A Global Dialogueon
The Impact of Open Source Software on Transforming Government
Shahani Markus Weerawarana, Ph.D.
October 2008October 2008Sri LankaSri Lanka
Overall Perspectives
Panel 1Panel 1
Well-known Benefits in Leveraging Open Source Software
Ability to avoid vendor lock-in
High degree of “ownership” via access to underlying source code
Lower implementation & deployment costs
Greater flexibility in implementing “minor” changes and enhancements
Greater reliability & stability
Better security
etc.
Impact of Open Source Software ineGovernment Solutions
Better adherence to open standards thereby facilitating interoperability
Ability to rapidly implement or customize “working prototypes” to test complex/dense requirements
Ability to easily reuse or deploy in same or similar solutions in multiple locations
Ease of software localization thereby enabling “friendlier” user interfaces
Greater opportunities to improve local IT industry via support & maintenance contracts etc.
Essential Ingredients for Success
Conducive Atmosphere
Good awareness of open source software and its natural benefits
Willingness to “level the playing field”
Desire for “openness” and accompanying culture
Enabling Environment
Facilitative procurement processes
IT-savvy personnel with good knowledge of open source software landscape for R&D
“Nice to Have”
A comprehensive knowledge base of open source software suitable for generic eGovernment solutions, with associated “ratings” and feedback/comments
A collection of specialized open source eGovernment solutions that could be easily customized for typical deployment scenarios in many countries
Perspectives from Sri Lankafrom the experiences at the
ICT Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka
Panel 2Panel 2
eGovernment Projects LeveragingOpen Source Software
LankaGate Project – transforming access to government services
Architecture-driven, agile process, facilitated by a “new” procurement approach (SDSA) and the “open source development methodology”
Enabling “virtual business transformation” via a pure Service-Oriented Archecture
An end-to-end thin slice implementation to validate the architecture by leveraging open source software
5 projects - In various procurement and implementation stages
eGovernment Projects LeveragingOpen Source Software
Performance Management System for the Ministry of Public Administration
3 month implementation cycle
“zero cost” of implementation & deployment by leveraging university interns
Deployed and in active use!
eGovernment Projects LeveragingOpen Source Software
eSamurdhi Project – to optimize delivery of welfare and social upliftment services to the most needy citizens
4 month implementation cycle
Architecture-driven, agile implementation process
Approach of customizing existing open source applications leveraging the SDSA procurement process
RFP definition stage.
eGovernment Projects LeveragingOpen Source Software
eLocal Government Project – to provide a collection of solutions to deliver local government services
Architecture-driven, agile implementation process
Approach of customizing existing open source applications leveraging the SDSA procurement process
Conceptualization stage
More Examples...
Government Web Site Development using open source content management
Complete Source Code Management (SCM) tools stack using open source solutions
Sri Lanka location code navigator (internal ICTA implementation) leveraging open source rapid prototyping framework (GRails)
Emergency deployment of an open source eCondolence Book – simple customization of existing open source application (2 hours)