Communication skills of IS providers: an expectation gap analysis from three stakeholder perspectives

Communication skills are crucial to the successful completion of an information system (IS) project. The ability to interact with all potential stakeholders in an organization, to clearly document requirements, and to effectively express ideas has long been recognized by researchers and practitioners as critical success factors. This study examines how communication skills of IS professionals during a development project are viewed by three different stakeholders. Specifically, each of three stakeholder groups is examined to determine the extent to which a gap between expectations and perceived performance leads to lower satisfaction of the system of the users, lower perceived job performance by IS managers, or less career satisfaction for the IS professionals. A matched survey indicates that user satisfaction and job performance ratings by managers are related to a perceived failure to meet expectations, but that IS professionals do not relate career satisfaction directly to a lack in these skills. Organizations looking for success in the IS function must take steps to improve the communication skills of the IS professionals to the level expected by other stakeholders.