The utilisation of IS evaluation a HIS case study

Evaluation is important to the success of IS projects. Research shows that effective evaluation of IS projects can be useful to organizations in both the short and longer terms and can serve multiple purposes. However, in practice IS evaluation is often used in an ad hoc manner. This study attempts to raise awareness of the use of evaluation by investigating how IS evaluation is actually used in practice. Through a brief literature review of aspects of IS evaluation use and the role of stakeholders in evaluation, a theoretical framework for describing the relationship between stakeholder involvement, evaluation outcomes and process, and the use of evaluation is proposed. A case study of a HIS project of a local hospital in China is conducted to illustrate the components of the framework. One major finding is the identification of the details of instrumental, conceptual and symbolic use of HIS project evaluation.