![](/uploads/1/2/7/1/127157997/950008846.jpg)
.Landsman, W. B.1992-01-01IDL (Interactive Data Language) is a commercial programming, plotting, and image display language, which is widely used in astronomy. The IDL Astronomy User's Library is a central repository of over 400 astronomy-related IDL procedures accessible via anonymous FTP.
A Survey of Accounting Professionals. Selecting the right accounting software is critical to any business. A wrong choice could mean incompatibUity problems, functional limitations, and frustration, as well as unhappy workers and customers.
The author will overview the use of IDL within the astronomical community and discuss recent enhancements at the IDL astronomy library. These enhancements include a fairly complete I/O package for FITS images and tables, an image deconvolution package and an image mosaic package, and access to IDL Open Windows/Motif widgets interface. The IDL Astronomy Library is funded by NASA through the Astrophysics Software and Research Aids Program.Cooper, Michael D.1978-01-01Examines the question of instituting direct charges for library service, using on-line bibliographic searching as an example, and contrasts this with the current indirect charging system where services are paid for by taxes. Information, as a merit good, should be supplied with or without direct charges, depending upon user status. (CWM).Hunter, Ben; Perret, Robert2007 data from LibQUAL+TM and the ACRL Library Trends and Statistics database were analyzed to determine if there is a statistically significant correlation between library expenditures and usage statistics and library patron satisfaction across 73 universities. The results show that users of larger, better funded libraries have higher.Lombard, Emmett; Hite, Lesley A.2007-01-01This article considers two components identified as essential to effective academic library Websites- satisfaction of user needs and adherence to university Website guidelines-and how they sometimes contradict one another. A literature review is provided, followed by results of a survey the author created and distributed that measures a.Hayes, Emma; Morris, Anne2005-01-01This is the second of two articles examining the leisure role of public libraries.
The first article examined the leisure role of public libraries in the UK from a historical perspective. This examines the value of the public library service in providing leisure opportunities from a user point of view. The results demonstrate that public libraries.Perez, Carmen; Cuadrado, Manuel; Cervera, Amparo2009-01-01This paper analyses university library users' attitudes towards book vandalism in order to develop a basis for intervention. Using a customer oriented approach data was collected from users who attended an academic library exhibition on vandalized books at a University campus. Respondents were asked both for their reactions to the vandalism as.Abhold, Hilary; Young, Ginger AnnThis document is a user manual for SESIO, a low-level library for reading and writing sesame files. The purpose of the SESIO library is to provide a simple user interface for accessing and creating sesame files that does not change across sesame format type (such as binary, ascii, and xml).Lundrigan, Courtney; Manuel, Kevin; Yan, May2015-01-01Web-scale discovery systems are becoming prevalent in research libraries. Although a number of studies have explored various impacts of discovery systems, few studies exist on user satisfaction.
The investigators of this study evaluated user satisfaction with the discovery service Summon at Ryerson University, using online questionnaires and.Carney, Stephen; Koufogiannakis, Denise; Ryan, Pam2007-01-01Research was undertaken to guide development of services for personal digital assistant (PDA) users at the University of Alberta Libraries. A variety of qualitative methods were used to assess user satisfaction with current PDA services and identify potential PDA services for the libraries and resources. The research and needs assessment results.Nelson Associates, Inc., Washington, DC.The report examines patron characteristics and use patterns of the New York Public Library Research Libraries. A general user survey was conducted as well as surveys of the use of the Photographic Service, Special Collections, Special Study Areas, and Reference Correspondence Service. Chapter I is a summary of principal findings and conclusions.Skip to main content Home National Agricultural Library United States Department of Agriculture Ag registered trademark of Dries Buytaert. NAL Home USDA.gov Agricultural Research Service Plain Language.Skip to main content Home National Agricultural Library United States Department of Agriculture Ag Agricultural Research Service Plain Language FOIA Accessibility Statement Information Quality Privacy.Lungu, Charles B. M.1990-01-01Describes a library user education program for first-year students at Zambia's Copperbelt University that is designed to increase student awareness of available resources; improve their skills in independent learning; and enhance the presentation of their coursework.
