CitiScape Architecture for eGovernment Effectiveness

We introduce CitiScapes, an architectural concept that enables implementers of eGovernment systems to organize capabilities and dynamically present the services to match the context of the citizen and other stakeholders in an effective and efficient manner. CitiScapes addresses the underlying challenges due to the complexities of change in organizational structures and business processes, presentation of thousands of objects and services, and the integration of information systems supporting these aspects. We present examples based on our design experiences working with a large US city and evaluate the CitiScapes concept with respect to existing award winning eGovernment websites. We show how a CitiScapes-based eGovernment web presence can lead to increased usability, navigability, and performance for users as well as enhanced maintainability for administrators.