CommonMASS is a civic technology platform designed to help Massachusetts residents quickly identify public benefits they may qualify for, including student aid, food assistance, and transportation discounts.
Developed as an IT485 Capstone project at the University of Massachusetts Boston in collaboration with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS).
Live Demo: commonmass.org
Accessing public benefits can be confusing, fragmented, and time-consuming. Many residents do not know which programs exist, what they qualify for, or where to begin.
CommonMASS addresses that problem through a guided digital experience that helps users:
- answer a short eligibility questionnaire
- view relevant benefit matches
- receive a personalized checklist of next steps
- reduce time spent navigating disconnected websites and requirements
The goal is simple: make public benefits easier to understand and easier to access.
Public assistance programs are valuable only if people can actually find and use them. Today, that process is often difficult because information is spread across multiple agencies, eligibility rules are unclear, and application steps vary from program to program.
CommonMASS was built to improve that experience by creating a single, user-friendly starting point for benefit discovery.
This project focuses on:
- accessibility
- clarity
- guided decision support
- practical civic impact
- secure cloud-based delivery
- Guided screening experience for benefit discovery
- Eligibility-based matching for relevant programs
- Personalized checklist generation for next steps
- Simple, public-facing interface designed for ease of use
- Cloud-hosted deployment with scalable web delivery
- Architecture and documentation prepared for review and future expansion
CommonMASS is intended as a proof-of-concept civic platform that demonstrates how modern cloud architecture, thoughtful user experience, and structured eligibility workflows can improve access to public services.
The project includes:
- a front-end user experience for screening and results
- supporting backend and data structures
- architecture documentation
- deployment through AWS cloud services
- repository standards for collaboration, security, and maintainability
System architecture documentation is available in the repository:
- Editable diagram:
documentation/architecture/commonmass-aws-architecture.drawio - Viewable export:
documentation/architecture/commonmass-aws-architecture.png
This architecture was designed to support a secure, scalable, and maintainable cloud-based deployment model.
Frontend
- React
- TypeScript
- Vite
Backend / Application Logic
- Python
Cloud / Infrastructure
- AWS
- CloudFront
- S3
Project Workflow
- GitHub
- Jira
DNS / Delivery
- Cloudflare
This repository includes supporting documentation and standards for maintainability and responsible collaboration, including:
- MIT License
- Code of Conduct
- Contributing Guidelines
- Security Policy
These materials reflect a project structure intended to be professional, reviewable, and scalable beyond a classroom prototype.
CommonMASS was developed through the University of Massachusetts Boston IT485 Capstone as a team-based civic technology project in collaboration with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS).
The project emphasizes:
- applied cloud architecture
- civic technology
- collaborative software delivery
- documentation and system design
- user-centered public service workflows
University of Massachusetts Boston – IT485 Capstone Team
-
Carson Evans – Technical Lead - Cloud Architect Email:
Carson.Evans001@umb.edu -
An T Nguyen – Backend Software Engineer
Email:An.Nguyen009@umb.edu -
Cekoi C Smith – Full Stack Engineer
Email:Cekoi.Smith001@umb.edu -
Ryan KetemepiKokou – Backend Software Engineer
Email:R.KetemepiKokou001@umb.edu -
Zain Raza – Backend Software Engineer
Email:Zain.Raza001@umb.edu
For local installation, environment setup, and running the project in development, see SETUP.md.
For contribution workflow, branching, and pull requests, see CONTRIBUTING.md.