Planning user education programs in conjunction with faculty and other.Hendrickson, W. A.1982-01-01Discusses library searching of chemical literature from an industrial user's viewpoint, focusing on differences between academic and industrial researcher's searching techniques of the same problem area. Indicates that industry users need more exposure to patents, work with abstracting services and continued improvement in computer searching.Kerns, Stephanie C2007-01-01In today's world, library users are confronted with almost too many options for using information because of the ubiquitousness of technology. Yet, libraries can harness the power of the same technologies to help users find the information they need at the time it is needed. The tools described in this article represent a starting point for librarians looking for technologies that are easy to use, inexpensive, and have a reasonable learning curve. Technologies addressed include classroom technologies such as audience response systems and Web-based technologies, including Web tutorials and screencasting.
These technologies enhance and offer flexibility and variety in many educational settings.Akilli, Goknur Kaplan2005-01-01This study focuses on one particular aspect of usability, namely, user satisfaction, for an educational website used as a supportive tool for various courses by employing only one specific usability testing technique, a questionnaire. The researcher aimed to find out whether eighth semester undergraduate students of Computer Education and.Quealy, Angela1990-01-01This User's Manual describes the Hypercluster Parallel Processing Library, composed of FORTRAN-callable subroutines which enable a FORTRAN programmer to manipulate and transfer information throughout the Hypercluster at NASA Lewis Research Center.
Each subroutine and its parameters are described in detail. A simple heat flow application using Laplace's equation is included to demonstrate the use of some of the library's subroutines. The manual can be used initially as an introduction to the parallel features provided by the library. Thereafter it can be used as a reference when programming an application.Huang, Te-Yuan; Chen, Kuan-Ta; Huang, Polly; Lei, Chin-LaungQuantifying user satisfaction is essential, because the results can help service providers deliver better services. In this work, we propose a generalizable methodology, based on survival analysis, to quantify user satisfaction in terms of session times, i. E., the length of time users stay with an application.
Unlike subjective human surveys, our methodology is based solely on passive measurement, which is more cost-efficient and better able to capture subconscious reactions. Furthermore, by using session times, rather than a specific performance indicator, such as the level of distortion of voice signals, the effects of other factors like loudness and sidetone, can also be captured by the developed models.
Like survival analysis, our methodology is characterized by low complexity and a simple model-developing process. The feasibility of our methodology is demonstrated through case studies of ShenZhou Online, a commercial MMORPG in Taiwan, and the most prevalent VoIP application in the world, namely Skype. Through the model development process, we can also identify the most significant performance factors and their impacts on user satisfaction and discuss how they can be exploited to improve user experience and optimize resource allocation.Chen, M C; Yu, H C2016-01-01The study hospital had developed a multiple account recording system that generates the accounting information of the consumed materials based on daily nursing records. A questionnaire survey was delivered to further investigate the impact of the system.
Four concepts of the system were investigated. (1) Supportive and time saving; (2) impact on workflows and job satisfactions; (3) ease of use; and (4) overall satisfactions. The system scored 4.03 out of 5 as the highest for helpfulness for daily practices, 3.98 for decrease the time for recording material consumptions, 3.98 for actually changed the way they work. Users mostly expressed positive attitude towards the system.Kozlowski, Lorena; Ribas, Angela; Almeida, Gleide; Luz, Idalina2016-01-01Introduction The impact of auditory sensory deprivation in the life of an individual is enormous because it not only affects one's ability to properly understand auditory information, but also the way people relate to their environment and their culture. The monitoring of adult and elderly subjects with hearing loss is intended to minimize the difficulties and handicaps that occur as a consequence of this pathology. Objective To evaluate the level of user satisfaction with hearing aids.
