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Implementing e-Government

Industries

Public Sector, e-Government, Local & Central Government

Business Challenge

To deliver “accessible”, “joined-up” services “seamlessly” toenable better communication between citizens & businessesand local & central government.

Technology Solution

Delivering enterprise-wide, standards-based, scalable andfuture-proof solutions for e-Government through EnterpriseArchitecture from Green Hat Consulting.

Green Hat Consulting are specialists in systems integration services since 1996. See our websitefor full details: www.greenhatconsulting.com.

Green Hat Consulting and the Green Hat Consulting globes logo are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of Green Hat Consulting Ltd. All other product and company names and marksmentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners and are mentioned foridentification purposes only.

Green Hat Consulting107-111 Fleet StreetLondon EC4A 2ABT +44 (0)20 7936 9303www.greenhatconsulting.com

White Paper

AbstractGreen Hat Consulting has been providing expertise in business processautomation and integration solutions since 1996 and offers a wide range ofServices, Software and Solutions across a diverse range of clients.

Our expertise in developing and delivering industry solutions that automateand integrate business processes has enabled our clients to enjoy realimprovements in efficiency and productivity.

In our opinion, e-Government is not a simple on-line information system orCustomer Relationship Management (CRM) solution. Based upon ourarchitectural experience, Green Hat firmly believes that e-Government willrequire an enterprise architecture which will serve to integrate disparateprocesses, services and activities both internally and externally to Local orCentral Government. This will also help avoid unnecessary duplication ofinfrastructure and major components.

Our opinion is shared by leading industry experts such as Meta Group(recently acquired by Gartner) who state that:

“By 2009/10, [true] enterprise architecture will be commonplace in industryleaders, enabling core strategies, adaptability, and agility.”

- Enterprise Planning & Architecture Strategies, Meta Group, 2005

This whitepaper outlines Green Hat’s offering in the e-Government space.

It discusses the growing role and importance of “Enterprise Architecture”. Thescope is limited to local councils and authorities although in principle it couldbe extended to include central government. Additionally, it provides a view onhow principles such as Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) and conceptssuch as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) play a key role in the delivery ofan Enterprise Architecture.

Subsequently, our view of a “Reference Architecture” is presented that isrepresentative of what local councils need to implement in order to deliveragainst Government led standards, priority services and efficiency targets.

By working closely with local councils, and eventually central government,Green Hat aims to help deliver future public services which are seamless,accessible, joined up, and delivered (or supported) electronically.

IMPLEMENTING e-GOVERNMENT of 22

S Sheikh, Version 2.3, January 2006

Foundations of e-Government

Defining e-Government

There are authoritative quotes which attempt to define e-Government. Beloware two such examples:

“The Government must bring about a fundamental change in the way we useInformation Technology. We must modernise the business of governmentitself - achieving joined up working between different parts of government andproviding new, efficient and convenient ways for citizens and businesses tocommunicate with government and to receive services.”

- Modernising Government White Paper 1999

“…local e-Government is more than just electronic service delivery, importantthough this is. Rather, local e-Government entails a 'root and branch'restructuring of local government services and democracy, that is both aconsequence of reforming government and a major enabler of transformationalchange and improvement. Consequently, local e-Government should underpinand be tightly integrated into Best Value, Community Planning and the manyother strategic initiatives that comprise the so-called 'modernising agenda'.”

- Local e-Government Now - SOCITM and IDEA 2001

E-Government is defined, by government, as “Delivering local governmentservice through electronic means.” “Electronic means” include telephone andfax, and increasingly the internet (whether accessed through a PC, digital TV,phone or other device). Electronic access may be direct, or mediated throughcall centres or front offices in which the operator has access to informationelectronically and can seek information or complete transactions on behalf ofmembers of the public (henceforth, citizens) who prefer to conduct businessface to face or by telephone.

The National Strategy for Local e-Government (ODPM 2002) states that ‘e-Government is not an end in itself. It is at the heart of the drive to modernisegovernment. Modernising local council and government is about enhancing thequality of local services and the effectiveness of local democracy’.

It identifies three key objectives which electronic local government has tosupport.

1. Transforming services – making them more accessible, more convenient,more responsive and more cost effective. It can make services moreaccessible to people with disabilities. It can make it easier to join up localservices (within councils, between councils and other public, voluntary andprivate agencies). It can help improve the customer’s experience of dealingwith local public services whoever provides them.



