Report on CHAPTER 2: Project Analysis of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

…….This chapter includes the analysis and the problem solving method, the research design, methodology for the research along with the population of the study, study sample size & sampling strategy, methods being used for the purposes of the data collection as well as the tools used for the data collection. Also, the system development methodology, system requirements, requirement elicitation and specifications, requirements model, hardware/ software specifications, system development tools, selected programming language, database requirements and other requirements area a part of the current research work.

…….An indication to the problems which arose during this process along with the methods to overcome them is included too. Apart from this, the tools being used for making the calculations on the data, available for the research purposes, are also narrated in the current chapter. The main motive behind doing this is to provide the surety that the outcomes of the current research work is obtained. All of the above is based on performing different tests on the available data & the application being developed for the said purpose.

1.1 Analysis and Problem Solving Method of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

…….The focus of the present study is to analyze and evaluate the quality of e-government services provided to the citizens of Oman. The research is based on the perspective of needs to develop and confirm the standards of quality and success factors of online services and customer services portal. The research realizes the separate approaches for the standards, action plans, and beneficiary orientated actions. The emphasis of research is to enable the IT service management services, compliant management standards, and technical standards in Oman. In order to solve the current problem, a combination of the methods is adopted. It better helped to provide the solution to the current problem. The problem-solving methods include the quantitative approach, the qualitative approach and a web portal. This web portal is used to provide the citizens with the framework, for recording their responses, related to the services of e-government in Oman.

1.2 Research Methodology and Data Collection Procedure of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal
1.2.1 Research Design of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

1.2.1.1    Research Approach of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

            There exist varying forms for the study. It can be either quantitative or qualitative. The determination of the methodology is based on the nature of the data. The verbal data exists for the qualitative methodology and the numerical data exists for the quantitative methodology. The current study makes use of both the qualitative as well as the quantitative research methods. For the quantitative method, the self-administered survey is used. For the qualitative method, the data from the previous research articles is used. Also, the responses of the citizens of Oman on the web-portal better served the purpose. 

1.2.1.2   Type of investigation of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

…….In order to evaluate the relationship of the study variables, the use of correlation is better suggested. In order to get the desired outputs by using the numerical data, the correlation is suggested. For the qualitative data, the observation method is suggested. 

            The data collection for the current research work is done by the use of the questionnaire. The questionnaire comprise of five-point likert scale where by the responses of the respondents are recorded for each item of the questionnaire. The relationship of the study variables is identified by the use of the correlation model (i.e., how the independent items are associated with the dependent items). Also, the already existing research work provided the basis for the observation method. As per the regression analysis, the hypotheses for the study are tested. The regression results helped to evaluate whether the hypotheses are rejected or accepted. It basically shows that how the independent variables tend to have the impact on the dependent variables.

1.2.1.3     Unit of Analysis of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

……As per the study topic i.e., “Government online service quality and customer satisfaction portal”, the unit of analysis is the citizen[d1]  of Oman who is using the services of the government. He can provide the details of his experience regarding the quality of the services. He can do it wither by providing the response through the questionnaire or either by the use of the web-portal

1.2.1.4    Time Horizon of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

……In order to gather the data for the current research work, the data is gathered for just once. It can be either by the use of the questionnaire or the web-portal. This one time data collection suggests that the study is cross-sectional. As there exist no revisions for the said purpose. So, the concept of longitudinal type does not exist. No follow-ups are required for the data collection purposes.

1.2.1.5       Research strategy of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

……The collection of the data is based on circulating the questionnaire among the citizens of Oman. They can belong to[d2]  any area. Also, the use of the web-portals helps the users to record their responses on a systematic platform. The questionnaire can either be provided to the respondents either by meeting up personally or by the use of their e-mail IDs. These email IDs can be obtained from the databases maintained by the government. The web-portal provides the respondents with a systematic approach for recording their responses.

1.3   Research Methodology of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

The success of the provision of the accurate responses on the web-portal. For this purpose, the citizens are provided with access to the webs portal.

1.3.1 Population of the study of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

……The unit of analysis helps to determine the population of the study. A citizen of Oman is the one who is to provide his feedback for the quality of the services of the government. So, the population comprises of all the citizens of Oman who are making use of the services of the government.

1.3.2       Data Collection Procedure of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

……As narrated earlier the data collection is done by the use of the questionnaire. It is perceived to be the easy and the convenient source for the data collection. It is the best fit in order to gather the data for the current research work. Previous research articles better helped to collect the secondary data. The citizens of Oman also provided their responses by using the systematic web-portal which is designed specifically for gathering the responses of the citizens of Oman.

1.3.3        Measurement Error of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

……The measurement error is the case where the results provide by the study variables are not the exact as well as the accurate ones. It is impossible to have the study outcomes without any measurement errors. The measurement errors may include as given: faulty data input, the manipulated outputs, and the wrong interpretations of the data.  It can be said that measurement error cannot be eliminated completely but they can be avoided to the possible extent.

