The Fifth Column: On System Acceptance

Common folklore among members of our profession holds that the only absolute requirement for system acceptance is “top management commitment.” May I respectfully suggest that, in my experience, another requirement is equally absolute: user (bottom-level management) acceptance. I have now seen the spectacle, in a number of cultures, of splendid systems going down to defeat and taking the committed top management right along with them. The hard facts are these: if the people at the bottom of the managerial heap who will have the joy of facing the green screens every day don't see the new system as a help, they will slowly, and with malice, ignore it to death.