Implementation Elements

Implementation is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy. Implementation of e-Governance is a highly complex process requiring provisioning of hardware & software and networking for actualizing the E-Government project.

Based on lessons learnt from the past and the experience from successful e-Governance applications, the approach and methodology adopted for E-Governance Project contains the following elements

Common Support Infrastructure – E-Governance Project implementation involves setting up of common and support IT infrastructure such as: State Wide Area Networks (SWANs), State Data Centers (SDCs), Common Services Centers (CSCs) and Electronic Service Delivery Gateways.

Governance – Suitable arrangements for monitoring and coordinating the implementation of E-Governance Project under the direction of the competent authorities have also been substantially put in place. The program also involves evolving/ laying down standards and policy guidelines, providing technical support, undertaking capacity building, R&D, etc. DEITY is required to adequately strengthen itself and various institutions like NIC, STQC, CDAC, NISG, etc. to play these roles effectively.

Centralized Initiative, Decentralized Implementation – e-Governance is being promoted through a centralized initiative to the extent necessary to ensure citizen-centric orientation, to realize the objective of inter-operability of various e-Governance applications and to ensure optimal utilization of ICT infrastructure and resources while allowing for a decentralized implementation model. It also aims at identifying successful projects and replicating them with required customization wherever needed.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) – PPP model is to be adopted wherever feasible to enlarge the resource pool without compromising on the security aspects.

Integrative Elements – Adoption of unique identification codes for citizens, businesses and property is to be promoted to facilitate integration and avoid ambiguity.

Program Approach at the National and State levels – For implementation of the E-Governance Project, various Union Ministries/Departments and State Governments are involved. Considering the multiplicity of agencies involved and the need for overall aggregation and integration at the national level, E-Governance Project is being implemented as a programme, with well-defined roles and responsibilities of each agency involved. For facilitating this, appropriate programme management structures have also been put in place.

Ownership of Ministries – Under the E-Governance Project, various MMPs are owned and spearheaded by the concerned line Ministries. In case there are any ongoing projects which fall in the MMP category, they would be suitably enhanced to align them with the objectives of E-Governance Project. For major projects like Bharat Nirman, Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes, etc. the line ministries concerned are advised to make use of e-Governance as also automation techniques from the inception stage. States have been given the flexibility to identify a few additional state-specific projects, which are relevant for the economic development of the State.

IT Implementation and the Role of End users

System implementation generally benefits from high levels of user involvement and management support. User participation in the design and operation of information systems has several positive results. First, if users are heavily involved in systems design, they move opportunities to mold the system according to their priorities and business requirements, and more opportunities to control the outcome. Second, they are more likely to react positively to the change process. Incorporating user knowledge and expertise leads to better solutions.

The relationship between users and information systems specialists has traditionally been a problem area for information systems implementation efforts. Users and information systems specialists tend to have different backgrounds, interests, and priorities. This is referred to as the user-designer communications gap. These differences lead to divergent organizational loyalties, approaches to problem solving, and vocabularies. Examples of these differences or concerns are below:

User Concerns

• Will the system deliver the information I need for my work?
• How quickly can I access the data?
• How easily can I retrieve the data?
• How much clerical support will I need to enter data into the system?
• How will the operation of the system fit into my daily business schedule?

Designer Concerns

• How much disk storage space will the master file consume?
• How many lines of program code will it take to perform this function?
• How can we cut down on CPU time when we run the system?
• What are the most efficient ways of storing this data?
• What database management system should we use?