Guides and Resources

21st Century IDEA

How to Test Websites for Accessibility —Use both manual and automated testing methods to create accessible websites.
USWDS Maturity Model —How to adopt the design system incrementally and design and build better digital experiences.
Best Practices for Writing for the Accessible Web —Tips for making online information accessible for those with auditory and visual needs.
The website standards —as defined in 21st Century IDEA
21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act —21st Century IDEA aims to improve the digital experience for government customers and reinforces existing requirements for federal public websites.
Federal Web Council —A cross-agency group that is working to improve the delivery of government information and digital services.

Accessibility

How to Test Websites for Accessibility —Use both manual and automated testing methods to create accessible websites.
An Introduction to USWDS 2.0 —A design system for the federal government.
Bilingual Glossaries, Dictionaries, and Style Guides —Governmentwide resources to make communicating government information to multilingual audiences easier and more consistent.
18F Accessibility Guide —A resource for developing accessible products.
Accessibility for Teams —A guide to making products more accessible for everyone.
PlainLanguage.gov —A guide to making copy clear and easy to understand.
Best Practices for Writing for the Accessible Web —Tips for making online information accessible for those with auditory and visual needs.
Introduction to Accessibility —An introduction to accessibility, and why it matters.
The Section 508 Standards —The Section 508 Standard for Electronic and Information Technology requires that when a federal agency shares information digitally, …
Improving the Accessibility of Social Media in Government —Government agencies are increasingly using social media to engage with citizens, share information and deliver services more quickly and …
Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad —Improving the Accessibility of Social Media for Public Service The following contains the shared document for the development of the Social …
Web Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) —A single shared standard for web content accessibility, developed in the open to meet the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally

Agile

Foundations of Agile, Part I —18F’s Alan Atlas and Alan Brouilette cover the fundamentals of Agile.
Foundations of Agile, Part II —18F’s Alan Atlas and Alan Brouilette cover the fundamentals of Agile.
18F De-risking Guides —Field guides for state and federal agencies on how to structure software development teams, write contracts, and oversee agile software activities to reduce risks and improve outcomes for end-users.
18F Guide to Product Management —Best practices on doing product management well
18F Methods —A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.

Challenges and Prizes

Guidance on the Use of Challenges and Prizes to Promote Open Government —In September 2009, the President released his Strategy for American Innovation, calling for agencies to increase their ability to promote …

Code

An Introduction to GitHub —How to use GitHub in easy, practical steps to create, manage and publish website content.
An Introduction to USWDS 2.0 —A design system for the federal government.
USWDS Maturity Model —How to adopt the design system incrementally and design and build better digital experiences.

Contact Centers

Tips for Starting Your Customer Experience Journey —Low-cost, low-lift actions that any federal employee can take to improve customer experience.
Contact Center Operation and Management —Many things can impact the service quality, economics, and sustainability of your government contact center. This section provides insight …
Contact Center Technologies —A contact center is supported by many technologies designed to enhance the customer experience, improve the operating and management …
Getting Started with your Contact Center —Planning and creating a successful government contact center is a complex endeavor. This guide will provide you with the information and tools to get you started.
Contact Center Guidelines —Contact Centers are becoming the hub for federal agencies to gather valuable, decision-making data to meet their missions. The Contact …

Content

Bilingual Glossaries, Dictionaries, and Style Guides —Governmentwide resources to make communicating government information to multilingual audiences easier and more consistent.
PlainLanguage.gov —A guide to making copy clear and easy to understand.
18F Methods —A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.
Style Guides by Government Agencies —This page is a collection of style guides created by government agencies.