Methods A clinical and experimental study involving 91 elderly hearing aid users. We used the questionnaire Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life to determine the degree of the satisfaction provided by hearing aids. We evaluated mean global score, subscales, as well as the variables time to use, age, and degree of hearing loss. Results Mean global score was 4.73, the score for Positive Effects 5.45, Negative Factors 3.2, demonstrating that they were satisfied; Services and Costs 5.98: very satisfied; 3.65 Personal Image: dissatisfied. We observed statistically significant difference for the time of hearing aid use, age, and degree of hearing loss.
Conclusion The SADL is a tool, simple and easy to apply and in this study we can demonstrate the high degree of satisfaction with the hearing aids by the majority of the sample collected, increasing with time of use and a greater degree of hearing loss.Hart, Genevieve2010-01-01Job satisfaction was investigated at a South African university library undergoing change on many fronts. The study included 31 members of staff and the data were gathered via interviews/questionnaires, informed by standard HRM job satisfaction theory. The study found a 'love-hate' relationship between respondents and their work. The key.Kim, Yong-Mi; Abbas, June2010-01-01This study investigates the adoption of Library 2.0 functionalities by academic libraries and users through a knowledge management perspective.
Based on randomly selected 230 academic library Web sites and 184 users, the authors found RSS and blogs are widely adopted by academic libraries while users widely utilized the bookmark function.Lown, Cory; Sierra, Tito; Boyer, Josh2013-01-01Academic libraries are turning increasingly to unified search solutions to simplify search and discovery of library resources. Unfortunately, very little research has been published on library user search behavior in single search box environments. This study examines how users search a large public university library using a prominent, single.Courtney, Nancy2003-01-01Most of 814 academic libraries surveyed allow onsite access to unaffiliated users, and many give borrowing privileges to certain categories of users.
Use of library computers to access library resources and other computer applications is commonly allowed although authentication on library computers is increasing. Five tables show statistics.Moran, Patrick J.; Henze, Chris; Ellsworth, David1999-01-01authors. This type of flexibility would be difficult to offer without the support of the language. For users who may be having template-related problems, we offer the consolation that support for C templates is destined to improve with time. Efforts such as the Standard Template Library (STL) will inevitably drive vendors to provide more thorough, optimized tools for template code development. Furthermore, the benefits will become harder to resist for those who currently subscribe to the least-common-denominator 'code it all in C' strategy.
May FEL bring you both increased productivity and aesthetic satisfaction.Koohang, Alex; Ondracek, James2005-01-01This study examined users' views about the usability of digital libraries' current and perceived importance. Age, gender, prior experience with the Internet, college status, and digital library proficiency are the independent variables. Users' current views about the usability of digital libraries and users perceived importance of digital library.Kincl, Tomas; Strach, Pavel2012-01-01Website quality measurement tools have been largely static and have struggled to determine relevant attributes of user satisfaction. This study compares and contrasts attributes of user satisfaction based on usability guidelines seeking to identify practical easy-to-administer measurement tools. The website users assessed business school homepages.Chad P.
Dawson; Alan E. Watson2000-01-01The inverse relationship between user perceptions of crowding and satisfaction with the wilderness experience was studied in three national wilderness areas in Oregon (1991) and in four state wilderness areas in the Adirondack Park of New York State (1997). User perceptions of crowding were correlated (low negative coefficients) with user satisfaction on the wilderness.Maynard, J. EdmundThe focus of this study was a survey of faculty and student use/needs of library services and user education at Daniel Library, the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. More specifically, the study sought to determine user information needs and how the library staff should adapt for meeting the educational and research needs of its.Association of Research Libraries, 20102010-01-01This user's guide was developed to advance local planning at ARL member libraries. It is written for library leaders writ large and for anyone leading or contributing to research library planning processes. Users do not need advanced facilitation skills to benefit from this guide, but facilitators charged with supporting scenario planning will.Queensland Library Board, Brisbane (Australia).Currently being developed by the State Library of Queensland, Australia, ORACLE (On-Line Retrieval of Acquisitions, Cataloguing, and Circulation Details for Library Enquiries) is a computerized library system designed to provide rapid processing of library materials in a multi- user environment.
