What does this Principle Mean?
At the foundation of this Principle there is an important value to bear in mind. Any business solution, no matter how good and perfect it is, can only deliver the business benefits if the solution is embraced and adopted by the business user population.
Business Users possess business knowledge and experience acquired throughout their career. Involving the business users is a must to ensure that the business solution being delivered addresses the real business needs and includes all those business requirements essential to ensure that the solution delivers the expected business benefits.
Involve People
Secure Quality, Ownership and Commitment
INVOLVING THE BUSINESS USERS IS COMMON SENSE
Involving the Business User throughout the project life cycle is a must. Their involvement will guarantee process benefits that will be translated to business benefits. Some of the many process benefits are.
Ownership. When Business Users are involved, they will become an integral part of the delivery and development team. Through this involvement they gain visibility of all activities. They are given the opportunity to influence the design of the business solution through prototyping sessions, prioritization sessions, workshop sessions and much more. This involvement creates a great sense of ownership which leads to motivation.
Quality. Through their involvement, Business Users will bring real life examples and experience into the mix. This input will influence the implementation workflow, functionality and non-functional requirements. Their involvement will ensure that what is being developed and delivered is fit for business purpose. In this instance, the Senior Management must ensure that what is being delivered is fit for business purpose and in line with the expected business benefits.
Commitment. In this context, commitment has a double meaning. Having Business Users committed to the project and having their commitment to using the business solution once it is delivered. The essence is to ensure their commitment to using the business solution once delivered, as without this there will be significant challenges in deriving the expected business benefits.