Although these roles are for sure contrived by the best intents, there may be a danger to ignore the original purpose of the competence center or BI Committee as described above, namely to get alignment between the management, operational departments and the IT organization in order to derive value from the BI process.
It should be clear that when representatives from the IT department take seat in such a committee, it will greatly enhance the awareness of both the business and the IT department about the needs, wants and possibilities regarding the BI process.
2.4.2 Characteristics of the IT department and users with regard to BI
process, they are still interesting to consider, since they confirm or complement several of the roles proposed in the previous subsections.
In order for an IT department to be successful in carrying out the (support of) the BI function in an organization, Gartner identified the following characteristics:
The IT department understands the need for, and potential of, BI.
It is important that the members of the IT department recognize the value they (can) add to the overall BI process. The employees have to realize that BI is more than just a technical ‘trick’. Although the technology is an important condition for successful BI, just having the right tools is not the actual goal of BI. The IT department should be aware of the business’ need for intelligence, the value that can be derived for them and also their own role that they can play in accomplishing those goals.
The IT department has the required skills and resources.
Except for the technical skills and resources needed for supporting the Information Systems used in the BI process, employees of the IT department need knowledge of the business to carry out successful support. This is in accordance with the tendency towards the shifting role of IT professionals as described by Kakabadse & Kakabadse (2000). While the technology aspects of BI certainly play a part in adding value to the BI, the business process side is equally important and often ignored (Matney & Larson, 2004). The importance for this has also been discussed in the previous paragraph.
The IT department is taking responsibility for setting up a data warehouse infrastructure.
This statement has to be treated with some care, because it may seem that the IT department should be the owner of the underlying data warehouse, data sources et cetera. However, as Van Beek (2006) states: BI should always emerge from out of the business, that is why it is called Business Intelligence. This means that the business is (at least partial) responsible for indicating their need for a BI tool like a DW and after doing so provide their specifications, in conjunction with the IT department.
The IT department acts as a catalyst for process improvement in the enterprise.
Traditionally IT departments have been assigned a supportive role, responsible for keeping the technical infrastructure ‘up and running’ and providing support when the users ask for help. However, the ‘desired characteristic’ of being a catalyst for process improvement in the enterprise implies that IT departments have to act more pro-active with regard to process improvements in general and the BI process in particular. This is in accordance with the research of Reich & Nelson (2003).
What is interesting is that Gartner does not place responsibility of the success of IT support only by the IT department of the organization. In addition to the recommendations above, the user community should have to following characteristics:
The users understand the need for, and potential of, BI.
Thus, it is important that not only the IT department has a view of BI beyond just the
technical side, but that the users are also aware of the possibilities and opportunities that can be derived from the BI process. When the users are not aware of this, IT departments should ‘wake the users up’ (Chen et al, 2000, Reich & Nelson, 2003).
The users have a history of funding and championing IT initiatives.
This is an essential characteristic of the user community. Although BI should emerge from out of the business, the business is dependent on the services of the IT department.
Consequently, users should be aware of the rather important role that IT departments play in supporting the BI process. Of course this must not be exaggerated, but it should be clear that an IT department has more potential than just delivering the ‘techies behind the screens’ (Kakabadse & Kakabadse, 2000).
The users drive the IT department to deploy new technology.
As already has been mentioned before, BI can only emerge from out of the Business. Therefore the business should drive the IT department to make use of new technology. However, it is not realistic to expect that the users are always aware of the latest technology or of all the opportunities of the existing IT present in the organization. Therefore, on the one hand users should also be open-minded for IT initiatives that might have a positive impact on the business. On the other hand, new technology must not be deployed, just because it is possible. There has to be a balance between what is asked for by the business and what is technically possible.
The users seek an active partnership from the IT organization.
Collaboration between two parties always has to come from two sides. Not only should the IT department stay involved with the business, the business also needs to seek and sustain a partnership with the IT department. Causes that influence the relationship between IT departments and their users therefore need to be taken into account (for example the establishment of a BI Governance Committee).
The users are willing to participate in the technology selection and deployment process.
Since the technology is essential for supporting the BI process, it is important that the users are taking part into this technical side of BI. It should be clear that for this to happen; the involved members of the IT department are able translate technical jargon into business language (Pawlowski & Robey, 2004).