It is based on the Australian MARC format and fully.Thompson, Bruce; Kyrillidou, Martha; Cook, Colleen2008-01-01The present study was conducted to explore library users' desired service quality levels on the twenty-two core LibQUAL+ items. Specifically, we explored similarities and differences in users' desired library service quality levels across user groups (i.e., undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty), across geographic locations (i.e.,.Griffiths, Jillian R.; Johnson, Frances; Hartley, Richard J.2007-01-01It is evident from previous research that user satisfaction is a multidimensional, subjective variable which can be affected by many factors other than performance of the system or searcher.
This article draws on information retrieval and information systems literature in an attempt to understand what user satisfaction is, how it is measured, what.Rees, Alan M.1966-01-01Users of information in science and technology have been studied in great detail with respect to material read, amount of time spent in reading and searching the literature, categories of questions asked, and so on. Probing for this information has been undertaken by means of structured and unstructured interviews, diaries, surveys, and questionnaires. Although a large amount of data has emerged on information usage and flow, the subjective response of scientists furnishes comment only on the satisfaction produced by present information services and does not yield insight into the extent to which needs remain unsatisfied. Relevance figures based upon the response of systems to questions cannot be equated with satisfaction of needs, since questions constitute, in most cases, inadequate representations of underlying information needs. Assessment of the needs of users of medical libraries and information systems must, in fact, be made in relation to the observed behavior and experience of biomedical scientists.
There is room for well-designed experimentation which can explore the interaction of both psychological and environmental factors. Significant differences in information needs exist among and between individuals such as researchers and clinicians in the same environment.
With respect to environment, it is hypothesized that the information needs of medical practitioners in remote areas might differ significantly from those of their colleagues working in large metropolitan centers in close proximity to medical schools, research institutions, and other rich sources of information fallout. It is anticipated that experimentation will eventually result in a methodology which will permit the determination and prediction of the information needs of any identified groups of users in a specific environment. PMID:5910386.Cornish, Nancy M.Users of the reference library at Blackhawk Community College (Illinois) were surveyed to determine user satisfaction and the total number of transactions. The survey's objective was to pinpoint problem areas, supply objective information, develop guidelines and standards, and support needed improvements or the continued maintenance of good.Benedetti, Allison R.2017-01-01As libraries respond to new teaching and research practices in the twenty-first century, it is important to consider how to advertise library services. Users are often surprised to learn about the varied expertise of library staff and the many services the staff provides.
To investigate this issue, the author designed a study to identify a more.Wolfgram, Derek E.The library of McDonald and Company Securities is important to the success of the business and its employees. This study assesses the needs and expectations of the library users, and analyzes how well the current library services are meeting those needs and expectations. A questionnaire was distributed to a large random sample of the firm's.Berninghausen, David K.1982-01-01Considers theories of intellectual freedom for library users, focusing on policies and practices which have developed in publicly supported libraries in America in the late twentieth century. Related legislation is discussed, including the First Amendment and Library Bill of Rights. Twenty-six references are cited. (EJS).Miido, HelisTraditional library tasks, for example database searching, are increasingly performed by library users, forcing both the librarian and the user to assume at times dichotomous roles of teacher and student.
Modern librarians install new software and guide organizations in multimedia applications. Librarians need to be cognizant of the human factor,.Pu, Hsiao-Tieh; Yang, Chyan2003-01-01Explores the possibility of adding user-oriented class associations to hierarchical library classification schemes.
