Appendix A: Detail and description of the

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User Access

User access is a point of contact or channel between the service provider (government or its agents) and services user. The different channels are a means for service users to access all government services, whether they are online or offline. They are the points of entry to request and receive services, and present the public face of the "local" service provider.

Each agency will use a different mix of access channels, depending on local priorities and specific customer preferences. Access channel strategies will make use of available methods of interaction: face-to-face (e.g. one stop shops), telephone (call centres/SMS) internet-based (websites, or web services); and traditional postal services.

Implementation of an appropriate mix of these channels leads to increased choice and convenience of service access for the service user.

User services and guidance

User services and guidance is the interface between the service user, having "entered" via a channel (user access), and the underlying service fulfilment systems. The function of this building block is to present service users with government services in an easy and seamless way.

The services are the external views of the service together with the necessary guidance for the user. This may simply be a list of all the services government provides, through to a highly personalised set of services for a specific user.

The services and guidance describe the different types of interaction between service user and providers of access to these services. In an electronic world this is the face of government.

We currently have the government web portal as an early asset of the e-government programme. Portals aggregate into one place information and services from many sources, and present it in an accessible, user-friendly way. They can aggregate from a broad range of interests (general portals), or specialise in a particular topic or service area (specialist portals). One benefit to service users of using a specialist portal is that it removes the need to understand the underlying structures and locations of the various service providers.

Service enabling tools

The tool boxes, service enabling tools and connection services, are the "glue" of the architecture.

In an electronic environment e-enabled transactions are about passing data between service users and service providers (agencies). The flow of this information needs to be managed effectively - data needs to be routed and tracked with speed and accuracy. The technologies and data management approaches in this part of the framework make the effective management of this flow possible.

New technologies and approaches in these areas enable agencies to make effective use of modern access channels, and underpin the service improvement opportunities that implementing e-government offers. The e-GIF would be part of this box.

Connection services

Connection services are the final link between access channels and delivery systems. They consist of a number of communication mechanisms, such as postal services and telephone and data networks. They offer functionality for routing transactions securely to, from or between government organisations. In the electronic world connection services achieve independence of location and presentation.

To conduct transactions via e-enabled channels, secure and trusted connections must exist between the channels and the business delivery systems (which hold the data required to deliver services). This part of the architecture is about providing the required connectivity that underpins all e-enabled transactions. This component is a crucial piece of the e-government architecture/infrastructure.

Organisation business delivery systems

These are the fulfilment business processes and systems. At the business level these agency business systems are the business processes that deliver the associated services. At the technical level they are the processes and applications that make this happen.

E-government environment - Governance, policy and management regimes

These regimes make up the e-government environment within which government operates, and the rules by which the architecture will function. They cover many aspects of the public management system, including the frameworks for adopting and maintaining standards, and the way in which shared inputs and outputs are governed, as well as the various constitutional, legislative and cultural requirements and principles that help define the relationship between the government and the people.

Policy needs will be addressed to support implementation of the architecture. The role of e-government will be to ensure standards and policy issues in the all-of-government components of the architecture are addressed.

E-government and the implementation of the architecture will drive change. It will transform the way government delivers services and organises business delivery processes and systems. The success of e-government, in delivering real improvement outcomes, hinges on the effective management of the changes.

There are two elements to managing change, implementing change successfully, and changing the culture of government. People are at the heart of e-government. Realising the full benefits effective e-government can bring, such as better service user relations and improved business efficiency, requires organisational transformation.

Implementing e-government, and the services architecture, needs to be delivered through structured programmes and projects. The techniques of programme and project management are central to the success or failure of local e-government.