2. Renewing local democracy – making councils more open, moreaccountable, more inclusive and better able to lead their own communities.E-Government can enhance the opportunities for citizens to debate witheach other, to engage with their local services and councils, to access theirpolitical representatives and hold them to account. It can also supportcouncillors in their executive, scrutiny and representative roles.

3. Promoting local economic vitality – a modern communicationsinfrastructure, a skilled workforce and the active promotion of e-businesscan help local councils and regions promote employment in their areas andimprove the employability of their citizens.

The Value of e-Government

E-Government provides many opportunities to improve the quality of servicesto the citizen. Citizens should be able to get service or information in minutesor hours, versus today’s standard of days or weeks. Citizens, businesses andlocal councils should be able to file required reports without having to hireaccountants and lawyers to act as mediators.

The key processes that will be affected include:

• How local people and companies conduct business with the Council• How local people and companies are able to access public information• How local people and companies obtain services from the Council• How we achieve efficiencies in the Council• How local people are informed about the Council• How local people are consulted on policy issues• How this Council interacts with other public bodies

The e-Government Services

E-Government services focus on four citizen-centred groups, each providingopportunities to transform delivery of services.

1. Individuals/Citizens: Government-to-Citizens (G2C); Build easy to find, easyto use, one-stop points-of-service that make it easy for citizens to accesshigh-quality government services.

2. Businesses: Government-to-Business (G2B); Reduce government’s burdenon businesses by eliminating redundant collection of data and betterleveraging e-Business technologies for improved electronic communication.

3. Inter-Governmental: Government-to-Government (G2G); Make it easierfor states and localities to meet reporting requirements and participate asfull partners with the federal government in citizen services, while enablingbetter performance measurement, especially for grants. Other levels ofgovernment will see significant administrative savings and will be able toimprove program delivery because more accurate data is available in atimely fashion.



4. Intra-Governmental: Internal Efficiency and Effectiveness; Make better useof modern technology to reduce costs and improve quality of federalgovernment agency administration, by using industry best practices in areassuch as supply-chain management, financial management and knowledgemanagement.



Technical Standards

e-GIF

The e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF) sets out in the form ofa registry, the government’s technical policies and specifications for achievinginter-operable and web-enabled systems working in a seamless and coherentway across the public sector. The technical policies and specifications formpart of an e-GIF registry.

The Framework

• covers high-level policy statements, technical policies and management,implementation and compliance regimes

The e-GIF registry includes:

• e-Government Metadata Standard (e-GMS)

• Government Data Standards Catalogue (GDSC)

• Government Category List (GCL)

o to be replaced by Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary (IPSV)

• XML schemas

• Technical Standards Catalogue (TSC)

• e-Services Development Framework (e-SDF)

Figure 1 summarises the structure of the e-GIF.

Figure 1 – Structure of the e-GIF



Use of XML

The e-GIF mandates the adoption of XML and the development of XMLschemas as the cornerstone of the Government inter-operability andintegration strategy. A key element in the development of XML schemas is anagreed set of data standards.

Use of Web Services

The e-GIF mandates the adoption of Internet and W3C standards. Thisincludes the use of inter-connection policies such as HTTP and SOAP/XMLbased Web Services. This makes the web browser the key interface foraccessing and interacting with information.

Green Hat places high importance on e-GIF as it provides the fundamentalbuilding blocks for delivering enterprise solutions and the flexibility to meetcurrent and future needs of any Local Council without adversely affectingexisting infrastructure or IT systems.



Our Perspective on e-Government

Compelling reasons to act

Meeting the Prime Minister’s target for all public services to be online is not atask to be underestimated especially whilst budgets are being cut and betterservices for the citizen remain an ongoing priority.

All this at a time when the Treasury has made it clear that support for furtherprojects, whether as operating costs or capital funding, will no longer beforthcoming if common infrastructure solutions have not been consideredwhere appropriate.

Understanding your needs

Green Hat understands the demands on central and local government toimprove the spending efficiencies in line with expectations laid down by the e-Government targets including:

• Priority Service Outcomes

• CPA ratings

• BVPI 157

• Gershon

whilst achieving greater productivity from limited resources. Added to this isthe necessity to offer joined-up front line services that are secure, convenientand always available.

Delivering a complete end-to-end solution: Enterprise Architecture

In order to deliver e-Government targets successfully, we believe thatCouncils must consider all systems that exist within and across departments.This extends to re-evaluating business processes together with reviewing thebusiness purpose of each system.

Green Hat advocates building an “Enterprise Architecture” (EA). By“enterprise” we mean all parts of the company, business unit, agency ororganisation; by “architecture” we mean the set of plans that describes how allparts of the IT infrastructure need to behave to support the enterprise needsand goals.