Analyses a log of book circulation records from a university library in Taiwan and shows that classification schemes can be made more adaptable by analyzing circulation patterns of similar users.Lai, Katie; Chan, Kylie2010-01-01While many surveys aim primarily at measuring general user satisfaction, this survey is dedicated to understanding music users' needs, usage patterns, and preferences towards various collections. Findings showed dissimilar use behavior and perceived importance of materials between academic- and performance-oriented music users. Needs for different.Kwon, Nahyun2006-01-01Introduction: This study investigated unmonitored referrals in a nationwide, collaborative chat reference service. Specifically, it examined the extent to which questions are referred, the types of questions that are more likely to be referred than others, and the level of user satisfaction with the referrals in the collaborative chat reference.Stokes, Jonathan; Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; Hone, Thomas; Atun, Rifat2015-12-01In 2003, the Turkish government introduced major health system changes, the Health Transformation Programme (HTP), to achieve universal health coverage (UHC). The HTP leveraged changes in all parts of the health system, organization, financing, resource management and service delivery, with a new family medicine model introducing primary care at the heart of the system.
This article examines the effect of these health system changes on user satisfaction, a key goal of a responsive health system. Utilizing the results of a nationally representative yearly survey introduced at the baseline of the health system transformation, multivariate logistic regression analysis is used to examine the yearly effect on satisfaction with health services.
During the 9-year period analyzed (2004-2012), there was a nearly 20% rise in reported health service use, coinciding with increased access, measured by insurance coverage. Controlling for factors known to contribute to user satisfaction in the literature, there is a significant (P.Proffitt, Merrilee; Michalko, James; Renspie, Melissa2015-01-01What began with a few libraries' early application of ethnographic methods to learn more about user behaviors and needs has grown to become a significant body of work done across many institutions using a broad range of methods. User-centered investigations are increasingly influential in discussions about the shape and future of the research.Dearnley, James; McKnight, Cliff; Morris, Anne2004-01-01This article reports on one aspect of a Laser Foundation-funded research project that tested different models of e-book delivery and offered guidelines for developing e-book collections in UK public libraries. An e-book collection was offered to library users (primarily, users relying on a mobile library service) on Personal Digital Assistant.Weissert, C. L.1997-01-01With all of the enhancements in software methodology and testing, there is no guarantee that software can be delivered such that no user errors occur, How to handle these errors when they occur has become a major research topic within human-computer interaction (HCI).
AccountingSoftware Selection and User SatisfactionRelevant Factors for DecisionMakersBy Fara Elikai, Daniel M. Ivancevich, and Susan H. IvancevichMAY 2007 - Accountingsoftware packages are standard tools in today’s business environment.Selecting the right software, however, can be challenging.
Priceand performance often vary significantly. It can be difficult toidentify which software would best fit the needs of an organization.Finding software with the right features to help streamline operationsand that is not overcomplicated to use requires a rare balance (seeRandolph P. Johnston, “A Strategy for Finding the Right AccountingSoftware,” Journal of Accountancy, March 2003). Thecosts of poor decisions—user frustration, resistance, or reducedproductivity—can be high.Thepurpose of the study below was to provide insight into which factorsand features are most important to users in selecting, retaining,or changing accounting software packages. The survey also askedrespondents to identify the most satisfying features and thosethat most need improvement. The authors also compared the softwareratings of large versus small firms to identify key differencesbetween the two groups.TheStudyThe authorscontacted members of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)located in the southeastern United States to identify interestedparticipants. Detailed questionnaires were sent out and generallywere followed up with a phone interview.
In total, 57 individualsparticipated. Based on the diversity of demographic characteristicsof respondents (i.e., industry, size, and geographic location),the authors have no reason to believe the sample is not representativeof nonrespondents and the population as a whole. Demographic informationfor participants is shown in.shows that controllers comprise the largest category ofparticipants, followed by managers, accountants, and financialdirectors. The average age of participants was about 44, and theyhad about 20 years of experience overall and about five yearsof experience in their present job. All but one had a bachelor’sor master’s degree.The largestcategory of participants came from the manufacturing industry;remaining participants were scattered fairly evenly among otherindustries. Roughly 40% of the participants’ companies werelocated only in the United States, while approximately 60% hadinternational operations as well.
