Let’s get digital

More than 75% of our constituents interact with the Massachusetts state government online — but if you looked at Mass.gov, you’d find that hard to believe. It’s past time for us to reflect the talent and technological innovation of the people who live in this great state.

That’s why we formed Massachusetts Digital Services at MassIT. We’re a group of developers, UX and graphic designers, content producers, and technologists who are passionate about figuring out how to catch up.

We know it’ll be a bumpy and long road. But someday, we hope to make your interactions with state government wicked awesome.

Right now, the most common way people find us online is the Commonwealth’s website. It’s a beast, weighing in at more than 235,000 HTML pages and docs.

One of our big projects here at Digital Services is trying to update, redesign, replatform, and rewrite Mass.gov. Basically, we’re taking it down to the studs.

Over the coming months, we’ll be chronicling our journey as we launch a pilot site, test some of our hypotheses, and iterate. We’re a little ways down the road already, and we’ll post about the decisions we’ve made so far to fill you in. Follow this channel for updates. Our next post will explore how we’re using atomic design as a foundation for the project.

To deliver a Mass.gov that works for everyone, we need your help. We know there are a ton of talented people in our community, and we want as much input as we can muster.

Whether you’re a Massachusetts resident who just wants an easier way to file your taxes or a developer with some concerns about our code — or both — we’d love to collaborate with you. We have some big problems to solve, and we can’t do it alone.

If you have questions about the project or Massachusetts Digital Services at MassIT, please comment. We’re looking forward to hearing from our colleagues and neighbors!

PS — A few of our team members will be out at the Code for America Summit in Oakland this week. If you’re attending, find us to help us do our very first tests on the new website. You can tweet @WheresHJ or @HollyStClair for more info. Hope to see you there!

Interested in a career in civic tech? Find job openings at Digital Services.
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