Through an EA Councils have a platform for aligning business and technologystrategies.

An Enterprise Architecture can be categorised into the following tiers (orfunctional / service layer): Client Tier, Presentation Tier, Service Tier, andResource Tier. Configuration is not a tier per se; rather it extends across alltiers. Figure 2 summarises these tiers.

Figure 2 - Enterprise Architecture tiers

Client tierThe client tier includes thin, browser-based user interfaces and thick, richclient user interfaces.

Presentation tierThe presentation tier services the client tier. In the case of a browser-basedinterface, the presentation tier serves up mark-up pages and other resourcesto the client tier. Typically, this tier would be built upon a MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern to separate the business model (i.e. data and businesslogic), view (i.e. the presentation code), and controller (i.e. the response touser actions).

Service tierThe service tier hosts business and technical services. Services exposecomponents through a common interface and are accessible from many clients,including the presentation tier. Typically, this tier would implement a SOA(Service Oriented Architecture) framework and include the ability to produce,consume, deploy, and manage services.

Resource tierThe resource tier includes the back-end systems of record, which may includemainframe systems, vendor packages, databases, and external resources.Resources are exposed to various clients via the service tier.



ConfigurationConfiguration is not really a tier per se; at least not yet. However, intra-component, intra-tier, and inter-application configuration is a reality ofenterprise architecture. Applications, services, and components are becomingmore and more configurable or data driven to improve their agility.

Inter-tier communicationOne of the initial uses of XML was to communicate messages between tiers. Itdidn't matter that tiers may reside on different hardware and softwareplatforms. XML is portable between heterogeneous platforms because it is astandard, self-describing, text-based format. Once XML became prevalent ininter-tier communication, it began to be used intra-tier as well.

Service Orientation and SOATypically, IT strategies adopted in Councils are heavily CRM-centric. It isimportant to make the distinction between CRM – the technical solution andCRM – the customer service ideal.

In general the market trends are moving away from this approach and insteadleaning toward a more agile SOA approach. We believe that a Council-wideSOA framework fits well with a longer term e-Government strategy anddelivers the standards mandated by e-GIF.

The SOA Framework explainedThe major components of an SOA are:

• Services portfolio: Describes the business services in SOA. Thisincludes a list, classification and hierarchy of services defined throughthe technique of service-oriented analysis and design described later.

• Components: Provide the functional realization of the services.

• Service providers, service consumers, and optionally, the servicebroker(s): With their service registries where service definitions anddescriptions are published.

• SOA layers: Where components and services reside.

Figure 3 illustrates the SOA layers. For each of these layers, there are designand architectural decisions to be made.



Figure 3 - SOA Framework

Layer 1, the bottom layer, describes operational systems. This layer containsexisting systems or applications, including existing CRM and ERP packagedapplications, legacy applications, and "older" object-oriented systemimplementations, as well as business-intelligence applications. The compositelayered architecture of an SOA can leverage existing systems and integratethem using service-oriented integration.

Layer 2, the component layer, uses container based technologies and designsin typical component-based development.

Layer 3 provides for the mechanism to take enterprise-scale components,business units, specific components, and in some cases project-specificcomponents and provides services through their interfaces. The interfaces getexported out as service descriptions in this layer, where services exist inisolation or as composite services.

Level 4 is an evolution of service composition into flows or choreographies ofservices bundled into a flow to act as an application. These applicationssupport specific use cases and business processes. Here, visual flowcomposition tools can be used for design of application flow.

Layer 5, the presentation layer, is usually out of scope for an SOA. However,it is depicted because some recent standards such as Web Services for RemotePortlets (WSRP) Version 2.0 may indeed leverage Web services at theapplication interface or presentation level. It is also important to note thatSOA decouples the user interface from the components.

Level 6 enables the integration of services through the introduction of reliableand intelligent routing, protocol mediation, and other transformationmechanisms, often described as the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB).

Level 7 ensures quality of service (QoS), provides security mechanisms andtools that manage (and monitor) the health of SOA applications. This typicallyincludes the standards implementations of WS-Management.



Benefits of the SOA Framework

The SOA framework is intended to address several common systemsintegration challenges. This list is not complete — actual projects often findadditional, project-specific goals — but it does attempt to include the majorityof expectations.

