Project for School

 

1. Topic of Project: Longitudinal data - Investigation into SOAP web services as a solution in bridging the gap between different government departments.
   

 

1. Introduction
   
2. How I choose my project:
   
3. The areas of database management, data management, data sharing and Information system, Enterprise Telecommunication Networks are areas in the study of Computer and Information systems that will be applicable to this project. Having the opportunity to assist various government departments in my home country, Grenada, day to day challenge with data integrity, duplication of human effort at data entry and IT personnel clashed are realised.
   
4. Interagency data sharing has been recognised as a needed cure as well as a preventative measure within government departments. Hsiang (2010) identifies a social issue within the United States, Department of Family and Children's Services (DFACS), which propelled the US government to address data sharing policies and strategies, under the duress of negative press.
   
5. Grenada has and continues to establish many social support services for it population. Services such include aged pension allowance, students' transportation allowances, and free books for kids, youth vocational training services, needy student project. Such ventures are operated within many government departments such as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Services and the Ministry of Youth, the local College along with administration within 19 Secondary and 104 primary schools across three small islands. Due to the wide expansive and reach of these safety net projects, the need for accurate, cross sectional data, shared amongst different departments can be a valuable asserted in allowing equitable distribution of the scare resources to the intended participants.
   
6. However, my assessment of these departments and projects clearly revealed that no system to share data exist within Government. All departments utilises Microsoft Excel spread sheets to keep the names of their clients. If data is requested by another department, it is possible to have the data emailed or send via memory stick to this department. Challenges as timely update and current records are drawbacks which are constantly being reported about.
   
7. Moreover, the central IT department controls the network administration activities, but provides no support to end users in Government offices for developing applications. A small IT unit of 2 persons contracted to support approximately 600 computers within 6 government ministries, has little or no time to develop their skills in software development. The problem with data sharing is compounded by the idea that the Central Administration has tightened network security to reduce on viral attacks on their server which host financial and payroll application for government.
   
8. Over the past five (5) years, a great deal of projects funded by external agencies such as World Bank promised to have delivered tangible results that empower data sharing. Most of these projects have provided equipment for government offices, computers, printers and servers. However, many of the employees, managers and public servants within the departments are realising the need to have databases and applications to share and manage data across the various agencies.
   
9. Other the other hand there are departments seeking to make investment into such data projects but seems to have little consideration about interagency or cross sectional data sharing. One department collecting a list of person for youth based project realised that their use of none shared database created in Microsoft Excel has created a greater deal of data management issues. Moreover solution where departments realised that they database should be shared for multi internal users, they soon realise demands from outside of their functional areas also needs to be addressed.
   
10. Therefore this project proposes data sharing via web services using a self-dependence model of the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) which bridge the connection gaps – within and outside - various networks without having to modify or relax current Network security policies that are controlled by the Central Network Administrators. Additionally, the issues and challenges with new idea or technologies seem to bring a plethora of management and implementation issue with end users, IT staff, planners and conceptual thinkers.
    

 

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1. What do you intend to achieve?
   
2. The area of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is becoming a standard that can theoretically provide adaptive service solutions for business and government organisations. It is the intension of the author to gain strong theoretical and practical knowledge on the overall concepts, framework and architecture, including various challenges perceived with an implementation of web services from two government offices, the Birth Registry and the Physical Planning Unit. Additionally the author seeks to gain the technical skills required in implementing and consuming a few web services using specific technologies, namely Microsoft.NET.
   
3. While web services implementation has been evident among the business organisations, and within IT department, there seems to be a scarcity of literature dealing with the adoption in the cultural and organisational impact on these organisation or businesses. Erickson (2008) has identified that there is a need to provide specific research towards SOA and Web Service with regards to cultural and structural changes in organisations. Thus there is a far reaching audience and need to spend time studying the effects of SOA implementation on employee, both of technical and non-technical background.
   
4. To this end the objectives are set to help address the idea of challenges that are encountered in the two governmental departments. The author seeks:
   

 

1. To analyse literature pertaining to the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) models specifically to small governmental departments.
   
2. To evaluate data sharing principles or models that may be in the planning stage by the government IT or IS planners.
   
3. To investigate the SOA (Web Services) concept among the IT/IS and planning staff within various government departments in Grenada.
   
4. To determine organisational and legal issues that need to be addressed before data sharing can take place within a government department.
   
5. To identify challenges encountered in the implementation of Web Services within two government departments.
   
6. To recommend a cost effective sharing model for the small government departments in Grenada.
   

 

1. In light of the above objectives the author intends to deliver the following documents, specification or artefacts at the end of this project:
   
2. Literature review on publish papers with the current and future plans for data sharing within the Government of Grenada.
   
