Design-reality Gap Research Articles

Evaluasi Implementasi Sistem Aplikasi Keuangan Tingkat Instansi (SAKTI) Dengan Metode Design-Reality Gap

The Agency Level Financial Application System (SAKTI) is one of the e-government implementations that has a systemic and significant impact. Several previous studies have shown the unsuccessful implementation of SAKTI related to the implementation of the system.This research aims to evaluate the gap between design and reality in the implementation of SAKTI to obtain recommendations in order to mitigate the risk of failure of future system implementations. The research was conducted to the organizers of the SAKTI system, namely the developers and managers of the SAKTI modules. The resource persons were selected to represent the organization as structural leaders and responsible teams based on their involvement and active participation in the development and management of the SAKTI application. The research used a case study research strategy with a qualitative approach. Data/information collection from this research used techniques consisting of: observation, interviews, and literature review. The model used is the design-reality gap model supported by the concept of critical success factors/csfs in each checklist Information, Technology, Process, Objectives and Values, Staffing and Skills, Management and Structure, and Other Resources (ITPOSMO). The results show that the design-reality gap is 52.0 which falls into the category of e-government projects may fail unless there are actions to close the design-reality gap. The largest gap occurs in the staffing and skills dimension followed by the information, technology, management and structure, process, and goals, values and motivation dimensions. This suggests that the dominant factor of failure in SAKTI is socio-technical not just technical.

Strategic interventions for bridging the design-reality gap in property conferment rights: a case study of India’s ambitious initiative

PurposeThis research aims to assess how well the e-governance initiative aligns with its design expectations and on-ground realities for property management to redevelop Delhi, the mega-city of India. Additionally, the study proposes strategic interventions to address any gaps identified, aiming to improve the project’s effectiveness and success.Design/methodology/approachThe research employs a singular exploratory case study methodology to scrutinise the e-governance initiative undertaken by the Government of India to confer property rights. Specifically, the study utilises a qualitative research approach known as design-reality gap (DRG) analysis. The study draws from primary and secondary sources using a mixed-methods data collection strategy. Primary data are gathered through a purposeful and snowball sampling method involving direct engagement with respondents, whilst secondary data are sourced from the project portal.FindingsThe investigation reveals a substantial disparity between the planning and execution phases of e-governance projects. This incongruity predominantly manifests in the domains of process, staffing and skills, as well as objectives and values. The study further finds that strategic collaboration amongst stakeholders and the sustainability of decisions are the most critical factors in ensuring the success of e-governance initiatives and bridging the DRG of e-governance projects.Research limitations/implicationsThis research highlights the complex challenges faced by e-governance projects in technical, human and organisational aspects. The successful implementation and sustainability of these projects require effective strategies to overcome challenges, which management should proactively identify and act on. To improve services, beneficiaries should be encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions, as they play a crucial role in service enhancement. A dynamic feedback loop would be established by creating a two-way interaction between beneficiaries and service providers, leading to iterative service improvement. It is important to note that the study’s findings are more illustrative than conclusive due to the moderate sample size, reflecting its limitations.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the scholarly discourse on e-governance and policy implementation by comprehensively examining the alignment between conceptual design and real-world execution. It also introduces a normalised scale for the DRG framework, mapping its dimensions to deduce specific outcomes. This innovative approach enhances the research’s originality and value, offering insights applicable in both academic and practical domains.

