The maturity of e-government implementation in research and practice has developed tremendously over the years. Nevertheless, the challenges encountered and the overall growth of e-government in different countries varies; studies by organizations such as the UN and World Bank evidence these variations. To successfully implement e-government, governments are required to deepen their understanding of aspects such as benefits, challenges and success factors. Contributing to this knowledge and understanding, the paper investigates factors framing successful design and implementation of e-government systems. The paper presents and analyses the literature and results from an e-government inquiry in Germany. The paper highlights important factors for successful implementation of e-government and also presents opinions on strategic aspects for e-government systems design with reference to Germany. It finally highlights the need for further research in the domain.