-- User Satisfaction --
(Recipient Response to the Use of the Output of an IS)

Previously, dependent measures of implementation have looked at user satisfaction^1,2, usage^3,4, user involvement⁵ and user acceptance⁶. The reliance on user satisfaction in measuring information system success is common among MIS researchers and practicioners^7,8, and several standardized instruments have been developed and tested^9,10,11.

The User Information Satisfaction (UIS) instrument is grounded in research performed during the 1980s by Bailey and Pearson that introduced a list of 39 factors affecting computer user satisfaction¹².  In follow-up research, Ives, Olson, and Baroudi, in an effort to improve internal consistency and reliability, produced an abbreviated survey instrument by eliminating factors with the lower correlations¹³.  Baroudi and Orlikowski later reaffirms the reliability and validity of the Ives, Olson, and Baroudi short-form measure as an effective tool for evaluating user satisfaction¹⁴. Most of these instruments, however, are geared towards the evaluation of a specific application rather than end-user computing in general.  Doll and Torkzadeh introduced another measure of user satisfaction in the late 1980s, called the End-User Computing Satisfaction measure.

Though Ives, Olson, and Baroudi's User Information Satisfaction (UIS) measure and Doll and Torkzadeh's End-User Computing Satisfaction measure continue to be popular, certain cautions must be known. Melone introduces the notion that, though previously introduced instruments produce valid evaluations of system effectiveness, there is no clear relationship established between system effectiveness and user satisfaction¹⁵. 

More recently, Seddon¹⁶ defines User Satisfaction as a subjective evaluation of the various individual, organizational, and societal consequences of IS Use. He asserts that the User Satisfaction measure is, definitionally, a measure of the net benefits perceived by the information system's stakeholders (individuals, groups of individuals, management of organizations, and society).  Seddon maintains that previously introduced user satisfaction measures (eg. Ives, Olson, and Baroudi) do not adequately measure this idealized construct.

For more information on constructs and surveys, check out our section on measurement and instrumentation.

Select a topic from the drop-down list below to see research pertaining to each of these areas:

Select a linkEUCSSatisfaction StakeholderUISCautions

1 Bailey, James E. and Sammy W. Pearson, "Development of a Tool for Measuring and Analyzing Computer User Satisfaction," Management Science, Vol. 29, No. 5, May 1983, pp. 530-545.
2 Ives, Blake, Margrethe H. Olson and Jack J. Baroudi, "The Measurement of User Information Satisfaction," Communication of the ACM, Vol. 26, No. 10, October 1983, pp. 785-793.
3 Baroudi, Jack J., Margrethe H. Olson and Blake Ives, "An Empirical Study of the Impact of User Involvement on System Usage and Information Satisfaction," Communication of the ACM, Vol. 29, No. 3, March 1986, pp. 232-238.
4 Lucas, Henry C. Jr., "Performance and the Use of Information Systems," Management Science, Vol. 21, No. 8, April 1975, pp. 908-919.
5 Barki, H. and J. Hartwick, "Rethinking the Concept of User Involvement," MIS Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 1, March 1989, pp. 53-63.
6 Davis, Fred D., "Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology," MIS Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 3, September 1989, pp. 319-340.
7 DeLone, William H. and Ephraim R. McLean, "Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable," Information Systems Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, March 1992, pp. 60-95.
8 Ives, Blake and Margrethe Olson, "User Involvement and MIS Success: A Review of Research," Management Science, Vol. 30, No. 5, May 1984, pp. 586-603.
9 Bailey, James E. and Sammy W. Pearson, "Development of a Tool for Measuring and Analyzing Computer User Satisfaction," Management Science, Vol. 29, No. 5, May 1983, pp. 530-545.
10 Baroudi, Jack J. and W. J. Orlikowski, "A Short Form Measure of User Information Satisfaction: A Psychometric Evaluation and Notes on Use," Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 4, No. 4, Spring 1988, pp. 44-59.
11 Doll, William J. and Gholamreza Torkzadeh, "The Measurement of End User Computing Satisfaction," MIS Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 2, June 1988, pp. 259-274.
12 Bailey, James E. and Sammy W. Pearson, "Development of a Tool for Measuring and Analyzing Computer User Satisfaction," Management Science, Vol. 29, No. 5, May 1983, pp. 530-545.
13 Ives, Blake, Margrethe H. Olson and Jack J. Baroudi, "The Measurement of User Information Satisfaction," Communication of the ACM, Vol. 26, No. 10, October 1983, pp. 785-793.
14 Baroudi, Jack J. and W. J. Orlikowski, "A Short Form Measure of User Information Satisfaction: A Psychometric Evaluation and Notes on Use," Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 4, No. 4, Spring 1988, pp. 44-59.
15 Melone, Nancy Paule, "Theoretical Assessment of the User-Satisfaction Construct in Information Systems Research," Management Science, Vol. 36 Issue 1, Jan 1990, pp. 76-91.
16 Seddon, Peter B. "A respecification and extension of the DeLone and McLean model of IS success," Information Systems Research, Sep 1997, Vol. 8 Issue 3, pp. 240-253.

Web Resources

Presenting HTML in Audio: User Satisfaction with Audio Hypertext
A pilot study investigating user satisfaction with a new system

Development of a Tool Measuring Satisfaction of the Human-Computer Interface
There are many possible ways to evaluate the human-computer interface. Shneiderman (1987) lists five different types of dependent measures. For many tasks speed and accuracy are two related performance measures which affect a person's attitude toward the system…. User acceptance of a system (i.e., subjective satisfaction) is also a critical measure of a system's success… A large number of questionnaires concerning the user's subjective satisfaction of the system and many related issues have been developed. This paper concerns the subsequent development of this measurement tool, called the Generic User Interface Questionnaire (QUIS).