……As far as the current study is concerned it is tried to avoid the measurement errors to the possible extent. The strategies in this regard may include the careful coding of the data for performing the tests & proper recording of the data to the excel file, carefully copying the data from the excel file and then pasting to the SPSS platform. Also, interpretation of said data to get desired outcomes is a part of precautionary measures.

1.3.4        Data analysis software and techniques of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

The data analysis as well as the interpretation of the data is done by using Version 22 of SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences).

1.4         System Development Methodology of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

As a part this chapter contains the life cycle of the software which is related to the phases of the software development. For the purpose of achieving the objectives of the study, the flow of the software, the modules & the sub-modules suggest the use of the SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) model. This framework better assisted the directions for the development of current software.

The phases of SDLC needs to be followed brutally for the current study. The development of the software is assisted fully through this step-by-step procedure. As all the project related processes are directed by this so it is also termed as the software development process. There are certain sub-categories for every phase of SDLC. The effective completion of the software is based on the accurate following of this software development life cycle. The entire SDLC process is classified into the phases as given:

·         Planning: the management of the entire project is based on the planning phase of SDLC.

·         Requirement analysis: the requirement analysis is better performed in this phase.

·         Design & prototyping: The design and the architecture of the software are better dealt in this phase of SDLC.

·         Software Development: This phase provides with the developed software.

·         Testing: It is considered to the most significant phase of SDLC. Without testing, it is not possible to deliver quality software. The parameters for measuring the quality of the software include code quality, unit testing, integration test, performance testing & the security testing.

·         Deployment: It is perceived to be a highly automated phase. The moment when the software is ready it is then deployed.

·         Maintenance: the operations of the software are monitored accurately in this phase. The identification of the bugs as well as the defects is the major part of this phase.

There are different types of SDLC. Following are given the most relevant SDLC models for the current project:

SDLC Comparison of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

 Basics for the selected Chosen SDLC along with the evaluation

For the current project, the waterfall model of SDLC was suggested initially. It is so because the waterfall model is easy and convenient. The varying phases along with the different functionality discarded the use of the waterfall model for the current project. For the current project, the iterative incremental model is a best fit. This model is better suggested as it helps to document the software requirements along with the modules and sub-modules more than the agile model. Based on this model, it was possible to produce the partially functioning software at the completion of each iteration.

The most significant reason for the selection of the current software development process is the use of the advanced & the latest technology. The other reasons are as given:

·         The most important functionality is focused first.

·         It is better suggested for the long-term projects.

·         The productive use of the software is possible for every increment of the software.

·         It is possible to make changes to the existing requirements.

·         The faster delivery of the product is better supported.

1.5         System Requirements of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

For making this portal for controlling the quality of the service and for customer satisfaction, there are some things are required. First of all we need to choose the environment or hardware like the web server, combined web server as well as the server of database, and the recommended combined web and database server. The website portal should need the minimum processor having the power of 1.6 GHz but the recommended processor is double. If we go on the combined website and database server then the minimum process is required for this website is 2 x 1.6 GHz while for the recommended combined web and database server, we require a 4 x 1.6 GHz processor. The memory required for this website should be around the 1.75 GB ram minimum as well as the recommended memory is required at least 6 to 7 GB.

Now the main requirement for this web portal is to save the data of the citizens as well as the data of the professionals into a safer place like in the hardware or in the cloud. The system hard drive is not recommended because the can be damaged due to kind of scripts or virus attack, so the system driver is preferred for this purpose. The web server database and web server drive are recommended for you to store the data. It is because when the government professionals complete a task as well as they have successfully provided the governmental service to the citizens of any society or community or the group, they can take the feedback from all of them and for the record or evidence, they should be able to save the records into the database and in web server drive. If the government professionals will have any need to see his served areas or the selected community to provide any kind of evidence in the critical situation, they can easily show the record by searching from the web server drive.

1.5.1        Requirements Elicitation and Specifications of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

In the requirement elicitation, some notable techniques are discussed such as the brainstorming, the document analysis to see the mentioned things are appropriate or not such as the requirements for the systems, the major things like hardware or the specifications of the software, what kind of environment would be preferred. In this report, a brief section is discussed on the requirements of the system such as how much memory, hard drive, web server, database, environment, and other essential requirements.

The main focus of the website portal or the intended audience of the website is the citizens as well as the government professionals. The website focused major on the satisfaction of the citizens. The main focus is to improve the quality of the services. As mentioned before, focused group in the requirements as well as in the website tool are the citizens because it majorly focus to take the feedback of the citizens as well as it is because to get the feedback of the citizens to know the government services are good or not or whether it should need some improvements (Y. H. Sung, 2009).

The interface of the website portal is also discussed which has some specific fields that are taking the name of the complainer, complete address, district or city of Oman, national identity card number, phone number, email as well as the specific department of government the complainer going to place the complaints regarding the services against the city, full description of the issue as well as some suggestions to bring some improvements into the system. In very simple words, the complainer can easily place the complaint as well as can give feedback about the services to the government professionals. So, a brief analysis is discussed about the interface is discussed that what kind of views of the web pages should be(T. Miller, 2014).