An Evaluation of Digital Addressing System Implementation in Ghana

Purpose: The research reviews the implementation of Ghana’s Digital Addressing System. Nearly six years into implementation and without an outward appearance of the meeting of the announced goals of the project, the research sets out to find out the likelihood of success or failure of the project and suggest remedial measures.
 Relevance: The implementation of digital addressing in Ghana holds and demonstrates promise for benefits relative to transportation, courier services, taxation, property ownership and title, among others. For policy makers, the findings of this work give direct pointers to what needs to be done to keep the concept useful. For researchers, the work has only opened the doors for further academic and technical introspection into digital addressing and its nuances especially in Ghana.
 Methods: Using a variety of quantitative and qualitative techniques the study assessed the implementation of the policy employing interviews, surveys, workshops and group discussion. It hinged on the Design-Reality Gap (DRG) model to identify the issues of interest with Ghana's digital addressing systems.
 Findings: We found out that the attempts, although well intended, fall short in several best practice aspects. The research found it difficult to confidently showcase any immediate successes arising out of the implementation of the Ghana Post GPS App and System and proceeds to point out specific areas in need of attention if Ghana’s Digital Addressing efforts are to meet the presumptive goals.
 Conclusion: The Digital Addressing System might be a partial failure unless action is taken to close design-reality gaps.

Health information systems in extreme contexts: Using mobile phones to fight AIDS in Uganda

AbstractThe HIV/AIDS pandemic is a global issue that has unequally affected several countries. Due to the complexity of this condition and the human drama it represents to those most affected by it, several fields have contributed to solving or at least alleviating this situation, and the information systems (IS) field has not been absent from these efforts. With the importance of antiretroviral therapy (ART) as a starting point, several initiatives in the IS field have focused on ways to improve the adherence and effectiveness of this therapy: mobile phone reminders (for pill intake and appointments), and mobile interfaces between patients and health workers are popular contributions. However, many of these solutions have been difficult to implement or deploy in some countries in the Global South, which are among the most affected by this pandemic. This paper presents one such case. Using a case‐study approach with an extreme‐case selection technique, the paper studies an m‐health system for HIV patients in the Kalangala region of Uganda. Using Heeks' design—reality gap model for data analysis, the paper shows that the rich interaction between social context and technology should be considered a central concern when designing or deploying such systems.

Theorizing ‘The Gap’ Twenty Years Later: Global Development, Design, and Speculative Ethics in Edtech Research

AbstractDrawing from Feminist Science and Technology Studies, this paper explores how we might revisit and recuperate past academic research projects, theories, and relationships to design futures that matter for social good. As context, I begin by outlining a decade of research in Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD), which linked the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to innovations in telecommunications and computing. I then introduce the ‘theory of design-reality gaps’ that was proposed by Heeks to study ’wicked problems’ in this domain (2002). I revisit two strands of research that I carried out in relation to the ‘design-reality gap’. The first involved an ethnographic study of a participatory mobile phone based learning intervention for Kenyan health workers. I argued that instead of a singular ‘gap’ explained by geographic, sociocultural, or economic ‘divides’, there was a messy entanglement, constituted by sociomaterial practices that enacted a multiplicity (Mol in The body multiple: Ontology in medical practice, Duke University Press, 2002) of desired futures. In the second strand, I attempted to care for the practices that were abandoned by the learning intervention when one kind of justice was prioritized over others. This explored how the research could be more ‘speculative’ and how this ‘speculative commitment’ could generate new ethical questions and logics for living with technology (Puig de la Bellacasa in Social Studies of Science, 41(1), 85–106, 2011 and Matters of care: Speculative ethics in more than human worlds, University of Minnesota Press, 2017). I argue that approaching the design-reality ‘gap’ as a multiplicity instead of a void can support Tuck’s call for educational interventions that turn away from damage oriented theories of change to ones based on desire – approaching difference not as a lack, but as an ever-growing assemblage (2009). Tinkering with the original Heeks model, I conclude that in the postdigital era, the design-reality gap is now better-understood as a fluid space of multiplicities, and what is arguably most pressing is to study the differences in competing objectives and values, rather than disparities in information and technology.

