A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING
THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF eGOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
By
L. P. H. WADUGE
The dissertation was submitted to the Department of Computer Science & 
Engineering of the University of Moratuwa in partial fulfilment of the 
requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration.
Department of Computer Science & Engineering 
University of Moratuwa 
December 2009
i&fDOtjfmJ/o
r)CS OljOS
LIBRARY
VKNEBSITY OF MORATUWA. SRI lAHx 
MORATUWA
A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING
THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF eGOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
IN
E-GOVERNANCE
onO oAUniversity of Moratuwa
ck:\-a •95700
L. P. H. WADUGE
Department of Computer Science & Engineering 
University of Moratuwa 
December 2009 95 v00
5 LIBBABY
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Declaration
“I certify that this thesis does not incorporate without acknowledgement any material 
previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university to the best of my 
knowledge and belief. It does not contain any material previously published, written 
or orally communicated by another person or me except where due reference is made 
in the text. I also hereby give consent for my dissertation, if accepted, to be made 
available for photocopying and for interlibrary loans, and for the title and summary to 
be made available to outside organizations”
/ S - o J - 0
Signature of the Candidate Date
To the best of my knowledge, the above particulars are correct.
Supervisor
(Dr. Shahani Weerawarana)
| LIBRARY |
>V
i
Abstract
The Government of Sri Lanka has embarked on the e-Sri Lanka Re-Engineering 
Government program, which is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 
road map, with the intention of providing efficient and effective services to its 
stakeholders, mainly, the citizens of the country. The implementation of eGovemment 
solutions necessitates organizational readiness in terms of structure and human 
capacity as conventional practices have failed to achieve institutional objectives 
desirable in today’s context. eGovemment can transform the way the traditional public 
sector organizations work. However, the success of the program is contingent upon 
several factors such as leadership commitment, competent staff, financial and other 
resources.
In this backdrop, this research study presents an interesting Analytical Model that 
public-sector institutions may adopt, in evaluating the effectiveness of eGovemment 
implementations within government organizations in Sri Lanka.
The objective of this research was to find critical factors that influence the 
effectiveness of eGovemment initiatives in the solution implementation stage as well 
as in the solution operation stage, and to then formulate an evaluation model to 
analyze those factors at the organizational level. The key eGovemment projects and 
initiatives under the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs have been 
included as the sample space to test the effectiveness factors in the analytical model. 
The development of this analytical model was done after extensive literature review in 
related areas with respect to developing countries, and through a pilot study done in 
the Sri Lankan organizational context.
The proposed analytical model can be used by any government agency to evaluate 
eGovemment projects prior to deployment and more importantly, during the 
operational stage. Based on this factor analysis, appropriate recommendations can be 
proposed to enhance and strengthen the eGovemment initiatives by considering all 
related factors in the implementation stage such as organizational, syj
. . /Tvenvironmental, and other enabling factors pertaining to government
funding
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Sri Lanka. The model features built-in iterations and feedback loops which enables 
systematic analysis of operational effectiveness, thereby enabling the implementation 
of timely corrective measures leading to continuous improvement and enhanced 
positive operational impact of the eGovemment solutions.
Furthermore, since the model was conceptualized and designed with Sri Lankan 
government organizations as the focus, it is highly relevant in the local context in 
comparison to the existing evaluation models that are in use elsewhere in the world. 
Clearly, this model would also be useful in other developing countries with 
government organization and government process profiles that are similar to Sri 
Lanka, for the purpose of evaluating their eGovemment projects systematically in 
order to improve their solution effectiveness.
iii
Acknowledgement
I would like to extend sincere thanks to my research supervisor, Dr. Shahani 
Weerawarana for her guidance, encouragement and providing a long term vision to 
the study. I would also like to thank the Head of the Department of Computer Science 
and Engineering, Mrs. Vishaka Nanayakkara and all the staff members and batch 
mates of the MBA/IT and MBA/eGov 2008/09 batch.
I would like to thank the Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration and Home 
Affairs and staff of the Ministry, Divisional Secretariats of Colombo District, vendor 
institutions and the ICTA who contributed to my research by providing me with their 
valuable time amongst busy work schedules, without which my objectives would not 
have been fulfilled.
Finally I wish to thank my wife Harsha and my daughter Nethmi for then- 
understanding and guidance throughout this research.
L. P. H. Waduge 
MBA/eGov/08/10209
iv
Table of Contents
Declaration
Abstract
Acknowledgement 
Table of Contents 
List of Tables 
List of Figures 
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
1.1 Background.......................................................................................................
1.1.1 eGovemment in Sri Lanka and ICTA....................................................
1.1.2 MPA&HA and e-Govemment Initiatives .............................................
1.2 Objectives of the Research................................................................................
1.3 Problem Statement...........................................................................................
1.4 Importance of the Study...................................................................................
1.5 Thesis Structure................................................................................................
2 Literature Review
2.1 Common Factors Influencing Effectiveness of eGovemment Solutions............
2.2 Common Factors Influencing Effectiveness of eGovemment Solutions in
Regional Developing Countries........................................................................
2.3 The Factors Influencing Effectiveness of eGovemment Solutions in Sri Lanka
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Research Design and Approach.......................................................................
3.2 The Conceptual Methodology..........................................................................
4 The Analytical Model - eGSEEM
4.1 Definition of Implementation Phase Factors....................................................
4.1.1 Organizational Factors
4.1.2 Surrounding Environmental Factors.......................................................
4.1.3 Enabling Factors
4.2 Definition of Operational Phase Perspectives.................................................
4.2.1 Social Perspectives
4.2.2 Economic Perspectives..........................................................................
4.3 The Relation of Factors with Sources of Information .....................................
4.4 Units of Analysis............................................................................................ .
4.5 The Mapping of Stakeholders to the Analytical Model...................................
5 Data Collection
5.1 Sample Size and Sample Selection Procedure..................................................
5.2 Questionnaire Design ......................................................................................
5.2.1 Questionnaire Design Example..............................................................
6 Data Analysis & Presentation
6.1 Analysis of Implementation Phase Factors......................................................
6.1.1 Organizational Factors............................................................................
6.1.1.1 The Leadership............................................................................
6.1.1.2 Top Management Support
6.1.1.3 IT Skills.......................................................................................
6.1.1.4 Resources....................................................................................
6.1.1.5 Change Management...................................................................
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IX
X
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v
476.1.1.5 Change Management.........
6.1.1.6 Procurement Management
6.1.1.7 Management Structure......
6.1.2 Surrounding Environment Factors
6.1.2.1 Internal Pressure.................
6.1.2.2 External Pressure
6.1.2.3 Legal Infrastructure............
6.1.2.4 Employee Readiness
6.1.2.5 Political Environment........
6.1.2.6 eGovemment Policy
6.1.3 Enabling Factors...........................
6.1.3.1 IT Infrastructure
6.1.3.2 Local Context....................
6.1.3.3 Process Reengineering
6.1.3.4 User Friendliness..............
6.1.3.5 Vendor Effectiveness
6.1.3.6 Project Implementation.....
6.2 Analysis of Operational Perspectives
6.2.1 Social Perspectives.......................
6.2.2.1 Transparency and Openness
6.2.1.2 Service Delivery................
6.2.1.3 Empowerment
6.2.2 Economic Perspectives..................
6.2.2.1 Streamlining Processes
6.2.2.2 Increasing Revenue............
6.2.2.3 Cost Reduction
48
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62
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63
657 Recommendations
7.1 Recommendations for Implementation Phase Factors................
7.1.1 Recommendations for Organizational Factors
7.1.1.1 The Leadership......................................................
7.1.1.2 Top Management Support
7.1.1.3 IT Skills.................................................................
7.1.1.4 Resources
7.1.1.5 Change Management..............................................
7.1.1.6 Procurement Management
7.1.1.7 Management Structure...........................................
7.1.2 Recommendations for Surrounding Environmental Factors
7.1.2.1 Legal Infrastructure...............................................
7.1.2.2 Employee Readiness
7.1.2.3 Political Environment.............................................
7.1.2.4 eGovemment Policy
7.1.3 Recommendations for Enabling Factors............................
7.1.3.1 IT Infrastructure
7.1.3.2 Local Context........................................................
7.1.3.3 User Friendliness
7.1.3.4 Vendor Effectiveness.............................................
7.1.3.5 Project Implementation
7.2 Recommendations for Operational Perspectives........................
7.2.1 Recommendations for Social Perspectives
7.2.1.1 Service Delivery....................................................
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vi
727.2.2 Recommendations for Economic Perspectives 
7.2.2.1 Streamlining Processes
12.2.2 Cost Reductions.................................
7.3 Overall Recommendations......................................
72
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73
8 Conclusion
8.1 Summary of Research Findings..............................................
8.2 Future Areas of Study
8.3 Research Study Summary and Outcome.................................
Appendix 1- Questionnaire Templates............................................
Setl: Questionnaire for Ministry and its Organizations
Set2: Questionnaire for the Apex Body......................
Set3: Questionnaire for Vendors
Set4: Questionnaire for Employee..............................
Set5: Questionnaire for Citizens
74
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79
81
83
85
88References
vii
List of Tables
Standard Indicators for Government & eGovemment Performance 15 
ITPOSMO Dimensions by Heeks and Factors by Heeks and
Bhatnagar...............................................
Stakeholders Key Dimension of Impact..
Factors-Sources of Information Mapping
The Stakeholder Selection Criteria........
Factors-Stakeholders Mapping..............
Sample Size and Selection Criteria.........
Questionnaires.......................................
Factor-Questionnaire Mapping..............
Questionnaire-Factor Mapping..............
Sample Questionnaire............................
The Detailed Break-Down of Sample ....
Organizational IT Skills Level..............
Organizational Resource Availability....
Table 2.1: 
Table 2.2:
17
24Table 2.3 
Table 4.1 
Table 4.2 
Table 4.3 
Table 5.1 
Table 5.2 
Table 5.3 
Table 5.4 
Table 5.5 
Table 6.1 
Table 6.2 
Table 6.3
35
36
37
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40
41
42
43
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46
vm
List of Figures
2Citizen Use of eGoverament Data - The Information Chain......
The Components of eGovemment.............................................
Levels of eGovemment..............................................................
eGovemment at Different Levels of Government in Developing
Countries..................................................................................
Changing eGovemment Issues Over Time................................
Stages in the Evolution of eGovemment...................................
The Stages of eGovemment.....................................................
The Conceptual Framework........................................................
Framework for Sri Lankan Public Sector BPR Success.............
The Conceptual Methodology....................................................
The eGovemment Solution Effectiveness Evaluation Model.....
Organizational IT Skills Level......................................................
Organizational Resource Availability........................................
Change Management Alignment with e-Projects.......................
Employee Awareness on eGovemment.....................................
Organizational Political Environment for eGovemment............
Impact of eGovemment Policy..................................................
The Comparison of the User Friendliness....................................
User Friendliness by Agencies....................................................
User Friendliness by Employees.................................................
Transparency through eGovemment..........................................
Awareness about eGovemment Services of Agencies..................
Citizens’ Preference about Service Delivery Mode.....................
Citizens’ Perception on Better Service Provision through ICT .... 
Citizens’ Perception on Easiness of Service Provision through ICT
Citizens’ Perception on Quickness of Service Provision..............
Revenue Management................................................................
Citizens’ Perception on Cost for Service Provision.....................
Citizens’ Perception on Number of Visits to Obtain Services........
Figure 1.1: 
Figure 1.2: 
Figure 1.3: 
Figure 1.4:
3
4
5
13Figure 2.1: 
Figure 2.2: 
Figure 2.3: 
Figure 2.4: 
Figure 2.5: 
Figure 3.1: 
Figure 4.1: 
Figure 6.1: 
Figure 6.2: 
Figure 6.3: 
Figure 6.4: 
Figure 6.5: 
Figure 6.6: 
Figure 6.7: 
Figure 6.8: 
Figure 6.9: 
Figure 6.10 
Figure 6.11 
Figure 6.12 
Figure 6.13 
Figure 6.14 
Figure 6.15 
Figure 6.16 
Figure 6.17 
Figure 6.18
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IX
Abbreviations
Birth Marriage Death
Business Process Reengineering
Divisional Secretariat
Electronic Birth Marriage Death Project
Electronic Divisional Secretariat Project
Electronic Government
eGovemment Solution Effectiveness Evaluation Model 
Electronic Government
Electronic Human Resources Management Project
Electronic Pensions Project
Electronic Population Registry Project
Government to Consumer
Government to Business
Government to Employee
Government to Government
Government to Non-Profits
Government Information Centre
Information and Communication Technology
ICT Agency of Sri Lanka
Information Systems
Lanka Government Network
Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs
National Computer Systems
Software Development Services Approach
BMD
BPR
DS
eBMD
eDS
eGov
eGSEEM
eGovemment
eHRM
ePensions
ePopReg
G2C
G2B
G2E
G2G
G2N
GIC
ICT
ICTA
IS
LGN
MPA&HA
NCS
SDSA
x
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 
1.1 Background 
Electronic Government, or eGovernment, with its synonyms, is a growing field of 
practice and research all over the world (Gronlund and Horan 2005). eGovernment in 
this context encompasses a wide range of branches and sub-areas, for example the 
dissemination of information, services to individual citizens and businesses, and 
participatory democracy. According to Wimmer (2006), eGovernment is 
multidisciplinary and consists of several domains of research and implementations, as 
f 
for example, e-Democracy, e-Participation, e-Administratio/i, e-Health, and e-Justice. 
According to Bhatnagar (2003), eGovernment is about a process of reform in the way 
Governments work, share information, and deliver services to external and internal 
clients. 
In the field of eGovernrnent it has been emphasized that an important goal of 
eGovernment is the delivery of faster and cheaper services and information to citizens, 
business partners, employees, other agencies, and government agencies. Several 
factors are necessary for building effective eGOvernment applications, which could be 
identified on the basis of an analysis of success and failures of eGovernrnent 
applications developed so far (Bhatnagar 2004a). 
c 
So far the main use of e-services by citizens is to access information from government 
Web sites rather than actual services (only 10-25% of eGovernrnent users undertake 
transactions (Accenture 2004), and even for eGovernment "frontrunner" services, only 
5-10% of transactions are undertaken online: the remainder still occur offline). But 
this acquisition of data is just the first step in an information chain (see Figure 1.1) 
that requires the presence of many other resources, if it is to lead to a developmental 
impact on citizens' lives. To tum that eGovernment based data into an impact requires 
that the data be assessed, applied and then acted upon. 
This requires money, skills, knowledge, motivation, confidence, empowerment and 
trust among other resources. Yet eGovemment itself does nothing to impact these 
1 
other resources. It is therefore only one small part of a much bigger picture required to 
make an impact on citizens' livelihoods. 
eGov 
Web 
Stte 
Economic Resources~ 
Data .I H I fuformMiou 1 Assess _ _ Apply _ ~ 
Social Rtsources -. 
Act 
Developmental 
1-l ---+1))> Impact 
,______. 
• 
' 
Figure 1.1: Citizen Use of eGovemment Data- The Inf9fination Chain 
(Source: Heeks 2006) 
According to Reeks (2006), the nature of eGovernment can be readily categorized, as 
per Figure 1.2. 
The main components of eGovemment can be described in brief as follows; 
First, G2B- with the goal of improving public service to business. 
Second, G2G - with goals such as cutting costs, decentralizing power, managing 
performance, and improving strategic decision making. E-Administration has a key 
role to play as well. In terms of most eGovernment stage models, the final stage (be it 
called integration, transformation, sharing, etc) requires back office changes; in other 
words, significant G2G developments. 
Third, e-citizens applications - with goals of talking to citizens and listening to 
citizens. 
Fourth, e-society applications - with goals such as working better with business, 
developing communities, and buildi~g partnerships. 
2 
... 
