User Requirements of Network Integrated Legal Affairs Management System using Focus Group Discussion

Abstract

Increase of legal matters handled by Universiti Teknologi MARA Legal Advisor Office (UiTM LAO) requires development of a web-based system to enhance its efficacy. The conventional method of legal affairs management using papers, mail and email is non-optimal as UiTM LAO is unable to coordinate online drafting, vetting, editing, endorsement, and approval of legal documents received from various departments. The existing legal affairs management web-system developed for private law firms and in-house legal departments are unable to fulfil the requirements of UiTM LAO due to differences in work system and approval process. In this paper, we present the development of network integrated legal affairs management system (NILAMs) for UiTM LAO and its stakeholders. The user requirements of NILAMs were elicited through a focus group discussion (FGD) involving 30 participants representing UiTM branch campuses, faculties, academic centers, center of excellence and offices. Through FGD, 35 issues and 57 suggestions were identified, and finally 16 main functions of NILAMs were constructed. NILAMs enables collaborative workspace and real-time interactions to support drafting, vetting, tracking and monitoring legal documents for LAO of public universities and public sector organizations, which compliance with Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and UiTM policies.