E-Government Optimization Strategy at The Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration

This paper focuses on the e-Government optimization at The Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration as eGovernment has become one of the strategic issues of Bureaucratic Reform. This study aims to identify the aspects of an organization’s environment, to analyze, and formulate strategies for e-government optimization. Evaluation tools use the design-reality gap analysis through seven dimensions of ITPOSMO to assess the level of eGovernment implementation success and identified the critical success and failure factors. Strategy formulation techniques are using three stages of the strategy formulation analytical framework. Results from this study, by measuring the design-reality gap across seven dimensions show eGovernment project is likely to partially fail unless action is taken to correct the gap. Using three stages of the strategy formulation analytical framework defines four strategy recommendations: forward integration, related diversification, backward integration, and product development. Findings from this research will serve to reduce the risks that may affect e-governance success in The Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration.

Digitalising Social Protection Systems for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: Insights from Zimbabwe

Social protection systems, a target of the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are intended to reduce extreme poverty, build human capital, and protect against risks to sustainable livelihoods and well-being. As social protection systems are by their nature inherently complex, multi-faceted, and socially embedded, it is inevitable that tensions will emerge between their design and implementation, representing design-reality gaps. These tensions present an excellent opportunity for cross-disciplinary research, by understanding how best to bridge these design-reality gaps. In this qualitative, interpretivist case study, we situate our work on the ground with the actors involved in the design, implementation, and use of a social protection system in Zimbabwe. We find interaction failures amongst some users; design-reality gaps around network access and ICT policy implementation; as well as mixed views regarding transparency and accountability of ICT. Our findings provide rich insights from ICT users in the global south and underscore the importance of the co-creation of IS interventions together with communities to ensure technologies consider social, political, economic, and network realities. We conclude by providing directions for future research.

An analysis of the COVID-19 contact tracing App in South Africa: Challenges experienced by users

South Africa is one of the countries in Africa that has a high COVID-19 virus infection rate. The government of South Africa introduced the COVID Alert SA App, a contact tracing mobile application (App), to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This paper reports on the challenges users experienced when using the COVID Alert SA App. Using the design-reality gap model, the study analyzed online user reviews of the App and government reports. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis to highlight insights on the challenges of using the COVID Alert SA App. The findings indicate that public awareness was a major limitation of the App, amongst others, including a lack of trust relating to privacy and security when using the App, and a lack of technical support. The insights can be useful for developers, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to improve the adoption and use of the contact tracing App to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Towards a theoretical understanding of workarounds emerging from use of a referral mobile application: a developing country context

Health Information Systems (HIS) in public health institutions are currently not used as intended; health care providers (HCPs) are increasingly resorting to workarounds or informal systems known as “Shadow Information Technologies” to accomplish their work. This multiple case study in three public hospitals in South Africa and Namibia describes factors driving the enactment of workarounds to the Vula mobile referral application. An interpretive paradigm was taken and semi-structured interviews conducted with 29 HCPs were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Substantial evidence is found indicating misfits between work and use of referral applications in public hospitals. A conceptual framework is developed to explain workaround practices based on emerging concepts. The study finds that there is misfit between work and use e-referral applications in public hospitals. As a result, HCPs are enacting workarounds in a form of 1) Shadow IT (Information technology), 2) Augmenting existing systems by using alternative computer-based, telephonic and paper-based referrals 3) Fitting by adapting the e-referral application to accommodate misfits with work activities. These practices suggest a design-reality gap in failing to accommodate these issues in the e-referral application design. Additionally, these practices have brought severe security risks to clinical information used on shadow systems, compromising the privacy and confidentiality of patient information. Public health institutions therefore need to develop more effective measures, policies, and strategies to address unresolved constraints in the referral system.

