isitDown

What problem we're working on, and why does it matter

Government officers using tools like FormSG, Plumber, and email systems have no reliable way to know if a service issue is just affecting them or everyone. When something breaks, officers waste time troubleshooting on their own, asking colleagues in group chats, or waiting for IT support to respond. In some cases, this back-and-forth can drag on for days or weeks. This uncertainty leads to decision paralysis, delays work, and floods support teams with duplicate reports.

This matters because officers need to quickly know: "Is it just me, or is it everyone?"

If they know others are affected, they can move on to other tasks instead of wasting time troubleshooting. For product owners, this also means detecting incidents faster than through support tickets alone. One user noted this would be especially helpful "after office hours when nobody is online with you to check for you" and could help teams troubleshoot even when key personnel are unavailable.

What we have actually built

We built a working MVP that tracks 2 OGP services (FormSG and Plumber) and allows officers to report issues with one click, view real-time reports from other agencies, participate in discussions, and see top issues over the last 24 hours. Reports are anonymous and peer-validated, so officers can confirm whether others are experiencing the same issue. We built differentiated access controls so government officers see full incident details while members of public see summary views only. The core reporting and validation flows are functional.

Next steps include resolution workflows, product owner dashboard views, mobile responsiveness, and post-submission guidance directing officers to helpful resources.

IsItDown homepage showing real-time status of government tools like FormSG, Plumber, and Postman at a glance.

Officers can report issues with one click, see real-time activity, and discuss workarounds with others across agencies.

How real people are using it, and what is happening as a result

No one has used the product in production yet. However, we tested the prototype with users across 3 agencies (SPF, MOM, SGH). Officers found the one-click reporting "very fuss free" and appreciated not having to type out descriptions. One user said this platform could "cut down waiting time by 1-2 days." Another rated it 5/5 for systems she uses often, calling it "nice to have a one-stop shop to check everything."

One critical insight we learnt is that users want to know that the product team has been notified. Without official acknowledgment or status updates, users said they would "spam the report button, check discussions, or email the product team directly" defeating the platform's purpose.

Our next step involves deploying IsItDown on Plumber as our first pilot.