Berry, Frances, William Berry and Stephen Foster. “The Determinants of Success in Implementing an Expert System in State Government.” Public Administration Review, 58 (July/August 1998): 293-305 [published as formally designated “Lead Article”].

This article assesses the determination of the extent of use of a computer-based expert system by mangers in the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The Department designed the expert system – called the Supervisor Assistance System – to help supervisors determine appropriate disciplinary actions for a variety of employee offenses. Our empirical analysis is based on responses to a 1992 survey of department mangers, and our results confirm the applicability of Van Meter and Van Horn’s theory of policy implementation for explaining the implementation of a managerial innovation. Consistent with Van Meter and Van Horn’s framework, communication, dispositional and capability factors are all required to explain the extent to which a department manger will use the Supervisor Assistance System. Our findings suggest lessons for how to implement expert systems in government agencies so that the agencies may experience the benefits of computer technology.