Cited by 101Information Technology Governance and StrategyE-Government and Public ServicesPublic Administration in Developing Nations

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 31 of the 32 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 6 of the 23 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Digital Transformation of Public Sector Governance With IT Service Management–A Pilot Study

Open access

Abstract

Information Technology or IT is a combination of technology itself and a collection of IT services that ensure the effective implementation of overall Information Technology in an organization. Like other services, Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) has become a global subject because managing IT is only possible through efficient and effective ITSM protocols. A well-implemented ITSM delivery system improves the quality of IT services, which eventually enhances the organization’s overall capacity and output. Public service delivery is closely dependent on the quality IT services that can be acquired through ITSM. This research study reviews some of the established ITSM standards and frameworks like FitSM, ITIL, CobiT, and ISO/IEC 20000 and proposes a most suitable and sustainable tool and its implementation roadmap for the digital transformation of public sector governance. For this pilot study, a public sector organization (PSO) working under the Government of Punjab (GoPb) was selected. This study focuses on an important area that has not yet been adequately addressed, where ITSM delivery can produce tremendous results. This study contributes to academics and researchers since it discusses the selection and implementation of a service management system (SMS) for a PSO while focusing on its needs, requirements, and available resources. In general, the qualitative analysis methodology is used in this research study, and specifically, it can be identified as applied research. The data is collected through a questionnaire, and the results are shown and discussed in the later sections.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This pilot study reviews FitSM, ITIL, CobiT, and ISO/IEC 20000 and recommends FitSM as the most suitable ITSM framework for a Government of Punjab public sector organization, proposing an implementation roadmap. It uses qualitative applied research, a PRISMA literature review, and a questionnaire completed by all 13 surveyed administrative, attached, and autonomous bodies.

Key findings

  • The PRISMA literature selection started with 114 articles, removed 55 during screening, reviewed 59, removed 42 through inclusion/exclusion criteria, and included 17 articles.
  • The study identified 20 common IT services in the PSO and grouped them into eight groups; the PSO oversees 12 attached entities, for a total of 13 administrative, attached, and autonomous bodies.
  • FitSM was recommended over ITIL, CobiT, and ISO/IEC 20000 because it is lightweight, open source, free, compatible with ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000, and requires less expertise to implement.
  • The proposed FitSM roadmap assigns target capability/maturity levels to processes including SPM Level-02, ISRM Level-03, ProbM Level-01, ConfM Level-01, ChM Level-03, RDM Level-01, and CSI Level-02.

Methods

  • Qualitative applied research design, combining a PRISMA-based systematic literature review with a comparative evaluation of FitSM, ITIL, CobiT, and ISO/IEC 20000.
  • Interview sessions were conducted with IT resource persons from three entities selected by maximum, minimum, and average number of employees to identify IT services and groups.
  • A structured six-part questionnaire was sent to the PSO and its entities; 7 working days were given, all 13 responses were received, and data were entered into Excel for statistical analysis.

Limitations

  • The paper does not include an explicit limitations section; its future work states that there is not a considerable amount of literature and research available in the ITSM domain and that it should be explored further.
  • Evident from the text: this is a pilot study of a single PSO, with findings based on 13 questionnaire responses and interviews with three entities, so broader generalizability is limited.
  • Evident from the text: the study proposes a FitSM implementation roadmap but does not report post-implementation outcomes or measured service improvements from deploying it.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1109/access.2023.3237550

Cites

31 of 31 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

FIGURE 2 . FIGURE 2. Research methodology.
FIGURE 2 . FIGURE 2. Research methodology.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 3 . FIGURE 3. PRISMA diagram for article selection process.
FIGURE 3 . FIGURE 3. PRISMA diagram for article selection process.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 4 . FIGURE 4. Articles published by years.
FIGURE 4 . FIGURE 4. Articles published by years.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 5 . FIGURE 5. IT services available in PSO.
FIGURE 5 . FIGURE 5. IT services available in PSO.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 6 . FIGURE 6. Number of staff in each entity.
FIGURE 6 . FIGURE 6. Number of staff in each entity.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 7 . FIGURE 7. IT staff.
FIGURE 7 . FIGURE 7. IT staff.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 8 . FIGURE 8. IT assets.
FIGURE 8 . FIGURE 8. IT assets.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 9 . FIGURE 9. IT support setup.
FIGURE 9 . FIGURE 9. IT support setup.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 10 . FIGURE 10. Support call/day.
FIGURE 10 . FIGURE 10. Support call/day.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 11 . FIGURE 11. Response time (minutes).
FIGURE 11 . FIGURE 11. Response time (minutes).CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 12 . FIGURE 12. IT feedback.
FIGURE 12 . FIGURE 12. IT feedback.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 13 . FIGURE 13. Experienced IT staff.
FIGURE 13 . FIGURE 13. Experienced IT staff.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 14 . FIGURE 14. Prior ITSM experience.
FIGURE 14 . FIGURE 14. Prior ITSM experience.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 15 . FIGURE 15. Number of implementations.
FIGURE 15 . FIGURE 15. Number of implementations.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 16 . FIGURE 16. Support call/day.
FIGURE 16 . FIGURE 16. Support call/day.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 17 . FIGURE 17. Supporting material.
FIGURE 17 . FIGURE 17. Supporting material.CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 18 . FIGURE 18. Expected constraints.
FIGURE 18 . FIGURE 18. Expected constraints.CC-BY · From the PDF
.FIGURE 21 . FIGURE 20.FitSM parts[35].
.FIGURE 21 . FIGURE 20.FitSM parts[35].CC-BY · From the PDF
.FIGURE 22 . FIGURE 21.ITIL service life cycle[41].
.FIGURE 22 . FIGURE 21.ITIL service life cycle[41].CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 23 . FIGURE 23. ISO/IEC 20000 parts for ITSM [44].
FIGURE 23 . FIGURE 23. ISO/IEC 20000 parts for ITSM [44].CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 24 . FIGURE 24. Cost/complexity of different ITSM tools (Forbes Insights).
FIGURE 24 . FIGURE 24. Cost/complexity of different ITSM tools (Forbes Insights).CC-BY · From the PDF
FIGURE 25 . FIGURE 25. Proposed Capability and Maturity Model for each FitSM process (green highlighted).
FIGURE 25 . FIGURE 25. Proposed Capability and Maturity Model for each FitSM process (green highlighted).CC-BY · From the PDF
Image 23
CC-BY · From the PDF

