Toward Citizen-Centered Digital Government: Design Principles Guided Legacy System Renewal in A Swedish Municipality

Abstract

Transformation towards a digital government imposes significant demands on the capabilities of legacy infrastructure. We closely followed a Swedish municipality that designed and implemented a solution to improve the building permit application process with an aim to improve citizen service. We developed six design principles (DPs): availability, timeliness, actionability, transparency, personalization, and generalizability. These DPs guide the solution design and provide a seamless application experience for citizens and business owners. We also discuss the reasoning behind the design choices and the implications of the solution. The artifact encompasses understanding citizens’ needs, identifying constraints of the legacy systems, formulating design principles, and developing architectural designs. However, addressing the social aspects of legacy systems, such as organizational culture change, necessitates additional steps, and is worth investigation in future studies.