Only one company had no presencein the United States. The size of the companies (based on sales)varied from less than $10 million to more than $1 billion.
Thenumber of accounting/finance employees in the surveyed companiesvaried from less than 10 to more than 200, with most companiesemploying less than 50 people in accounting/finance.FindingsParticipantswere asked which software packages they currently use. Shows that a total of 63 different packages were cited andno one package was dominant. Because participants were asked tofill out the survey for each type of software used, 97 responseswere tabulated. QuickBooks, SAP, PeopleSoft, and Oracle were citedmost frequently, followed by ADP, Great Plains, JD Edwards, andPeachtree. The remaining 50 packages were used by two or fewerrespondents.also shows that the various accounting packages used byeach company were fully integrated in 65% of the cases.
The mostcommon operating system platform was Windows (84%), followed byUnix (9%).MajorCategory RankingsParticipantswere then asked to rank the importance of major categories from1 to 6 (1 being “most important” and 6 being “leastimportant”) to indicate the broad factors they consideredin selecting a primary accounting software package. As shown in, functionality/capability (which includes flexibility/customization)was rated as the most important category by a large margin. Costwas rated as next most important, followed by compatibility withother software. Contrary to the findings of prior research (J.Carlton Collins, “How to Select the Right Accounting Software,”Journal of Accountancy, August 1999), vendor stability/viabilityand vendor support were rated less important to users. While theauthors considered user friendliness part of functionality/capability,some participants listed it separately under the “other”category.Rankingsof Individual Features Within Major CategoriesParticipantswere next asked to rank detailed features within each category(as chosen through review of the literature and consultation withIT experts). Presents the detailed features by category, in the orderthey were ranked above.shows that flexibility (customization) is rated as mostimportant within the functionality/capability category by a largemargin.
Companies seem very interested in ensuring that any newsoftware selected could be adapted for effective use in theirindividual business. This finding is not surprising given thecritical role that accounting software typically plays in businessestoday. Real-time processing, user friendliness, security, andthe ability to upgrade are also rated as very important features.Interestingly, multicompany features, web access capabilities,international capabilities, and graphics are rated as relativelyunimportant. This finding may be a function of the demographicsof our sample, as small firms are less likely to value such capabilities.(Comparisons by firm size are provided later.)Overall,the cost category was rated as second most important in accountingsoftware selection.
Shows that the cost of the initial purchase and annual operatingcost were considered more important than installation and trainingcosts. Installation and training costs may have been rated lowerbecause of the type of software packages prevalent in this survey;that is, software that accountants may already be proficient with.Within thecompatibility category, ranked third in overall importance, compatibilitywith the operating system was rated as more important than compatibilitywith hardware or with other software. This finding is not surprising,given that incompatibility with the operating system could renderthe software essentially useless. The authors have anecdotal evidenceof many companies accepting some incompatibility with other typesof software as long as the software met a strategic need.
