E-government Information Systems Management Practices and Service Delivery in Kenya Government Ministries

Abstract

Since the widespread commercial availability of computing technologies, information systems have been the dominant application area of computing. Organizations large and small, private and public, have come to rely on information systems for their dayto- day operation, planning, and decision making. Effective use of information technologies has become a critical success factor in modern society. Yet, success is not easily achieved. E-government is not a new concept, in that the business of government through its ministries in most countries has for many years employed ICT, in communications, administrative systems, data gathering and storage, security and surveillance, and dissemination of information. The study sought to establish how E-government information systems management practices affect service delivery in Kenya Government Ministries. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised of all the systems under E-government in the 18 Government Ministries in Kenya as at June 30th 2014. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire. The completed questionnaires were edited for completeness and consistency. Quantitative data collected was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean scores, standard deviations using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS V.21). The information collected was presented using frequency tables, graphs and pie charts. In addition, the researcher conducted a Pearson’s product moment correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis in order to establish the effects of each of the five ISM practices on service delivery in the government ministries. The study found out that there is a common network computing and information infrastructure that is readily accessible to everyone in the ministry thus improving service quality to the public as shown by a mean score of 4.491. The study found that ISM lifecycle activities (Systemic Processes) that affect service delivery at the ministry to a great extent are maintenance and evolution as shown by a mean score of 4.423, verification and validation including testing as indicated by a mean score of 4.383, operations and support as expressed by a mean score of 4.379, requirements elicitation as indicated by a mean score of 4.373, IS design as shown by a mean score of 4.215, IS planning as expressed by a mean score of 4.194, IS analysis and IS specification as indicated by a mean score of 4.162 and 4.115 respectively. The study concludes that people familiarity with the IS application domain, Degrees of task specialization among the IT staff, Application Servers and LAN/WAN maintenance, IS design, planning, analysis and specification affect the service delivery in government ministries in Kenya. The study recommended that the government ministries should aim at improving their infrastructure by employing effective infrastructure management strategies to improve the service delivery. The study further recommends that the human resource should be equipped with the necessary skills to manage the systems and awarded appropriate rewards as they are crucial determinant of the quality service at the ministries. Systems should be updated regularly to improve quality of decision making and service delivery.