• Improve time-to-market for new functionality: whether adding to alegacy system or creating a green-field project, dramatic reductions inthe time to create and deploy new capabilities are expected (e.g., 50%or more);

• Facilitate alignment between business and IT: facilitate communicationsand collaboration between the owners, users and customers of ITsystems and the IT organizations that create, maintain, and extendthem. Business needs are often stated in terms that informationtechnologists misconstrue. Lack of alignment can delay the deploymentof satisfactory systems leading to the “it’s just what I asked for, but it’snot what I want” problem;

• Reduce the cost, risk, and complexity of maintenance: reduce theresources required for implementing updates and fixes in a new systemwhen compared with the existing (as well as legacy) systems andcomponents. Get more value for maintenance expenditures, increasingthe Return of Investment (ROI) of the new system investment;

• Take advantage of new, more efficient/effective technology: improvebang-per-buck characteristics of systems. Automation plays a role in re-engineering business processes for greater efficiently and is enabled byfaster CPUs, cheaper memory, better connectivity, richer interfacemodels, and so on. Legacy systems can be locked into outdatedtechnology and block the introduction of competitively-essentialmechanisms;

• Provide “future-proofing” to extend the effective life of systems:facilitate technology refreshment that does not require radicalreinvention; avoid dead-end, obsolescent, or non-scalable technology;

• Support transitional development: extend the useful life of legacycomponents in parallel with new-technology-capability deployment (e.g.,to match budget realities). Provide a basis for continual enhancementwithout the high cost of drastic renovation or repeated modernisations.

The EAI Stack

While SOA provides important architectural techniques, traditional integrationprinciples which stem from Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) are equallyrelevant and necessary. Green Hat has extensive experience in deliveringsolutions and providing advice over all layers of the EAI Stack. The layers maybe grouped into four core integration areas, as described in Figure 4.



• Messaging protocol/transport

• Traditional EAI or “plumbing” which provides:

• Application connectivity

• Data transport

• B2B partner connectivity

• Business Vocabulary Management (BVM)

• The ability to handle translations between different vocabularies i.e.data formats and meanings

• Business Process Management (BPM)

• Business process modelling, execution and workflow

• Business Analysis Monitoring

• Real-time and historical process monitoring, analysis and reporting atdifferent levels, namely:

• Business

• Operational

Figure 4 – EAI Stack: Integration Layers



Reference Architecture

Overview

Having thus far outlined techniques and principles for delivering an EnterpriseArchitecture, we now present a Reference Architecture (RA) which may beused as the basis of a solution template for Local Councils in their bid todeliver e-Government services.

Underlying Principles

The RA is built upon the principles and techniques outlined thus far, namelyEAI and SOA. We have excluded any references to concepts and techniqueswhich are specific to Data or Information strategy. These will be addressed in aseparate white paper and are out of scope.

Delivering e-Services

The diagram presented in Figure 5 outlines a RA aimed at all Councils. Itdescribes core systems employed within the majority of Councils and presentsa view on how these systems may be inter-connected.

All Councils are expected to provide a capability to serve Access (or Contact)Channels; access channels link people with a Council’s numerous internal andexternal systems. They provide the human interface to the technologyarchitecture. Inline, with e-Government requirements, the access channelsspan a whole series of applications.

Typically, access channels consist of:

• Contact Centre

o For face-to-face consultations

• Telephone

• Fax

• Post i.e. Letters

o electronic and

o paper based

• Public Kiosks

• Email

• Web interaction via the Internet

o For forms & static information



Figure 5 - Reference Architecture

The systems outlined in Figure 5 have been classified broadly as:

• Corporate Systems

o CRM

o ERDMS1

o Corporate E-mail

o E-Forms

• Geographic Information Systems

o GIS

o MapInfo

o NLPG

• Management Information Systems

o HR/Payroll Systems

o Corporate Reporting Tools

o Financial Management Systems

Other systems typical of the majority of Councils include:

• Line of Business Systems (LOBs)

• Back office Systems

• Database Systems and Repositories

1 ERDMS is an acronym for Electronic Records and Document Management SystemsIMPLEMENTING e-GOVERNMENT of 22


RA Characteristics

The RA delivered through SOA enables Councils to look at their overallenterprise as a collection of services to be exploited, reused and shared insideand outside.

