research-article

Choices and challenges in e-government field force automation projects: insights from case studies

Authors:

Hans J (Jochen) Scholl,

Kristene UnsworthAuthors Info & Claims

ICEGOV '07: Proceedings of the 1st international conference on Theory and practice of electronic governance

Pages 408 - 416

https://doi.org/10.1145/1328057.1328142

Published: 10 December 2007 Publication History

Abstract

Field Force Automation (FFA) has been introduced as the summary term for the redesign of workflows and business processes in the field by means of fully mobile wirelessly connected technologies and applications. In practice, governments around the world have increasingly begun to explore the potential of FFA by equipping field crews with mobile technologies and applications. FFA in government promises substantial gains in crew productivity and information quality in on-site decision making. However, as in the case of other far-reaching technology-enabled changes in the past, FFA requires numerous technical, organizational, and social adjustments to reach the targeted potential. We have studied the case of a US city government that introduced FFA in its public utilities service units a while ago. While FFA lives up to promise in some areas, it does not so in others. Based on the analyses of the work context and the FFA uses, we have developed a set of recommendations for improving both the technical and organizational sides of the FFA approach. While some recommendations might be case-specific, others appear to apply to e-Government FFA in general. In this paper, we detail and discuss the choices that governments may face in FFA projects. The contribution of this paper is that it helps guide other FFA projects. The paper also adds to the academic understanding of the challenges and choices in e-Government FFA.

References

[1]

K. Altinkemer, A. Chaturvedi, and S. Kondareddy, "Business Process Reengineering and Organizational Performance: An Exploration of Issues," International Journal of Information Management, vol. 18, pp. 381--392, 1998.

Digital Library

[2]

M. Attaran, "Exploring the Relationship between Information Technology and Business Process Reengineering," Information and Management, vol. 41, pp. 585--596, 2004.

Digital Library

[3]

S. J. Barnes, E. Scornavacca, and D. Innes, "Understanding Wireless Field Force Automation in Trade Services," Industrial Management + Data Systems, vol. 106, pp. 172--181, 2006.

[4]

D. Berry, M. M. Naim, and D. R. Towill, "Business Process Reengineering and Electronic Produce Supply Chain.," IEE, vol. 142, pp. 395--403, 1995.

[5]

R. Bleiler, "SPU Technology Project Post-Implementation Review: Water Operations Mobile Computing." Seattle, 2003, pp. 1--10.

[6]

D. F. Blumberg, "Strategies for Improving Field Service Operations Productivity and Quality," The Service Industries Journal, vol. 14, pp. 262--277, 1994.

[7]

B. Bozeman, "Exploring the Limits of Public and Private Sectors: Sector Boundaries as Maginot Line.," Public Administration Review, vol. 48, pp. 672--674, 1988.

[8]

B. Bozeman and S. Bretschneider, "Public Management Information Systems: Theory and Prescriptions," Public Administration Review, vol. 46, pp. 475--489, 1986.

Digital Library

[9]

N. A. Bradley and M. D. Dunlop, "Toward a Multidisciplinary Model of Context to Support Context-Aware Computing," HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, vol. 20, pp. 44, 2005.

Digital Library

[10]

S. Bretschneider, "Management Information Systems in Public and Private Organization: An Empirical Test," Public Administration Review, vol. 50, pp. 536--545, 1990.

[11]

A. J. Bush, J. B. Moore, and R. Rocco, "Understanding Sales Force Automation Outcomes: A Managerial Perspective," Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 34, pp. 369--377, 2005.

[12]

S. L. Chan and C. F. Choi, "A Conceptual and Analytical Framework for Business Process Reengineering," International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 50, pp. 211--223, 1997.

[13]

P. Checkland and S. Holwell, Information, Systems, and Information Systems: Making Sense of the Field. Chichester; New York: Wiley, 1998.

Digital Library

[14]

S. J. Childe, R. S. Maull, and J. Bennett, "Frameworks for Understanding Business Process Reengineering.," International Journal of Operations and Production Management, vol. 14, pp. 22--34, 1994.

[15]

J. Choudrie, V. Hlupic, and Z. Irani, "Teams and Their Motivation for Business Process Reengineering: A Research Note.," The International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, vol. 14, pp. 99--107, 2002.

[16]

T. H. Davenport and J. E. Short, "The New Industrial Reengineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign," Sloan Management Review, vol. 31, pp. 11--27, 1990.

