Yes, this has been a year like no other. Despite all that, as usual, we wrap things up with a list of our most successful blog articles. Thank you, always, for reading and sharing with friends and co-workers and on social media. We are glad to have you as a reader!
Top 12 Blog Articles
And the top 12 blog articles of 2020 (based on unique page views from Google Analytics and Mouseflow) are:
1. How to Simplify Drupal Builds with Yarn and Webpack
Some useful tools to automate the management of multiple packages
When a Drupal site grows organically, with multiple contributors, the front-end configuration can get out of hand. What starts as a single theme and module, over time can evolve into a Frankenstein mashup of modules and themes and JavaScript (JS) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) that no one understands. As a result, the deployment script has to work double time to put everything together. Ugh.
Joseph Descalzota
February 11, 2020
2. Goal Setting Techniques That Actually Work
How to create high quality goals to transform you and your organization
Do you ever feel like the day flies by and you must have done a lot because you were really busy, but you didn’t get a lot done? Even more so when working at home, with the distractions that can pop up, it might feel like the time is slipping by, but your best work isn’t getting done.
Kevin Ferguson
March 17, 2020
3. Work From Home Life Hacks
Remote life strategies from our distributed team members
As isolated from our co-workers as we may feel working at home, the reality is that we are all experiencing similar challenges and fears and victories as we navigate this new landscape. While our company has been remote with clients for nearly 10 years, we, like most, are new to working from home full time. We get that people are feeling fallible and a little bit overwhelmed.
GWW Staff
March 31, 2020
4. Developer Spotlight at GovWebworks
Software developer Rachel Charow shares some scenes from her working life
Hi, I’m Rachel Charow. I work as a software developer at GovWebworks, the public sector brand of Portland Webworks, based in Portland, Maine. We are a 20-year old company that provides online digital applications for government agencies. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out technical solutions for our clients, and I especially like collaborating with my teammates to provide the best product we can. We learn a lot from each other every day. Here’s a sampling of events that make up my work life…
Rachel Charow
January 21, 2020
5. Digital Transformation Series: Making Sense of Digital Transformation
What does it mean? And how does it work for the public sector?
The term “digital transformation” is one that is used, and misused, a lot these days as a response to dynamic conditions. Too often the knee-jerk reaction to the need for change is to latch on to the latest consultant buzzwords, march in an army of trainers proficient in that specific buzzword, and hope that the problem fixes itself. So what is digital transformation, really?
Ravi Jackson
August 18, 2020
6. Bringing the Future Home
How Maine’s new Roux Institute is developing technological talent for future growth
Like many smaller states, Maine struggles to develop and retain technology talent. While our hometown of Portland is beloved for its award-winning restaurants, seacoast recreation, and brick-and-cobbles charm, it lacks the technological resources to meet growing demands. Now, with the launch of the Roux Institute, Maine is looking to solve this dilemma.
Melissa Coleman
February 25, 2020
7. Strategies for Child Support Modernization
Take steps now to prepare for an unpredictable future
In the light of the current public health crisis and subsequent economic fallout, we can expect Child Support Enforcement to come under increased pressure. It’s a given that the immediate and widespread impact on employment is going to place pressure on parents with child support obligations.
Tom Lovering
April 14, 2020
8. UX Says, UI Says
How user experience and user interface design fit together, and why they both matter
UX and UI are like milk and cookies, better together. And we find the best results come from a discussion between the two. When designing for public sector sites and applications, we layer business analytics and knowledge about users with graphic treatments.
Sarah Crossman
Christopher Prinn
July 21, 2020
9. AI Solutions for Government
Our AI Lab highlights forward-thinking innovations for content management systems and software applications
Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming an integral part of government software development strategies and initiatives, reshaping the way products are created, delivered, and used. These technologies aren’t just disrupting how we create, engage, and interact with data and information, they are transforming the entire pipeline, enabling new processes and efficiencies, as well as categories of products that never existed before.
Adam Kempler
June 16, 2020
10. 211 Maine to the Rescue
An updated online directory supports Maine’s help line to better serve people in need
Not only is Nikki Busmanis 211 Maine’s program manager, she’s also a prime example of how easy it is to get help from the health and human services information referral line. Established in Maine in 2006, the statewide organization provides centralized access to local assistance for health, shelter, substance use, and food via the Maine-based contact center, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Melissa Coleman
September 22, 2020
11. Three Pillars of Online Content Migration
How we use the curated migration process to create user-centered content
Migrating content is too often the surprise stumbling block in the website development process. Because migration can be a time consuming and thankless effort, the default mode is to automate or copy-paste content from the old site to the new as quickly as possible. While this approach is tempting in the effort to save time and money, we encourage our clients to instead look at migration as an opportunity to improve content for the better.
Melissa Coleman
July 28, 2020
12. Core Values For Employee Happiness
Lessons learned from the Best Places to Work award on workplace satisfaction during a pandemic
The elusive secrets of employee engagement have been a hot topic during the pandemic. To celebrate our fifth consecutive ranking as one of the Best Places to Work in Maine, we’re taking a closer look at what makes a positive workplace at GovWebworks so we can share these insights here and with clients.
GWW Staff
October 27, 2020
Here’s to 2021
Thank you to our clients, vendors, online event organizers, employees, and contractors. We couldn’t do any of this without you, especially this year. From our bubble to yours, we wish you the happiest of holidays. And here’s hoping we will see each other in person in 2021!