Figure 1.2: The Components of eGovernment 
(Source: Heeks 2003) 
Accordingly from the perspective of Levels of eGovernment, a categorization into at 
least five potential levels of eGovernment can be illustrated, as per Figure 1.3. 
In developing countries, local governments are the main .Point of contact for delivery 
of services and for delivery of national programmes (World Bank 2006). Hence they 
are a critical location for applying ICTs in pursuit of national development goals. 
Lower tiers of government may be more innovative in eGovemment than at the 
national level due to lower barriers 'to change. 
3 
~gtonal 
Stare Pro,-incial 
Local 
Figure 1.3: Levels of cGovernment 
(Source: Heeks 2006) 
In many countries, this may be more than counterbalanced by the severe resource 
constraints, leading to a diffusion graph similar tQ. that portrayed in Figure 1.4. Even 
in this situation though, government at lower tiers is of increasing importance over 
time. In fact amongst the eGovernment case studies listed at the World Bank 
eGovernment web site (World Bank 2006) more than half are at state and local level. 
Improvement in delivery of government services is an important issue for many 
developing countries. Electronic delivery can improve efficiency, cut delays, and 
increase transparency. eGovernment refonns the way the government works, shares 
information and delivers services to external and internal clients. Specially, 
eGovernment deploys Information Technology (such as Wide Area Networks, 
Internet, e-Mail, etc.,) to transfonn the existing government processes and delivery 
channels (Bhatnagar 2004b ). 
4 
= ~~ 
-' = ~· 
-;: c:~ 
'!" !, -~ ; ~ 
- =" 
.... 
" 
.Yo tiona/ 
Go•·ermueut 
Stau/Pro,·incinl 
Go••erumeut 
Lorn/ 
Go1·~rmneut 
• l imp 
' 
Figure 1.4: eGovernment at Different Levels of Government ffi. Developing Countries 
(Source: Heeks 2006) 
The resulting benefits can be less corruption, greater convenience and lower costs for 
business transactions with the government, increased transparency, revenue growth 
and cost reduction for Government (World Bank 2006). This chapter discusses the 
brief history of ICT developments in the Government of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of 
... 
Public Administration, which are motivation factors for this research. 
1.1.1 eGovernment in Sri Lanka and ICT A 
Computing was introduced to Sri Lanka in. 1962, when IBM supplied the Insurance 
Corporation with accounting machines (Samaranayake 1998). Immediately after, the 
State Engineering Corporation and later the Department of Census and Statistics, 
using their IBMs, provided computing facilities to many government agencies and 
private organizations. In 1977, under a new government that promoted a liberal 
economy, a lump-sum depreciation scheme was introduced to encourage 
computerization (Hanna 2007a). That prompted many states as well as private sector 
organizations to use computers. The 1980s saw the advent of microcomputers and the 
personal computer. The Ministry of Education introduced computers to a large 
number of schools, along with curriculum development and teacher training, 
conducted with a few universities competent in IT. A comprehensive plan was 
developed to introduce computers to all universities and train university teachers. The 
5 
University Grants Commission, a state body for university administration, also 
provided strong support for the program. 
Sri Lanka started efforts to take advantage of computerization of government 
activities relatively early, in the 1970s. However these efforts then lost momentum, in 
part because of inadequate political willingness and the civil war. A number of 
government computerization initiatives and ICT related policies were proposed, but 
none of them were fully implemented. Several shortcomings hampered these efforts. 
Among these were the shortage of internal champions and the lack of a process 
leading to 'buy-in'. According to the Hanna (2007b ), other constraints included the 
• 
lack of a national strategy and road map to guide investment poorities and the absence 
7 
of a strong authority to enforce policies and standards for information sharing, to 
support e-leaders and champions, and to build a shared information infrastructure 
across government. 
The key national ICT institutions in place at the beginning of 21st century were the 
Council for Information Technology (CINTEC, under the Ministry of Economic 
Reform, Science, and Technology) and the Telecommunication Regulatory 
Commission (under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications). Established early 
on in the ICT revolution, in 1984, CINTEC was intended to lead national ICT 
development through policy co-ordination. Originally functioning directly under the 
President, CINTEC embarked on several initiatives such as public sector 
computerization and legal & policy reforln. Despite gaining broad recognition for 
some of its initiatives, the institution was later placed under a Ministry and relegated 
to a layer under another apex policy-making body in 1994. As a result of these and 
other steps, CINTEC failed to realize its mandate, lost its capacity to attract the right 
skills, and by 2002, was weighted down by bureaucratic and low-priority activities. 
A vision statement for eGovernment of Sri Lanka was prepared in 2003 for 
consideration by the Cabinet. The aim was to raise awareness of the opportunities and 
challenges in implementing eGovernment and to motivate the Cabinet to take key 
steps toward developing a national eGovernment program and building a cadre of e-
leaders to meet the challenges. The proposed vision also provided a framework for 
reconciling the many competing visions and priorities for ICT in government. It is the 
6 
vision of the Sri Lankan government to use eGoverrunent to make a full range of 
public infonnation and services available electronically to citizens, businesses, and all 
parts of government; enabling an efficient, responsive, accessible, client-focused, 
transparent, and accountable public service. EGovernment should ultimately lead to 
better government, a more competitive economy, and a higher quality of life. The 
vision of eGovernment in Sri Lanka; as expressed in "e-Sri Lanka: An ICT 
Development Road Map" (ICTA 2004) and in related documents is, "Innovative 
cGovemment for Empowered Citizens." 
In the year 2002, the Government of Sri Lanka took measures to es~blish an apex 
body for ICT - the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICT A), which jflcompasses key 
strategies to be implemented. The ICT A, which became operational in July 2003 
under the ICTA act, functions as the single apex body involved in ICT policy 
implementation and direction for the nation. In other words, wholly owned by the 
Government of Sri Lanka, ICT A is the implementing organization of the e-Sri Lanka 
initiative. 
The government intends to achieve this vision by (ICTA 2004): 
• Fundamentally transforming and rationalizing the work of the public sector 
through judicious use of digital networking technology 
• Making the delivery of services more convenient to citizens 
• Achieving order-of-magnitude increases in efficiency, transparency, 
. 
accountability, customer satisfaction for all public services 
• Reducing transaction costs to businesses through effective use of ICT in 
providing cost-effective, citizen-centered public services. 
Sri Lanka also faces many weaknesses in introducing eGovemment, including a 
politicized civil service and an inadequate implementation of reforms. Sri Lanka has a 
poor record of implementing civil service reform, with failed attempts in 1987, 1991 , 
and 1996. The key problems include extraordinary overstaffing, lack of competitive 
recruitment to the public service, a patronage-oriented bureaucracy, and a highly 
unionized lower-government staff (Hanna 2006). 
7 
Taken together, these conditions hardly create the best environment for implementing 
eGovernment, which brings both power dislocation and change management issues. 
Some of the best organized vested interests would want to block the process. Yet 
countering this requires strong political pressures to improve the public sector' s 
performance. Public frustration with the poor quality and limited access to services is 
high, and trust in government is very low. Yet, the government of Sri Lanka has 
demonstrated clear commitment by creating the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka, directly 
under the highest political command in the country. 
1.1.2 MP A&HA and eGovernment Initiatives • 
. I 
/ 
According to the Progress Report - 2006/2007 of the MP A&HA (MP A&HA 2006), 
the role of the Ministry is to deal with the challenges relating to the Public 
Administration and District Administration as the central institution in the public 
service. The Ministry engages in transforming the public service into an efficient 
service, joining hands with the economic and social development requirements up to 
the grass root level. As a special concern of this Ministry, it has drawn up an 
Administrative Reforms Process in the year 2004 (MP A&HA 2004). Accordingly, the 
functions of this Ministry as well as other institutioits under the Ministry such as the 
Department of Pensions, the Department of Registrar General, and the District and 
Divisional Secretariats have been reviewed. Under this program, all the functions of 
these institutions were reformed and the vision, mission and role of the Ministry were 
. 
also modified as a timely requirement. In addition to these tasks, improvements were 
done for selected government procedures, streamlining those and simultaneously, the 
applicability of ICT/eGovernment solutions was also reviewed. 
Lack of customer care and poor quality of services are major concerns of the general 
public. The majority of government organizations deliver one universal service to the 
entire population without differentiating to the growing needs of customer specific 
value added services. The other major concern is that the citizens are not using other 
available delivery channels but are still restricting themselves to the primary delivery 
channel of physical presence for obtaining a particular public service. 
8 
The Ministry started its own stand alone ICT initiatives since the year 1993, to 
enhance the quality of the services, in selected departments. In 2000 the Department 
of Government Printer made a digital version of the Government Gazette available 
through its intranet. On the request of the Government Printer, the Ministry also 
published Public Administration circulars on the intranet of the Government Printer, 
but the publications are still not available on the Internet. In 2000, a new Ministry of 
Infonnation Technology was formed. The Ministry directed CfNTEC to establish the 
www.gov.lk portal. It also directed government ministries & departments to· set up 
Web sites. Initially the Ministry designed its web site in-house and published it on the 
CINTEC portal, with no infrastructure for regular updates. After CO!lsideration of the 
' 
difficulties experienced in the updating process, the ministry des;fded to establish its 
own web server and e-mail server. This was implemented during the year 2000/2001, 
and that was a landmark in eGovernment initiatives of the Ministry. 
The impact of the effectiveness and efficiency of public service is vital for the 
economic growth of the country and clearly, the Ministry of Public Administration 
and Home Affairs (Ministry of P A&HA) has to play a critical role in this regard. ICT 
IS considered as an enabler, facilitator & accelerator of the service delivery process of 
... 
government services. The government of Sri Lanka demonstrated its commitment to 
infonnation technologies by declaring 1998 as the year of IT. In alignment with that 
the Ministry ofPA&HA also accelerated its ICT initiatives. 
According to Hanna (2006), the Re-engineering Government Programme of the ICT A 
pursues major improvements in the government's efficiency, effectiveness, and 
quality of services. It also supports fundamental reforms underway in governance and 
management by applying new technology andre-engineering work processes. Under 
the above programme, a number of eGovemment projects within the Ministry and key 
Departments under the Ministry were identified. Those initiatives included re-
engineering business processes from the front end to the back end and the sharing of 
infonnation within civil service employees (G2E) and with government agencies 
' 
(G2G). Also a number of G2C initiatives were started and those are now in the stage 
of implementation. In parallel to ICT A initiatives, the Ministry has started its own 
eGovernment initiatives with government funding, and those are in the nature of quick 
9 
wins. The overall eGovernment initiatives of the ministry can be listed down as 
follows; 
National eGovernment Initiatives of ICT A with the Ministry: 
G2E & G2G Initiatives: 
• LiFe initiative and the LiFe Location Code Navigator 
• e-Human Resources Management Project ( eHRM) 
• Lanka Government Network (LGN) 
• 
G2C Initiatives: 
/ 
• e-Divisional Secretariat Project ( eDS) 
• e-Population Registry Project (ePopReg) 
• e-Pensions Project 
eGovernment Initiatives of the Ministry of P A&HA: 
G2E & G2G Initiatives: 
• Policy of web publishing and emailing administrative, procedural 
and other important information 
• Employee Performance Monitoring System (ePMS) 
• Integrated Grama Niladhari Inf~ation System (IGNIS) 
G2C Initiatives: 
• Policy of web publishing and em ailing administrative, procedural 
and other important information 
• House Holder List initiative (HHL) 
• Electronic Birth, Marriage & Death conversion and issuance 
project (eBMD) 
The key information, of all the above eqovernment initiatives, can be retrieved from 
the following web sites; www.pubad.gov.lk and www.icta.lk. 
10 
1.2 Objectives of the Research 
To evaluate the impact of eGovernment initiatives of the Ministry by analyzing the 
G2G, G2E and G2C initiatives such as the Integrated Grama Niladhari (GN) 
Jnfonnation System, Performance Monitoring System, LGN, eBMD, eDS and other e-
services provided through Ministry web site and by email to government 
organizations and employees. 
The following objectives have been identified for this research initiative; 
• 
1. To develop a model to assess the effectivenesj- ·of eGovernment 
initiatives. 
2. To use the model to analyze different factors in the implementation and 
operational phases which influence the effectiveness eGovernment 
initiatives of MP A&HA. 
3. Based on the above analysis, to make appropriate suggestions to 
enhance and strengthen the current eGovernment implementations of 
the Ministry. ... 
In addition to above objectives the following sub objectives have also been identified. 
To identify current status of the following eGovernment initiatives, compared with its 
previous state. 
• Policy of web publishing and emailing administrative, procedural and 
other important information 
• Publishing important Human Resources Management information on the 
web site 
• Other eGovernment projects of the line Ministries 
1.3 Problem Statement 
To achieve expected results from eGovernment initiatives any government 
organization should have a well planned eGovernment model. The Ministry has been 
following the eGovernment model of ICT A for the past five years. Hence, it is 
11 
important to assess the effectiveness by evaluating its implementation and operational 
process performances so far. 
Based on the background discussion and literature review the problem statement for 
this research study can be stated as follows; 
I. Are the current eGovernment initiatives being implemented by the 
Ministry, effective? 
2. If not, what's going to be the best way to adapt eGovernment initiatives to 
achieve the Ministry's expectations? 
• 
/ 
1.4 Importance of the Study 
Quality studies on eGovernment implementations of the Ministry have not yet been 
carried out as this is a comparatively new field in Sri Lanka and due to the lack of 
reliable sources of information. Hence there is strong motivation and benefit m 
conducting a scientific study of the eGovernment initiatives of the Ministry. 
Thus this research study fulfils a timely requirement by analyzing the effectiveness of 
... 
eGovernment initiatives of the MP A&HA. Furthermore, it provides a valuable 
contribution by introducing an eGovernment Solution Effectiveness Evaluation Model 
(eGSEEM) tailored to the Sri Lankan context. 
1.5 Thesis Structure 
The thesis presents the material in six chapters including this chapter. Chapter 2 is the 
Literature Review; it analyzes the existing literature related to the research topic and 
identifies the theoretical models used by earlier researchers to analyze the 
effectiveness factors. Chapter 3 is on Research Methodology which will explain the 
conceptual Effectiveness Evaluation Model and the research design methodology in 
detail. Chapter 4 is about Data Collection and discusses the data collection methods, 
sample selection procedure and the questionnaire design methodology. Chapter 5 is 
about Data Analysis & Presentation and explains the data analysis procedure related to 
research methodology. Chapter 6 covers Recommendations and Conclusions, based 
on the outcome of the research data analysis. 
12 
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 
The development potential of ICT and eGovernment has been widely discussed in the 
literature (for example, Heeks and Arun 2006; Madon 2005; Bhatnagar and Schware 
2000). However, there is still a lack of conceptual clarity on the role of ICT in national 
development (Sein and Harindranath 2007). It also explores the relevance and recent 
evolution of e-govemance to different organizations. 
This chapter tries to discuss developments in the area of eGovernment within the 
context of developing countries and the factors influencing eff~tiveness of the 
eGovernment. It discusses the kind of applications that havy 'been developed to 
promote investment and economic growth and the reasons why many developing 
countries in the region have been quick in adopting eGovemment. However, detailed 
review of e-govemance for development is beyond the scope of this report. Instead I 
refer to Heeks (200 1) for further reading and to Mad on (2005) for an examination of 
both the global and the developing countries context. 
;; 
';sb 
-..c> t~u .::1~< 
~ 
... 
hllptld 
Time 
Figure 2.1: Changing eGovernment Issues Over Time 
(Source: OECD 1999; ESCW A 2005) 
As eGovemment activity has grown over the years, the key issues - and hence, the 
demand for analysis data - are changing over time, as illustrated in Figure 2.1 (OECD 
13 
1999; ESCW A 2005). It could be assumed in such cases that the impact has been 
demand driven. However, in general, there could be a knowledge gap around the 
demand for data of analysis; Particularly around demand among eGovernment and 
other officials in developing countries: According to Reeks (2006) we know very little 
about what data these senior civil servants want (Heeks 2006). 