[17]

A. K. Dey, G. D. Abowd, and D. Salber, "A Conceptual Framework and a Toolkit for Supporting the Rapid Prototyping of Context-Aware Applications," HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, vol. 16, pp. 70, 2001.

Digital Library

[18]

P. Dourish, "Seeking a Foundation for Context-Aware Computing," HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, vol. 16, pp. 13, 2001.

Digital Library

[19]

M. J. Earl, J. L. Sampler, and J. E. Short, "Strategies for Business Process Reengineering: Evidence from Field Studies," Journal of Management Information Systems, vol. 12, pp. 31--56, 1995.

Digital Library

[20]

R. Fidel, "The Case Study Method: A Case Study," Library an Information Science Research, vol. 6, pp. 273--288, 1984.

[21]

R. Fidel and A. M. Pejtersen, "Cognitive Work Analysis," The Information School, 2002, pp. 1--8.

[22]

R. Fidel, H. J. Scholl, S. Liu, and K. Unsworth, "Mobile Government Fieldwork: Technological, Organizational, and Social Challenges," in 8th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research (DG.O 2007). Philadelphia, PA: Digital Government Research Center, 2007, pp. 131--139.

Digital Library

[23]

G. Fischer, "Articulating the Task at Hand and Making Information Relevant to It," HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, vol. 16, pp. 14, 2001.

Digital Library

[24]

J. Fulk and G. DeSanctis, "Electronic Communication and Changing Organizational Forms," Organization Science, vol. 6, pp. 337--349, 1995.

Digital Library

[25]

K. W. Gadd and J. S. Oakland, "Discontinuous Change in a Total Quality Environment. D2d Ltd: A Case Study.," Business Process Reengineering and Management Journal, vol. 1, pp. 7--27, 1995.

[26]

S. Greenberg, "Context as a Dynamic Construct," HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, vol. 16, pp. 12, 2001.

Digital Library

[27]

V. Grover, Jeong, Seung Ryul, W. Kettinger, and J. T. C. T., "The Implementation of Business Process Reengineering," Journal of Management Information Systems, vol. 12, pp. 109--144, 1995.

Digital Library

[28]

J. Grudin, "Desituating Action: Digital Representation of Context," HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, vol. 16, pp. 18, 2001.

Digital Library

[29]

A. Gunasekaran and B. Nath, "The Role of Information Technology in Business Process Reengineering," International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 50, pp. 91--104, 1997.

[30]

M. Hammer, "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate.," Harvard Business Review, vol. 68, pp. 104--112, 1990.

[31]

M. Hammer and J. Champy, Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, 1st ed. New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 1993.

[32]

B. Harrington, K. McLoughlin, and D. Riddell, "Business Process Re-Engineering in the Public Sector: A Case Study of the Contributions Agency," New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 13, pp. 43--50, 1998.

[33]

O. Henfridsson and R. Lindgren, "Multi-Contextuality in Ubiquitous Computing: Investigating the Car Case through Action Research," Information and Organization, vol. 15, pp. 95, 2005.

Digital Library

[34]

J. I. Hong and J. A. Landay, "An Infrastructure Approach to Context-Aware Computing," HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, pp. 17, 2001.

Digital Library

[35]

G. Hutton, "BPR-Overcoming Impediments to Change in the Public Sector," New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 10, pp. 147--150, 1995.

[36]

P. E. D. Love and A. Gunasekaran, "Process Reengineering: A Review of Enablers," International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 50, pp. 183--197, 1997.

[37]

R. S. Maull, A. M. Weaver, S. J. Childe, P. A. Smart, and J. Bennett, "Current Issues in Business Process Re-Engineering.," International Journal of Operations and Production Management, vol. 15, pp. 37--52, 1995.

[38]

R. McAdam and J. Donaghy, "Business Process Re-Engineering in the Public Sector: A Study of Staff Perceptions and Critical Success Factors," Business Process Management Journal, vol. 5, pp. 33--52, 1999.

[39]

T. McNulty, "Redesigning Public Services: Challenges of Practice for Policy," British Journal of Management, vol. 14, pp. 31--45, 2003.

[40]

P. O'Neill and A. S. Sohal, "Business Process Reengineering: A Review of Recent Literature," Technovation, vol. 19, pp. 571--581, 1999.

[41]

T. Olofsson and E. Mats, "Feasibility Study of Field Force Automation in the Swedish Construction Sector," ITcon, vol. 9, pp. 297--311, 2004.