2.5 The role of IT departments in supporting the BI process: proposed roles
Peppard & Ward (1999) showed that there is a gap between the IT organization and the business concerning what exactly is the role and function of the IT organization. According to them, IT directors are unsure amongst themselves what their exact role should be: should they just ‘facilitate the activities of others’, for example supporting the business by providing the services that are asked for by the users of certain hard- and/or software? Or are IT employees the people responsible for bringing on business change by proactively implementing new technology and finding out new ways of improving the current business processes (should they be ‘the ones to help them think’)?
linking those general role descriptions with the characteristics of BI, the BI process and a BI Information System, it turns out that the roles mentioned do (at least from a theoretical point of view) fit really well with these characteristics. To recap, the proposed roles for IT
departments regarding the support of the BI process derived from the literature review are:
Technical support function
This is the most obvious role for IT departments; in fact the reason to establish the first IT departments in organizations was a consequence for the need of technical expertise regarding the development and maintenance of Information Systems. This will also be the main tasks when looking at supporting the BI process.
Service providers
Pitt et al showed that just providing technical support is not sufficient anymore in present-day organizations. In order to make successfully use of an IS, IT departments should provide services including training, ensuring the availability of data and conversion of those data into a way users can derive information from it.
Leaders
When IT departments have knowledge about both the business and the underlying techniques of the Information Systems, they are able to make other organizational members aware of the opportunities which a system can add to the BI process. As noted before, the goal of this role is not to make the IT department the leader of the BI process, but to be a leader or ‘promoter’ of change.
Knowledge Brokers
Due to the organizational position of IT departments, that is: close to the organization’s Information Systems and thus be able to have expert knowledge of the underlying data; they can add value to the users who make use of those Information Systems especially when it comes to the BI process. Furthermore, when IT departments support systems that are shared across the enterprise, they are able to reach users throughout the organization and spread their ‘knowledge about data’.
Member of a BI Governance Committee
3 RESEARCH METHOD
In the previous chapter, possible roles for IT departments with regard to supporting the BI process have been proposed. Still, the proposed roles are only based on the literature and some practical research. To identify if the proposed roles indeed should be applied by an IT department when it comes to supporting the BI process, a case study has been accomplished. In this chapter there is argued that the well-known DeLone & McLean model for measuring IS success can be used to measure the role(s) that IT departments can perform to successful support the BI process. First the arguments to use this model are discussed. After that the model is described in detail followed by the method used to collect the data for this research.
3.1 Measuring the role of IT departments
It is difficult to measure an in essence abstract concept as ‘the role’ of IT departments. When it comes to measurement in the field of BI there are several studies focusing on DW success (for example Wixom & Watson, 2001) but these are only focused on system measures like ‘timeliness of information’, ‘ease of use’ and ‘overall system performance’. Nevertheless, when interpreting those measures in the right way they actually can be used to determine the role of IT departments. In this subsection first the measurement of Information Systems success will be discussed followed by the proposed way of measuring the role of IT departments.
3.1.1 Information System Success
In 1992 DeLone & McLean established a model for measuring IS success by reviewing more that 100 articles which explored IS success factors. Based on this study they identified six categories in which the measures could be grouped: System Quality, Information Quality, Use, User Satisfaction, Individual Impact and Organizational Impact. They stated that those groups are not independent of each other, but that the factors in the different groups have an influence on others in a ‘process sense’. This is displayed in the figure below:
Figure 6 – Original DeLone & McLean Model for Information System Success (1992).
According to DeLone & McLean, System Quality (for example the performance of an IS) and Information Quality (the output of an IS) do have an impact on both the Use and User
system. Vice versa this may also be true: non-use of a system can indicate that the use of the IS does not satisfy a user’s needs. The extent to which an IS is used and/or rated as
‘satisfactory’, has an impact on the individuals that use the system (Individual Impact). Finally, the impact of a system on individuals eventually can have an impact on the organization as a whole (Organizational Impact).
As seen in paragraph 2.2, the main task of the IT department regarding the BI process is the support (maintenance and development) of the BI system, like for example a DW. The DeLone & McLean model for IS success therefore can be used to assess the success of an IS used in the BI process. However, in their research DeLone & McLean do not focus on the activities of the IT department that may cause the success or non-success of (the use of) an assessed IS, but only on the characteristics of the system itself.
