Addressing Usability and Complexity in Procurement of IT Systems

Procuring a complex IT system is a challenge for public and private organizations regardless of whether they obtain a ready-made or customized solution. Challenges include proper definitions of requirements, technical implementation, and organizational integration. Because many user groups within an organization use these complex IT systems for different tasks, usability is multifaceted. This study explored the relationship between complexity and usability while procuring IT systems. Our research consisted of two parts: We conducted a case study at a Finnish public organization, including interviews with seven IT professionals with extensive experience in the procurement and implementation of complex IT systems. In a scoping review, we identified 106 articles, of which 28 met the inclusion criteria and were included in our review. The articles, sourced from five databases, were peer-reviewed and published from January 2000 to April 2023. We found that complexity is considered an influencing factor in procurement, but usability is not addressed broadly during procurement, although complexity is perceived as affecting usability. There is a lack of appropriate methods for evaluating usability while procuring complex IT systems. This gap stems from varying priorities in usability evaluation. Procurement prioritizes lightweight assessment and comparability, whereas evaluation of complex systems requires a comprehensive methodology and a broad perspective. Based on our findings, we propose that complexity needs to be evaluated within the context of usability during the procurement of complex IT systems by considering the three aspects of complexity: task, system, and context.