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User development of computer-based applications (UDA) is a new phenomenon in organizations, and can provide benefits for both users and data processing departments. The benefits of UDA for DP departments are considered in this article. The UDA literature suggests that DP departments can expect to receive two major types of benefits: a decrease in the backlog of DP application development projects and in the proportion of DP resources spent on application maintenance. However, this study, which was carried out in ten large Canadian business firms, found that in no instances were these factors cited by senior DP managers as primary success considerations.
Rivard et al. (1984) studied this question.