2.1 Common Factors Influencing Effectiveness of eGovernment 
Solutions 
Several factors that are necessary for building effective eGovemmeyt applications, 
which could be identified on the basis of an analysis of succes~·and failures of e-
govemance applications developed so far (Bhatnagar 2004a). Improvement in delivery 
of Government services is an important issue for many developing countries. 
The benefits of eGovernment fall into one or more of five categories stated below 
(Heeks 2001 ): 
• Cheaper: producing outputs at lower total cost. 
• More: producing more outputs. 
• Quicker: producing outputs in less time. ... 
• Better: producing outputs to a higher quality. 
• New: producing new outputs. 
From the above five categories the last two relate to effectiveness measures (see 
below Table 2.1 for indicators) and must generally be measured qualitatively. The first 
three relate to efficiency measures and may offer opportunities for quantitative, even 
financial, measurement. Where eGovernment is cheaper, resource savings (staff etc.) 
could occur. Where eGovernment is quicker (and that is certainly the main benefit 
users seek from eGovernment: Accenture 2004), financial benefits are not so obvious 
immediately. 
The Table 2.1 (Flynn 2002) shows a standard indicator set for public sector 
performance: The examples chosen here are G2C e-services, but they could equally be 
applied to other components of eGovernment such as G2B, G2G etc). 
14 
Inrlicnror EYplnnntion eGonmmrent Example 
Econon~r The ammmt of inputs used Expenditure per capita ou IT in 
20vernment 
Ime171al The ratio of inputs:intetmediates Cost per \Veb site produced per 
e_fficiencv year 
Enema/ The ratio of inputs:outputs (use) Cost per citizen uset· of 
efficiencv govetmnent \Veb sites per year 
/memal The fit between acmnl outputs The extent to which undo:served 
effecrirelless (use) and organisational objectives conununities are users of e-
or od1er set targets govemment services 
Enema/ The fit between actual impacts and The extent to "hich citizeus are 
effocm ·eness organisanonal objectives or other gaining employment due to use of 
set targets an e-govenuuent job search 
Set"\>1Ce 
Qualiry The quality of intet'lnediates or. TI1e quality qf,e-govemment 
more typically. outputs (use) sen-ices as ptrceived by citizen 
users 
Equity The equitability of distribution of The equality of time money 
outputs or impacts saved by e-gO\·enunent service 
use betweeu rich and poor 
citizens 
. --
-------··-··-
Table 2.1: Standard Indicators for Government & eGovernment Performance 
(Source: Adapted from Flynn 2002) 
Effectiveness measures can and are used for assessment of eGovernment performance, 
though hampered by the relatively limited attention they have received to date. 
eGovemment can make a valuable contribution to development. However, at present, 
the majority of eGovernment for development"projects fails either totally or partially. 
To explore the impact of eGovemment, Heeks (2003) divided eGovemment initiatives 
into three camps: 
• Total failure: the initiative was never implemented or was implemented but 
immediately abandoned. 
• Partial failure: major goals for the initiative were not attained and/or there 
were significant undesirable outcomes. 
• Success: most stakeholder groups attained their major goals and did not 
experience significant undesirable outcomes. 
15 
According to Heeks (2003), there is very little data about rates of success and failure 
of eGovernment in developing/transitional countries, but his paper (Reeks 2003) 
provides some baseline estimates from two sources and putting these sources together, 
the following working estimates are produced for eGovernment projects in 
developing/transitional countries: 
• 35% are total failures, 
• 50% are partial failures, and 
• 15% are successes. 
According to Heeks (2003), eGovernment success and failure is the an:Qunt of change 
between 'where we are now' and 'where the eGovernment project w~ts to get us'. 
'Where we are now' means the current realities of the situation. 'Where the 
eGovernment project wants to get us' means the model or conceptions and 
assumptions built into the project's design. eGovemment success and failure therefore 
depends on the size of gap that exists between 'current realities' and 'design of the 
eGovernment project'. The larger this design-reality gap, the greater the risk of 
eGovernment failure. Equally, the smaller the gap, the greater the chance of 
.... 
eGovernment success. 
Analysis of eGovernment projects indicates that seven dimensions - summarized by 
the ITPOSMO acronym- are necessary and sufficient to provide an understanding of 
design-reality gaps (Reeks 2001): 
• !nformation 
• I echnology 
• Ecocesses 
• Objectives and values 
• ~taffing and skills 
• Management systems and structures 
• Other resources: time and money 
By reducing the gaps between design and reality, it may reduce the risk of 
eGovernment failure. 
16 
When there is a significant overall design-reality gap, action should be taken since the 
project may be heading for failure. When there is a significant design-reality gap on a 
particular dimension, action should be taken since this may cause problems (Heeks 
2003). 
According to Heeks (2003) "Taking action" means either: 
l. Changing the design of the eGovernment project to make it more close to 
reality, and/or 
2. Changing current reality to make it more close to the 
assumptions/requirements within project design. 
• 
. ( I. 
Heek's ITPOSMO caters to IS implementation in the government sector especially in 
developing countries. Therefore, ITPOSMO provides a model which could be used for 
a wide range of government sector cases in developing countries. The following Table 
2.2 shows ITPOSMO Dimensions by Heeks and factors by Heeks and Bhatnagar. 
ITPOSMO Dimensions Factors based on the Onion Ring eGovemment Model 
Data 
Information 
Knowledge ... 
IT Infrastructure 
Technology 
Software/ Application 
Processes Information Related Processes 
Business Relpted Processes 
Self Interest 
Objectives and values 
Organizational Politics 
Organizational Strategies 
Organizational Culture 
Staff and skills The number of Staff 
Staff Skills 
Management systems and procedure Management Systems 
Management Structure 
Other resources Time and Value 
Outside world Political Environment 
Economical Environment 
Table 2.2: ITPOSMO Dimensions by Reeks and Factors by Reeks and Bhatnagar 
(Source: Reeks 2003; Bhatnagar 2003; Gamage 2007) 
17 
2.2 Common Factors Influencing Effectiveness of eGovernment 
Solutions in Regional Developing Countries 
The challenges for e-govemance within the Asian developing countries will be similar 
to those faced wherever electronic networks prevail. Perhaps the most important 
characteristic of such future developments is that they will diverge significantly from 
the e-commerce patterns of the past (Sein and Harindranath 2007). 
One view of eGovemment is that it enables governments to transform the relationship 
with their key clients. As indicated in Figure 2.2, eGovemment applications are said to 
• 
evolve through a four-stage process (Rogers 2000). The first ~tage includes the 
;1 
publication of information on a website for citizens to seek knowledge about 
procedures governing the delivery of different services. The second stage allows for 
interactivity online. Clients can download applications for receiving services. The 
third stage involves electronic delivery of documents. The fourth stage results in 
electronic delivery of services where more than one department may be involved in 
processing a service request or service. One way to measure progress is to view the 
scope of an application against this framework. 
W£B PRESL\"C 
Static Infotlllltton 
on the Web 
LDIIIED 
1:\TERACTIO~ 
Allow rnJatl contact 
Access to onhne 
Databases 
and Downloadable 
FO!lllS 
... 
'IRA. \"SAC TIO~S 
Electroruc Dehvery of 
Services \vtth some or 
all stages automated 
JolllM up Govemruffit 
One stop shop for 
sen1ces that cut across 
many departments 
Figure 2.2: Stages in the Evolution of eGovernment (Source: Rogers 2000) 
Given the variation in the extent of deployment of ICTs within government, another 
Important dimension that determines the overall impact of eGovernment is the scale of 
eGovernment in a country. Is it deployed at all levels of government? Are all the 
agencies and departments covered? ·.How extensive is the coverage in terms of 
inclusion. Are rural citizens covered? The scale of eGovernment can be measured 
using the framework in Figure 2.3 (Bhatnagar 2006). 
18 
R&i&! .... ~OF M ARY 
11
' ORATUWA. SRI LAN._ 
MORATUWA 
The current status of eGovernment can be gauged through indicators that measure the 
scale of implementation. An overall assessment can place the progress of 
eGovemment in any of the five stages of evolution. 
1. Planning phase: Setting up task forces, strategy formulation, creating co-
ordination structures. 
2. Working pilots that demonstrate value of eGovernment applications. 
3. Working projects/pilots that demonstrate successful scalable models. 
4. Replication on a wider scale (nation-wide/state-wide). 
5. Stage of maturity reflecting integrated functioning of eGoyernment 
applications. / 
Infra~1mctur<> de\·elopmt>nt and de-bottlent>d:ing 
Planwng 
Phase- Task 
Forces. 
lka~s 
a~ses~ment . 
P1aruung 
frameworks. 
Good 
pracnc~. 
---
Enabling policy and legal framt>work 
----, 
Working 
Pilots - Value 
Quick wms-low 
hangmgfrwt 
Enaluanon 
framework. 
Notenaloation. 
Projects wtth 
Scalable 
Models 
Shanng~t 
practice 
ProJect ~agn 
~Is of 
pannenhtp. 
E\·aluat1on 
framework. 
TJ1Wl1llg. 
Building human capactty and mr;tltutlons 
Matunty 
Int~ted 
E-go>ernmeur 
Applications 
Sharing~~ practice. 
Design of 
Implcmnlt:~uon 
Urut. 
Project IIIIUlagemmt. 
Training. 
Figure 2.3: The Stages of eGovernment 
(Source: Bhatnagar 2006) 
According to Bhatnagar (2006) the figure identifies the kinds of inputs that can help 
move a country from one stage to the next. The objective of a country should be to 
move itself to the next stage of evolution as identified above. For countries that are 
just starting out, first potential areas of deployment opporturlities would need to be 
identified,., where benefits are concrete and measurable and the payoff is 
commensurate with investments. 
19 
95'7~t» 
2.3 The Factors Influencing Effectiveness of eGovernment Solutions 
in Sri Lanka 
Sri Lanka was ranked 66th, on the 2003-04 Network readiness index, which measure 
economic preparedness to participate in and benefit from ICT development. Sri Lanka 
lagged in ICT use. According Hanna (2007a), a big factor in that ranking, was its lack 
of a coherent national strategy. Sri Lanka also ranked low on e-readiness and 
eGovemment capacity. In the International Telecommunication Union's Global 
Digital Access Index for 2002, Sri Lanka ranked I 06th among 178 economies . 
• 
According to Hanna (2007b ), the government had to confront seve?f challenges, 
when it began to work on designing thee-Sri Lanka program. Those were; 
Politicized, highly fragmented, and poorly managed civil service 
Weak leadership and co-ordination 
Low level of ICT use in public sector 
Low digital literacy 
Uneven access to information infrastructure 
Software industry with little institutional support 
Poor donor co-ordination. ... 
Yet Sri Lanka also had key strengths that could be leveraged to capture opportunities 
to harness ICT for development. 
. 
High literacy rate 
Proximity to major ICT centers in India and East Asia 
An emerging base of ICT professionals, a promising ICT industry, and a 
better destination for business process outsourcing 
Growing dissatisfaction with the performance of the public sector, 
particularly with the quality and reach of public services 
Growing awareness of the promise of ICT among the highest levels of 
government. 
According to the blueprint study of e-Sri Lanka (prepared by NCS- Singapore), the 
following critical success factors for eGovernment implementation were identified 
(ICT A 2004); 
20 
Leadership 
Policies and procedures 
Governance 
Legal infrastructure 
Social and cultural infrastructure 
Technology infrastructure 
Citizen readiness and accessibility. 
Among the recent studies done in Sri Lanka, Gamage (2007) has made a significant 
contribution for the rectification of ongoing eGovemment implementations in Sri 
Lanka. In their paper, Wackwella and Weerawarana (2008), a categorization of 
. ' 
influencing factors into main categories similar to the key factors idei{tified by Kamal 
and Themistocelious (2006) is presented as follows: 
1. Organizational Factors 
2. Environmental Factors 
3. Technical Factors 
4. Support Factors 
5. Financial Factors 
.... 
However, considering aspects specific to developing countries, Reeks (200 1) followed 
by Gamage (2007), have identified a unique set of sub-factors as particularly relevant 
as influencing factors in eGovem.ment implementations in Sri Lanka. 
Figure 2.4 shows the conceptual framework developed by Gamage (2007) for his 
research. 
21 
ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS 
(01) Vo:MOO & Strategy 
(02) Top Management Support 
(03) Management Strucwre 
(04) ProJect Management 
(05) Procureme!'lt ManagemeN· 
(06) Chc>nge Management• 
(07) The Leadersh•P 
(08) Of'g Pobtics and Culture 
(09) Formaliut10n 
(010) IT Skills 
(01 11 Project Championship 
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS 
(E1) Eatemal Pressure 
(E2) Internal Pressure 
(E3) CO!'sumer Readlnes:. 
{E4) Consumer S~ltsfacioon 
{E5) ModernizationiGiobalizalion 
(E6) National E..go-.emment Policy• 
{E7) Pokticai/Soc.al'Eeonomical En111rooment 
(E8) Legal Infrastructure 
(012) lnlonnillion.Bt.iSineSs Retatecl Processes 
I 
l 
TECHNOLOGY FACTORS 
(T1) IT Infrastructure 
(T2) IT EJ<peruse 
(T3) Ted'lnology R•sk:Chal'lge 
(T4) lnteroperabiiity 
r-
1 
FACTORS L 
INFLUENCING THE 
£_GOVERNMENT . 
IMPLEMENTATION IN 
SRI LANKA 
l l -~-
FINANCIAL FACTORS 
(Ft) co .. t 
(F2) ROI 
SUPPORT FACTr 
(51) FINOOal Suppmt 
(52) Vendor Support 
• 
(53) AdmlnJStrat.Jve Support• 
(54) Donor Support 
Figure 2.4: The Conceptual Framework 
(Source: Gamage 2007) 
As proposed by Gamage (2007), the conceptual framework above can be used as a 
model to evaluate factors influencing eGovernment implementation in any developing 
country. The factors identified in the literature review and the above Conceptual 
Framework (Figure 2.4), are, in the author's view, applicable (with certain 
modifications) to assess the success of eGovernrnent implementations within 
government organization as well. This (Figure 2.4) would be particularly relevant for 
government organizations in Sri Lanka. 
Furthermore, from an organizational perspective, a significant research study was 
done by Hidaya (2007), which critically .evaluates the success factors related to 
Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) in the Motor Traffic Department of the 
' 
Western Province in Sri Lanka. According to Hidaya (2007), the key issues were 
Identified in conjunction with the domain analysis - which listed the high density 
22 
concepts and then the central analysis which analyzed the impact of each concept. 
Figure 2.5 displays her model of Critical Success Factors (CSF) for BPR in Sri Lanka . 
• 
... 
Figure 2.5: Framework for Sri Lankan Public Sector BPR Success 
(Source: Hidaya 2007) 
The factors that need to be considered from an organizational change management 
perspective are discussed in Gupta et al. (2004). They present a case study similar to 
the above (Hidaya 2007), done in India, which indicates that the process of change 
management is related to a host of issues, from technology-related to organizational, 
HR functions, legal etc. But most importantly, they note that change management 
issues are very closely related to the effectiveness of the eGovemance programme, 
right from the stage of conceptualization to the final completion of the project and 
subsequently, in the execution and maintenance of the entire infrastructure. 
The economic and social impact of eGovernment was discussed in detail by Bhatnagar 
. 
(2003), in his technical paper for eGovernment, the Citizen and the State. He further 
elaborates social impact goals as; increasing transparency, reducing administrative 
23 
corruption, improving service delivery and empowerment of unserved communities. 
According to Bhatnagar (2003) economic impact goals are streamlining administrative 
processes, reducing administrative burdens for businesses, increasing revenue and cost 
reduction & budget savings. The paper demonstrates in detail by analysis of above 
social and economic goals through ten selected eGovernment cases in the context of 
developing countries. Therefore operational effectiveness of solutions can be analyzed 
as economic and social perspectives. 