3.1.2 Service Quality and Information System Success
In their research concerning the ‘service provider role’ of IT departments, Pitt et al. (1995) agreed that the dimensions of IS success as proposed by DeLone & McLean are of
importance when assessing the effectiveness of an IS. Nevertheless, they stated that “There is a danger that IS researchers miss measure IS effectiveness if they do not include a measure of IS Service Quality in their assessment”.
In their research, Pitt et al. proposed the use of the SERVQUAL method derived from the marketing literature for measuring the extent to which an IT department meets the
expectations of its ‘customers’ (the users of an IS) when delivering its services (technical advice, training, data conversion et cetera). The essence of the SERVQUAL method is to compare the expectations that an individual has of a certain service with the actual service provided. Although there has been some concern about the validity of using such an instrument from a different research field, in general it is acknowledged that this is a good measure for the level of IT Service Quality. Therefore is has been proposed as an extension to the traditional measurement of the success of an implemented Information System. The importance of Service Quality has also been identified by other researchers, for example Jiang et al (2002)
Although it certainly is of importance to assess the level of Service Quality provided by an IT department, it still does not explicitly point out which factors of success can be traced back to the activities (‘the role’) of an IT department.
3.1.3 Information System Success revisited
The main ideas of the model had stayed intact: The use of a system (or the intention to use) is related to the extent that users are satisfied with the system. Use and User Satisfaction in their turn result in the Net Benefits derived from the system (divided into Individual and
Organizational impact in their original model). The Net Benefits also have an influence on Use and User Satisfaction: If use of the system results in negative benefits, the use of or satisfaction with the system will decrease. Use and user satisfaction on their turn, are dependant on the Information Quality, System Quality and Service Quality of the IS. This latter dimension has been added after several suggestions by other authors (for example: Pitt et al., 1995; Jiang et al., 2002), as discussed in the previous paragraph. The updated DeLone & McLean model for IS success is pictured below:
Figure 7 – Updated DeLone & McLean Model for Information System Success (2003).
A critique on the original model (Seddon et al, cited DeLone & McLean, 2003) was, that it states that all dimensions should be studied for measuring the success of an implemented IS or an accomplished IS project and that it does not explicitly state which factors should be measured in a certain (organizational) context. DeLone & Mclean revisited their statement and acknowledged that the dimensions and measures should be contingent on the objectives and context of the research.
The model indicates that Information Quality, System Quality and Service Quality separately influence Use and User Satisfaction. Although it certainly is of importance to assess the level of services (Service Quality) provided by an IT department, is does not explicitly take other factors into account although the Service Quality provided by IT departments can also influence or support the other two dimensions. Therefore, in this research there are two adjustments of the updated DeLone & McLean IS success model:
1. The Service Quality dimension is defined more broadly, not only consisting of measures for the level of support provided by the IT department, but also focusing on factors like business knowledge and frequency of contact.
2. To emphasize the assumption that the activities of the IT department do not only influence the Use and User Satisfaction of an IS, but that they can also have an influence on the Information and System Quality dimensions two arrows are added in the model. The Service Quality dimension is placed between the other dimensions in order to get a clearer picture of the model.
Figure 8 - Adjusted version of the updated DeLone & McLean model for IS Success.
3.1.4 From IS Success to BI Process Support
Most methods that measure ‘IT success’ focus on the success of an implemented IS, however when an IS is successful it is possible to look at what the role of the IT department is or has been to reach the success of a certain factor.
Since the introduction of the IS Success model by DeLone & McLean both the original and updated version have been used to identify the success of an implemented IS. When looking at the field of BI, several authors also used the model to identify the success of a data
warehouse.
Besides judging the success of the system itself, it turned out that in several studies the success was caused by other factors than the ones that only cause system success. Chen et al. (2000) for example used the original DeLone & McLean model for IS success to determine factors that influence a users’ satisfaction with an IS. Although this model consists of ‘system factors’, the results showed that actually the interaction between the users and the IT
department had a major influence on the satisfaction of the users. During those ‘interactions’ not only the IT department provided services to end-users (training, clarifying results) but also pointed out several possibilities regarding the use of the system as well as increasing the awareness among the users about the data in the system (hence that this is in comparison with the possible roles of IT departments as described in the previous chapter).
