2012 20th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE), 2012
Abstract E-Government innovation is commonly hindered by legacy systems in public sector agencies... more Abstract E-Government innovation is commonly hindered by legacy systems in public sector agencies. Legacy systems not only present technical constraints, but they also embed outdated and inefficient business processes. A critical manifestation of this issue occurs during the requirements phase of e-government projects, where requirements tend to mimic the features of old systems that must be modernized or replaced. The problem is not easy to identify and qualify, unless a critical stance to requirements analysis is taken, and unless ...
The choice of a modeling language in software engineering is traditionally restricted to the tool... more The choice of a modeling language in software engineering is traditionally restricted to the tools and meta-models invented specifically for that purpose. On the other hand, semantic web standards are intended mainly for modeling data, to be consumed or produced by software. However, both spaces share enough commonality to warrant an attempt at a unified solution. In this paper, we describe our experience using Web Ontology Language OWL as the language for Model-Driven Development MDD. We argue that there are benefits of using OWL to formally describe both data and software within an integrated modeling approach by showcasing an e-Government platform that we have built for citizen relationship management. We describe the platform architecture, development process and model enactment. In addition, we explain some of the limitations of OWL as an MDD formalism as well as the shortcomings of current tools and suggest practical ways to overcome them.
The replacement of legacy systems in government agencies is a challenging and complex process. Le... more The replacement of legacy systems in government agencies is a challenging and complex process. Legacy software features and the business practices they support tend to be reproduced in replacement applications, because practitioners are averse to the risks associated with business process change. As a result, opportunities to introduce efficiencies and innovation with new technologies are missed. Since legacy replication occurs prominently during the requirements phase of legacy replacement projects, an online role-playing game (PROVO) was designed to promote creativity during the analysis and critique of business requirements stemming from legacy systems. The game was evaluated by a small group of practitioners from a municipal organization in the United States. The findings of the evaluation session are discussed and used to inform changes to PROVO’s design.
The replacement of legacy systems in government agencies is a challenging and complex process. Le... more The replacement of legacy systems in government agencies is a challenging and complex process. Legacy software features and the business practices they support tend to be reproduced in replacement applications, because practitioners are averse to the risks associated with business process change. As a result, opportunities to introduce efficiencies and innovation with new technologies are missed. Since legacy replication occurs prominently during the requirements phase of legacy replacement projects, an online role-playing game (PROVO) was designed to promote creativity during the analysis and critique of business requirements stemming from legacy systems. The game was evaluated by a small group of practitioners from a municipal organization in the United States. The findings of the evaluation session are discussed and used to inform changes to PROVO’s design.
Government agency reliance on legacy systems is problematic: they are costly to maintain, difficu... more Government agency reliance on legacy systems is problematic: they are costly to maintain, difficult to integrate with and they hinder innovation. However, the replacement of legacy systems is not a straightforward endeavor, and it often results in technology substitution that is not accompanied by business process change. The focus of this dissertation is on the phenomenon of legacy system replication wherein the requirements for applications replacing outdated technologies mimic legacy features and reflect status quo operational processes that have been historically shaped by the legacy system itself. This problem is referred to throughout the dissertation as the “legacy problem.” The dissertation investigates its roots and proposes an approach to overcome it. Specifically, a mixed method research approach is taken, including a survey of public sector practitioners to explore the extent of the legacy problem, and a series of semi-structured interviews with government information te...
Government organizations rely extensively on legacy systems for their operations. When such syste... more Government organizations rely extensively on legacy systems for their operations. When such systems are phased out, the new applications which replace them often replicate legacy functionality unnecessarily, resulting in inefficiencies and missed opportunities for innovation. A prototype of an online discussion game designed to promote the analysis and critique of functional requirements for legacy system replacement and encourage creativity, was evaluated in a local law enforcement agency. The preliminary findings of the evaluation are discussed, and the potential effects of gamification on the future of organizational communications and decision-making are considered.
International Journal of Public Administration in the Digital Age, 2016
A Citizen Relationship Management (OpenCiRM) system was built on a semantic web platform using mo... more A Citizen Relationship Management (OpenCiRM) system was built on a semantic web platform using model-driven development principles, to provide a government call center with operational agility and improved technical integration options. Business domain experts from municipal agencies administered the system by directly manipulating its ontology model. This paper highlights the new ontology engineering tasks and user roles that may emerge in organizations implementing the OpenCiRM system.
Abstract E-Government innovation is commonly hindered by legacy systems in public sector agencies... more Abstract E-Government innovation is commonly hindered by legacy systems in public sector agencies. Legacy systems not only present technical constraints, but they also embed outdated and inefficient business processes. A critical manifestation of this issue occurs during the requirements phase of e-government projects, where requirements tend to mimic the features of old systems that must be modernized or replaced.
