Government information system

Overview
Government information systems can be divided into three different categories: (i) operational systems, (ii) management information systems, and (iii) decision-making support systems.

Operational systems
Operational systems are the systems which support the people at the operational level. They are characterized as being transaction-based, cyclically processed, usually batch-oriented, and usually operating in a current time frame. That is, the transactions are accumulated and processed on a periodic basis. The files created from those transactions represent the accumulation period and are designed for expediency of processing rather than for the production of information. Operational systems are built on a function by function basis or functional collection-by-functional collection basis, and each systems-supported function is traditionally called an application.

Typical operational systems in a government are statistical data processing systems in public sectors, accounting system, payment processing system, revenue system, customs system, and the like.

Management information systems
Systems at this level are developed on a client-specific basis and are used to facilitate and control the day-to-day business of the organization. These systems are customized to the needs of the user client and are usually under the control of the user.

Management information systems are broader-based and more horizontal in nature, and they usually arise from the operational files of the ministry. There are applications within the management information systems, but they are reportive rather than processing in nature. Existing data are arranged and ordered to provide the control, coordination, and planning functions with views of the business.

Examples for management information systems in a government are financial management information systems, personnel management information systems, external finance management information systems, programmes/projects management information systems, civil registration systems, enterprises registration systems, motor vehicle registration systems, passport management systems, patents management information systems, land management information systems, police information systems, judicial information systems, information systems for national defense and security, and information systems for various public sectors.

Decision-making support systems
The emphasis in the use of decision support systems is on providing support to decision makers in terms of increasing the effectiveness of the decision-making efforts. Generally, decision support systems are used for strategic and sometimes tactical situations. The primary components of a decision support system are a data base management system, a model-base management system, and a dialogue generation and management system. Obviously, decision support systems usually are built based on operational systems and management information systems existing within the organizations.

These systems are retrospective in that they are concerned with the past, and projective in nature in that they project future trends from past events. The data in decision support systems tends to be less precise and more statistically oriented. That is, they tend to look at the whole situation rather than individual events.

Examples of decision support systems in a government are national, sectoral, and urban/regional planning information systems, natural resources information systems, laws and regulations information systems, scientific and technological information systems, social and economic information systems, demography information systems, manpower information systems, executive information systems, and so forth. Artificial intelligence and expert systems have been developed rapidly as tools to support decision-making.

Source

 * United Nations, "Government Information Systems" 8-9 (1995) (full-text).