The Reference Architecture has the following characteristics:

• Process-centric: it exposes the process logic of the target solutionrequirements, making that logic relatively easy to understand and modify

• N-tier, distributed: supports optimisation of servers for different functions(e.g., user-interface, system-to-system, applications, data management) witha robust, scalable architecture

• Modular: functionality is defined and developed in discrete components(rather than as modifications to monolithic legacy software); it is a SOA

• Loosely-coupled: interfaces are constructed with middleware, portal, andBPM (Business Process Management) technology except where uniquerequirements (e.g., performance) exist

• Uses consolidated interfaces: connects components with public, commoninterfaces (e.g. XML-based, message-switched, portal-based) instead ofunique point-to-point (“spaghetti”) interfaces for internal and externalintegration

• Standards-based: component selection and development is strongly biasedtowards existing or emerging standards (such as J2EE, HTML, XML, andSQL)

• COTS-friendly but vendor-neutral: uses off-the-shelf components for keyinfrastructure and interface elements using a best-fit selection model.

The Reference Architecture is (more or less) a template. A “SolutionArchitecture” may be based on this template by incorporating some or all ofthese characteristics.

LOB Driven Rollout

Green Hat recognises that Councils are faced with a daunting task in deliveringagainst the numerous e-Government targets. We can help to reduce thecomplexity of front line delivery and offer suitable solutions to yourorganisation that will help meet these challenging requirements.

Green Hat recommends that Councils consider a more pragmatic approach todelivering an Enterprise Architecture. We and would advise on the adoption ofLine-Of-Business (LOB) driven projects that solve a specific business problemrather than a myriad of complex technology factors.

This LOB-driven effort can be complementary to the long-term SOA blueprint.In fact, real-world business process management and automation is mostsuccessful when using a pragmatic incrementalist approach rather than now-



discredited big-bang, top-down techniques.

Challenges

Despite the benefits inherent in adopting SOA, there are important questionsregarding governance and culture which every Council will need to consider.Ideally, each Council should intend on addressing these questions through acorporate strategy.

Examples of the questions follow:

• Funding - Who pays for the work?

• Organisation - How are teams organised?

• Architecture - How is an SOA designed?

• Infrastructure - What kind of infrastructure is used?

• Migration - What migration strategy is in place?

• Training - How will staff members be trained in the new technology?

Green Hat can advise on what corporate strategy best suits a Council, bothdirectly and through its key partners and business alliances.

Through our partnership, we can provide Councils with a huge strategicadvantage which will allow for the business to have better chances of survivallong-term.



Conclusion

Success Criteria

Ultimately, all government bodies regardless of their nature, i.e. local orcentral, will be judged by the same success criteria:

• Do you provide innovative, joined-up services?

• How do these services measure against industry benchmarks?

• Are you able to respond speedily to changing circumstances?

• Do you minimise risk?

• Are your resources being used efficiently?

• Are your e-services scaled to meet growth in demand?

• Has back-office bureaucracy been reduced in favour of enhanced front-office service?

• Are you geared to the re-use of components?

• Are your services secure?

• Are you conforming to legislation and current initiatives?

Green Hat – the strategic choice

Green Hat has made it its business to understand these challenges and to findways of helping councils to meet them. We believe if you are suffering fromtoo much focus on internal processes, we can enable you to move smoothly toa focus based on the needs of users; allowing you to offer joined-up, smartservices and realise the benefits of increased efficiency.

Together, we can deliver an Enterprise Architecture that is:

• Cost-effective, compared to traditional integration methods• Loosely coupled and “right-grained,” supporting the independent

evolution of the business process and IT infrastructure layers• Extensible, with easy addition of new logic and flows via graphical tools• Agile and versatile, supporting multiple platforms and systems — able

to bridge the new world of SOA with the legacy IT infrastructure.



Summary - Key Focus Areas

Green Hat can offer advice and solutions in the following broad areas:

1. Back Office integration (including Legacy system migration);

2. BPM and Workflow;

3. Transactional services;

4. Intranet and Internet services via a single Corporate Portal; and

5. Mobile integration.

Each of the above areas are further supported through our commitment to thelocal e-Government sponsored National Projects Programme (NPP) – a set of22 nationally run projects which aim to deliver joined-up services for e-Government.

Figure 6 - National Projects Programme

Green Hat can assist local councils and authorities to elevate SOAunderstanding and support to the most senior levels to maximize SOA value.

Together, we can deliver a successful e-Government strategy.



About Green Hat

Green Hat Consulting has been delivering integration solutions since 1996. Thecompany is presently extending its services to Local and Central Governmentauthorities across the UK.

We believe we are best placed to advise on how to deliver integrated, scalableand future-proof solutions for delivering e-Government. Furthermore, we areable to assist with Testing and QA of systems to ensure integrated applicationsoperate seamlessly and efficiently with measured performance.

We have a dedicated team to engage with our customers. If you want moreinformation about us and our products and services, please contact:

[email protected]

We would be happy to discuss any requirements, or just individual queries.



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