For the specifications, the professionals can conduct the interview of the citizens to bring improvements in the quality of the service that is very important thing to get the key knowledge to make the system effective. If the interviews are not enough to get the appropriate information, the observation technique will be applied. In the observation, the related professionals will observe the particular behaviors as well as the actions of the citizens that they are providing appropriate information about the services of the government(Gibson, 2004).

After getting all the information by conducting surveys and interviews, the model for the process is defined as well as designed to the development of the system for the improvement in service quality and the better experience of the customers or the citizens. The model of the process will provide a particular guideline of how the project will be developed according the requirements of the citizens. The prototype is also made that tells that the website will give a general idea of how the website actually looks like. After prototyping, some workshops will be conducted for providing a brief overview of the system that how it will look like, what are the key specifications of the software as well as what are the requirements of the government professionals as well as the citizens for quality improvements of the services and better customer experience. Some surveys, as well as the questionnaires to gather information about the development of the website. The below diagram is providing a brief overview and information about the requirement elicitation that is mentioned above(Belani, 2005).

Furthermore, for development of the website some requirements for the system are gathered through by conducting the questionnaires, interviews as well as surveys. When the key requirements are collected then the requirements were organized to make the key data prominent that what the things will be performed first and what the things are performed after as well as what required things are not implementable. If the interviews are not enough to get the appropriate information, the observation technique will be applied. In the observation, the related professionals will observe particular behaviors. After organizing the data, the discussion and negotiation were performed for the generation of the brainstorming ideas as well as in the very last, the requirement specifications step was performed. The requirements specification told that the kind of environment should be as well as what technology is necessary(Firesmith, 2003).

1.5.2        Requirement Model

A requirement model is developed for the requirements for the development of the website portal for the development of the government’s online service quality and customer satisfaction. The model shows that first step of the requirement model is the conceptual data model. The first step is providing the basic concept of the requirement that is implemented and become the logical data that is shown in the website portal for the users and the mobiles applications that will become the physical data in the database (MySQL), SQL server of database management server as well as the physical data in the database of the web server. The data after collection was not organized as well as was in the raw shape. To make the data more useful, the requirement model is formed for making the data organized as well as the data became conceptual when it was organized as well as it has come into logical form when it was implemented or converted into the programming language.

1.5.3        Hardware / Software Specification

The government professionals complete a task as well as they have successfully provided the governmental service to the citizens of any society or community or the group, they can take the feedback from all of them, and for the record or evidence, they should be able to save the records into the database and in web server drive. If the government professionals will have any need to see his served areas or the selected community to provide any kind of evidence in the critical situation, they can easily show the record by searching from the web server drive.

1.6  System Development Tools of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

The tools that are used in the development of the website portal as well as the development of the mobile application portals. For the development of the website, Laravel is used that is a framework of the PHP. For the implementation of the website portal, a lightweight editor is used named as sublime text 3.0 as well as the heavy editor is also used for the backend Laravel development with the name as PHPstorm. PHP Storm is heavy tool but it is very efficient for the development.

For Website

For Mobile

1.6.1 Selected Programming Language of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

The programming language used is PHP to develop the system website for both of the parties the civilians as well as the government professionals. For the development, the PHP framework named Laravel is used for the backend development, while for the frontend development of the website portal PHP will be used.  In the frontend development of the website, it requires some stuff of designing to make the website or the front view of the website attractive, Bootstrap as well as CSS scripts is used while for the animations or embedding the view more attractive with use of popup JavaScript as well as bootstrap for the putting effects in the website portal.

On the other side, for the development of mobile applications, Java programming as well as Android programming are used. Java and android programming languages are used for the android application development while swift programming language is used for IOS or Apple or iPhone application development. To show the data of the applications, web services or restful APIs are developed using the PHP language. The web services are sending the JSON response by encrypting the data or the objects to the mobile application.

Databases like MySQL server is used for saving the data or the record from the website or mobile applications into the database. In the website, there eloquent model for seeding and retrieving the data are used. The reason is to use the MySQL server because it is compatible with the Laravel PHP framework that is applicable on PHP version of 7.3.1. The second reason is to use the MySQL server because it provides the maximum speed as well as it also provides the proper ERD relations between the tables as well as can easily show the relationships between every table including indexing and the foreign keys.

1.6.2        Database Requirements of Government Online Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Portal

The database requirements are concerned with the methodology of the development of the application. The development and designing the database will be in the same methodology of the development. The database is required in this project because many application will be generated by the users of the applications as well as the government professional works on that application, then data need to be stored anywhere in the environment of the software as an evidence which will show that the client is served by particular professional.

Indicating the problems which arose during this process and how they were identified and overcome.

In order to achieve the objectives of the current study, the possible problems are related to the responses of the respondents (these are based on the subjective approach), the time span allowed for conducting the current research work, the model being used and the use of the technology etc. All the above said problems are better catered by the precautionary measures. The date for the current research work is also based on the secondary data. The basic know-how about the latest and the advanced technology is gathered.

The unit of analysis is a unit part of sample size. The same is given here