Open e-learning platforms and the design–reality gap: an affordance theory perspective

PurposeThe dropout rates of open e-learning platforms are often cited as high as 97%, with many users discontinuing their use after initial acceptance. This study aims to explore this anomaly through the lens of affordances theory, revealing design–reality gaps between users' diverse goals and the possibilities for action provided by an open IT artefact.Design/methodology/approachA six-month case study was undertaken to investigate the design implications of user-perceived affordances in an EU sustainability project which developed an open e-learning platform for citizens to improve their household energy efficiency. Thematic analysis was used to reveal the challenges of user continuance behaviour based on how an open IT artefact supports users in achieving individual goals (e.g. reducing energy consumption in the home) and collective goals (lessening the carbon footprint of society).FindingsBased on the findings, the authors inductively reveal seven affordances related to open e-learning platforms: informing, assessment, synthesis, emphasis, clarity, learning pathway and goal-planning. The findings centre on users' perception of these affordances, and the extent to which the open IT artefact catered to the goals and constraints of diverse user groups. Open IT platform development is further discussed from an iterative and collaborative perspective in order to explore different possibilities for action.Originality/valueThe study contributes towards research on open IT artefact design by presenting key learnings on how the designers of e-learning platforms can bridge design–reality gaps through exploring affordance personalisation for diverse user groups. This can inform the design of open IT artefacts to help ensure that system features match the expectations and contextual constraints of users through clear action-oriented possibilities.

Evaluasi Kesuksesan Sistem Informasi Pelaporan dan Monitoring Kota Layak Anak dengan Model Design-Reality Gap

The Child-Friendly City web-based reporting and monitoring information system was implemented at the end of 2018 in Depok City. Through the web address, http://kla.depok.id Child-Friendly City cadres could report activities of child-friendly city forums based on five clusters and 29 indicators. The public could find information on Depok City as well as a child-friendly city. After three years of implementation, evaluation was necessary to ensure that the information system operates according to the initial design. This study aimed to evaluate the success of the monitoring and reporting information system for the Child-Friendly City of Depok. The evaluation was done by looking at the gap between the initial design of the system and the reality of the system's current state. The evaluation method was a gap analysis using a design-reality gap model consisting of 7 dimensions of Information, Technology, Process, Goals and Values, Staff placement and skills, management systems and structures, and other resources (ITPOSMO). The evaluation results showed that the information system failed partially. A recommendation for improvement was proposed so that Child-Friendly Cities' reporting and monitoring information system does not fail miserably. This recommendation aimed to make the reporting and monitoring process for the child-friendly city of Depok more effective.

Towards design of citizen centric e-government projects in developing country context: the design-reality gap in Uganda

E-government projects should be at the heart of service delivery in developing countries if the lives of citizens, especially the socially and economically marginalized, are to be improved. However, quite often in developing country contexts, citizens have been treated as recipients of technology projects through a top-down approach from central governments. Such a paradigm of implementation usually results in the non-use of the deployed technologies and their associated e-services. A consequence of non-use of e-services results in a wastage of the public fiscus. The extant literature points to a number of underlying causes of the problem. One such problem which has been highlighted is called the “Design-Reality gap”. This paper investigates the nature of the gap. It presents findings from policy analysis and in-depth face-to-face interviews with e-government policy makers and implementers. In addition, it reports on findings from focus group discussions with potential e-government users in a health sector setting. The results which are based on a participatory action research methodology reveal that there exists a glaring design-reality gap between egovernment policy planners and citizens’ aspirations. We argue that co-creation could be a feasible approach for the design of e-government application services towards efforts to bridge the design-reality gap.

Opportunities and Barriers for Adoption of a Decision-Support Tool for Alzheimer’s Disease

Clinical decision-support tools (DSTs) represent a valuable resource in healthcare. However, lack of Human Factors considerations and early design research has often limited their successful adoption. To complement previous technically focused work, we studied adoption opportunities of a future DST built on a predictive model of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) progression. Our aim is two-fold: exploring adoption opportunities for DSTs in AD clinical care, and testing a novel combination of methods to support this process. We focused on understanding current clinical needs and practices, and the potential for such a tool to be integrated into the setting, prior to its development. Our user-centred approach was based on field observations and semi-structured interviews, analysed through workflow analysis, user profiles, and a design-reality gap model. The first two are common practice, whilst the latter provided added value in highlighting specific adoption needs. We identified the likely early adopters of the tool as being both psychiatrists and neurologists based in research-oriented clinical settings. We defined ten key requirements for the translation and adoption of DSTs for AD around IT, user, and contextual factors. Future works can use and build on these requirements to stand a greater chance to get adopted in the clinical setting.