Forexample, it is not uncommon for certain data to be compiled usingsoftware that may not interface with the general ledger package.At a firm for which one of the authors worked, the company adoptedpoint-of-sale (POS) software that was incompatible with the generalledger software. The company liked many of the features and controlsin the POS software for use in its food-and-beverage outlets,so it was purchased anyway. To record sales from these outlets,the company manually compiled sales information from registertapes into an Excel spreadsheet and then manually recorded thesummarized entry into the general ledger system.The restof shows that a vendor’s reputation is the most importantfactor with respect to evaluating vendor stability/viability,and technical vendor support is the most important factor withrespect to evaluating vendor support, followed by user manualsand technical documentation. Interestingly, online help and warrantieswere not rated as important.Satisfactionwith Current SoftwareIn additionto better understanding which factors and features are most importantto users when deciding on software, the authors also wanted toidentify which features of users’ current software theywere most satisfied with. To assess user satisfaction, participantswere asked to rank the top five features of their current software.As shownin, flexibility was rated as the top feature for user satisfaction.Real-time processing ranked second, followed closely by purchaseprice, annual operating costs and multibusiness unit functionality.Interestingly, all five of these items could be found in the toptwo categories of important factors in software selection as shownin. Similarly, four of the top five items (flexibility, real-timeprocessing within the functionality/ capability category; purchaseprice and annual operating costs within the cost category) wererated as the two most important features within their category(as shown in ). These results show that companies tend to be satisfiedwith the features most important to them.The surveythen asked users to identify the five features they would mostlike to see improved in their current accounting software package.shows the most commonly identified area for improvementwas report-writing functions, followed by flexibility, annualoperating cost, user manuals, and compatibility with other software.It is interesting that both flexibility and annual operating costswere among the top five features for both satisfaction and needingimprovement.
On the other hand, report writing, user manuals,and compatibility with other software were not considered as important,but still ranked high in terms of needing improvement. It is possiblethat these findings may be related to the lack of emphasis ontraining, which in turn may lead to lack of productivity or knowledgerelated to the capabilities of the software.SoftwareRetention and ChangeThe surveyalso asked about users’ plans to change software. Of the57 respondents, 18 (32%) indicated that they had recently madeor planned to make software changes. These respondents were askedto rank the top five most important features in their decisionto change software. As shown in, flexibility (customization) was rated as most important,followed closely by transaction volume, compatibility with othersoftware, report-writing functions, and purchase price. Interestingly,report-writing functions and flexibility were also rated as thetop two items with which users were least satisfied.
The itemsranked highly in terms of dissatisfaction are correlated to itemsranked as important when changing software. These results alsosupport a finding that functionality/capability is the most important overall category for softwareselection, given that four of the top five most important featureswhen changing software come from this category (only purchaseprice is unrelated). Last, the survey investigated why companiesdo not change software.
For those companies that had not changedsoftware recently and did not intend to change in the near future,the survey asked their reasons for not changing. As shows, the primary reasons for not changing software arethe costs necessary and the disruption and hassle to the business.The next-most-important reason was that the users were satisfiedwith their current software. Many users also thought that theeffort necessary to convert data was not worth making a change.Finally, many users thought that better products were not available.Overall, it appears that potentially negative effects of changingsoftware weighed heavily in the decision not to change software.Analysisof Firm SizeThe authorspartitioned the survey data based upon company size. The numberof finance and accounting personnel employed by the company wasused as a proxy for size. The authors chose this variable becausethey believe that it is a better proxy for size and complexitythan total sales, because more accounting and finance personnelwould be needed as the complexity of engagements increases.
Thesurvey sample was partitioned into two groups: companies withless than 10 accounting/finance employees (27 respondents) andcompanies with more than 10 accounting/finance employees (28;two companies did not provide data). The differences between thesetwo groups are presented in and.shows the key differences found in the mean ratings of factorsand features by large versus small companies. As shown in thetable, the only overall category where large and small firms differin their importance rating is vendor stability.
Large businessesrate this category as more important than small ones do, possiblydue to the higher complexity of operations typically associatedwith larger companies. With respect to specific features, severaldifferences stand out. The most significant relate to internationalcapabilities, user friendliness, and technical documentation.Large companies rated these features as more important than didsmall ones.
