Background to the paper

In order to improve the operational business-IT adaptation (BITA), the development of IT systems must be determined on the basis of business requirements. However, the process of obtaining user requirements presents many challenges and encounters various problems. As a possible result, users have low quality requirements and, as a result, system development projects fail.

The authors focus on one category of known problems, in particular communication errors.

So far, most of the studies aimed at tackling operational BITAs have been based on a demand strategy. This strategy is suitable for relatively stable situations. To remedy the limitation of the demand strategy in a more complex situation, for example in a co-creation value network (UN) setting, its use in combination with other elicitation strategies will increase the likelihood of satisfactory results.

Method used

In the design phase, a user process - based on a reference model - was designed. Two examples were designed as 'proof of concept'. Two reference models, describing respectively customer knowledge management processes and customer knowledge management challenges in a UN setting, were used separately in the design of these two models. In the evaluation phase, applicability and usability were evaluated in two separate cases.

Results obtained

The reference model supports the process of obtaining user requirements via a Delphi method in a complex context such as that of a UN. The process of mapping user requirements has been improved; a number of recognised problems have been solved.

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