The user-analyst liaison function in system development was studied in thirty-eight large firms using a structured interviewing process. The study revealed that the most prevalent form of liaison is still the traditional systems representative and that the liaison function is generally performed much less formally than the informations system (IS) literature would suggest. However, a trend toward greater formalism was detected. Other aspects of the liaison function, such as perceptions of the role, relevant career paths, and attitudes toward the function were also studied.
In formation systems for large firms are typically designed by a team comprised of both users and systems personnel. The Management Information System (MIS) literature discusses a communication gap between the organization oriented users and the more technical systems staff. It is often hypothesized that systems personnel and users are different in terms of personality and behavior characteristics and that these differences are one of the primary reasons for the existence of a communication gap. This article summarizes a two-phased study. The first phase investigated personality characteristics of respondents from thirty-two large organizations who worked on design teams. The second phase examines, in detail, a system success and failure in one organization. Analysis was performed to see if there are significant differences on personality dimensions between users and systems personnel and to explore the relationship between these differences and system success. An denationalization of Jung's personality typology (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) was employed. The results show that the users involved in the systems design are very similar to their systems counterparts. Even more surprising is that the characteristics of these users are closer to the popular descriptions of systems staff than the analysts are. They also suggest that these similarities in personality types may have an impact on system success. The general implications of these findings in terms of the management of project teams and the MIS designs they create are discussed.