Similarly, large businesses rated transaction complexity,multibusiness unit capabilities, and multicompany capabilitieshigher than did small businesses. Many of these findings are notsurprising, given the tendency of larger entities to have moreinternational operations, more business units, and more affiliatedcompanies than do small ones. Similarly, technical documentationmay be more important in settings where complex features of thesoftware are being used.Alternatively, small businesses rated user friendliness, graphicscapabilities, real-time processing, and report writing as significantlyless important than did large businesses. It is possible thatlarger companies have the resources to purchase software withenhanced capabilities in these areas, whereas smaller companiesmay be purchasing software with more-limited capabilities.As a finalcomparison between large and small companies, the authors evaluatedthe two groups’ top five areas of satisfaction, areas needingimprovement, and reasons for not changing software. The resultsof this analysis are shown in. In terms of the top five areas of satisfaction, the findingscorrelate well with the earlier results. Key similarities betweenthe two groups include satisfaction with flexibility and withoperating costs.
Differences exist with respect to several areas,however. Larger companies identify real-time processing, and multibusinessunit and multicompany capabilities as key areas of satisfaction,which may be related to their higher degree of business complexityand software capabilities. On the other hand, the inclusion ofuser friendliness, purchase price, and technical vendor supportin the list of features with the highest satisfaction may be anindication of less business complexity and less sophisticatedsoftware on the part of smaller companies.In termsof areas needing improvement, shows that large firms identify annual operating costs,user manuals, flexibility (customization), installation cost,user friendliness, and technical vendor support as the featuresto focus on. Small companies cite report writing, flexibility(customization), user manuals, annual operating costs, and securityas their key features needing improvement. While there are differencesin rank orders, the only differences between the two groups arethat large firms mention user friendliness and technical vendorsupport, while small companies include report writing and security.Once again, these differences may be driven by differences inbusiness complexity and software capabilities between the twogroups.Finally,shows that both groups identify the costs, hassles, anddata-conversion efforts associated with changing software as keybarriers to deciding to change their software package.
Both groupsare also highly satisfied with their current software. The onlydifference in the top five reasons for retaining software (asidefrom small differences in the number 1 and 2 rankings) is thatlarge companies also identify integration with other applicationsystems as a key reason, while small companies note that lackof availability of better products can be a reason. In sum, thereasons for retaining current software packages are quite similarbetween large and small companies.AnalysisThis surveyexamined the factors and features important in accounting softwareselection, satisfaction, and change. In evaluating the data, severalkey findings stand out. First, the functionality/capability ofsoftware is the most important factor category to users in selectingsoftware, followed by cost and compatibility. Within the functionality/capabilitycategory, the flexibility (customization) feature was rated asmost important by participants by a wide margin, while multicompanyfeatures, web access capabilities, international capabilities,and graphics were rated as relatively unimportant.Flexibility(customization) also stood out as a key feature of user satisfaction,followed by real-time processing and price.
With respect to featuresin need of improvement, users were least satisfied with reportwriting, flexibility, and annual operating costs.For why companieschange their software, once again flexibility (customization)rated as the most important feature, followed by transaction processingcapabilities. Not surprisingly, the primary reason companies donot change software is because they are happy with their existingsoftware. Nevertheless, the costs, disruption, and effort requiredto change are also quite important.Key differenceswere also noted with respect to large versus small companies’ratings of factors and features. Many of the items for which therewere significant differences seemed to be driven by size, complexityof operations, or capabilities of software. Interestingly, thetop five reasons for not changing software were fairly similarbetween the two groups.Vendor supportstands out as being rated as relatively unimportant to users.It appears users are much more concerned with how the softwarefits their business needs than with the reputation and supportof the vendor. In other words, users appear to be attracted toa great product that fully meets their needs, more so than lookingto a particular vendor in hopes of finding that its product comesclose to meeting their needs.FaraElikai, PhD, is an associate professor, DanielM.
![Accounting Software Selection User Satisfaction In Libraries Transform Accounting Software Selection User Satisfaction In Libraries Transform](http://www.gogofinder.com.tw/books/pida/6/s/1372218172VjYmxYPq.jpg)
Ivancevich, PhD, is a professor, and SusanH. Ivancevich, PhD, is an associate professor, all atthe University of North Carolina Wilmington.
![](/uploads/1/2/7/1/127157997/950008846.jpg)