Considering the operational phase of eGovernment projects, according to the impact 
assessment study done by the Center for eGovernance, Ahmedabad (liM 2007), 
• 
impact can be assessed in terms of a variety of outcomes experienced by· each type of 
J 
stakeholder. Table 2.3 below lists key dimensions of outcomes for each type of 
stakeholder. 
Stakeholders Key Dimension of Impact 
• Economic (Direct & Indirect) 
Client . Governance (Corruption, Accountability, Transparency, Participation) 
. Quality of Service (Decency, Fairness, Convenience, etc.) 
Agency 
. Economic (Direct & Indirect) 
(Including Partners in . Governance (Corruption, Accountability, Transparency, Participation) 
Implementation) . Performance on Key Non-economic Objectives 
. Process Improvements 
. Economic {Direct & Indirect) 
Society • Governance (Corruption, Accountability, Transparency, Participation, 
(Government as a whole Responsiveness) 
and Civil Society) . Development Goals 
• Attitude to computerization of Government agencies for service delivery 
Table 2.3: Stakeholders Key Dimension of Impact 
(Source: liM 2007) 
Using the above list of key dimensions, major eGovernment projects have been 
analyzed and therefore, in the context of a developing country, this is a suitable model 
for consideration with respect to the evaluation of the operational stage. 
24 
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 
The objective of this research was to find critical factors that influence the 
effectiveness of eGovemment initiatives in the solution implementation stage as well 
as the solution operational stage, and to then formulate an evaluation model to analyze 
those factors at the organizational level. The key eGovernment projects and initiatives 
under the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs in Sri Lanka have been 
mcluded as the sample space to test the effectiveness factors in the evaluation model. 
The development of this evaluation model was done after an extensive literature 
revtew in related areas in relation to developing countries, and through a, pOot study 
done in an organizational context in Sri Lanka. ,l 
To fulfill this objective, the author attempted to formulate factors based on the 
methodology given under section 3.1. These formulated factors were then abstracted 
to develop the conceptual methodology (see Figure 3.1 ), which provided an analytical 
basis for this research. 
3.1 Research Design and Approach 
.... 
According to Yin (2003), a research design is the logic that links the data to be 
collected (and the conclusions to be drawn) to initial questions of study. As this 
research has the ability to interact with many social and human aspects, it has much 
more justifications to use a qualitative research approach. Also, the author decided to 
use a case based research strategy, as the qualitative research approach works well 
with a case based research strategy. For case based research studies, five components 
of a research design are especially important: 
1. A study' s questions; 
2. Its propositions, if any; 
3. Its units of analysis; 
4. The logic linking the data to the propositions; and 
5. The criteria for interpreting the findings. 
25 
Covering these preceding five components of research design will effectively force to 
begin constructing a preliminary theory related to the topic of study. 
The research methodology is the way to systema6cally solve the research problem by 
logically adopting various steps. There are several ways of doing scientific research, 
such as case studies, experiments, surveys, histories, and the analysis of archival 
information (Yin 2003). Yin also points out that, each strategy has peculiar advantages 
and disadvantages, depending on three condi6ons: (a) the type of research question, 
(b) the control an investigator has over actual behavioural events, and (c) the focus on 
contemporary as opposed to historical phenomena. In general, case studies are the 
preferred strategy when "how" or "why" questions are being posed: when the 
investigator has little control over events, and when the focus is on{ contemporary 
phenomenon within some real-life context. It also explores the ability of the 
investigator to address a broader range of historical and behavioural issues. 
3.2 The Conceptual Methodology 
The Conceptual Model, which will be discussed in Chapter 4, was formulated based 
on two sources. 
1. Literature Review 
... 
2. Pilot Study 
The development of the Effectiveness Evaluation Model was done after extensive 
literature review (discussed in detail in Chapter 2), in related areas in relation to 
< 
developing countries, and through a pilot study done in the Sri Lankan organizational 
context. The pilot study was carried out to get some clarification on the proposed 
evaluation model. This pilot survey gave valuable insights into important factors being 
studied along with the information derived parallelly via the ongoing literature review. 
This confirmed the research approach both by existing theories and by a fresh set of 
real observations in the Sri Lankan government organizational context. In this pilot 
study, in order to represent all stakeholders, a few preliminary interviews were carried 
out with apex body officials, ministry officials, ministry employees and vendors 
related to ongoing eGovernment initiatives. 
In this research, those who have more eGovernment implementation experiences were 
selected upfront for the pilot study such as eHRM, ePMS, eBMD and HHL etc. The 
26 
factors that might not have been identified from the literature survey have been 
identified through the exploratory study during the case analysis. There are a 
significant number of models developed to identify factors during implementation and 
separate models for during operations. It is very hard to find a single model for both 
implementation and operational stages. 
Literature 
Review 
1 
m 
~ 
~ 
Model ·~ 
~ 
~ 
0 
·~ ~ 
m 
~ 
~ 
~ 
• 
' Pilot Study , 111/ Analysis of 
Analytical 
Model ~ 
Pilot Study 
Final Questionnaires 
... 
Figure 3.1: The Conceptual Methodology 
The author attempted to formulate factors based on the conceptual methodology given 
in Figure 3.1. (In the next chapter the author mainly focuses on the concept of the 
analytical model, the eGovemment Solution Effectiveness Evaluation Model 
[eGSEEM] and definitions ofthe factors and different perspectives ofthat model.) 
27 
CHAPTER 4: THE ANALYTICAL MODEL- eGSEEM 
Based on all these prior developments related to eGovernment success/failure factors, 
an Effectiveness Evaluation Model was formulated along with the incorporation of 
further impact factors identified through an initial exploratory research study, done by 
the author. In particular, the author noted that there are significant numbers of models, 
developed to identify success/failure factors and impact factors, during the 
Implementation stages of eGovernment projects. Similarly, there are separate models 
to evaluate the impact of such projects, during the operational stages. Through the use 
of such a single model, the author intends to encourage the concept of ftetative and 
continuous improvement of eGovemment solutions with respect to theil~ffectiveness . 
Furthermore, the use of such a single model to measure effectiveness across the 
implementation and operational stages may motivate the planning and procurement of 
finer-grained eGovernment initiatives. 
In this research, the author has devised a single model for the evaluation of 
effectiveness of eGovernment projects in both the implementation and operational 
stages. 
.... 
The research work resulted in a grouping of factors into three key categories in the 
Implementation stage and into two key categories in the operational stage as follows: 
Implementation Phase Factors 
1. Organizational Factors 
2. Surrounding Environmental Factors 
3. Enabling Factors 
Operational Phase Perspectives 
1. Social Perspectives 
2. Economic Perspectives 
The model incorporating this categorization of eGovernment solution effectiveness 
~ ~li 
28 
model clearly shows factors related to implementation stage and perspectives related 
to operational stage separately. 
r 
\._ 
I Orga.Wzational Factors 
The Leadership 
Top Management Support 
IT Skills 
Resources 
Change Management 
Procurement Management 
Management Structure 
~ (0 
(0 
Surrounding II Enabling Factors 
Environmental Factors 
External Pressure IT Infrastructure 
Internal Pressure Local Context 
Legal infrastructure Process Reeoginccring 
Employee Readiness User Friendliness 
• 
Political Environment Vendor Effectiveness 
eGo,·ernment Policy Project lmplemen.ft"ion 
~ 
----~- DEPLOY!\IE~T 
pj 
n 
~ 
r 
• 
• 
• 
= 
D ... 
Solution Effectiveness Factors 
""' ~ 
Social Perspectives Economic Perspectives 
Transparency & Openness • Streamlining processes 
Service Delivery • Increasing revenue 
Empowerment • Cost reduction 
~ 
~ 
rt-(0 
1-i 
pj 
rt-
~· 0 
~ 
Figure 4.1: The eGovernment Solution Eff~ctiveness Evaluation Model (eGSEEM) 
The proposed effectiveness evaluation model can be used by any government agency 
to evaluate eGovemment projects prior to deployment and more importantly, during 
29 
-3 
'"0 
-~ 3 g 
~ 
~-0 
::s 
m 
~ ~ 
0 
~ 
<" ~ 
::s 
~ 
IJJ 
IJJ 
0 
'"0 
~ 
~-0 
::s 
p.) 
-
m 
~ ~ 
0 
-<" (l) 
::s 
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IJJ 
IJJ 
the solution operation. Based on this factor analysis, appropriate recommendations can 
be proposed to enhance and strengthen the eGovernment initiatives by considering all 
related factors in the implementation stage such as organizational, surrounding 
environmental, and other enabling aspects pertaining to government organizations in 
Sri Lanka. A major strength of this analytical model is its ability to evaluate the 
impact of eGovernment solutions in the operational stages. 
The model features built-in iterations and feedback loops to systematically analyze 
operational effectiveness, thereby enabling the implementation of timely corrective 
measures leading to continuous improvement and enhanced positive operational 
• 
impact of the eGovernment solutions. / 
The factors and perspectives of the eGovernment Solution Effectiveness Evaluation 
Model are discussed in detail below. 
4.1 Defmition of Implementation Phase Factors 
This section discusses implementation phase factors of the eGovernment Solution 
Effectiveness Evaluation Model (see Figure 3.2). 
... 
4.1.1 Organizational Factors 
(01) The Leadership 
The leadership of most of the government a.,gencies lack awareness of national 
eGovernment initiatives, directions and its benefits and hence the leadership 
may lacks commitment towards the eGovernment projects success. 
(02) Top Management Support 
The top management awareness is a key factor for any innovation to drive 
successfully. The top management should drive and contribute actively in 
order to create a conducive atmosphere of the organization in a manner that 
supports eGovernment initiatives. 
30 
(03) IT Skills 
The IT skills refer to the level of IT facilities & resources, level of training 
personnel on IT and the capability of shifting existing systems into IT Systems 
within an organization. 
(04) Resources 
The availability of financial and other resources to implement and enhance or 
build organizational IT infrastructure including the office environment is 
referred to as resources. 
• 
(05) Change Management / 
Many eGovernrnent initiatives of the government organizations face resistance 
from its internal staff and key stakeholders. The majority of government 
officers consider eGovernrnent projects as a threat to their current jobs that 
may result in a loss of employment, power or responsibility. Therefore, many 
eGovernrnent projects tend to adopt different change management strategies to 
obtain existing staffs support without which project could be in great risk. 
(06) Procurement Management ... 
The procurement management can be considered as a key component of the 
project management, since it is highly important in the eGovernrnent 
implementation process, particularly in developing countries. It involves long 
. 
term sustainability of eGovernrnent implementations as well as operations. 
(07) Management Structure 
This is also a key element which facilitates smooth implementations of IT 
projects and indicates the way the management system is structured both 
informally and formally. Most government organizations have bureaucratic 
hierarchical management structures, which are not conducive for building a 
team culture. With the introduction of IT systems several unnecessary 
processes could be eliminated and riew efficient management structures, could 
be introduced. With the change of management structure, it is interesting to see 
how the '·IT function" too gets involved in this process. 
31 
4.1.2 Surrounding Environmental Factors 
(SEt) External Pressure 
The external pressure is created by the government, other government 
organizations and citizens to search new ways to increase efficiency. 
(SE2) Internal Pressure 
Internal pressure is one of the key factors which can drive reforms of the 
public service. Government organizations have various kinds of internal 
pressures that strongly direct them towards introducing ICT systems to provide 
• 
quality citizen services, increased efficiency and integrity. / 
(SE3) Legal Infrastructure 
Ability to introduce new procedure and laws and the readiness of the legal 
infrastructure for eGovemrnent implementations and operations is another 
major factor. 
(SE4) Employee Readiness 
Employee readiness is a key success factor ... of eGovernment project 
implementation and operation. 
(SES) Political Environment 
The political leadership and political environment is very important in public 
sector eGovemrnent initiations, implementations and operations. 
Organizational politics and culture is an inescapable reality in any government 
organization. It is further intricately interwoven with organizational norms, 
outcomes, performance and its processes. 
(SE6) eGovernment Policy 
An existence of well defined organizational eGovemment policy is a 
significant factor for any type of eGovernment implementation and operation. 
32 
4.1.3 Enabling Factors 
(El) IT Infrastructure 
The co\lect\m1 (){ b.ardware, S()ftware and connecti.vit)' available in the 
organization that will provide smooth and secure ICT services to employees, 
citizens, and businesses. This also includes the reliability of communication 
and existing systems and the degree of formalization of systems development 
and management. 
(E2) Local Context 
• . 
The local context should be given adequate weight in eGov;;runent projects 
since it will be greatly affected in project operations. 
(E3) Process Re-engineering 
Process re-engineering can increase efficiency of the public service delivery 
process, if it is used in a proper manner. But if it is not controlled in a proper 
way, it can also lead to failure. 
(E4) User friendliness 
... 
The user friendliness of implementation is also important for smooth user 
acceptance of the ICT systems. 
(ES) Vendor effectiveness 
The support rendered by various vendors to enhance or build ICT solutions. 
(E6) Project Implementation 
Approach of the project implementation will play a key role in the absorption 
of the solution into a public organization. A small module based iterative 
approach is suitable for the public sector organizational context. 
4.2 Definition of Operational Phase Perspectives 
This section discusses operational phase perspectives of the eGovernment Solution 
Effectiveness Evaluation Model. 
33 
4.2.1 Social Perspectives 
(SPl) Transparency & Openness 
This means transparency and openness of service provision to citizens through 
the eGovernment activities. It involves transparent decisions as well. Enhanced 
citizen's awareness could reduce corruption and malpractices. 
(SP2) Service Delivery 
Time reduction for service delivery, reduction of cost for services and ease of 
services are major expectations. 
• 
(SP3) Empowerment / 
Empowerment can be done by introducing new channels, automating and 
avoiding intermediaries. 
4.2.2 Economic Perspectives 
(EPl) Streamlining Processes 
By eliminating unnecessary steps in a process it could be streamlined. This can 
... 
be done through automation of tedious work, integration with required 
information and by monitoring task completion rates. 
(EP2) Increasing Revenue 
This will be one of the key objectives of any government. It makes revenue 
collection convenient, improves the audit process and could reduce the 
corruption. 
(EP3) Cost Reduction 
This is also a major benefit of eGovemrnent projects; that is to reduce the cost 
of transactions and to provide better control of government expenditure, so that 
the country as a whole will benefit. 
34 
4.3 The Relation of Factors to Sources of Information 
Each factor identified in the eGSEEM model was derived from either literature or 
from the pilot survey. Table 3.1 shows the source references from which each factor 
or perspective was derived. Factors, which were exclusively derived from the pilot 
study, are marked by(*) in the Table 3.1. 
~.,.,... F · · & s" , .. "' '' -· -.-!'i1f~;Pt';:;: !''~lf:!:f.H ii.•····" actors ourccs ; ... . .. ..,, •. < .,, ••. ~·~'='~:.t:l.-. ~.,..>M 
Organizational factors 
Surrounding Environmental 
factors 
Enabling factors 
Social Perspectives 
Economic Perspectives 
(01) The Leadership (Beeks, 2007) 
(02) Top Management Support (Kamal &Themistocleous, 2007) 
(03) IT Skills (Kamal & Themistocleous, 2007) 
(04) Resources (Kamal & Themistocleous, 2007) • 
(05) Change Management (Wackwella, 2007) · 
(06) Procurement Management (Wackwella, 2007)/ 
(07) Management Structure (Heeks, 2001) 
(SE 1) Internal Pressure (Kamal & Themistocleous, 2007) 
(SE2) External Pressure (Kamal & Them.istocleous, 2007) 
(SE3) Legal Infrastructure (Heeks, 2001) 
(SE4) Employee Readiness (•) 
(SE5) Political Environment (Heeks, 2001) 
(SE6) eGovernment Policy (V{ackwella, 2007) 
(E I) IT Infrastructure (Wackwella, 2007) 
(E2) Local Context (•) 
(E3) Process Re-engineering (Heeks, 2006) 
(E4) User Friendliness (•) ... 
