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Guides

Principles and standards that shape our work

18F’s work with other agencies is built on user-centered development, testing to validate hypotheses, shipping often, and deploying products in the open. Below are the technical guides that bring those principles into our day-to-day work.

De-risking

Save millions of dollars and reduce risk in your technology projects.

Read De-risking guide

Design Methods

Involve the people who will use your service in the design process.

Read Design Methods guide

Accessibility

Make websites more accessible so everyone can use them.

Read Accessibility guide

Agile

Move toward an agile approach to stay within budget and provide value to the public.

Read Agile guide

Content

Create content in plain language to help the public save time and build trust.

Read Content guide

Engineering

Develop secure software in the cloud, which can reduce costs and scale to meet public need.

Read Engineering guide

Product

Support a team to deliver the right product to the right audience.

Read Product guide

User Experience

Make your products and services work for the people that use them.

Read User Experience guide

Beyond helping 18F staff do their best work, we hope these guides will inspire other federal agencies to adopt new practices. 18F’s projects with other federal agencies show that these techniques can help projects stay within budget, provide excellent value to the public, and fulfill federal rules.

These guides, and all of 18F's work, are in the worldwide public domain. You are free to copy and adapt them as you choose. If you see something amiss or want to suggest a change, there are links at the bottom of each guide to help you contribute.