3. Artefacts and specifications required in developing a web service on using the .NET platform from Microsoft.
   
4. Copy of the source codes that were required to develop the working web service.
   
5. A conceptual model for data sharing within small departments that can provide full scale solutions within and without these departments.
   
6. An analysis of surveys, evaluation and Interviews that are carried out to address the data gaps.
   
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8. Progress to date:
   
9. Broad discussion with government agencies – Birth and Death and Planning Unit
   
10. Assessment of 4 Ministries where records are kept electronically- this included 8 functional units.
    
11. Discussion with IT unit with plans and projections for data collection and sharing within Government as well as the objectives of this project.
    
12. Began the document search via web, government IT document and informal discussions help with head IT/IS officers.
    
13. Investigate large government software system such as the Tax system (SIGTAT), Human Resource system (SMARTSTREAM) and Immigration system.
    

 

1. Why have you chosen the proposed project?
   

   
    

2. Research provides evidence that large organisation can derive strategic benefits from developing new applications with web services (Ray, 2006). Most organisations that are realising the rewards of this new approach are business organisations. Moreover, legacy applications may also be converted in full scalar shared application utilising the principles of the Services Oriented Architecture and web services.
   
3. The lack of local government investment into IT/IS operations and research, compounded with cuts back due to economic crisis has paved a window of opportunity for departments to maximise their efficiency by using their current technologies- hardware and software, trained human resource to enable small units of data sharing via the SOA approach.
   
4. Having worked within various government departments, assisting staff in data collection and storage processes, it has been recognised that a great deal of data and human effort gets duplicate, because of a lack of shared data resource.
   
5. In many cases government workers duplicate data input of person name, address, data of birth and sex. Where these data sets are cross referenced or compared for tracing services provided to individuals, it is seem as an effort of "best guest".
   
6. Additionally, many individuals on Social Safety Net programmes – Pension and support benefit - are accused to abusing the systems by using various different names and identifications numbers. While it is recognised that a standard National Identification System is needed to assist in the process, the issue of data and service sharing within departments need to be address, at the technical levels. Thus this project will seek to investigate viable solutions that can lead to data sharing within cross functional department in Grenada. While many research identifies the benefit that business and large cooperation gain from SOA and web service implementation. This project will seek to address inexpensive solutions that small governments can implement to achieve cross sectional sharing of basic data elements. It is the intention of the researcher to also identify operational challenges, human resource issues and legal issues that may lead point into future research.
   

   
    

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8. Itemised results/documents you intend to deliver in the achievement of your objectives?
   
   1. I intend to deliver a literature review on publish papers, an analysis on IT/IS investment trends in Grenada and the OECS region with regards to government agencies. The results of interview sessions held with head government personnel along with the result and the analysis of surveys with technical IT staff members throughout the core government service. The steps involved in programming working SOAP web service and a client programme that will consume the service, documentation of the hardware and software requirements that will be needed to expose the service. Additional a conceptual framework will be documented for the specific government department.
      

   
    

9. The Methods to be used
   
10. How do you intend to achieve the objectives listed above:
    
    1. Action research as an approach addressing in practical way the problematic concerns of people (Lewin, 1974), it is intended that the researcher work closely with the two selected departments to develop a core set of web services as well as with IT staff from eh Ministry of ICT to transfer the knowledge gained. However, the user of background investigation and case study would address some of the information required to draw relevant conclusions. I intend to achieve the objectives stated in this project by researching on the Internet, Publish Papers, Textbooks, Libraries, online forums and conducting Interviews (Formal and Informal) with local government staff. There will also be the writing of codes, testing and documentation of software (web service and consuming client). Presentations will be provided to stakeholders of the findings and solution.
       

    
     

    1. I intend to follow the above mention as steps in order of description to ensure that adequate knowledge about the subject area is first understood, then to obtain indications as to what the regional bodies such as OECS are providing as related to the subject areas. It is important that readers understand that OECS trends are generally the influencing factors for local government with regards to standards and policies.
       
    2. After gaining evidence from regional bodies on the subject, it will be important to understand what the major IT departments are planning at the local level, their strategies and policies.
       
    3. Finally it will be necessary to provide first hand evidence of a working web service and consuming client programme to policy makers to focus their interest of the potential advantages and challenges encountered; this will be encapsulated by a presentation.
       
    4. To get some answers for my questions Bruner (2003) advised that initial experience can be gain when internal applications can be built using the Web Service approach, where trust building relationship issues are not an issue.
       