[42]

L. Raymond, F. Bergeron, and S. Rivard, "Determinants of Business Process Reengineering Success in Small and Large Enterprises: An Empirical Study in the Canadian Context," Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 36, pp. 72--85, 1998.

[43]

M. Rittenbruch, "Atmosphere: A Framework for Contextual Awareness," HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, vol. 14, pp. 22, 2002.

[44]

H. J. Scholl, "Applying Stakeholder Theory to E-Government: Benefits and Limits," in 1st IFIP Conference on E-Commerce, E-Business, and E-Government (I3E 2001), B. Schmid, K. Stanoevska-Slabeva, and V. Tschammer, Eds. Zurich, Switzerland: Kluwer, 2001, pp. 735--747.

Digital Library

[45]

H. J. Scholl, "E-Government-Induced Business Process Change (BPC): An Empirical Study of Current Practices," International Journal of Electronic Government Research, vol. 1, pp. 25--47, 2005.

[46]

H. J. Scholl, "Involving Salient Stakeholders: Beyond the Technocratic View on Change," Action Research, vol. 2, pp. 281--308, 2004.

[47]

H. J. Scholl, "The Mobility Paradigm in Electronic Government Theory and Practice: A Strategic Framework," in Euro Mobile Government (Euro mGov) Conference, I. Kushchu, Ed. Brighton, UK: ICMG, 2005, pp. 377--386.

[48]

H. J. Scholl, "Motives, Strategic Approach, Objectives & Focal Areas in e-Gov-Induced Change," International Journal of Electronic Government Research, vol. 1, pp. 58--77, 2005.

[49]

H. J. Scholl, R. Fidel, S. Liu, M. Paulsmeyer, and K. Unruh, "E-Gov Field Force Automation: Promises, Challenges, and Stakeholders," in Electronic Government: Sixth International Conference, Egov 2007, vol. 4656, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, M. Wimmer, H. J. Scholl, and A. Groenlund, Eds. Regensburg/Germany: Springer Verlag, 2007, pp. 127--142.

Digital Library

[50]

K. D. Swenson and K. Irwin, "Workflow Technology: Tradeoffs for Business Process Reengineering.," presented at ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work, Milpitas, California, United States, 1995.

Digital Library

[51]

G. Trentham and H. J. Scholl, "Current Practices in Field Force Automation: Decision Support and Information Management for the Field Force," presented at 41st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Waikola, HI, 2008.

Digital Library

[52]

L. Willcocks and G. Smith, "It-Enabled Business Process Reengineering: Organizational and Human Resource Dimensions.," Journal of Strategic Information Systems, vol. 4, pp. 279--301, 1995.

[53]

H. Willmott, "Business Process Re-Engineering and Human Resource Management," Personnel Review, vol. 23, pp. 34--46, 1994.

[54]

J.-H. Wu, S.-C. Wang, and L.-M. Lin, "Mobile Computing Acceptance Factors in the Healthcare Industry: A Structural Equation Model," International Journal of Medical Informatics, vol. 76, pp. 66, 2007.

[55]

R. K. Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Rev. ed. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1989.

Cited By

Scholl H(2019)Strategic Overhaul of Government OperationsStrategic Management and Innovative Applications of E-Government10.4018/978-1-5225-6204-7.ch004(72-106)Online publication date: 2019
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-6204-7.ch004
Liu SYuan Q(2015)The Evolution of Information and Communication Technology in Public AdministrationPublic Administration and Development10.1002/pad.171735:2(140-151)Online publication date: 11-Jun-2015
https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1717
Scholl H(2014)Mobile ICTs in Government Field OperationsInternational Journal of Electronic Government Research10.4018/ijegr.201404010510:2(60-81)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2014
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.4018/ijegr.2014040105
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Choices and challenges in e-government field force automation projects: insights from case studies

Recommendations

Mobile government fieldwork: a preliminary study of technological, organizational, and social challenges
dg.o '07: Proceedings of the 8th annual international conference on Digital government research: bridging disciplines & domains

With its GoMobile project, the City of Seattle is pioneering the utilization of fully mobile wirelessly connected (FMWC) technology applications in fieldwork operations with the aim of significantly improving its operational effectiveness and efficiency ...
Mobile computing in the public sector: practices, opportunities, and arduous challenges
dg.o '09: Proceedings of the 10th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research: Social Networks: Making Connections between Citizens, Data and Government

Along with cloud computing and data-centric computing Mobile Computing can be seen as a third building block of a rapidly emerging new computing paradigm, in which human actors expect to be able to satisfy their information and electronic transaction ...
The fully mobile city government project (mCity)
dg.o '07: Proceedings of the 8th annual international conference on Digital government research: bridging disciplines & domains

The Fully Mobile City Government Project (mCity) investigates how Fully Mobile Wirelessly Connected (FMWC) applications are implemented and used in fieldwork at the City of Seattle. Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) serves us the case in point. The project ...

