Microsoft case study highlights Michigan court's website

Michigan's "One Court of Justice" website is the focus of a recent Microsoft case study, praising the site as "clear, concise, and intuitive." The Court's website was redesigned in 2012, using Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. Microsoft's case study notes that the number of site visits, and unique visitors, both doubled after the new site was launched in October 2012. The website receives an average of 186,000 visits from 89,000 unique visitors per day. Problems with the predecessor website included difficulty in navigation and in removing outdated content, noted Chief Justice Robert P. Young, Jr. "I've said that our old website was where information went to die," Young commented. "We had a great deal of good content, but it was difficult to find." Young added, "The new website is much easier to navigate and search, as reflected by the fact that traffic to our website has doubled since the new site went online. It's gratifying that Microsoft has included this successful website redesign in its case studies." The "One Court of Justice" website "offers a consistent, superior user experience on computers and mobile devices," the Microsoft case study states. Information on the site is organized by user category, and site users "experience more accurate returns from the search engine that is built into SharePoint Server," the case study finds. The redesigned site also has fresher content that is updated much more quickly and easily than in the past, the study observes. The site, www.courts. mi.gov, offers a wide variety of information, including court forms, court rules, statistics, and information on judicial branch agencies, such as the Friend of the Court. A directory of trial courts on the site includes such information as whether the court offers online access to court records or allows online payment of traffic tickets. The site also offers links to self-help resources for those who represent themselves in court without an attorney. Users can submit comments and questions via the "Site Feedback" link in the footer under "Assistance" or by e-mailing sitefeedback@ courts. mi.gov. Judicial Information Systems, the technology division of the State Court Administrative Office, led the website redesign with input from every division of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and SCAO. Technical support was provided by CDH, a Michigan-based technology consulting firm. The Microsoft case study of the "One Court of Justice" website is available at www. microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?CaseStudyID=710000002835. Published: Mon, Jul 8, 2013

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