Improving Information Systems by End User Development: A Case Study

This paper presents a case study in which we identified problems end users have with their software systems and how they try to solve these problems. The case study is part of a bigger research project, in which we develop appropriate end user development tools for enterprise resource planning systems of small and medium sized enterprises. During our study, we carried out several interviews with employees of such enterprises from different industries. The results allow a deep insight into the dynamics of adapting software to the users’ application domains and are valuable for improving the quality of information systems by making them more adaptable to users’ requirements. The aim of developing appropriate information systems for small and medium sized enterprises could be achieved by end user development techniques, allowing end users with little technical knowledge to adapt their systems during use time. Furthermore we make suggestions how end user development techniques could be instrumented for this purpose.