Implementation of Electronic Records Management Systems: Potential and Challenges a Case Study of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in Pakistan

Abstract

The state of record-keeping in the majority of local government organizations in Pakistan remains outdated where conventional systems are still followed for daily processes due to the vast amount of legacy systems and red-tapism. This research conducts a case study to understand the current state of record-keeping in a local government organization and the challenges in implementing an electronic records management system (ERMS) to promote the concept of good governance with the aid of transparency and accountability. A government department in Pakistan, i.e., the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), is the selected case study; qualitative data were collected from expert interviews and employee questionnaires, which have been analyzed with tool-based thematic analysis. The proposed state of processes is displayed through a To-Be model by a visual representation of the advantages that an ERMS system can provide for a proper flow of steps and timely delivery of services.