The Role of Customers in Strategic Information Technology (IT) Initiatives

This study focused on a small organization in the United States of America. The organization has IT departments that cater to the IT needs of its internal and external customers through IT products and services. Such organizations run full life cycles of product management and product development and often face off with situations to prioritize the use of their limited resources. Ideally, organizations focus on strategic IT initiatives that might be in the company's and its customers' best interest. However, instances occur when IT-driven initiatives lose that focus and might end up diverting resources toward the latest shiny technology and innovation that could practically have a none-to-minimal positive impact on customers. Usually, such situations result in meager outcomes at best and a total loss of investment at worst. Among the primary causes of those potential failures are a lack of customer empathy, diminished customer participation, and superficial customer engagement from the beginning and inception of those IT initiatives. That was the conundrum researched through this flexible design qualitative single case study. The idea was to explore, explain, and learn this phenomenon firsthand through research and interviews of leaders and professionals at a contemporary organization where they juggle such situations in real life on a regular basis.