Using an integrated electronic document management system to support the central registry function of public institutions (EDCR): a case of Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development

Abstract

Electronic Document Management Systems (EDMS) have been identified globally as one of the key development strategies in the management of records in all public institutions in Uganda (NRCA, 2017). In Uganda today, the Government has made an initiative in adoption of EDMS in some public institutions to ensure that employees could access and collaborate on documents without being limited by physical location. However, many public institutions in Uganda still rely on outdated, manual methods, making it difficult to quickly find, track, share and securely handle documents which often leads to delays in service delivery. To address these issues, this study aims to develop an integrated electronic document management system for supporting operations in the Central Registry function of public institutions (EDCR), using Uganda’s MoFPED as a case study. In order to achieve the said objective, a preliminary investigation of the existing system was undertaken in MoPS and MoICT to gain deep in sight of the current document management practices and challenges faced by the Central Registry in public institutions in Uganda. Subsequently, a survey was done through the use of questionnaires to determine the requirements for an effective EDCR. The data collected was analyzed through content analysis and statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software. The System was designed using visual studio code integrated development environment specifically; PHP for backend programming, while bootstrap, CSS and JavaScript for front end coding. The system was tested and validated to realize the objectives of the study. Overall, the EDCR helped to simplify management of documents through document tracking and retrieval in real time for all stakeholders not limited to those within the MDA. This addressed the delays and difficulties in document tracking experienced with the existing system. In addition, the EDCR supported an integrated approach to document management by enabling the sharing of documents across different MDAs hence facilitating better collaboration.