    5. The issue that are commonly perceived by department with regards to barriers with IT implementation is also highlighted by highlight the idea that to gain initial experience, companies can focus on internal application–integration projects where a common set of industry semantics and building trusting relationships are not an issue. They can, for instance, pick IT projects where an awkward solution is currently in place such as an information service requiring users to run a terminal emulator and use arcane commands.
       

    
     

11. Your strategy for getting started:
    
12. It will be important to get my wife pregnant and send her off to the USA or Canada for 6 to 8 months as to be free to focus on this project.
    
13. My strategy involved developing my understanding of the SOA and web service, interacting and analysing documentations on past e-government projects, also learn to build web services, deploy and consume them. Additionally legal and organisational issue to be address in establishing such a project will be deal with from written letters and the use of social networking within Governmental organisations with work colleagues.
    
14. A clear understanding of a domain of systems required by various ministries will be addressed. This would be produced as a report of potential systems that can be benefit from a strategic approach in government to have certain core systems shared.
    
15. Addressing various governments department to conduct interviews, surveys and document gathering may require permission, appropriate communications, letters and informal discussions will be used to gain the necessary authorisation to proceed with this project as planned.
    
16. Once permissions are given interviews with senior planning officers within various Government departments, surveys of IT/IS staff and end users will be conducted and analysed.
    
17. Throughout this project a great deal of background work will be done, the literature search and reviews will be conducted initially to place this project in a wider scope for future references.
    
18. In sum, future projects advices and recommendation will be made for other academic projects that can come from this project.
    

 

1. Where You are and What Next:
   
2. Currently a list of projects that are required by various ministries are being analysed with intention to show the repetition of certain data fields that could critically should be shared
   

1. I am also seeking the necessary permission from the IT department to conduct interview with planners and strategist, as well as with the department responsible for the Network administration.
   
2. A project presentation is carded for the 20^th December 2010, to be help with senior officials within the government departments to provide conceptual ideas as to what can be derived from this methodology.
   

 

 

1. A schedule showing key milestones in the project:
   
2. Complete Project Proposal Document: 15th Jan, 2011
   
3. Complete Literature Review: 02^nd Feb, 2011
   
4. Interview Schedule: 7^th Dec, 2010 – 15^th Jan, 2011
   
5. Analysis on Government interviews: 30th Jan, 2011
   
6. Web Service for Government Birth Registry: 15th Feb 2011
   
7. Presentation of A demo solution consuming web service: 20^th Feb 2011
   

1. Completed draft of the final project report: March 15, 2011
   

 

 

 

1. A production schedule for the report(i.e. when you will start writing and when it will be finished).
   
2. Started: July 2010
   
   1. Terms of Reference: 7^th Nov, 2010
      
   2. Methods: 21^th Jan 2011
      
   3. Results: 22^nd Jan 2011
      
   4. Discussion: 02^nd Feb, 2011
      
   5. Conclusion: 10^th Mar, 2011
      
   6. Appendices: 20^th Mar 2011
      
   7. Bibliography: 25^th Mar, 08
      
   8. Executive Summary: 05^th Apr, 08
      
3. Completed Report: 10^th May, 2010
   

 

 

 

 

 

1. [3] Ray A.W., Ray J.J. , Strategic benefits to SMEs from third party web services: An action research analysis (2006) Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 15 (4), pp. 273-291.
   
2. [2]Lewin, K, 1974 Frontiers in group dynamics. Human Relation 1 (1), 5-14
   
3. [4] Sanjay Gosain , Realizing the vision for web services: Strategies for dealing with imperfect standards. Information Systems Frontiers. Boston: Mar 2007. Vol. 9, Iss. 1; p. 53 (15 pages)
   
4. [5] Burner, M. (2003). The deliberate revolution—transforming integration with XML web services? ACM Queue, http://www.acmqueue.org/issue/burner1.cfm?client_no=NEW.
   
5. [9] Erickson, John.
   
6. [6] Kevin K W Ho.  "The E-Government Development, IT Strategies, and Portals of the Hong Kong SAR Government. " International Journal of Cases on Electronic Commerce  1 April 2007 ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web.  7 Dec. 2010.
   
7. [7] Kavanagh, S.. "Law Opens Contractor Integrity Database to the Public. " Federal Ethics Report  1 Sep. 2010: ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web.  7 Dec. 2010.
   
8. [8] Hsiang-Jui Kung, Hui-Lien Tung, and Thomas Case. "Managing E-Government Application Evolution: A State Government Case. " International Journal of Cases on Electronic Commerce  1 April 2007 ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web.  7 Dec. 2010.