Providing an e-learning platform in a university context - balancing the organisational frame for application service providing

Universities have severe difficulties in using e-learning applications successfully due to organisational problems to provide them. Providing a Web-based learning environment is an enormous effort not only from the didactical and organisational perspective, but also from an administrative and technical point of view. In this paper, we critically review two case studies for making software available in a university context by applying a model for application service providing. ASP in the university context is a different business than ASP between companies. A much more flexible relation between service provider and consumer needs to be established. We describe the necessary process that is based on an evolutionary approach consisting of repeated loops that help to balance the organisational frame for application service providing on the four different levels: application domain, organisation, services, and contracts.