Participatory Design of an-ERP for Process Automation in Micro-Businesses

Abstract

This study presents the participatory design and implementation of an ERP system called Micro-Gestión, developed to automate critical processes in micro-businesses in Cali, Colombia. The research is based on evidence highlighting the high vulnerability of these productive units due to manual administrative practices and low levels of technological adoption. To address this issue, a hybrid methodology was employed, combining agile development with user-centered co-creation principles and integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as an evaluation framework. The system was built on the open-source Odoo platform, leveraging its modular architecture to customize three essential components: CRM, Sales, and Invoicing. Requirements were gathered through three participatory workshops involving four micro-entrepreneurs, who actively contributed to defining workflows, simplifying processes, and validating prototypes. The technical development was carried out by Information Technology students using Python, PostgreSQL, Visual Studio Code, and GitHub under an iterative two-week sprint framework. The results demonstrate significant improvements in operational efficiency. Customer registration time was reduced by 86%, sales processing by 56%, and invoice generation by 95% compared to previous manual methods. The five-step integrated workflow optimized the operational sequence and decreased process errors by 68%. Post-implementation evaluation using a Likert scale showed an average acceptance score of 4.46 out of 5, confirming a high perceived usefulness and ease of use.