2012 20th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE), 2012
Abstract E-Government innovation is commonly hindered by legacy systems in public sector agencies... more Abstract E-Government innovation is commonly hindered by legacy systems in public sector agencies. Legacy systems not only present technical constraints, but they also embed outdated and inefficient business processes. A critical manifestation of this issue occurs during the requirements phase of e-government projects, where requirements tend to mimic the features of old systems that must be modernized or replaced. The problem is not easy to identify and qualify, unless a critical stance to requirements analysis is taken, and unless ...
The choice of a modeling language in software engineering is traditionally restricted to the tool... more The choice of a modeling language in software engineering is traditionally restricted to the tools and meta-models invented specifically for that purpose. On the other hand, semantic web standards are intended mainly for modeling data, to be consumed or produced by software. However, both spaces share enough commonality to warrant an attempt at a unified solution. In this paper, we describe our experience using Web Ontology Language OWL as the language for Model-Driven Development MDD. We argue that there are benefits of using OWL to formally describe both data and software within an integrated modeling approach by showcasing an e-Government platform that we have built for citizen relationship management. We describe the platform architecture, development process and model enactment. In addition, we explain some of the limitations of OWL as an MDD formalism as well as the shortcomings of current tools and suggest practical ways to overcome them.
The replacement of legacy systems in government agencies is a challenging and complex process. Le... more The replacement of legacy systems in government agencies is a challenging and complex process. Legacy software features and the business practices they support tend to be reproduced in replacement applications, because practitioners are averse to the risks associated with business process change. As a result, opportunities to introduce efficiencies and innovation with new technologies are missed. Since legacy replication occurs prominently during the requirements phase of legacy replacement projects, an online role-playing game (PROVO) was designed to promote creativity during the analysis and critique of business requirements stemming from legacy systems. The game was evaluated by a small group of practitioners from a municipal organization in the United States. The findings of the evaluation session are discussed and used to inform changes to PROVO’s design.
The replacement of legacy systems in government agencies is a challenging and complex process. Le... more The replacement of legacy systems in government agencies is a challenging and complex process. Legacy software features and the business practices they support tend to be reproduced in replacement applications, because practitioners are averse to the risks associated with business process change. As a result, opportunities to introduce efficiencies and innovation with new technologies are missed. Since legacy replication occurs prominently during the requirements phase of legacy replacement projects, an online role-playing game (PROVO) was designed to promote creativity during the analysis and critique of business requirements stemming from legacy systems. The game was evaluated by a small group of practitioners from a municipal organization in the United States. The findings of the evaluation session are discussed and used to inform changes to PROVO’s design.
Government agency reliance on legacy systems is problematic: they are costly to maintain, difficu... more Government agency reliance on legacy systems is problematic: they are costly to maintain, difficult to integrate with and they hinder innovation. However, the replacement of legacy systems is not a straightforward endeavor, and it often results in technology substitution that is not accompanied by business process change. The focus of this dissertation is on the phenomenon of legacy system replication wherein the requirements for applications replacing outdated technologies mimic legacy features and reflect status quo operational processes that have been historically shaped by the legacy system itself. This problem is referred to throughout the dissertation as the “legacy problem.” The dissertation investigates its roots and proposes an approach to overcome it. Specifically, a mixed method research approach is taken, including a survey of public sector practitioners to explore the extent of the legacy problem, and a series of semi-structured interviews with government information te...
Government organizations rely extensively on legacy systems for their operations. When such syste... more Government organizations rely extensively on legacy systems for their operations. When such systems are phased out, the new applications which replace them often replicate legacy functionality unnecessarily, resulting in inefficiencies and missed opportunities for innovation. A prototype of an online discussion game designed to promote the analysis and critique of functional requirements for legacy system replacement and encourage creativity, was evaluated in a local law enforcement agency. The preliminary findings of the evaluation are discussed, and the potential effects of gamification on the future of organizational communications and decision-making are considered.
International Journal of Public Administration in the Digital Age, 2016
A Citizen Relationship Management (OpenCiRM) system was built on a semantic web platform using mo... more A Citizen Relationship Management (OpenCiRM) system was built on a semantic web platform using model-driven development principles, to provide a government call center with operational agility and improved technical integration options. Business domain experts from municipal agencies administered the system by directly manipulating its ontology model. This paper highlights the new ontology engineering tasks and user roles that may emerge in organizations implementing the OpenCiRM system.
Abstract E-Government innovation is commonly hindered by legacy systems in public sector agencies... more Abstract E-Government innovation is commonly hindered by legacy systems in public sector agencies. Legacy systems not only present technical constraints, but they also embed outdated and inefficient business processes. A critical manifestation of this issue occurs during the requirements phase of e-government projects, where requirements tend to mimic the features of old systems that must be modernized or replaced.
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