Minding the Design Reality Gap

This paper focuses on evaluating an information and communication technology (ICT) intervention promoted as a pro-poor telecentre initiative in rural Ghana. Our evaluative tool is the Design Reality Gap (DRG) framework used to analyse the Community Information Centre (CIC) initiative in Ghana. Data were collected through a qualitative multi-site case study. By tracing the linkages between the investment and outcomes, we found a worrying trend of failed implementations and sustainability, although implementers did sustain efforts at planning new initiatives. Based on the findings, we argue that the CIC initiative in Ghana is a failing ICT intervention. We also found that the tailored DRG approach allowed us to tease out the nuances that account for the CICs' status. We conclude by proposing gap closure measures for the failing intervention. This paper contributes to ICT evaluations by demonstrating the utility of the DRG framework in evaluating one of the most significant pro-poor ICT initiatives in lower-to-middle-income communities: telecentres. This research also contributes to the current ICT literature by enhancing our current knowledge about publicly accessible ICT facilities in an under-investigated setting, and further offers an approach to telecentre evaluations in similar contexts inspired by the DRG model.

Ghana’s ICT4AD policy: between policy and reality

PurposeNearly at the end of its lifespan, the Ghana ICT4AD policy is in a position for a holistic view, especially through the eyes of the intended beneficiaries. This paper aims to fill that gap. The paper measures the gap between what was intended and what has been realised and, based on that, makes recommendations for stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachThe research used the design reality gap analysis approach to numerically examine the deviation or otherwise of the ideals of the Ghana ICT4AD policy from or to the reality on the ground. It required the breaking down of the problem into dimensions and subdimensions and involved interviewing office holders, academics, practitioners and students over a three-year period. The recommendations include a review of the policy before it expires and an explicit designation of an agency responsible for coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the various stages of the policy.FindingsThe chief finding is that Ghana’s ICT4AD policy might miss the targets totally, or might well be a partial failure unless action is taken to close the design–reality gaps identified by the research. As the policy is almost at the end of its lifespan, recommendations are even more useful when the recommended revision takes place.Research limitations/implicationsThe major limitation of the is that it looks only at the implementation success or failure without a probe into the causal factors and/or the impact on society.Practical implicationsThe policy runs full term at end 2022, with large gaps between the plans of the framers and the reality on the ground. An immediate revision of the policy is most recommended.Originality/valueBesides this study, the authors have not come across any such comprehensive study of the Ghana ICT4AD policy, especially with the amount of data now available after two decades. There is a similarity with a Pakistani study, which has been acknowledged in this study, but the two works differ greatly in methodology, context and style.

Demonstrating critically reflexive ICT4D project conduct in rural South Africa

ABSTRACT The problem with many ICT4D projects designed for African developmental contexts is that there is a tendency towards deterministic assumptions, in that arguments and implementation guidelines are often presented a-contextually. The reality of the author’s lived experience, however, was that ICT4D practices in the African context imply cross-cultural working and worldview collisions. Simply adopting Western values and advice wholesale without adequate reflection, may lead to a design-reality gap, oppressive ICT transfer, and ultimately failure. Understanding cultural context and local development realities may present challenges, because it is interwoven with the assumptions and prejudices of those identifying and representing context from the outside. While there are attempts at addressing these issues, more nuanced examples adequately sensitized to ethical reasoning, insider knowledge, and power dynamics in cross-cultural working, are needed. This paper reflects on how a critical ethnography informed and transformed ICT4D project practices for the developmental realities of a traditional Zulu community in South Africa. Confessional narratives, representing both method and phenomena, are used as case analogies for outsider researchers and practitioners to draw on, firstly; to self-reflect on their own false consciousness and misguided assumptions, and secondly; to make sense of the typical abstractness of ICT4D project guidance and principles.

