Abstract
This study analyzes the modernization process of an Italian nursing home driven by the development and usage of software developed in-house. To clarify contradictory results regarding information technology performance in healthcare settings, this study points at the benefits gained by both the users of the software and the guests of the nursing home. This is done collecting both qualitative and descriptive quantitative data regarding the quality of life of the guests and the way operators are affected as result of the new tool adopted. Our study shows that bottom-up participatory design with autonomy, user friendliness and job simplification, and orientation toward guests, were the elements that concurrently generated a virtuous circle for the guests, the users and therefore the organization as a whole.