(E5) Vendor Effectiveness (Wackwella, 2007) 
(E6) Project Implementation (•) 
(SPl) Transparency & Openness (Gupta et al., 2004) 
(SP2) Service Delivery (Report, 2007) 
(SP3) Empowerment (Bhatna&ar, 2003) 
(EP I) Streamlining Processes (Report, 2003) 
(EP2) Increasing Revenue (Bhatnagar, 2003) 
{EP3) Cost Reduction (Gupta et al., 2004) 
Table 4.1: Factors-Sources oflnformation Mappmg 
4.4 Units of Analysis 
Stakeholders are considered as the main units of analysis in this case study research. 
There are five main stakeholder categories identified by the author. 
1. Government agencies 
2. The apex body 
3. Vendors 
4. Employees 
5. Citizens 
35 
The criterion for selecting the above stakeholder categories is given in Table 3.2. 
s-i-aJ.-ci1oidci· ·1 :.::·11:~ "' t ~ L The l~cason for sclcctfon !':·.~·~ri;.::"!l!r-: : ··. r; ~ "'~ ~ • ~X' ,1 ··~ " f 1 ... • ....... 
Government Agencies To represent G2G, G2E and G2C initiatives 
The apex body To represent the overall government authority 
which control & implement eGovernrnent in Sri 
Lanka 
Vendors To represent solution implementation and 
operations 
Employees To represent G2E initiative and its impact 
I Citizens To represent G2C initiatives and overall impact 
of eGovernment 
Table 4.2: The Stakeholder Selection Critena 
4.5 The Mapping of Stakeholders to the Analytical Model 
After identifying all stakeholders, the researcher mapped the applicable factors in the 
eGSEEM model to each stakeholder. The mapping criterion was mainly based on the 
relevance of each factor to the particular stakeholder. The questionnaires/interview 
questions for each stakeholder were thereby purely based on this factors-stakeholders 
mapping table given below (See Table 3.3). Section 4.3 of the next chapter discusses 
the questionnaire design based on these factors to stakeholders mapping. 
" 
S takeholder Factors .. 
Government Interviews Organizational (01) The Leadership 
Agencies factors (02) Top Management Support 
(03) IT Skills 
(04) Resources 
(05) Change Management 
(06) Procurement Management 
(07) Management Structure 
Surrounding (S E I) Internal Pressure 
Environmental (SE2) External Pressure 
factors (SE3) Legal Infrastructure 
(SE4) Employee Readiness 
(SE5) Political Environment 
(SE6)~overnmentPolicy 
Enabling factors (E3) Process Re-engineering 
(E4) User friendliness 
(E5) Vendor effectiveness 
(£6) Project Implementation 
, 
.-
Economic (EP 1) Streamlining Processes 
Perspectives (EP2) Increasing Revenue 
The Apex body Interviews Organizational (0 I) The Leadership 
factors (03) IT Skills 
(05) Change Management 
(06) Procurement Management 
36 
Surrounding (SE3) Legal Infrastructure 
Environmental (SE4) Employee Readiness 
factors (SE6) eGovernment Policy 
(E I) IT Infrastructure 
Enabling factors (E2) Local Context 
(ES) Vendor Effectiveness 
Social Perspectives (SP2) Service Delivery 
Vendors Interviews Organizational (0 I) The Leadership 
factors (03) IT Skills 
(05) Change Management 
(07) Management Structure 
Surrounding (SE3) Legal Infrastructure 
Environmental (SE4) Employee Readiness 
factors (SE6)eGovenunentPolicy 
(E 1) IT Infrastructure 
Enabling factors (E2) BPR , 
(E6) Project Implementation.. · 
Social Perspectives (SP 1) Transparency & {)pfifmess 
(SP2) Service Delivery 
(SP3) Empowerment 
Economic 
(EP I) Streamlining Processes 
(EP2) Increasing Revenue 
Perspectives (EP3) Cost reduction 
Employees Interviews Organizational (01) The Leadership 
factors (02) Top Management Support 
(03) IT Skills 
(07) Management Structure 
Surrounding (SEI) Internal Pressure 
Environmental (SE2) External Pressure 
factors (SE4) Employee Readiness 
(E2) Local-Context 
Enabling factors 
(E3) Process Re-engineering 
(E4) User Friendliness 
(ES) Vendor Effectiveness 
Economic (EP I) Streamlining Processes Perspectives 
Citizens Interviews Social Perspectives (SP 11 Transparency & Openness 
(SP2) Service Delivery 
(SP3) Empowerment 
Economic (EPI) Streamlining Processes 
Perspectives (EP3) Cost reduction 
Table 4.3: Factors-Stakeholders Mapping 
37 
CHAPTER 5: D ATA COLLECTION 
This chapter will discuss the data collection methodology and the specific approach of 
the research. The data collection methodology defines the way in which the data are 
collected in a research project. It is important to use a proven methodology for data 
collection which will help to analyze and present data in a scientific manner. 
As stated in Chapter 3, qualitative research design is adopted for this research; hence 
following qualitative data collection procedures have been used. 
• Interviews 
• Direct observation 
,. 
• Analyzing documents and materials 
5.1 The Sample Size and Sample Selection Procedure 
As stated in Sechon 4.4 the following five types of stakeholders are involved in this 
research. 
,. Government Agencies 
... 
,_. The Apex body (ICTA) 
> Vendors 
> Employees 
).> Citizens 
The sample of each stakeholder was taken based on the purposive sampling method. 
This is a kind of sampling method, which allows the researcher to "hand pick" the 
sample by keeping a specific purpose in the researcher's ~ind, which is basically 
related to the research question (see Table 5.1 ). 
38 
mJI Sta1~e; SamplingTcch~(quc'l·-~i~tt~J~·.~umbc~ ~( 
; .• ~f' ,,. ' , ....... '.·j.· . ., •. ~ ·'1' 1 •'·· ii~'.<'r~ holdc•· · ·· ·•··· ,,, ·· ····.; .: .. J'' 1 ntcrv1cw ; 
J~'~L; ·. ;f ~· k ' s>' 
Government I 46 from 16 
Agencies 
The Apex 
body 
Vendors 
Employees 
Citizens 
Government 
institutions 
ICTA relevant 
project 
managers 
I 15 vendors of 
eGov projects 
I 46 employees 
from 16 
agencies 
26 citizens 
Purposive Sampling 
The sample was selected based on the 
implementation and operation level of 
each organization of the Ministry 
which has on-going eGov projects. 
Purposive Sampling 
This sample was purposefully taken to 
represent the project managers of 
ICT A to represent relevant eGov 
_QI"Qj_ects. 
Purposive Sampling 
This sample was taken to represent tht( · 1 ~ 
selected service providers of work-~ 
progress eGov project of the ministry. 
Purposive Sampling 
This employee sample was selected 
based on the implementation and 
operation level of each organization of 
the Ministry which has on-going eGov 
projects. 
Purposive Sampling 
This sample was taken to represent the 
Western Province. 
Table 5.1: Sample Size and Selection Criteria 
5.2 Questionnaire Design 
46 
08 
15 
46 
26 
The questionnaire was prepared in the following Il}anner (Table 5.2) and it was based 
on the solution effectiveness evaluation model stated in Figure 4.1. Complete 
questionnaire templates are given in Appendix-!. 
p ·c.mplatc .. Description of qu.cstionnairc .. . _ 
," ·. ; 
>:;: ••• 
!... 
[GA] Government Agency Questionnaire for Ministry and the Agencies of 
the Ministry 
[AP] Apex Body Questionnaire for the Apex Body 
[VN] Vendor Questionnaire for Vendors 
[EM] Employee Questionnaire for Employees 
[CT] Citizen Questionnaire for Citizens 
Table 5.2: Questionnaires 
39 
The Factor-questionnaire Mapping is shown in the Table 5.3. (GA- Government 
Agencies; AP- Apex Body; VN-Vendor; EM- Employee; CT-Citizen) 
l'ni-1~". -. ' "1· - " ~ • J ?• I Q • • -;:- · . ~. "' • · • ~F·, ~:- , ' ,··,. -. Facto..s -... ; :q · . . ucst10ns _..- .'· · · f :. 
~~~ ~ ; : . . ) ' -; . '( ~ ' 
(01) The Leadership GAl,APl,VNl, EMl 
~ (02) Top Management Support GA2, EM2 
0 
] (03) IT Skills GA3, GA4, AP2, VN2, EM3 
~ 
-~ (04) Resources GA5 
<;; 
-~ (05) Change Management GA6, AP3, VN3 
('3 g (06) Procurement Management GA7, AP4 
(07) Management Structure GAS, GA9, VN4, EM4, . ~ 
(SEI) Internal Pressure GAIO, EM5 
~ g (SE2) External Pressure GAlO, EM5 
(.) 
01) <!S 
:.§ s (SE3) Legal Infrastructure GAll, AP5, VN5 
g ! (SE4) Employee Readiness GA12, AP6, VN6, EM6 
j _g (SE5) Political Environment GA13 
> s:: 
I-ll (SE6) eGovernment Policy GA14, AP7, VN7 
(El) IT Infrastructure AP8, VN8 
e (E2) Local Context AP9, EM7 
0 ' 
] (E3) Process Re-engineering GA15, VN9 
01) 
.s {i (E4) User friendliness GA16, EM8 
s:: 
:.u (E5) Vendor effectiveness GA17, AP14,AP15, EM18 
(E6) Project Implementation GA18, VNlO 
Vl (SPl )Transparency & Openness CT II 
Cl) 
> ] 'B (SP2) Service Delivery CT5, CT6, CT7, CT8, CT9, CTJO, APII 
0 Cl) 
(/) ~ 
Cl) 
~ (SP3) Empowerment CTI2 
(EPl) Streamlining Processes GA19, EMIO, CT13 
() !3 
·- > E ·;:: 
g 8_ (EP2) Increasing Revenue GA20, 
8 ~ 
w u . 
c.. (EP3) Cost Reduction CT14, CT15 
Table 5.3: Factor-Questionnaire Mapping 
Table 5.3 shows how each question of questionnaire template was mapped to factors 
of analytical model by ensuring well balanced questionnaire for each stakeholder. 
40 
The Questionnaire-Factor Mapping is shown in the Table 5.4. 
Sl[GA] 
S2 (AP] 
S3 [VN] 
S4 [EM] 
S5(CT] 
GA1 - G20 
APl-APll 
VNI - VNlO 
EMI-EMIO 
CTI- CT15 
01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07 
SE1 ,SE2,SE3,SE4,SE5, SE6 
E3,E4,E5,E6 
EPI , EP2 
01 , 03, 05,06 
SE3, SE4, SE6 
El, E2, ES 
01 , 03, 05,07 
SE3,SE4, SE6 
El, E3, E6 
01 , 02, 03, 07 
SEt , SE2, SE4 
E2,E4,E5 
EPl 
SP1,SP2,SP3 
EPl , EP3 
... 
Table 5.4: Questionnaire-Fa<:tor Mapping 
,. 
The questionnaire was designed based on the analytical model - eGSEEM, presented 
in Chapter 4. The factors were prioritized depending on the stakeholder (see Figure 
4.3 for factors-stakeholders mapping). As a result of this exercise, 5 semi-structured 
questionnaires were prepared (See Appendix I for all questionnaire templates). 
41 
5.2.1 Questionnaire Design Example 
As shown in the Table 5.3, each question in the questionnaire is mapped to a factor or 
perspective in the analytical model. Since there are multiple stakeholders in this 
research, the same factor can have multiple questions and there can be multiple 
questions to a single factor from the same stakeholder too. 
IC"'.,t.~C~.}Qu, e~tio~nee·:c- ' Q~~·s,ti~n # Sampl~ qu~stio:n : ~ ' ~:·; · ,,. ·Code .: •: •·· · · · ·- . . ' 
Do you think the strong le~ership at the 
organization can affect the eGovemment 
success? 
c.. 
·-
-= 1'1)
,... 
~ 
"0 
eu 
~ 
~ 
~ 
-= ~ 
GA 
AP 
VN 
EM 
1 
1 
1 
1 
As an apex body, how do you think the 
proper leadership at the top of government 
organizational level could affect the 
eGovernment success? 
How do you see the leadership support for 
... 
eGovernment projects of the Ministry? 
Do you think the strong leadership at the 
organization can affect the eGovernment 
success? • 
Table 5.5: Sample Questionnaire 
As shown in Table 5.5, the factor "The Leadership" is represented in all 
questionnaires. The GA questionnaire for a government agency contains one question 
related to the factor depending on its relevancy. However, depending on the relevancy 
some factors can have more than one question to same stakeholder. The author has 
tried to maintain the same questionnaire design methodology for all the other factors 
as well. Please refer Appendix I for the rerr>:ainder of questions. 
42 
CHAPTER6: DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION 
The purpose of this chapter is to present the collected data and analyze them using the 
eGovernment Solution Effectiveness Evaluation Model. Since this research adopted a 
qualitative research approach, the researcher used responses from interviews, 
secondary data from archival and other sources of information, to analyze the data 
gathered. Due to resources, time and scope limitations of this study, the sample size 
stated in Table 5.1, was further confined to the Ministry and the Colombo District, 
~ 
where pilot implementation and operations are in progress. The jclailed sample size is 
reduced to 55 and the break down is shown in Table 6.1. 
rn;r': s'i'iikc~ti'())(icrlo r·gaii iz;iiioit'~r~··l~~ 's iil)·~·u iii t7sJ; -~. i'1·~· ~ l-~~tf'i•W f.f••''-~"··1 . 1, 'J't~1llJ' ·~~. ·;~,, .. ,, .. ,,,,,. · ,., • ·~·f ~~~ ~~._:, # ~$t ~~~f.' t . r' ·! q ~ ·?: 1:: ~~·;"• _'\• :·~f.! : . ~ ~ Number o( : Questionnaires 
1 MPA&HA IT Unit 01 
Divisional Admin 01 
Grama Niladhari 01 
PMS Units 11 
Colombo District 03 
Total ... 17 
2 Apex-body eBMD 01 
ePMS 01 
Re-eng Gov 01 
Total 03 
3 Vendors PWCH 01 
ICTA{T) 01 
Syntex 01 
Bluechip 01 
BSS 01 
Total OS 
4 Employees Divisional Admin 01 
Grama Niladhari 01 
PMS Units 11 
Colombo District 03 
Total 17 
5 Citizens Colombo district 13 
Total Number of Questionnaires 55 
Table 6.1: The Detailed Break-Down of Sample 
43 
6.1 Analysis of Implementation Phase Factors 
Three factors that are categorized under implementation phase factor category in the 
eGSEEM are analyzed in this section. 
6.1.1 Organizational Factors 
The factors which are grouped as organizational category related to the 
implementation phase in the eGovernment Solution Effectiveness Evaluation Model, 
are analyzed in this sub-section. 
6.1.1.1 The Leadership / 
All respondents in government organizations including the employees, vendors and 
the apex body (ICTA) agreed that proper leadership is necessary to make 
eGovernment initiatives a success. Also some organizational representatives and 
employees stress that the need of political leadership is also very important for the 
projects' success, since otherwise, the lack of their awareness or for other reasons, 
political leadership may give more priority to other routine activities, which could 
affect eGovemment implementations in a negative mahner. 
6.1.1.2 Top Management Support 
All respondents in government organizations and in the apex body strongly feel, even 
if government organizations acquire the full · support of leadership, success in 
eGovernment projects within government organizations will remain elusive without 
the support of the top management immediately under the Ministry/Organization 
leadership. Most eGovernrnent project implementations are actively managed by the 
top management, because the organizational leadership gives more priority to other 
critical activities which have a higher political importance. Therefore empowerment 
of the top management is also important by giving them better exposure in the field of 
eGovernment. It is also a better investment for the future as they are the people who 
will take this leadership responsibility immediately after retirement of current 
leadership. 
