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European Design Science Symposium

EDSS 2013: Design Science: Perspectives from Europe pp 123–134Cite as

Sustaining IT Usefulness – Re-defining End Users’ Role as Contextual Designers

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Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 447))

Abstract

A framework for understanding and interpreting IT usefulness and fitness attributes is presented. This framework is grounded on a relationship that exists between organisms and their landscape. The concept draws on the notion that sustainable relationship between two systems (such as IT and end-users) can be achieved through structural coupling results from mutual perpetuations. In this setting, while contextual usefulness is established in the end-users’ environment, IT designers perpetuate fitness into the conceptual environment. Their relationship suggests that usefulness feeds essential input that enables to create a sustainable fitness attribute. Based on the empirical evidence, the paper demonstrates that end-users are better equipped with defining contextual usefulness of IT systems while IT designers’ role to create fitness attribute enables a long-term use of IT artifacts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden

    Nathan Lakew

Authors
  1. Nathan Lakew
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computing, Dublin City University, Ireland

    Markus Helfert

  2. National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland

    Brian Donnellan

  3. Intel Labs Europe, Leixlip, Ireland

    Jim Kenneally

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Lakew, N. (2014). Sustaining IT Usefulness – Re-defining End Users’ Role as Contextual Designers. In: Helfert, M., Donnellan, B., Kenneally, J. (eds) Design Science: Perspectives from Europe. EDSS 2013. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 447. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13936-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13936-4_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-13935-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-13936-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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