System implementers often request“user participation.”Barki and Hartwick define user participation as a set of behaviors, activities and assignments that engage users throughout the systems development process.8
This participation has multiple dimensions: overall responsibility that the user may have with the project, the relationship between the user and the system, and hands-on project-related tasks. Increasing user participation in one or more of
these dimensions enhances post-development user involvement and attitude. The effectiveness of involvement as a success factor is also be enhanced if implementers recognize that: “A user is involved when he or she considers a system to be both important and personally relevant.”9