Facilitating Citizens' Voice and Process Reengineering Using a Cloud-Based Mobile App

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recently, the City of Boston implemented a mobile, cloud-based app. Originally called “Citizens Connect,” but now called “Bos:311,” the app allows citizens to report issues related to the city's infrastructure, e.g., graffiti. Rich information in the form of pictures and descriptions provided from mobile devices, along with GPS location information, facilitates crowdsourcing monitoring of the city's infrastructure. This app provides “straight through” processing of citizen requests, reengineering the processes of monitoring and fixing city infrastructure. As a result, operations and management accounting information can be more accurate and used in real time. In addition, the cloud-based capture of information from multiple cities allows comparisons and benchmarking of critical information that likely would not be possible in other settings, while allowing economic system use by large numbers of users. This paper investigates a number of hypotheses about the use of the mobile app generated from both Hirschman's and Hammer's theories.