Verification

Claims the paper makes

14 No basis given · 8 Own result · 7 Sources not found · 7 Own interpretation · 5 No full text of the sources · 5 Not checked yet · 3 Supported · 2 Couldn’t confirm · 1 Partly supported · 1 Own method · accuracy not yet measured

Verify all 5 references — free account

Show all 3 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 45
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 31
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
50 of 50
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    A well-implemented ITSM delivery system improves the quality of IT services, which eventually enhances the organization's overall capacity and output.

    “A well-implemented ITSM delivery system improves the quality of IT services, which eventually enhances the organization's overall capacity and output.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Public service delivery is closely dependent on the quality IT services that can be acquired through ITSM.

    “Public service delivery is closely dependent on the quality IT services that can be acquired through ITSM.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    PSOs require special consideration due to their unique requirements and working style.

    “There are many standards, practices, and tools available for ITSM, but PSOs require special consideration due to their unique requirements and working style.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    PSOs commonly lack planning, make poor resource allocations, fail to take responsibility, are slow to respond, and are especially resistant to change.

    “When we talk about PSOs, we must understand that we are dealing with an organisation that lacks planning, makes poor resource allocations, fails to take responsibility, is slow to respond, and is especially resistant to change, all of which are common throughout the world.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    People working at PSOs are more interested in the ownership of processes than the output of those processes.

    “People working at PSOs are more interested in the ownership of processes than the output of those processes.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Top management at PSOs makes policies and procedures without taking stakeholders or relevant professionals on board.

    “The top management makes policies and procedures without taking the stakeholders or relevant professionals on board.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    ITSM implementation in an organisation is a team effort and requires effective inter-department coordination.

    “ITSM implementation in an organisation is a team effort and requires effective inter-department coordination.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    In PSOs, there are no requirements to demonstrate compliance with standards.

    “Whereas ISO/IEC 20000 is less complex than ITIL, it is still a standard for organisations to demonstrate their compliance with standards, and in PSOs, there are no such requirements.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    In most PSOs, IT is a minor stakeholder.

    “In most of the PSOs, IT is a minor stakeholder, and implementing CobiT firsthand could be a great mess.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    In public offices, there are no IT service planning and delivery services available to the public.

    “FitSM's 1-8 processes are related to IT service planning and delivery, and in public offices, there are no such services available to the public.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    ITSM standards and practices have become more complex and laborious to implement from scratch.

    “ITSM standards and practises have become more complex and laborious to implement from scratch.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    A flexible system is good for an organisation lacking expertise.

    “A flexible system is always considered good for an organisation lacking expertise.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Employees are expected to be reluctant to change their behaviour.

    “Our key consideration during selecting the best tool and proposing the implementation roadmap was an expected reluctance to change the behaviour of the employees.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    FitSM requires less expertise than other ITSM tools.

    “It requires less expertise, is easy to implement, and is free.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    FitSM is easy to implement.

    “It requires less expertise, is easy to implement, and is free.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    FitSM is free.

    “It requires less expertise, is easy to implement, and is free.”
16 of 16

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

3 of 3

Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 15

  1. Ravikrishnan, 2022, Whitepaper—Implementing Lean in ITSM—Best Practices To Improve Service Desk Efficiency
  2. DuMoulin, 2012, Lean IT service management—Understanding and navigating the cultural silos of IT value streams troy, 205
  3. 2022, Punjab Portal
  4. 2022, Punjab Information Technology Board
  5. Herrera, Innovation in E-government services: New framework to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of citizen service processes and public management of decision-making—Case of ISO/IEC 20000–1 in government, 123
  6. 2022, Accountant General, Government of the Punjab
  7. 2017, Delivering Value to Today’s Digital Enterprise
  8. 2019, Federated—IT Service Management (FitSM)
  9. 2022, Lean ITSM With FitSM
  10. 2022, ITIL and LEAN in IT Service Management
  11. 2022, Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
  12. 2022, Control Objective for, Information and Related Technology (CobiT)
  13. 2022, International Organization for Standardization/International Electro-Technical Commission (ISO/IEC 20000-1)
  14. Rance, 2014, ITIL or COBIT or Something Else? Which Should Organizations Choose?
  15. 1996, Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)

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Metadata

Authors
Sarwar, M. I., Abbas, Q., Alyas, T., Alzahrani, A., Alghamdi, T., & Alsaawy, Y.
Affiliations
  • Superior University (PK)
  • University of Sargodha (PK)
  • Lahore Garrison University (PK)
  • Islamic University of Madinah (SA)
Venue
IEEE Access
Published
2023
Volume
11
Pages
6490-6512
ISSN
2169-3536 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4316660929
Cited by
101
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 38 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 11
FWCI
19.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • IEEE Access (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Information Technology Governance and Strategy
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › E-Government and Public Services
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Public Administration in Developing Nations
Keywords
IT service management, digital transformation, public governance, public sector organizations, IT service management standards, ITIL, ISO 20000, COBIT, implementation roadmap, IT service quality

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