44 
6.1.1.3 IT Skills 
IT skills were analyzed based on the IT skill level of pilot project implementing 
government organizations (See Table 6.2). These skill levels were taken from the 
judgment of the project champions of the selected government organizations, 
employees and the service providers. 
IT skill Number of 
level Or2anizations 
Good 2 
Moderate 7 
Poor 6 
Table 6.2: Organizational IT Skills Level / 
This is graphically shown in Figure 6.1; it shows that 40% of government 
organizations are still at a poor level of IT skills. Organizations that are categorized as 
'poor' can shift into a better level of IT skills by utilizing available IT training 
opportunities in a well organized manner. 
Good 
13% 
47% 
Figure 6.1: Organizational IT Skills Level 
However, in general, the IT skill levels are poor or moderate (See Figure 6.1) and 
need a lot of improvement. The interviewers mentioned the following as reasons for 
the above situation. 
' 
1. Most of the government employees are from an older generation and they are 
not in a position to grasp the latest technologies. 
2. Lack of adequate training opportunities for operational staff. 
45 
3. IT foreign training opportunities are not given to related staff. 
4. Unavailability of designated IT cadre in the government service. 
5. Due to organizational internal politics. 
6. Most employees feel that IT enablement is a threat to their careers and that will 
lead to the loss of their existing control in service delivery. 
7. Lack of motivation to learn a new technology, as it does not give any financial 
or other benefit. 
6.1.1.4 Resources 
Availability of financial and other resources to implement and enhance or build 
• 
organizational IT infrastructure including the office environment i~eonsidered as 
'resources'. One major problem in government organizations is the lack of adequate 
resources and financial capabilities. Also, most eGovcmrnent projects focus only on 
the software and the hardware solutions but e-initiatives need other important 
ingredients, such as organizational layout, proper furniture and conducive 
environment for the operation. A significant number of interviewers are of the view 
that these important factors were identified only at later stages of project 
implementation and therefore, most of the project implementations were dramatically 
affected. The other key problem was, when the project rails to plan initially, finding 
financial resources later becomes a key problem. 
The Table 6.3 shows resource availability of organizations selected for this research 
study. 
Resource Number of 
availability Or~anizations 
Good 2 
Moderate 3 
Poor 10 
Table 6.3: Organizational Resource Availability 
Most (67%) respondents feel that the resource availability of organizations is very 
poor (See Figure 6.2). 
46 
67% 
Good 
13% 
Moderate 
20% 
Figure 6.2: Organizational Resource Availability/ · 
Therefore this can be a key factor for eGovernment project success, because the 
ability to undertake un-planned activities as alternatives purely dependent on 
organizational resources and most of the government organizations are not in a 
position to fulfil this resource requirement. Therefore, most of they time they have to 
depend on other superior organizations such as ministries, etc., to acquire such 
resources. 
... 
6.1.1.5 Change Management 
As "change is inevitable", changing the attitudes and perception of all government 
employees towards IT enablement is a most important factor. There is a need develop 
of a culture within government organizations where employees desire IT systems 
instead of the existing trusted manual systems. Hence, it is necessary to introduce 
specific change management programmes including IT awareness training programs, 
during the implementation period as well as in the operational phase. 
Most of the vendors are of the view that change management programmes are not 
aligned to the project implementation; hence it significantly impacts the live, 
operational environment (See Figure 6.3). 
47 
4.5 ,...,...-~-~-------
4 
3.5 
!! 3 
c 
Gl 
-g 
c &. 2.5 
II) 
! 
0 2 
.. 
Gl 
.D 
§ 1.5 
z 
0.5 
0+---
Aligned with projects l'«>t aligned w ith projects 
Figure 6.3: Change Management Alignment withe-Projects 
One ICT A respondent expressed the following view: 
"Change management process should look at preparing individuals as well as 
organizations for the changes that arise as a result of Government Process Re-
... 
engineering (GPR) and introduction of eGovemment systems. There should be 
dedicated teams of Change Agents within the organizations who should be entrusted 
with carrying forward the Change Management processes." 
6.1.1.6 Procurement Management 
The researcher analyzed this aspect with three stakeholder categories namely, 
government agency, apex body and vendors. All three categories recognized the fact 
that this is one of the bottlenecks responsible for most of the delays of eGovernment 
projects. The Government agencies use the traditional procurement approach for IS 
procurement, but ICTA has adopted World Bank's IS procurement procedures. 
However both seem to be problematic and eGovernment projects are delayed on for a 
long period, mainly due to these procurement approaches. 
Most of the respondents are of the view that procurement should be given adequate 
attention by considering long term sustainability of the IT 
48 
agencies are of the view that procurement should be planned to manage vendors 
properly and to get right solutions from the vendors. 
The vendors are of another view and they think that government procurement 
procedures are not suitable for IS procurement and many improvements to this 
process need to be done which will benefit both the government and the vendors and 
that the ultimate results will be beneficial to the entire society. Also, the other reason 
vendors stress about the procurement schedule, is that there is either delay or non 
adherence to the scheduled timeline in all the phases of procurement. 
Respondents from the apex body are of the view that both the governrpent agencies 
' 
and the vendors are more or less, responsible for various procureiient issues and 
subsequent delays. They also agreed that IS procurement management should be 
improved and ICT A is taking continuous measures to improve procurement 
management. Also some ICT A respondents stated that the Software Development 
Services Approach (W eerawarana 2009) is a better alternative for many procurement 
issues, including the delays. The SDSA is a procurement approach which reduces 
complexity of the projects and applies agile methods to eGovemment procurement. 
The eGSEEM model has built-in iteration and feedback loops which work well with 
... 
the SDSA approach. 
One ICT A respondent had this to say: 
"'Procurement Management is a key component in eGovernment success as following 
. 
proper procurement guidelines and procedures ensure the transparency and integrity 
of the procurement process. Having a transparent procurement process helps to build 
confidence and credibility amongst stakeholders of eGovernment systems. 
However, generally large procurement take a substantially long time and could have 
an adverse effect for eGovernment success as stakeholders could lose in projects with 
long gestation periods. " 
6.1.1.7 Management Structure 
With the implementation of eGovernrnent; management structure which is in practice 
should accommodate changes proposed by the BPR and Change Management plan in 
order to smoothen the function of ICT solutions. All the stakeholders stated that 
resistance is natural while adopting changes to the existing management structures, 
49 
where moving from existing functional silos to new management structures is a very 
complex task. All the vendors perceive that this is a critical activity and without 
establishing a proper management structure, which will align with the BPR, it is hard 
to get the advantage of eGovernment solutions and that the solutions will not be able 
to provide the expected outcomes. 
Under this factor, the author's intention was to analyze one of the major sub-factors, 
the evolution of the "IT function" within the Ministry and the agencies under the 
Ministry. However, time-limitations of the study did not permit the author to perform 
further analysis and it may be recommended for future researcher~. ~Also further 
' details on the evolution of IT functions can be found in Heeks (2j06) followed by 
Wackwella (2007), in relation to national eGovernment implementations in Sri Lanka. 
6.1.2 Surrounding Environmental Factors 
The factors, which are categorized under surrounding environmental factors category 
in the eGSEEM Model, are analyzed here. 
6.1.2.1 Internal Pressure 
... 
The government organizational inefficiencies, especially in terms of operational, 
managerial and technical aspects have been triggered by this factor. Most respondents 
in government agencies think that the main reasons for internal pressure are caused by 
the following aspects. 
1. Tedious manual processes 
2. Inefficient management of operational staff 
3. Poor application of technology 
4. The poor quality of current citizen services 
5. Lack of proper integration with other government agencies 
6. Lack of IT cadres in government agencies. 
6.1.2.2 External Pressure 
The government organizations are under enormous pressure to deliver citizen service 
in a more efficient manner. Introducing ICT systems is one of the potential approaches 
to overcome inefficiencies in government services; hence the pressure is much higher 
50 
m these eGovernment projects. Funding agencies are also exerting pressure on 
government agencies to complete eGovernment projects within the schedule. The 
pressure can be seen emanating both from the administrative level as well as from the 
political level. Also, citizens are exerting continuous pressure to the political 
leadership and the organizational leadership for simplification of the procedures and 
enhancement of the efficiency of public services. Also at the moment, ICT A as an 
independent body does not have enough authority to pressurize any government 
agency to follow their directions. 
6.1.2.3 Legal Infrastructure 
. 
The other common issue across government agencies is not hrg a proper 
understanding of legal aspects, in terms of ICT usage. ICT A has completed a number 
of initiatives to lay a proper legal framework to support eGovernment projects. But 
measures taken to increase the awareness within government agencies have not been 
adequate. This can be a result of not having a proper ICT Policy for Government 
during the past few years. ICTA is now trying to introduce these policies to all new 
eGovernment projects under the ICT A authority. 
One respondent from a government organization in Colombo District had this to say: 
"Our organization with the Western Province Motor Traffic Department and ICTA 
developed an online payment system with the help of the SMS technology. We wanted 
to launch it at eAsia on 2"d December 2009. Because we could not get approval from 
. 
the Ministry of Finance, this project is currently on hold. This can be one of the good 
examples for legal infrastructure as a major constraint for eGovernment projects, as 
it could affect adversely, the project implementation phase as well as the solution 
operation phase. " 
The other major issue in Government agencies is to get assistance for change or set-up 
of new procedures or legal framework by re-engineering existing procedures, policies 
and laws. The Government agencies are of the view that due to shortage of expert 
legal professionals in the eGovernment related fields and time taken to approve and 
accommodate new legal changes affect eGovernment implementations critically. 
51 
The respondent from ICTA had this to say: 
"The legal infrastructure has been one of those areas that the JCTA steadily 
progressed during the past few years. ICTAfacilitates the formulation and adoption of 
Nationa/JCT policy with the collaboration of the Ministry of Science and Technology. 
With this policy during the last few years ICTA was able to enact a few JCT laws such 
as Electronic Transaction Act, Intellectual Property Right Act, Computer Crime Act, 
Payment device fraud Act to lay the foundation for a safer eGovemment. But the fact 
that less awareness of these developments in government agencies is a key issue and 
ICTA is currently taldng number of steps to enhance awareness of public officers on 
existing eGovernment legal framework. " 
1-
6.1.2.4 Employee Readiness 
The employee readiness and awareness about eGovernment is analyzed by this factor. 
The employee readiness is a key factor for the eGovernment implementation phase as 
well as the operational phase. The employees' IT skills, awareness about 
cGovernment, and easy adoption of new technology could be key indicators to 
employee readiness. Based on the analysis, employee awareness about eGovernment 
is very high (see Figure 6.4). 
M>derate 
26% 
R:>or 
14% 
Figure 6.4: Employee Awareness on eGovemment 
According to the Figure 6.4, the 60% out of 42 respondents think that employee 
awareness is high, 26% has moderate awareness and only 14% has less awareness. 
This is a very good sign for the Ministry and the institutions affiliated to the Ministry. 
52 
6.1.2.5 Political Environment 
A conducive political environment is very important to implement eGovernment 
initiatives in a successful manner. As the Ministry and its departments, unlike private 
organizations, are service-oriented rather than being profit-oriented to perform any 
reforms of existing systems, it should be clearly backed by the political authority. 
This is the general perception among any government organization in developing 
countries including Sri Lanka 
R:>or 
7% 
73% 
Figure 6.5: Organizational Political Environment for eGovernment 
Most (73%) of government agency respondents think that good political support is 
available for the eGovernment initiatives of the Ministry (see Figure 6.5). 
6.1.2.6 eGovernment Policy 
As expected, out of 25 interviewees (Government organizations, apex body, and 
vendors), a relatively high number of interviewees (72%) were under the impression 
that having an organizational eGovernment policy could m8ke a difference to the 
whole eGovernment solution success (See Figure 6.6). They all think that even 
without a proper policy the eGovernment initiatives are on the right track, and 
availability of such a policy would definitely make a positive difference. 
53 
o eGovernment policy has positive ifll)act • eGovernment policy does not have ipl>act 
Figure 6.6: Impact of eGovernment Policy I -
The author also believes that availability of eGovernment policy could have a positive 
impact towards implementation and the operation of eGovernment projects. 
6.1.3 Enabling Factors 
The factors which are grouped as enabling factors category related to the 
implementation phase in the eGovernment Solution ~ffectiveness Evaluation Model 
are analyzed in this sub-section. 
6.1.3.1 IT Infrastructure 
The IT Infrastructure is a necessary component f-or successful eGovernment adoption 
in any country and it is relevant to the Ministry as well. All the interviewees have the 
impression that their organizations have good IT Infrastructure. The reason may be 
that all organizations covered under this research study have computers, local area 
networks and Internet and email connectivity through the Lanka Government Network 
(LGN). ICT Agency's LGN project made a big difference by overcoming 
infrastructure issues in 325 government organizations. All Divisional Secretariats of 
the Colombo District and the Ministry are covered by the LGN project and therefore, 
all the respondents (apex body and ven9ors) indicated the existence of a satisfactory 
IT infrastructure. 
54 
However, a respondent had this to say: 
"The LGN is under utilized because of the lack of proper content in relation to 
government organizational needs. Also some organizations use two LANs and some 
officers also have one computer from each LAN. This is just a waste of resources. 
Senior officers of most organizations are provided with LGN connectivity, and they 
very rarely use it, but operational staff who need these facilities, still, does not have 
them. ICTA and organizations have to take immediate action to increase this 
utilization rate to a higher level. 
~ 
6.1.3.2 Local Context I . 
eGovemment should cater to local requirements of the eGovemment implementations. 
There is a saying, "think globally and act locally ". Most vendors try to deploy global 
solutions in local organizations. When there are local solution implementations one 
must always think about local language support, focusing on local cultural and 
political aspects, locally available technology aspects, such as usage of mobile phones, 
etc. Almost all respondents from the apex body and employees consider this as an 
important requirement. 
... 
6.1.3.3 Process Re-engineering 
In most of the government organizations, process re-engineering is essential, since for 
many years the processes have not been reviewed and re-engineered. According to 
. 
Heeks (2006), the design-reality gap analysis should be given proper attention, and if 
this gap is there, there is always a tendency towards a failure. Considering this, most 
of the Ministry projects are incorporated with a process re-engineering component and 
by applying it carefully, better results can be obtained from the eGovemment projects. 
The process re-engineering could; eliminate inefficiencies of processes & procedures, 
simplify processes and promote a customer centricity concept. 
All the respondents (Government agencies and vendors) believe that process re-
engineering is compulsory for any eGovemment project in developing countries. 
Some vendors are of the view that process re-engineering and solution development 
can be done effectively by working with one party rather than working with a number 
of parties. 
55 
6.1.3.4 User Friendliness 
The user friendliness of implementation is especially important when it comes to ICT 
implementations in government organizations including the Ministry and its 
institutions. This factor was analyzed based on the data received from government 
agencies and the employees. The majority respondents are of the view that user 
friendliness aspects are not being addressed adequately. The Figure 6.7 shows 
comparison of user friendliness aspects by agency and employee level. 
14 
12 
10 
8 
6 
4 
2 
0 
Agencies Employees 
"' l 0 AddressUserfrlendliness • Not userfriendly I 
Figure 6.7: The Comparison ofUser Friendliness 
According to the Figure 6.8, most (73%) analyzed agencies think that user friendliness 
aspects are not being addressed properly. 
Not 
userfriendly 
73% 
Userfr iendly 
27% 
Figure 6.8: User Friendliness by Agencies 
56 
More interestingly, 87% of employees (see Figure 6.9) think in the same way as their 
agencies. Here more employees, compared with agency respondents, are not happy 
with the user friendliness aspects. 
