Participatory maintenance-in-use: users' role in keeping systems alive

Based on a case study of the implementation of an Italian Regional Welfare Information System, this paper introduces the concept of maintenance-in-use as a complement to that of design-in-use. Our observation of the co-ordination of diverse professionals in and out of multiple workplaces and acknowledgement of the importance that this has for keeping systems alive suggest a need to expand the analysis of post-implementation participation. The concept of 'maintenance-in-use' supports shifting attention from the issue of infrastructure enhancement to the social aspects of Information Systems at work, making it a central part of research to achieve Socially Robust and Enduring Computing.