E-Government Information Systems (IS) Project Failure in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Literature

E-government information systems (IS) projects experience numerous challenges that can lead to total or partial failure. The project failure factors have been identified and studied by numerous researchers, but the root causes of such failures are not well-articulated. In this study, literature on e-government IS project failures in developing-world contexts is reviewed through the application of qualitative meta-synthesis, design–reality gap analysis, and root cause analysis. In the process, 18 causal factors and 181 root causes are identified as responsible for e-government IS project failures. The most prevalent of the 18 causal factors are found to be inadequate system requirements engineering (with 22 root causes), inadequate project management (19 root causes), and missing or incomplete features (16 root causes). These findings can be of use to future researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to identify methods of avoiding e-government IS failures, particularly in developing-world contexts.

A cognitive computing conceptual model for agile e-government design

Studies have linked e-government failures (primarily its adoption and development) to factors such as design shortcomings and design-reality gaps. With the increased availability of big data and analytical techniques, government agencies must leverage data-driven models in the design and implementation of electronic government (e-government) or digital government solutions. By doing so, minimizing design-reality gap problems and design shortcomings is attainable. Backed by stakeholder theory and the Agile design methodology, this study proposes a cognitive computing framework as an efficient approach to the design of public sector electronic services (e-services) so as to obtain value. Cognitive computing was deemed appropriate for inclusion into the Agile methodology for e-government design because of its rapid frequency of expansion of data for which the human mind is limited in analytical ability as well as the desire by policy makers to reduce burdens and cost against the desire for more tailored solutions. With respect to research, cognitive computing models present a novel means of implementing human-centric and data-driven processes into practical domains of discourse and these models have yet to be integrated into the e-government sphere. By applying design thinking, the proposed model is built and tested in the UPPAAL model-checking software by applying the principle of finite state deterministic automatons. Theoretical and practical contributions are made to the fields of e-government, Agile methodology, and quality service delivery. Future research recommendations for expansion and building evaluation metrics are also indicated in the study.

Lessons for Effective Government IT Outsourcing

Information technology (IT) tends to be viewed as ancillary to core government functions. Consequently, IT is often outsourced to the private sector. Unfortunately, there is a long line of failed outsourced projects. This article uses two New Zealand case studies, the particularly public failure of the recent school payroll system and the successful introduction of electronic immigration processing, to examine how the design and governance of outsourced government IT projects could be improved. It concludes that an awareness of historic trends is important for project success, that governments need to be more active in combating market based transaction costs and that contract management becomes a core government competency when projects are outsourced. It also argues that better change management and cognisance of design-reality gaps would positively impact the outcomes of future projects.

System for Electronic Archiving of Document in Republic of Kosovo: An Evaluation of Success Factors- Design-Reality Gap Analysis

Abstract Use of Innovation of ICT in activities of the public sector, referred to as e-Government, has helped governments to improve their services to citizens, to businesses and to government units by making them more qualitative and easily accessible. The initiative of e-Government in Kosovo was identified as a priority of the government in 2008 and since then a number of projects have been implemented, amongst them the System for Electronic Archiving of Document (SEAD). Since the partial or full failure of implementation of e-government projects is very frequent phenomenon in developing countries, the identification of success and failure factors of projects is necessary in order to address them on time. In this study are assessed the level of success of implementation of SEAD and are identified the critical success and failure factors of this system through seven dimensions ITPOSMO by using the Design Reality Gap Analysis. By measuring the design-reality gap across seven dimensions, we have assessed the success of the implementation of SEAD, which scored 18.05. Results from this study indicate that if no action is taken to reduce the size of gaps, particularly the gap in dimensions “Processes” and “Staffing and Skills”, project risks falling in the category “Partial Failure”. Findings from this research will serve to reduce the risks that may affect the successful implementation of e-governance in Republic of Kosovo, and also will serve other researchers in identifying the failure and success factors of e-Government in developing countries.