Not 
userfriendly 
87% 
Userfriendly 
13% 
Figure 6.9: User Friendliness by Employees 
6.1.3.5 Vendor Effectiveness 
/ 
All government agencies interviewed who some kind of interaction with vendors had 
related to eGovernment projects were not quite happy with their performances. They 
... 
admit that whatever delays there have been are not only due to their faults but also to 
vendor's faults as well. The major concern regarding vendors is that, they always try 
to go by the scope rather than trying to deploy a good solution. The other concern is 
that vendor project team's knowledge on the agency domain is weak and the time 
taken, to grasp that knowledge is long. Some of them are very happy about their 
commitment and dedication to complete their work on time in a successful manner. 
However, ICTA had a few complaints about the vendor's capability to prepare proper 
tender proposals. 
One respondent from ICT A had this to say, 
"With complex World Bank tender regulations, all vendors were required to adhere to 
a set of strict guidelines, in order to get them approved by the World Bank. However, 
'1-t·e did not see much competency, in our local vendors, especially related to this area. 
That caused many delays in eGovernment implementations so far. " 
57 
One more respondent from ICTA had this to say, 
"Competency of the vendors who develop eGovernment applications is critical 
towards eGovemment success. However, our experience has been that apart from 
only a few companies, majority of both local and international companies lack the 
necessary competence to develop mission critical national level eGovernment projects 
as additional time is required to ensure quality of the systems. " 
6.1.3.6 Project Implementation 
The project implementation approach is also a key factor for tl}e success of 
eGovernment solutions as government organizations contributcy to eGovernrnent 
implementations while performing their day to day activities. By considering these 
basic facts, eGovernrnent implementation should plan to get maximum effective 
involvement of agencies while doing their normal functions. Also these projects 
should plan to do small iterative deployments and in that manner get the attention of 
the agencies throughout the entire implementation of the project. If projects drag on 
for a long time without fruitful results, the agency staff loses interest and it is very 
difficult to get back their active attention and contribution again. Therefore, small 
organizational projects with a proper project implementation approach would have 
better chances for successful completion. Proper project implementation approach 
with better planning would get all the stake holders on board, throughout the entire 
implementation. 
6.2 Analysis of Operational Phase Perspectives 
Two perspectives that are categorized under operational phase perspective category in 
the eGSEEM are analyzed in this section. 
6.2.1 Social Perspectives 
Factors which are grouped as social perspective category related to the operational 
phase in the eGovemment Solution Effectiveness Evaluation Model, are analyzed in 
this sub-section. 
58 
6.2.1.1 Transparency and Openness 
One of the key objectives of the eGovernment deployment is to deliver government 
services in a more transparent manner. Through the eGovernment initiatives 
transparency of service provision can be increased, subsequently customer satisfaction 
could be increased as well. Most (77%) of the citizens believe that with the 
Implementation of eGovernment initiatives, the transparency of services will increase 
(see Figure 6.1 0) 
c With eGovemment transparency increases • With eGovemment no increase in transparency 
- ----- 1 
Figure 6.10: Transparency through eGovemment 
Out of the 23% respondents who disagreed, a few citizens have commented that 
instead of increasing transparency, in certain occasions they have found new types of 
malpractices. To deal with these kinds of situations, it is necessary to incorporate IT 
security safeguards with proper monitoring systems. 
6.2.1.2 Service Delivery 
This is also a key social perspective of the eGovernment operation and how satisfied 
citizens are with the new ICT solutions is going to be indicated here. This can be 
analyzed in a number of ways. Because of the limited time and scope of the research, 
it was limited only to pilot project sites, by focusing only on key aspects. Figure 6.11 
shows awareness of e-services of the Ministry agencies by the citizens. 
59 
Not aware 
Moderate 
31 % 
Figure 6.11: Awareness about eGovernment Services of Agencies 
~ 
It shows that only 31% of citizens are unaware of these e-services ~d in general 69% 
of respondents are either well aware of these services or are moderately aware. 
Manual 
15% 
Computerized 
85% 
Figure 6.12: Citizens' Preference about Service Delivery Mode 
Figure 6.12 shows citizens' preference on the service delivery mode and most (85%) 
of citizens are in favour of a computer based citizen service. It may be that their 
practical experience is such, or their perception is such that they believe computer 
based services as more efficient compared with the manual service delivery. 
60 
8% 0% 
61% 
o Strongly agree • .A(Jree 0 Neutral 0 Disagree • Strongly disagree 
Figure 6.13: Citizens' Perception on Better Service Provisio~ough ICT 
Most citizen respondents (84%) felt that the application of ICT could provide better 
citizen services compared with the manual alternative (see Figure 5.13). According to 
Figure 5.13 only 8% felt that application of ICT has not been able to provide better 
citizen services. 
6.2.1.3 Empowerment 
Empowerment of services is understood as easiness o"f obtaining services, availability 
of proper information for customers and new channels for service delivery etc. Most 
(85%) felt that services provided by eGovernment are easy and services could be 
obtained without any ambiguity (see Figure 6.14). 
Disagree Strongly disagree Strongly agree 
Neutral 15% 0% 15% 
0% 
.Agree 
70% 
Figure 6.14: Citizens' Perception on Ease of Service Provision 
61 
6.2.2 Economic Perspectives 
The factors which are grouped under the economic perspective category related to the 
operational phase in the eGovemment Solution Effectiveness Evaluation Model, are 
analyzed in this sub-section. 
6.2.2.1 Streamlining Processes 
Under this perspective, the author intended to analyze the effectiveness of newly 
designed processes based on which the solution was developed, by indicators of task 
completion rates, integration of processes, time taken to get the service and reduction 
of inefficient work steps etc. However, due to time limitations o_f, tliis study, this is 
analyzed only based on the responses received by the employees ~d the citizens. It is 
recommended to do a deep analysis on this factor which could furnish valuable 
feedback to related implementation phase factors and by taking corrective actions to 
improve the overall solution effectiveness. 
Most (85%) of the citizen respondents are of the impression that by application of ICT 
they receive a speedy service (see Figure 6.15), and 15% felt that time taken is similar 
to the previous mode. 
Same as previous 
15% 
tvbre lime 
0% 
... 
85% 
Figure 6.15: Citizens' Perception on Quickness of Service Provision 
The analysis shows that, it is still necessary to do some enhancements to improve the 
processes. 
62 
6.2.2.2 Increasing Revenue 
The ultimate objectives of eGovernment, from the government point of view, are 
convenient revenue management and improvement of audit to reduce corruption. The 
existing manual systems make it very difficult and there is plenty of room for 
malpractices. Hence the revenue management process is very inefficient and revenue 
leakages are very common. Figure 6.16 shows graphically, disbursement of 
government agency responses regarding revenue management. 
7% 
I 
93% 
[O'"E3Sy • Sarre as previOUS] 
Figure 6.16: Revenue Ma!Vlgement 
According to the Figure 6.16, most (93%) agencies favour easy revenue management 
through eGovernment. 
6.2.2.3 Cost Reduction 
The sub-factors related to reduction of cost fo r transactions and better control of 
expenditure are analyzed by this perspective. This is also a key economic perspective 
in the implementation phase and could be analyzed in detail, and due to limitation in 
time, resources and scope, it is limited to the pilot implementation level. Therefore it 
is analyzed only by citizen respondents and Figure 6.17 shows the cost incurred for 
service provision. Most (92%) stated that cost is the same as in the previous mode. 
But no respondents stated that the cost is more. It is a positive development if agencies 
could provide more efficient service for the same or less cost. 
63 
Sarre as previous 
92% 
More Less 
0% 8% 
Figure 6.17: Citizens ' Perception on Cost for Service Provision 
' 
The Figure 6.18 shows details of the number visits made by the citiptns to obtain the 
government's services. 
Two 
23% 
Ttv-ee 
15%:.------ I 
More 
0% 
Figure 6.18: Citizens' Perception on the Number of Visits to Obtain Services 
Most (62%) think that they did only one visit to get the service, 23% think they visited 
twice to obtain the service and 8% visited three times to get the job done. It is 
necessary to take corrective measures to reduce the number of visits to one. 
64 
CHAPTER 7: RECOMMENDATIONS 
This research presents an interesting study which evaluates the effectiveness of 
eGovernment initiatives, of the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs. 
The researcher adopted a qualitative research approach, with a case-based research 
strategy in order to do an in-depth study. The proposed eGovernment Solution 
Effectiveness Evaluation Model (eGSEEM) may be further improved based on 
broader sample size and subsequent data analysis. 
7.1 Recommendations for Implementation Phase Factor~· 
f 
/ 
Using the eGSEEM model, the status of the each implementation phase factor could 
be identified and subsequent corrective measures could be undertaken to rectify 
implementation failures. 
7.1.1 Recommendations for Organizational Factors 
Recommendations for key organizational factors are discussed in this sub section . 
7.1.1.1 The Leadership ... 
As suggested by most respondents, to make this eGovemment dream a success the 
organization needs a visionary leader at the top, which always drives the organization 
to the expected target. The leader could ensure stakeholder buy-in towards the 
intended target. Also the leader could make sure that eGovemment is a priority in the 
agenda of his/her organization. It is important to get strong backup by the political 
leadership as well, without which it could be a difficult task. According to Gupta, et 
al. (2004), leadership is the most critical factor in eGovemment implementation 
success in the Indian context. 
7.1.1.2 Top Management Support 
By analyzing interview responses and prrough observations, it was quite evident that 
: 
there is a strong correlation between the organizational eGovemment success and the 
support of its top management. Organizations that have progressed steadily so far, 
have definitely had the backing of the top management. Whatever failures have been 
65 
reported so far did not have the required level of support, at the top level, immediately 
under the organizational leadership. As leadership is involved in other prioritized 
areas of the governance in some situations, the top management has to play the role of 
leadership as well. Therefore empowerment of top management is very important, by 
giving them better exposure in the field of eGovernment. It is a good investment for 
the future as they are the people who will take this leadership responsibility 
subsequent to the retirement of current leadership. 
7.1.1.3 IT Skills 
The analysis shows that a lot of improvements is still needed to get to the next level of 
I 
IT skills in government organizations, and this requires immediate attention. This 
aspect is being addressed well by ICT A, by training most of th{ government staff 
under their ICT capacity building programs. However, government organizations' top 
management should ensure that the right set of individuals are sent for this training 
without any internal politics being involved. Also there should be a proper policy 
within the organization related to training and retaining of trained staff at least during 
the project implementation period. The observations indicate, that transferring of well 
trained staff has a negative impact on project implementations . 
.... 
7.1.1.4 Resources 
The government organizations need adequate allocations for IT related areas. The ICT 
Agency also instructed organizations to allocate funds to take over solution 
. 
maintenance and improvement processes after the initial warranty. But still, agencies 
are not ready to attain self sustainability of ICT systems. It is recommended to set up 
an inter-ministerial committee including representatives from ICT A for ICT budget 
planning for the organizations. It is needed to provide spec~al attention on the areas 
such as civil construction work, IT infrastructure set-up, office layouts suitable for 
ICT solution deployment etc. An additional effort is needed to ensure adequate funds 
to complete those activities in-line with ICT solution implementations. Most of the 
vendors think these related activities cause delays due to lack of funds and hence is a 
key issue in government organizations: 
66 
7.1.1.5 Change Management 
All the stakeholders are of the view that change management aspects are not 
addressed properly in-line with eGovernment initiatives. Most of the stakeholders 
think that giving just an awareness of the change management would be sufficient to 
manage change, but there is a lot of project and organizational specific change 
management issues which should be addressed specifically. Government 
organizations and ICTA have already identified change management as one of the 
main factors that need to be taken care of in their strategy to implement eGovernment. 
With this approach, government agencies need to conduct an initial study on change 
~ 
management procedures, whenever they embark on a re-engineering initiative and 
conduct special change management workshops. This change ~anagement approach 
should be undertaken in an organizational and project specific manner by combining 
various training programmes, workshops, reorganizing of human resources in-line 
with ICT solutions to achieve the ultimate goals of the eGovernment. It is very 
important for government organizations to understand the real meaning and value of 
such action, which could bring success to eGovernment initiatives. 
7.1.1.6 Procurement Management 
... 
All stakeholders think that this has been one of the major challenges that, not only the 
organizational eGovernment implementation, but also national eGovernment projects 
are facing, so far. The observations show that this is one of the key reasons for project 
c 
implementation delays. Representatives of apex body have said that they are in the 
initial phase of the learning curve and that they are in the process of improving 
procurement management. Also, the national projects of ICT A use the BRUF (Big 
Requirement Up Front) approach which results in large projects with increased 
complexity. However, currently ICTA is promoting SDSA (Software Development 
Service Approach), as an approach which reduces complexity of the projects and uses 
an agile approach to eGovernment procurement. According to Weerawarana (2009), 
SDSA is an innovative alternate approach to eGovernment solution procurement and 
' 
development in a cost effective and speedy manner. This could be a better solution as 
opposed to the World Bank IS procurement method, which makes the procurement 
process difficult for both the vendors and the organizations. However it is the ICT A, 
67 
which has to lead the development of the appropriate procurement process, which 
could cater for easy management of IS procurement. 
7.1.1.7 Management Structure 
Management structures of government organizations have to go through a re-
engineering process followed by management structure changes. Such organizations 
invariably face some sort of a resistance while implementing these management/ 
organizational structural changes. 
However, to get real benefits of ICT, structural changes of the management structure 
• 
must be accommodated. Therefore, before finalizing c,nged structures, 
organizational leadership should have change management workshops for all the 
management staff. It is very important to increase the awareness among management, 
which will make them realize the importance of the whole re-engineering process. At 
the BPR stage, it is essential to get the involvement of the whole management to get 
their valuable input, including the operational staff. It is always important to get 
involvement of the organizational staff that will lead to less resistance during 
implementation. This is a very tough task as far as government organizations are 
concerned and without that the real benefit of solutions cannot be obtained. In this 
case, the Administrative Reforms Committee (ARC) could play a major role; this is a 
way of reducing inefficiency of processes by proper re-organizing of management 
structures. It also eliminates unproductive approval processes by the right sizing of the 
. 
organizational staff. 
7.1.2 Recommendations for Surrounding Environmental Factors 
Recommendations for four important factors, which are grouped under the 
surrounding environmental category, are discussed here. 
7.1.2.1 Legal Infrastructure 
ICT A has taken measures to ensure that the legal framework is in place. While other 
organizations is the lack of awareness of these developments. Th 
68 
important to have intensive awareness programmes, to enhance the awareness of key 
officers of organizations where eGovernment implementations are taking place. Also 
it is recommended that ICTA keep up with their support for the organizations, which 
needs legal changes to accommodate their solutions in an expeditious manner. 
7.1.2.2 Employee Readiness 
The analysis shows that employee readiness is evident. However continuous action 
and better policies to increase the level of readiness is required. The organizations and 
ICTA should plan together to utilize the existing training opportunities in a more 
fruitful way in order to further enhance the employee readiness. It i~ also necessary to 
' 
take measures to increase awareness of employees who are in the..6lder generation. 
7.1.2.3 Political Environment 
Analysis of responses shows, that adequate political awareness is available for the 
Ministry eGovernment initiatives. As political support is very critical for 
eGovernment projects, it is necessary to have tireless effort to get this support 
throughout the entire implementation period. 
... 
7.1.2.4 eGovernment Policy 
The ICT Policy for Government and Organizational ICT should be implemented 
without further delay. It can recognize ICT as a compulsory component of 
governance. Currently the ICT Policy for Government is ready for the cabinet 
approval. This will allow government organizations to follow some strict guidelines 
from the beginning. Otherwise, complications will arise after a few years. This policy 
could address issues such as; use of pirated software within government departments 
and promotion of Free and Open Source Software in the government. The initial 
policy may not be a perfect one but will certainly improve the standards and the 
management of ICT within the organization. 
69 
7.1.3 Recommendations for Enabling Factors 
Recommendations for five important factors which are categorized as enabling factors 
are discussed in this sub section. 