Content Strategy

18F Methods —A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.
Content Management Systems Used by Government Agencies —A list of Content Management Systems (CMS) used by government agencies.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing Toolkit for Federal Agencies —What is a Challenge? In a challenge, a “seeker” challenges “solvers” to identify a solution to a particular problem, …

Customer Experience

OMB Circular A-11 Section 280: Managing Customer Experience and Improving Service Delivery —Guidance on how to measure customer experience, including questions on satisfaction and confidence/trust in section 280.7
Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act —A plain language guide which answers the most common questions to the PRA
Tips for Starting Your Customer Experience Journey —Low-cost, low-lift actions that any federal employee can take to improve customer experience.
Customer Experience Toolkit —Customer Experience (CX) is defined as the sum of all experiences a customer has with your organization. Since government is often a …
Contact Center Technologies —A contact center is supported by many technologies designed to enhance the customer experience, improve the operating and management …
Contact Center Guidelines —Contact Centers are becoming the hub for federal agencies to gather valuable, decision-making data to meet their missions. The Contact …

Data

Inventory.data.gov Guide —Introduction Features Using inventory.data.gov Creating a User Account Using inventory.data.gov to manage datasets Adding a Dataset …
How to Get Your Open Data on Data.gov —Find out below how federal, federal geospatial, and non-federal data is funneled to Data.gov and how you can get your data federated on …

Design

Deceptive Design: How to Identify and Combat Consequence Design —Consequence design is part of everyday life. Deceptive techniques like “dark patterns” and “hostile design” trick people into taking …
Privacy-Preserving Collaboration Using Cryptography —In conjunction with her May 2020 presentation, Dr. Emily Shen outlines her work on Secure multi-party computation (MPC), a type of …
Addressing Barriers to User-Centered Design —An overview of the most common barriers and how federal agencies might address them.
The basics of human-centered design in government —How the Lab at OPM drives innovation through design education
An Introduction to USWDS 2.0 —A design system for the federal government.
18F Accessibility Guide —A resource for developing accessible products.
Accessibility for Teams —A guide to making products more accessible for everyone.
USWDS Maturity Model —How to adopt the design system incrementally and design and build better digital experiences.
Best Practices for Writing for the Accessible Web —Tips for making online information accessible for those with auditory and visual needs.
18F Guide to Product Management —Best practices on doing product management well
18F Methods —A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.

Emerging Tech

Privacy-Preserving Collaboration Using Cryptography —In conjunction with her May 2020 presentation, Dr. Emily Shen outlines her work on Secure multi-party computation (MPC), a type of …

Governance

OMB Circular A-130 —Managing Information as a Strategic Resource
OMB M-17-06 —Policies for Federal Agency Public Websites and Digital Services
Checklist of Requirements for Federal Websites and Digital Services —The relevant laws, policies, and regulations for federal agencies.
2012 Digital Government Strategy —The 2012 Digital Government Strategy mission drives agencies, and the need to deliver better services to customers at a lower …

Metrics

OMB M-17-06 —Policies for Federal Agency Public Websites and Digital Services

Mobile

An Introduction to USWDS 2.0 —A design system for the federal government.
Eight Principles of Mobile-Friendliness —Following these principles will help you make your site more usable and user-friendly.
How to track performance —A step-by-step guide to picking metrics and tools for tracking performance on your siteundefined
Mobile Development Strategies —The following is a list of the most common mobile development strategies.
A Guide to Creating Mobile-Friendly Websites —Five tactics for improving the performance of your website
Connected Government Act —As of July of 2018, all new and redesigned agency websites are required to be mobile friendly.
Mobile User Experience Guidelines —Six user experience guidelines for creating a mobile product.
Mobile SOW and Developer Qualifications —Structuring a Statement of Work (SOW) for the development or modification of mobile products should be similar to any SOW your government …
Mobile Application Development Program —Helping agencies plan, develop, test and launch anytime, anywhere, any device mobile products and services for the public. Plan—Build …

