A Web-based survey of 106 large New Zealand organisations was undertaken to gain an understanding of their IS development practices. The survey focussed on the contribution of standard methods and user participation to IS development. Among the findings were that 91% of the respondents used a standard method in the development process in at least some of projects undertaken in the last three years. All organisations reported using some level of user participation. The majority of organisations agreed that organisational issues had been more important than technical issues in determining the outcome of the IS development in these projects.