Lifecycle management in government-driven open source projects – practical framework

In many parts of the world, public sector organizations are increasingly interested in collaborating across organizational (and even national) boundaries to develop software solutions under an open licence. However, without sound lifecycle management practices, the full benefits of open collaboration are not achieved and projects fail to achieve sustained success. This paper introduces a lifecycle management model and framework for government-driven open-source projects and reports about its use in a real-life case study. Our focus is on lifecycle management activities which take place between deployment and end-of-life. The framework was developed iteratively through a series of focus group discussions with representatives of public sector organizations. After the framework had been taken into use in our real-life case project, individual qualitative interviews were conducted to collect experiences on its benefits and weaknesses. According to the initial evidence, the deployment of the framework seems to have brought concrete benefits to the project, e.g. by contributing positively to community growth, software quality and inter-organizational learning

Lifecycle management in government-driven open source projects – practical framework

In many parts of the world, public sector organizations are increasingly interested in collaborating across organizational (and even national) boundaries to develop software solutions under an open licence. However, without sound lifecycle management practices, the full benefits of open collaboration are not achieved and projects fail to achieve sustained success. This paper introduces a lifecycle management model and framework for government-driven open-source projects and reports about its use in a real-life case study. Our focus is on lifecycle management activities which take place between deployment and end-of-life. The framework was developed iteratively through a series of focus group discussions with representatives of public sector organizations. After the framework had been taken into use in our real-life case project, individual qualitative interviews were conducted to collect experiences on its benefits and weaknesses. According to the initial evidence, the deployment of the framework seems to have brought concrete benefits to the project, e.g. by contributing positively to community growth, software quality and inter-organizational learning

Applying the positioning phase of the digital transformation model in practice for SMEs: toward systematic development of digitalization

Digital transformation (DT) refers to the changes in ways of working and business offering caused by adoption of digital technologies in an organization. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling with this transformation because of their limited resources and know-how. Thus, SMEs need practical grassroots-level help for DT that allows the companies to analyze where they stand in digitalization, and how they should proceed. This article discusses how SMEs can be supported in their DT by utilizing the DT model consisting of four consecutive phases for supporting companies’ systematic development of digitalization. The article focuses on the first phase of the DT model, positioning, where company’s digitalization status is analyzed in detail, and development ideas are identified. The positioning phase was conducted for 19 SMEs in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. The results indicate that the used process and tools were suitable to support SMEs for analyzing their digitalization status and identifying areas for improvement. The DT model and piloted tools have been published as a free-of-charge ApuaDigiin.fi online service to facilitate their widespread use in the future. In this way, public regional business development authors or research organizations can utilize the online service while supporting the digitalization of SMEs

Supporting the digital transformation of SMEs — trained digital evangelists facilitating the positioning phase

As digital transformation (DT) sweeps over society, the exploitation of digital solutions is obvious, especially for large enterprises. Unfortunately, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle with DT because of limited resources, understanding, and implementation skills. Thus, SME companies need both methods and tools to proceed with DT as well as support to exploit them. This article presents a study in which adult learners with professional experience are trained to use a digitalization development method and tools to analyze target organizations’ digitalization state and identify improvement ideas. Thirty trained digital evangelists used the tools and methods while conducting digitalization status analyses in eleven organizations. The study results show that the method and tools work in the context presented in this research. The study’s findings are beneficial for the educational professionals interested in educating students towards helping SME organizations along their digitalization pathway

Julkishallinnon digitalisaatio – tuottavuus ja hyötyjen mittaaminen

Suomessa on jo tehty ja käynnistetty monia toimia digitalisaation edistämiseksi julkishallinnossa. Kuitenkin digitalisaatiolla tavoiteltavien hyötyjen määrittely ja mittaaminen on sekä Suomessa että muissa maissa varsin vähäistä. Julkishallinnon digitalisaatio - tuottavuus ja hyötyjen mittaaminen -selvitys esittää suosituksia julkishallinnon toimenpiteistä sekä mittareita hyötyjen mittaamiseen. Suositukset painottuvat asenteiden muuttamiseen digitalisaatiolle ja sen tuomille muutoksille myönteisiksi, yhteistyöhön ja läpinäkyvyyteen, sekä digitalisaatiota tukeviin toimintatapoihin. Mittarit kohdistuvat sekä julkishallinnon että asiakkaiden saamiin hyötyihin. Lisäksi datan hyödyntämisen mittaaminen on tarpeen, koska suurimpia digitalisaation mahdollisuuksia on monipuolinen datan hyödyntäminen sekä julkishallinnon toimijoiden kesken että julkisen ja yksityisen sektorin välillä. Selvityksen pohjalta merkittäväksi haasteeksi julkishallinnon digitalisaatiossa voidaan todeta asiakaskeskeisyyden puute: digitaalisia palveluja kehitetään yksittäisen viraston näkökulmasta sen sijaan, että huomioitaisiin asiakkaan tarve, yli hallinnon alojen ja virastojen. Digitalisaation edistymistä esitetäänkin seurattavaksi palvelupolkujen määrittelemisen asteen näkökulmasta. Selvityksessä myös arvioidaan digitalisaation mahdollisuuksia kansantalouden näkökulmasta laskennallisen tasapainomallin avulla. Arviointi on tehty neljän politiikkaskenaarion kautta