Implementation of Electronic Case and Record Management Technology

Agenda1. Areas of reference2. Implementation research (4 types)3. Research question4. Methodology – action research5. The organization and the technology6. Legal issues7. Findings from the work with ECRM

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Personal presentation

Morten WellendorfDepartment of Operations ManagementCopenhagen Business School

MA (Information Technology): IT University BA (Administration): Aalborg University Teaching IT at Business Diploma level

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Areas of reference

Citizens, enterprises,

organizations

Politicians Government

e-servicese-democracye-communication

e-reporting e-administration, e-government,

e-economy

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Areas of reference

The Iceberg Phenomenon of e-Gov Research; Scholl, 2005

Practice:

E-gov projects failing.

Research:

Focus on IEE

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Areas of reference

Public administration

Sociology

Computer ScienceImplementation

ECDH

Bureaucracy

NPM

Structuration

Learning

Information systems

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Areas of reference

Public administration

Sociology

Computer ScienceImplementation

ECDH

Bureaucracy

NPM

Structuration

Learning

Information systems

Agent perspective

Top-down perspective

Stage perspective

Factor perspective

Power perspective

Drift perspective

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Definition of implementation

“an organizational effort

to diffuse an appropriate

information technology

within a user community”

(Kwon & Zmud, 1987)

Definiton of diffusion:

“The process by which an innovation is communicated

through certain channels over time among the members

of a social system” (Rogers, 1995)

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Stage perspective

Rogers, 1995

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Factor perspective

Organizational factors

Policy faktorer

IT factors

Decision to use (IT)

Environment factors

Support factors

Grover (1993)

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Power perspective

– Power bases– Job position– Past experiences– Education

– Power resources– Hiring / firing– Money– Time

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Drift perspective

– Implementation can not be controlled– Technology is used different ways in an organization– Technology is used in other ways than intended

– Reinvention

– Meeting between human and technology and they are shaping each other

– Continually changing use of technology

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Arguments for research on post implementering

– Implementation never ends– Focus now on project management– Not on actual use of technology

– Knowledge of changing practices within government– How is case handling changed by the use of technology

– Investigating the need for continual work with technology

– Provide reasons for a supposed performance gab in the public administration

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Research question

– Question for the post implementation work with technology in the public government

– Assumptions– Employees receive instrumental training– Employees only have limited ideas of the use of the technology

– Question– How can work processes be changed within

post implementation or daily use of e-government technologies?

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Methodology

Planning, Implementation analysis

1. project 2. project 3. project Reporting

year 1 year 2 year 3

Identification Planning Execution Reflection

6 months

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Methodology

– Action Research– Organizational analysis

• Interviews (10)• Document review

– 3 action research projects each containing• Interviews (4-6)• 2 workshops (as is – to be)• Meetings and program development• Evaluation (interviews 3-5)• Sharing the experiences

– Two years of observation and actions

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The case organization and technology

– Organization – County level– App. 800 users of the technology

– The use of EDH – Research focus on ECDH (almost not existent)

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Legal issues

– Forvaltningsloven

– Offentlighedsloven

– Personoplysningsloven

– Arkivloven

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Findings from using action research

– Practical results– Changes of workflow within two projects– No changes made in the last project

– Difficult to change workflow without support

– Technology is used differently within the organization

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Findings

communication

mediation

agency

domination (power distribution)

legitimation (legal)

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Findings

Communication about the use of a technology

mediation

agency, actions

resources change hands; visibility enhanced; control options; destribution of autority

legislation; technological possibilities

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Findings

– Summing up– Employees does not have knowledge about how to relate

technology to their case handling and do not know where to get it.

– Implementation of technology in the public sector need to address the questions of post implementation

– When post implementation is addressed a number of barriers occur.