Exploring the relationship between total quality management and information systems development

This study examines a series of relationships between total quality management (TQM) and information systems (IS) development. Specifically, we consider whether organizations which have more fully adopted TQM will be different in their approaches to IS development. Our findings suggest that where TQM is adopted more fully, there will be a significant impact on four areas of IS development: system goals; system design philosophy/concepts; assumptions made by IS professionals about system users and user involvement in system development. We also report evidence that both TQM and IT may require similar organizational cultures.