7.1.3.1 IT Infrastructure 
IT Infrastructure is quite good, but further plans are needed to maintain the existing 
infrastructure, at same level and to upgrade the technology into the next level. The 
organizations and ICT A have to jointly prepare periodic plans for this purpose. The 
best example is the first phase of the LGN project. The computers pJovided by that 
projects are now outdated and there is no plan of replacing those c?llputers. 
7.1.3.2 Local Context 
When eGovernment implementations take place, local context aspects should be taken 
into consideration. If properly done, it could make the absorption of implementations 
into the organizations, easy and seamless. 
7.1.3.3 User Friendliness 
... 
Most respondents think that user friendliness aspects are not adequately addressed 
with solution deployment. This is also an important factor in government ICT projects 
and government staff could easily be transitioned to the systems when they are user 
friendly and easy to use. 
7.1.3.4 Vendor Effectiveness 
It is difficult to claim that all the vendors are supportive, but there are some vendors 
who are supportive throughout the implementation. It is a fact that implementing any 
ICT system in the government bureaucratic environment is difficult. Further, the 
working culture of those two entities is very different. Therefore, it is necessary to 
have a better procurement environment to deploy the best solution by the vendors. 
70 
' ~ 
~ r~ 
l 
7.1.3.5 Project Implementation 
Project implementation should be planned in such a way as to get all the stakeholders 
support in an effective manner. This is a challenging task and based on the 
environment, it should be adjusted in the most effective manner. It is better to always 
plan it by implementing small iterations rather than big implementations, where the 
project owner needs to wait for a long time without any meaningful result. If small 
iterations are planned, the organization would perceive regular impact of the ICT 
implementations. Through this continuous impact stakeholder interest could be 
maintained throughout the project life cycle. This should have a very dynamic 
mechanism and ICTA has to play a leading role. 
I 
7.2 Recommendations for Operational Perspectives 
Using the eGSEEM model, the status of each operational phase perspective could be 
identified and subsequent feedback to the implementation phase with corrective 
measures could improve the entire solution effectiveness. 
7 .2.1 Recommendations for Social Perspectives 
... 
Recommendations for two important factors which are grouped under the social 
perspective category are stated here. 
7 .2.1.1 Service Delivery 
The level of satisfaction is high even with the current status of the implementation. 
The concept to treat the citizen as the customer of a particular organization, could 
make a further difference. However the final impact should be analyzed, once the 
projects are finally launched. Citizens prefer computer based service delivery 
processes and their awareness is also good. These factors could be analyzed in a more 
detailed manner, but in this study, due to time limitations, such a deep analysis was 
not undertaken. Through such analysis, more related indicators can be found and 
through feedbacks to the implementation phase, corrective measures can be 
implemented for deployment and thereby, improvement of the overall solution 
effectiveness can be achieved. 
71 
~ 
t 
~ 
7.2.1.2 Empowerment 
The citizens are satisfied with the present level of implementations. Opening of more 
delivery channels, may increase this satisfaction level further. It is necessary to do a 
proper evaluation of the current status of the services and based on citizen's 
perceptions, implementations can be performed by accommodating, those 
requirements as well. 
7.2.2 Recommendations for Economic Perspectives 
I 
Recommendations for two important factors which are grouped under the economic 
perspective category are stated here. 
7 .2.2.1 Streamlining Processes 
If the processes are streamlined well, services could be simplified. This can be 
analyzed using various indicators, and based on the analysis, feedback can be given to 
the implementation phase. Then corrective measures to increase the process 
simplification could be taken. Therefore, using the "'eGSEEM in an iterative manner, 
continuous improvement could be incorporated. 
7 .2.2.2 Cost Reduction 
The ultimate target of eGovernment is to deliver cost effective services to its clients. 
By the existing manual system, the initial charge for the service is very small. 
However, there are many hidden costs, such as waste of time and inability to obtain 
the service within the required time frame. Therefore if the· services can be provided 
within a pre-defined timeframe, a small increase of cost, would be acceptable to the 
clients. Analysis shows that citizens are satisfied with the current cost for services, but 
more aspects of this factor can be analyzed deeply by broader data collection and 
subsequent analysis. As the time and scope is limited in this research study, the 
analysis had to be limited to this level. 
72 
7.3 Overall Recommendations 
Since the model was conceptualized and designed with emphasis on Sri Lankan 
government organizations, it is highly relevant to the local Sri Lankan context. 
However, its uniqueness in comparison to existing evaluation models that currently 
are in use worldwide and its alignment with the prevalent challenges of eGovernment 
solutions in developing countries, highlight its feasibility for application across 
regional countries. Thus, this model would be useful for other countries with 
government organization and government process profiles that are similar to Sri 
Lanka, as a mechanism to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of their 
eGovernment solutions. I 
In summary this model could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of; 
1. eGovernment initiatives of Sri Lankan government organizations 
2. Other countries with government organization and government process 
profiles that are similar to Sri Lanka 
... 
73 
t 
CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION 
8.1 Summary of Research Findings 
The research results highlighted that eGovernment initiatives of government agencies 
in Sri Lanka are struggling to cope with their intended expectations. This has been due 
to various factors as explained in this research. Based on the research data analysis 
several recommendations have been proposed by the researcher to overcome these 
issues. 
• 
Government agencies desperately need a dedicated leadership, at the highest level in I 
the organization. This was emphasized Mr. Lalith Weerathunga, Secretary to the 
President of Sri Lanka, in his keynote address at the e-ASIA Conference 2009, where 
he stated that with all his experiences, that leadership is the most critical success 
factor for eGovernment (Weerathunga 2009). 
The government agencies should be aware about eGovemment concepts and its 
effectiveness in the long run. Government agencies should not depend on funding 
agencies and instead, they have to plan their ,!>udget for eGovernment. Also, 
government agencies should consider alternative funding approaches such as 
partnering with private organizations as successfully practised in other developing 
countries in the region. 
The ICT A as the apex body should take quick measures to improve the IS 
Procurement method which is very critical for all the levels of eGovernment projects 
in the country. The SDSA approach can be a good alternative to the IS procurement 
method of World Bank. Also immediate incorporation of eGovernment Policy 
proposed by ICTA for government organizations will make a significant difference, 
and contribute to the progress of eGovemrnent effectiveness. Furthermore, ICTA 
needs to enhance the awareness of government organizations on the prevailing legal 
framework for eGovernment. Activities of Administrative reforms committee should 
be linked with JCT A and the eGovernrnent projects. Appointing a proper committee to 
monitor these activities is also an important. 
74 
All government employees should understand and be aware of eGovemment 
initiatives, and therefore, it is important to have a continuous awareness campaign for 
government staff. It is also important that factors such as user friendliness and being 
sensitive to the local context are addressed in eGovernment solutions by potentially 
mandating easy adoptions of the solutions. Change management and BBR aspects are 
also key components in the effectiveness of eGovernment initiatives. In particular, 
change management should be properly planned with eGovernment implementations. 
In summary, this research has identified effectiveness factors of eGovernment 
implementations and operations' using the analytical model proposed by the author 
and the analytical model was used as a mechanism in formurating suitable 
recommendations, to cope with those challenges. ./ 
8.2 Future Areas of Study 
This generic model was designed to evaluate the three main types of 02E, 020 and 
02C initiatives of the ministry. Further studies could be directed to each of the above 
areas in a specialized manner, leading to the design of specific models targeted to the 
afore-mentioned three key eGovemment aspects. Also, those models can be tested 
with appropriate sample sizes which would give optilnum results based on subsequent 
data analysis. 
8.3 Research Study Summary and Outcomes 
. 
An objective of this research was to analyze the effectiveness factors that influence 
eOovernment initiatives of the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs. 
The author confined this research sample to selected eGovernment initiatives managed 
by the Ministry and three divisional secretariats which were chosen as pilot project 
sites mainly due to the time-limited scope of the research study. For the purpose of 
achieving the previous objective the author developed an eGovernment Solution 
Effectiveness Evaluation Model, based on extensive literature review and a pilot 
study. Subsequently this model was practically tested with the research sample. Using 
this analysis, recommendations for the improvement of the effectiveness of the 
eOovernment projects in the sample space were made. 
75 
A significant outcome of this study is the evident suitability and viability of this model 
to evaluate the effectiveness of eGovernment solutions of the MPA&HA. Thus this 
model can be used by any other government institution in Sri Lanka or other countries 
with government organizations that are similar to Sri Lanka. 
/ 
... 
76 
A PPENDIX 1- INTERVIEW/QUESTIONNAIRE TEMPLATE 
SET 1: Questionnaire [GAl 
Questionnaire for Ministry and its Organizations 
The Leadership 
GA 1. Do you think the strong leadership at the organization can affect the 
eGovernment success? 
Top Management Support 
j 
GA2. How do you see the level of commitment and support from the Top 
Management? 
IT Skills 
GA3. How do you see the level ofiT skills within the organizational staff? 
GA4. Is designated/qualified IT staff available within the organization? 
Resources for Projects ... 
GAS. Are you satisfied with the funding capability ofthe MPA&HA? 
Change Management 
GA6. How do you explain organizational change management strategies used during 
the eGovernment implementation? 
Procurement Management 
GA 7. How do you describe procurement management as a key component of 
eGovernment success? 
Management Structure 
GA8. How do you describe the management decision making structure, prior to the 
eGovernment implementation? 
77 
r 
GA9. How do you see the change in the existing management decision making 
structure with the introduction of eGovernment implementation? 
Internal/External Pressure 
GA 10. How do you explain the level of internal/external pressure effect the on 
eGovernment implementation success? 
Legal Infrastructure 
GA 11. How do you describe the situation with the current JCT legal infrastructures in 
terms of eGovernment implementation and operation status in MP A&HA? 
. .: 
" Employee Readiness 
GA12. How do you see the level of employee awareness about the eGovemment 
projects? 
Political Environment 
GA13. Is existing political environment conducive for the eGovernment projects of 
the MP A&HA? ... 
EGovernment Policy and Strategy 
GA 14. Is there proper eGovernmcnt policy and strategy within the MP A&HA? 
Process Re-engineering 
GA15. Do you think that work process improvement is compulsory before 
eGovernment implementation? 
78 
SET2: Questionnaire [API 
Questionnaire for the Apex Body 
The Leadership 
API. As an apex body, how do you think the proper leadership at the top of 
government organizational level could affect the eGovernment implementation and 
operation? 
IT Skills 
AP2. How do you describe the level of IT expertise in the Organization~ 
I 
Change Management 
AP3. How do you describe Change Management process in the eGovernment projects 
of the Ministry? 
Procurement Management 
AP4. How do you describe procurement management as a key component of 
eGovernment success? .... 
Legal Infrastructure 
AP5. Are you satisfied with the current ICT le~al infrastructures in terms of current 
eGovernment implementation status in MP A&HA? 
Employee Readiness 
AP6. How do you describe the level of employee readiness? 
eGovernment Policy and Strategy 
AP7. How do you explain the level of satisfaction about the current eGovernment 
Policy and strategy in MP A&HA? , 
79 
IT Infrastructure 
AP8. Are you satisfied with the current lT infrastructural capability in MP A&HA and 
its departments? 
Technological Support in Local Context 
AP9. How do you see the level of impact by local context to the current 
implementation/operational process? 
Vendor Effectiveness 
• 
AP 1 0. How do you see the effect of the level of support rendered ·by vendors, towards 
I 
eGovemment success? 
Service Delivery 
AP 11. How do you see the level of satisfaction by the citizen? 
.... 
80 
SET3: Questionnaire (VNJ 
Questionnaire for Vendors 
The Leadership 
VNl. How do you see the leadership support for eGovern.ment projects of the 
Ministry? 
IT Skills 
VN2. How do you see the level of IT skills within the government organizational staff 
and the eGovernment success? 
Change Management 
.: 
.;1 
VN3. How do you see the effect of government organizational culture towards 
eGovernment implementation/operation success? 
Management Structure 
VN4. How do you describe the change of management structure with eGov 
implementation? ... 
Legal Infrastructure 
VN5. How do you describe legal and policy environment eGov implementation and 
operations? 
Employee Readiness 
VN6. How do you describe the Employee Readiness of the Ministry? 
eGovernment Policy 
VN7. How do you explain the level of satisfaction about the current eGovernment 
policy in MP A&HA? 
IT Infrastructure 
VN8. How do you describe IT infrastructure of the Ministry? 
81 
v 
Process Re-engineering 
VN9. How do you see the level of satisfaction ofBPR? 
Project Implementation 
VNlO. How do you describe the project implementation approach? 
/ 
" 
82 
SET 4: Questionnaire [EM] 
Questionnaire for Employees 
The Leadership 
EMI. Do you think the strong leadership at the organization can affect the 
eGovemment success? 
Top Management Support 
EM2. How do you see the level of commitment and support from the Top 
Management? 
IT Skills 
EM3. How do you see the level ofiT skills of your co-staff? 
Management Structure 
.: 
~ 
~ 
EM4. How does the organization manage the ' IT function' before and after the 
eGovemment implementation? 
.... 
Internal /External Pressure 
EMS. How do you explain the level of internaVexternal pressure effect the 
eGovernment implementation and operational success? 
Employee Readiness 
EM6. How do you see the level of employee awareness of the eGovernment projects? 
Local Context Support 
EM7. Does the implementation fulfil local context requirement? 
User Friendliness of Solution , 
EM8. Do the implementations accommodate user friendliness aspects? 
83 
Vend or Effectiveness 
EM9. How do you see the effect of the level of support rendered by vendors towards 
eGovernment success? 
Streamlining Processes 
EM l 0. Are the processes re-engineered? 
84 
.... 
.: 
"' 
/ 
SETS: Questionnaire [ CT] 
Questionnaire for Citizens 
Background Information 
Please use (..f) to fill the following 
CTI.What is your age? 
1. Less than 25 years 
2. 26 -35 years 
3. 36 - 45 years 
4. 45 - 55 years 
5. >55 years 
CT2. What is your level of education? 
1. Below OIL 
2. OIL 
3.AJL 
4. Diploma/Degree 
5. Others 
CT3.What is your workplace? 
1. Government 
2. Private 
3. Semi-government 
4. Self-Employed 
5. Other (Please specify) 
CT4.What is your area/district of residence? 
Service Delivery 
... 
.,: ,.  
CT5.Have you ever heard about the eGovernment/ computer based services? 
Yes / No 
If ' yes' , Please describe your opinion about the eGovernment initiatives I computer 
based services in Sri Lanka? 
CT6.Have you ever heard about the eGovernment/ computer based services of the 
MPA&HA/DS's? 
85 
Yes / No 
If 'yes', Please specify them? 
CT7. How long have you been aware of the computerized service delivery process of 
the Ministry? 
CT8. Are you satisfied with services provided by eGovernment? 
Initiatives/computer based citizen services of the MP A&HA so far? (The Ministry 
Web Site, eBMD, etc.) 
Yes I No 
/ 
If 'no', what are the reasons and recommendations for that? 
CT9. Do you prefer the computerized or the Manual systems? 
1. Computerized 2. Manual 
CTl 0. To what extent do you agree that Information Technology /Computerization 
can be used to give better citizen services? 
1. Strongly disagree 2. Disagree 
4. Agree 
Transparency 
3. Ne1ther agree nor disagree 
5. Strongly agree 
CTll. The services provided by the Ministry/Department are more convenient 
compared with the previous mode of service provision? 
Yes /No 
If 'Yes' what are the reasons for that? 
Empowerment 
CT12. The Current service delivery process is easy and service obtaining process is 
also clear? 
1. Strongly disagree 
4. Agree 
2. Disagree 3. Neither agree nor disagree 
5. Strongly agree 
86 
Streamlining Processes 
CT 13. Time taken for service provision is less compared with the manual process? 
1. Less time 2. Same as previous 3. More time 
Cost Reduction 
CT14. Is the cost for service the same as manual process? 
1. Less cost 2. Same as previous 3. More cost 
CT15. Number of visits made to obtain services, where computer based services is 
available? 
1. One 2.Two 3. Three 4. More than 3 times 
/ 
... 
87 
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