Implanting IT applications in government institutions: a process model emerging from a case study in a medium-sized municipality

Abstract

Organizations of any kind, including companies and government institutions, understand the need to incorporate information technologies (IT) to improve internal and external communication, faster access to information, modernize decision making and provide better service to their customers. Integrating IT into operations and management requires changes at various levels of the organization (services, processes, forms of work, technology and organizational structure) and brings up several challenges. Considering the level of maturity of existing IT solutions, the acquisition and implantation of ready-to-use software applications is, nowadays, a standard way of gaining access to IT solutions. However, there is a lack of models to guide this process. The objective of this article is to propose such a model. The proposed model is grounded on the findings of a case study carried out in medium size municipality that recently went through the implantation process of an ERP IT application. The study allowed to identify critical features in different facets of the implantation process. The study mainly involved interviews with key participants in the process. The model proposed in this article emerged during this study and accounts for the issues and concerns identified.