What's the point of implementing an expensive, strategic information-technology system if user resistance prevents it from fulfilling its promise? Fortunately, a clearer picture has emerged of user-acceptance factors that could boost the success rate of IT projects.In a paper published in the December 2000 issue of Information Systems Research, Viswanath Venkatesh concludes that six variables significantly contribute to how users perceive the ease of use of specific systems over time. These variables involve user attitudes toward technology rather than how the particular system functions, and they were shown to account for 60% of the variance in the way users perceive ease of use. The depth of understanding resulting from Venkatesh's study — twice what was previously understood, according to the author — should empower IT managers to be more successful with their project implementations.Venkatesh, an assistant professor in the Decision and Information Technologies Department at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, studied the following variables in actual corporate settings:Computer Self-Efficacy (Internal Control). Users' confidence about their ability to learn and use new information-systems technology in general.Facilitating Conditions (External Control). An IT–conducive work environment (for example, high-speed networks, fast computers and help-desk support).Intrinsic Motivation/Computer Playfulness.
