E-government and Public Sector Process Rebuilding

Book excerpt: E-government and Public Sector Process Rebuilding: Dilettantes, Wheelbarrows, and Diamonds provides an input to rebuild and improve the processes in which the public sector perform activities and interact with the citizens, companies, and the formal elected decision-makers. Through eleven chapters, the book emphasizes information systems (IS) as the vehicle for redirecting the public sector towards its key customers. The book stresses serious capability challenges inhibiting the digital transformation using activity and customer centric applications. The dilettantes in the public sector are in need of upgrading, rethinking, and refocusing their use of IS. There is a need to revisit the extensive use of digital wheelbarrows to transmit data, and complement the transactional focus with IT-enabled analysis of the activities. There is also a need to recognize that IS are not just flashy and shining diamonds to be shown off on special occasions. IS are, as most diamonds, manufactured products, part of the activities and intended for replacement whenever the diamonds are no longer suitable for serving their purpose - diamonds do not last forever.