7.3 Local improvisations
According to Heeks (2002), local improvisation is
done to reduce actuality-reality gaps. This can be
through hybrids that recognize local capacities
and improve success rates. However, Heeks
notes that schemes to develop these hybrids in
the DCs are virtually nonexistent thus hampering
improvisation. Participative approaches to
implementation e.g. group working and end-user
involvement; have to be carefully considered
since most have been developed for the
industrialized countries. Examples of how these
participative IS techniques were a failure, are the
case of Mexico’s General Hospital and an enduser
development initiative for health IS in South
Africa (Heeks 2002). The implementations failed
because of the large gap between design
assumptions and requirements and actuality of
organizations into which ICT was introduced. The
conclusion drawn is that these implementations
failed because there was too large a gap between
the design assumptions and requirements of
those techniques and the actuality of
organizations into which they were introduced and
not necessarily because of participative design is
necessarily wrong.