The methodologies for agile software development are fundamentally based on the collaboration with software users during the entire development process, the simplicity to adapt the product to changes in requirements, and on the incremental product delivery. Based on the Agile Manifesto, they have been accepted and are successfully used in projects where the detailed requirements are unknown at first and are identified during the development process from the interactions with the users and the feedback thus obtained. In this paper, we propose an evaluation framework for the methodologies for agile software development. This framework is applied in detail to two of them -Scrum and eXtreme Programming (XP). The definition of this quantitative framework is innovative, especially because it allows the evaluation of how the agile methodologies satisfy the basic principles defined by the Agile Manifesto, thus it can be used when deciding which methodology to adopt in a particular project.

The increasing use of social media by governments for improving citizen access to information, participation of stakeholders in policy processes and delivery of customer-focused services are among the defining features of the so-called “Governance 2.0” phenomenon. Another feature is the interaction between existing government networks and social networks of citizens and policy actors in order to disseminate government information and seek contributions from citizens and other actors to policies, decisions and services. This article examines the semantic issues associated with the emerging Governance 2.0 networks. It evolves an architectural framework to guide governments and their agencies in developing semantic interoperability capabilities. We approach the problem by first developing a conceptual model for analyzing semantic interoperability requirements in general. Next, we provide a case study to generate interesting scenarios and identify concrete semantic interoperability issues arising from the interactions between citizens, businesses and government through traditional and electronic channels and different forms of social media. Subsequently, we present a Semantic Interoperability Architecture Framework to address these issues based on existing government semantic interoperability frameworks and semantic standards for Web 2.0. After validating the prescribed framework, we discuss how it could be used in practice by governments.

Recognized as a critical factor for the whole-of-government capability, many governments have initiated Enterprise Architectures (EA) programs. However, while there is no shortage of EA frameworks, the understanding of what makes EA practice effective in a government enterprise is limited. This paper presents the results of empirical research aimed at determining the key factors for raising the maturity of the Government Enterprise Architecture (GEA) practice, part of an effort to guide policy-makers of a particular government on how to develop GEA capabilities in its agencies. By analyzing data from a survey involving 33 agencies, the relative importance of factors like top management commitment, participation of business units and effectiveness of project governance structures on the maturity of the GEA practice was determined. The results confirm that management commitment and participation of business units are critical factors, which in turn are influenced by the perceived usefulness of the GEA efforts.

Social networks have grown exponentially in use and have gained a remarkable impact on the society as a whole. In particular, microblogging platforms such as Twitter have become important tools to assess public opinion on different issues. Recently, some approaches for assessing Twitter messages have been developed. However, such approaches have an important limitation, as they do not take into account contradictory and potentially inconsistent information which might emerge from relevant messages. We contend that the information made available in Twitter can be useful for modeling arguments which emerge bottom-up from the social interaction associated with such messages, thus enabling an integration between Twitter and defeasible argumentation. In this paper, we outline the main elements characterizing this integration in the context of a particular e-government platform (Decide 2.0). As a result, we will be able to obtain an “opinion tree”, rooted in the first original query, in a similar way as done with dialectical trees in argumentation. The main contribution of this paper is the proposal of a method for building arguments from aggregated opinions. This leads to the design of a novel platform that makes it possible to explore collective opinions in a more meaningful and systematic manner.

Governments from all over the world are looking for ways to reduce costs while at the same time to stimulate innovation. While pursuing both objectives, governments face a major challenge—to operate in a connected environment, engage stakeholders and solve societal problems by utilizing new methods, tools, practices and governance models. As result, fundamental changes are taking place on how government operates. Such changes are under the larger umbrella of ‘lean government’ (l-Government). Lean government is a new wave which is appearing as a response to traditional approaches—like electronic government (e-Government) and transformational government (t-Government), and aims at reducing the complexity of the public sector by simplifying and streamlining organizational structures and processes, at the same time at stimulating innovation by mobilizing stakeholders. In l-Government, public organizations introduce platforms facilitating innovation and interactions with other public organizations, business and citizens, and focus on their orchestration role. Experimentation, assessment and gradual improvement based on user requirements are key factors for realizing l-Government.

Electronic Governance (EGOV) research studies the use of Information and Communication Technologies to improve governance processes. Sustainable Development (SD) research studies possible development routes that satisfy the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Despite substantial progress in advancing both domains independently, little research exists at their intersection — how to utilize EGOV in support of SD. We call this intersection Electronic Governance for Sustainable Development (EGOV4SD). This paper: 1) proposes a conceptual framework for EGOV4SD, 2) proposes EGOV4SD research assessment framework and 3) applies both frameworks to determine the state of EGOV4SD research. The main contribution of the paper is establishing a foundation for EGOV4SD research.

During recent years, we have witnessed revolutionary developments of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their impact on people’s lives. The way in which such developments contribute to socio-economic development and empowering people depends highly on the absorptive capacity of different societies. While in developed countries, their IT-ecosystems have the capacity for enriching themselves through empowered actors and enhanced interactions and, in turn, for continuous growth; in developing countries, such eco-systems face challenges to produce similar results. However, the challenges faced, particularly by the countries in the Global South; in Asia, Africa and Latin America, can be transformed into opportunities if countries are able to leapfrog in the learning process and develop their human and institutional capacities. In this context, capacity-building programs on ICT for Development (ICT4D), such as Strengthening Information Society Research Capacity Alliance (SIRCA), are of the upmost importance to developing countries. In this introduction to the SIRCA special issue of The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries we discuss the evolution of ICT4D policy and research, explain the experience of the SIRCA II Program, and summarizes the lessons learnt from it.