Interoperability framework for open source and proprietary software : a case of government of Kenya
Date
2013
Authors
Marete, David Mwenda
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
Exchange of information within the Government is usually through formal
communication such as official letters, gazette notices , internal memos, circulars,
print media and also through minutes . This has not been very effective, due to lack of
seamless exchange of information among Government Ministries since they work
independently. The main cause being lack of an interoperable platform in terms of
software which would help ease exchange of information. As a result of this, a lot of
inefficiencies in service delivery to the citizenry have been experienced. This has
been confirmed through ratings in performance contracting of various sectors in
government over the years.
In order to achieve software interoperability framework within the Government,
quantitative research method was used in collaboration with other research methods
such as descriptive research. The research was carried out within the National
Government to ascertain various issues that relate to software interoperability with a
view of developing a standard framework that will act as a guideline within the
National Government. Through the research , it was possible to justify how lack of
this important guideline within government has led to denial of associated benefits
to the citizenry. Since there is no universal standardized software interoperability
framework that any Government could directly adopt without customization, it was
important to develop a software interoperability framework that is based on known
user requirements within the Government of Kenya hence the need for a Software
Interoperability Framework.
The main objective of the research being to develop software interoperability
framework between open source and proprietary software, this was accomplished by
enhancing an existing software interoperability conceptual model by ATHENA
consortium. The framework has further been improved by introducing various
parameters and components that have a direct effect on the framework due to their
interrelation nature hence making the framework more comprehensive.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Masters of Science in Computer Based Information Systems
Keywords
Open source software, Proprietary software, Kenya