| Information centers (ICs) need to justify their existence to general management. Although the IC is an accepted part of the organization, management needs an accounting of what the IC provides to the organization. Several assessment methods can be used. Critical success factors and end user satisfaction are two methods studied in this thesis.;The objectives of this research are to: (1) Provide IC managers with information regarding IC assessment practices and provide them with a set of practical assessment measures and tools that they can use. (2) Provide information for IC researchers about IC assessment that has been sorely lacking. There has been no empirical research regarding IC assessment, only conjectures and recommendations.;These objectives were fulfilled by developing: (1) an assessment framework from the IC and assessment literature, (2) two survey instruments to determine IC performance ratings and importance rankings of critical success factors (CSFs) by IC personnel and end users, (3) and a usable end-user satisfaction questionnaire.;The research findings indicate that: (1) Assessment does take place in industry and that the most widely used and recommended assessment measure is end-user satisfaction. (2) Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are a good indicator of IC health and can be used to determine its success. IC managers can monitor the CSFs to ensure the health of the IC. (3) The proposed end-user satisfaction questionnaire is a useful measurement tool and can be used to help ICs achieve success. |
