Market-led systems development: when customers become users

Purpose - There has been a great deal of interest in ensuring that organisational strategy is successfully implemented in order to meet business objectives. More recently, reports of the failure of information systems and technology (IS&T) projects have become more regular and the reported failures more spectacular. This has added to a growing perception that IS&T implementation approaches currently utilised are struggling to add value to customers and users, leading to calls for a re-think of how IS&T is introduced into organisations. This paper seeks to develop a customer experience strategy which will give a key group of stakeholders, customers, a major input in the IS&T development process. Design/methodology/approach - The approach taken to examine IS&T implementation at this stage of the development of this theme is empirical. The failed introduction of a new IS&T system in a major service organisation in the UK is used as a case study. Data were gathered from 22 face-to-face interviews with key stakeholders in the IS&T project. Findings - The paper finds that the failure was driven by a number of factors, including poor project management and a lack of understanding of how systems can negatively affect organisations and customer relationships. The paper re-emphasises the need to ensure that customer and user perceptions are taken into consideration during any major systems introduction project. An interesting aspect of these systems is that a version is being used today by the organisation. Research limitations/implications - The customer experience journey (CEJ) framework will be improved by being validated within another organisation. Practical implications - The paper recognises that, in the future, a clear framework to support the CEJ needs to be well thought out before a major systems introduction project commences. This is increasingly important as many roll-outs are trans-national and involve customers and supply chains. Originality/value - The paper contributes to work practice relating to customer-driven IS&T service introduction.