Investigating the State of User Involvement in Practice

Involving users in software development has been reported to increase the probability of product and project success, as well as user satisfaction. User involvement can occur in the tasks of several different organizational functions, including a dedicated user-centered team. This article presents the results of a case study conducted to understand the current state of user involvement practice in a company producing software solutions for consumers, enterprises, and service providers. The company has recently established a centralized user experience team to provide user-centered practices for the entire development organization. Feedback was found as the most common type of user information, while concrete user participation in the development process was lacking. However, it was perceived that an organized way of involving users in the development process is needed. We hope the detailed findings and insights of this case study will act as the basis for user involvement research in the future.