Shin (2003) also used the DeLone & McLean model for assessing system factors in Data Warehousing, concluding that this success depends on more than just system success. One of the main differences with traditional IS success for example, turned out to be the ability to locate data as well as to indicate how it should be interpreted. The IT department of an organization could play a role in influencing those success factors. Again this research makes clear that using the DeLone & McLean model for IS success can be used to determine
possible roles that should be applied by individuals or departments, for example the IT department, by assessing those success factors.
Based on the above it is argued that by studying the current methods for analyzing IS success, factors for which an IT department has contributed to success (and specifically for this
research: are important in the BI process) can be determined and from this the elements that have a positive (or negative) influence on IT support can be derived.
Therefore, together with the assertion of Pitt et al. that Service Quality can be measured by the success of an IS, it seems plausible to make use of the DeLone & McLean IS success model for accomplishing the goal of the research topic in this thesis.
3.2 Factors that influence IS success.
In their original paper, DeLone & McLean identified a large amount of factors for each dimension (Tables 1 through 6 in: DeLone & Mclean, 1992). At the same time the authors also called for ‘a significant reduction in the number of dependent variable measures’. In the next section the measures that have been identified as relevant for this research are discussed. Several factors are grouped together where applicable. Besides that, there are a few measures identified and described which do not appear in both the original or revised model.
Sometimes it is possible to place a certain factor in more than one dimension, in the following there has been attempted to distribute the factors to the most logical dimension. The model is primarily used to make clear that different points of view are necessary for identifying IS success, leading to successful IT support.
3.2.1 Net Benefits
The use of an IS should always contribute to a certain function, process or organizational goal. The extent to which this purpose of an IS is reached can be identified as the benefits of the system: what does the use of an IS bring up? In the original DeLone & McLean success model (1992), the benefits of an IS were subdivided into Individual Impact and
Organizational Impact. In the updated version both dimensions are brought together in one dimension called ‘Net Benefits’. Depending on the context of research there needs to be further determined which benefits and for whom a particular IS can and has to bring up (DeLone & McLean, 2003). For this research, there is focused on the concepts of BI as described in chapter two to determine what accomplishing the BI process should bring up and consequently how an IS can be used to achieve those goals.
The perceived value of a BI tool, for example a DW, is likely to vary depending on the subjective appreciation and need of the person(s) for whom the question is addressed. It may even be suggested that BI has no value at all as such — that is, the value is created as a result of using the intelligence, by carrying out actions based on it. Kelly (1993, cited Lönnqvist & Pirttimäki, 2000) has also recognized the conditional nature of the value of BI: as one of his survey respondents stated:
N1. Help provided by problem identification
When the information that is available from the data derived from the day-to-day activities and operational processes is accurately interpreted, they may be helpful in identifying possible problems in those processes. This is in fact one of the main goals of accomplishing the BI process.
N2. Improving of decision quality/analysis
The system can be helpful in improving the decisions that need to be made in a certain function or process, whether they have to be made in case of identified problems (N1) or are just part of a user’s function.
N3. Improving analysis
When a user is aware of the valuable information, that is: the information that goes beyond the daily tasks and activities, it is important that the users understand the meaning of this information to turn it into intelligence. A BI system can help users in getting better understanding of the data and the information that can be derived from it, thus improving analysis.
N4. Opportunities/new insights
The actual BI derived from the data provided by a system, generates the real value for the business. Ultimately, making use of a BI system should gain new opportunities or insights for the users.
N5. Task performance
The extent to which an IS contributes to the task performance of an individual using the system is a good factor for measuring IS success. This is more or less a result of the factors described above.
N6. Performance management
As seen in the picture of the Management Paradigm of De Leeuw (1982), the Managed institution does not only derive data from outside the organization to control the environment, but also from the internal processes. Those data can be used for managing the performance of the internal processes.
3.2.2 Use and User Satisfaction
Just implementing a system and instruct individuals to use it, will not automatically generate the benefits mentioned in the previous subsection. The degree to which people make use of an IS highly depends on the level of satisfaction with the system. Together with the actual use, elements like the perceived enjoyment and ease of use of a system are relevant measures.
U1. Frequency of use
