Managing Organizational Bias in the Post‐audit of MIS Projects

Discusses how most organizations use formal methods which are purely objective and rational to evaluate system projects. Such methods are incapable of capturing the social aspects of system projects and as such are not appropriate. Inappropriate evaluation mechanisms and criteria have caused the detrimental effects of organizational bias to flourish, thereby defeating the purposes of project evaluation. Organizations, either knowingly or unknowingly, are judging instead of evaluating projects with the intention to punish or reward the project teams and so encourage biasing effects. Contends that an effective project evaluation should adopt a socio‐technical approach to reflect the socio‐technical nature of information systems. Describes and illustrates managerial guidelines on socio‐technical approach to project evaluation capable of accounting and controlling for the obvious effects of organizational bias.