Requirements Gathering in Implementing a Web Presence: A study of an Australian Local Government Implementation

The Internet, including the World Wide Web and electronic commerce, is transforming the nature of economies and communities globally. The fundamentals of these changes are impacting on industry, communities and governments alike. Today national, state and local area governments are actively pursuing the Internet in an aggressive manner. In Australia local governments authorities (LGA) are beginning to use the Internet as a new tool for the dissemination of information and delivery of services to the communities they represent. The effectiveness of the Internet as a tool for dissemination of information and delivery of services into local communities by local governments has yet to be evaluated. This paper provides a retrospective review of a web implementation project in a rural region of Victoria, in light of current development in the use of Internet applications by local governments nationally. It attempts to make some observations on the process employed and the results achieved. From this research there are a number of more general recommendations that can be made. These address the development of a Web site and the ongoing resources required in the maintenance of the site.