Comments

Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

cover image ACM Other conferences

ICEGOV '07: Proceedings of the 1st international conference on Theory and practice of electronic governance

December 2007

471 pages

ISBN:9781595938220

DOI:10.1145/1328057

Editors:
Tomasz Janowski
United Nations University
,
Theresa A. Pardo
Center for Technology in Government

Copyright © 2007 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 10 December 2007

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Request Permissions

Check for updates

Author Tags

Qualifiers

Research-article

Funding Sources

National Science Foundation

Conference

ICEGOV '07

ICEGOV '07: International conference on theory and practice in electronic governance

December 10 - 13, 2007

Macao, China

Acceptance Rates

ICEGOV '07 Paper Acceptance Rate 33 of 130 submissions, 25%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 350 of 865 submissions, 40%

Contributors

Other Metrics

View Article Metrics

Bibliometrics & Citations

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

10
Total Citations
View Citations
597
Total Downloads

Downloads (Last 12 months)0
Downloads (Last 6 weeks)0

Reflects downloads up to 01 Mar 2025

Other Metrics

View Author Metrics

Citations

Cited By

Scholl H(2019)Strategic Overhaul of Government OperationsStrategic Management and Innovative Applications of E-Government10.4018/978-1-5225-6204-7.ch004(72-106)Online publication date: 2019
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-6204-7.ch004
Liu SYuan Q(2015)The Evolution of Information and Communication Technology in Public AdministrationPublic Administration and Development10.1002/pad.171735:2(140-151)Online publication date: 11-Jun-2015
https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1717
Scholl H(2014)Mobile ICTs in Government Field OperationsInternational Journal of Electronic Government Research10.4018/ijegr.201404010510:2(60-81)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2014
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.4018/ijegr.2014040105
Lorenzi DVaidya JShafiq BChun SVegesna NAlzamil ZAdam NWainer SAtluri VPuron-Cid GRobertson SZhang JGil-Garcia J(2014)Utilizing social media to improve local government responsivenessProceedings of the 15th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research10.1145/2612733.2612773(236-244)Online publication date: 18-Jun-2014
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2612733.2612773
Juell-Skielse G(2012)Enhancing Complaint and Problem ManagementInnovative Mobile Platform Developments for Electronic Services Design and Delivery10.4018/978-1-4666-1568-7.ch007(113-128)Online publication date: 2012
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-1568-7.ch007
Scholl HPatin BChatfield A(2012)ICT-Enabled City Government Field OperationsProceedings of the 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences10.1109/HICSS.2012.307(2346-2356)Online publication date: 4-Jan-2012
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/HICSS.2012.307
Scholl HPardo TChun SMoses JLuna-Reyes L(2010)Data-centric workflows in governmentProceedings of the 11th Annual International Digital Government Research Conference on Public Administration Online: Challenges and Opportunities10.5555/1809874.1809902(138-146)Online publication date: 17-May-2010
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/1809874.1809902
Juell-Skielse G(2010)Enhancing Complaint and Problem ManagementInternational Journal of E-Services and Mobile Applications10.4018/jesma.20100401012:2(1-16)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2010
https://doi.org/10.4018/jesma.2010040101
Scholl HShulman SMorales O(2009)Mobile computing in the public sectorProceedings of the 10th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research: Social Networks: Making Connections between Citizens, Data and Government10.5555/1556176.1556260(361-363)Online publication date: 17-May-2009
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/1556176.1556260
Cook MHelbig NCharbonneau MDiamond LShulman SChun SJanssen MGil-Garcia J(2008)Making mobility work in Child Protective ServicesProceedings of the 2008 international conference on Digital government research10.5555/1367832.1367886(325-333)Online publication date: 18-May-2008
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/1367832.1367886

View Options

Login options

Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Full Access

Get this Publication

View options

PDF

View or Download as a PDF file.

eReader

View online with eReader.

Figures

Tables

Media

View Table of Conten