Developing a roadmap for planning and implementation of interoperability capability in e-government

The purpose of this paper is to propose a tool in the form of a roadmap for planning and implementation of interoperability capabilities. The issue of interoperability is gaining importance for offering services as “one-stop shop” due to rapid developments in the field of e-government in recent times. Several complexities are associated with this important dimension, and there is an urgent need for developing a tool to facilitate rollout of e-government projects with interoperability capabilities. The proposed roadmap can enable knowledge sharing among key stakeholders for building a common vision and contribute to planning and implementation of interoperability features of e-government.

The paper is an exploratory study using the phenomenographic interpretive approach. The literature review identifies the facets and the issues that are crucial for facilitating interoperability. The status of interoperability in some of the developed countries is reviewed where e-government is in a relatively mature stage. Based on the review, this paper identifies an initial set of issues that can guide semi-structured interviews with policymakers, partners and the government agencies implementing e-government projects. The views of these key stakeholders are then analyzed and used for developing the roadmap for implementation of interoperability of e-government services. The findings are then mapped in India’s context for triangulation purpose.

The paper provides insights into various planning and implementation issues that have to be addressed for building interoperability capability. A roadmap is proposed encompassing the essential legal, regulatory, organizational and technical aspects that are deemed essential for successful planning and implementation of interoperability capability.

The study has the limitation that the exploratory part of the study is based on inputs from key actors in the Indian context only. It needs to be validated by empirical studies in various contexts.

The roadmap proposed will be useful for the policymakers, as it can guide them for planning and implementing e-government systems with interoperability capabilities. It can be used as a knowledge-sharing tool for spreading awareness of steps required for designing and implementing interoperability capabilities.

The paper contributes by providing a tool in the form of a roadmap that can be used by the policymakers and implementers to take a holistic view of requirements for development of interoperability capabilities. The paper can form the basis for future research in specific issues of interoperability.