Multilingual

Bilingual Glossaries, Dictionaries, and Style Guides —Governmentwide resources to make communicating government information to multilingual audiences easier and more consistent.
Top 10 Best Practices for Multilingual Websites —Ten tips for creating and managing multilingual government websites.
Dept. of Justice Memo Reaffirming the Mandates of EO 13166 —Executive Order 13 1661 was issued in August of 2000 and this memorandum reaffirms its mandate. The Executive Order has two primary parts: …
Improving Access to Services for People with Limited English Proficiency (EO 13166) —On August 11, 2000, the President signed Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English …
Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries: Spanish Health Care Terms in the United States —A list of common English health care and medical terms, and their Spanish translations.
Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries: Internet Resources —A list of additional Internet resources to help standardize the use of Spanish across government.
Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries: Information Technology Terms —A list of common English information technology terms, and their Spanish translations.
Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries: Frequently Mistranslated English Terms —A collection of frequently mistranslated English terms and their equivalent in Spanish.
Spanish Language Style Guides and Glossaries —Spanish Language Style Guides are resources for government employees, translators, and communications professionals who work with the …
Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries: Grammar —Examples and explanations for words, phrases, acronyms, numbers, punctuation, capitalization, symbols, and more used in Spanish grammar.

Open Data

Inventory.data.gov Guide —Introduction Features Using inventory.data.gov Creating a User Account Using inventory.data.gov to manage datasets Adding a Dataset …
How to Get Your Open Data on Data.gov —Find out below how federal, federal geospatial, and non-federal data is funneled to Data.gov and how you can get your data federated on …

Paperwork Reduction Act

Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act —A plain language guide which answers the most common questions to the PRA
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) —The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 requires that agencies obtain Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval before requesting …
Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act —Inspired by the goal of promoting flexible and open interactions between federal agencies and the public this memo clarifies when and how …
M-11-26 New Fast-Track Process for Collecting Service Delivery Feedback Under the Paperwork Reduction Act —The new Paperwork Reduction Act Fast Track Process will allow agencies to obtain timely feedback on service delivery while ensuring that …
Paperwork Reduction Act Fast Track Process —Protect Your Customer’s Privacy Federal agencies must follow various laws and regulations, including the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) …

Performance

How to track performance —A step-by-step guide to picking metrics and tools for tracking performance on your siteundefined

Plain Language

Bilingual Glossaries, Dictionaries, and Style Guides —Governmentwide resources to make communicating government information to multilingual audiences easier and more consistent.
PlainLanguage.gov —A guide to making copy clear and easy to understand.
Introduction to Accessibility —An introduction to accessibility, and why it matters.
Style Guides by Government Agencies —This page is a collection of style guides created by government agencies.
OMB Final Guidance on Implementing the Plain Writing Act of 2010 (M 11-15) —In the January 2009 Memo on Transparency and Open Government, President Obama emphasized the importance of establishing “a system of …
Plain Writing Act of 2010 —The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (PDF, 153 kb, 3 pages, September 2010) was enacted to enhance citizen access to Government information and …
Federal Plain Language Guidelines —The Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN) put together these federal guidelines to help implement the Plain Language Act of …
Plain Language Web Writing Tips —On the Web, people are in a hurry. They skim and scan, looking for fast answers to their questions, so it’s important to get to the …

Policies and Regulations

OMB M-20-19 —Harnessing Technology to Support Mission Continuity
OMB Circular A-11 Section 280: Managing Customer Experience and Improving Service Delivery —Guidance on how to measure customer experience, including questions on satisfaction and confidence/trust in section 280.7
Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act —A plain language guide which answers the most common questions to the PRA
OMB Memos, Circulars, Executive Orders and Other Policies —Tech- and digital-related policies, memos, circulars and executive orders.
OMB Circular A-130 —Managing Information as a Strategic Resource
OMB M-17-06 —Policies for Federal Agency Public Websites and Digital Services
Checklist of Requirements for Federal Websites and Digital Services —The relevant laws, policies, and regulations for federal agencies.
Required Web Content and Links —A list of required links that all federal websites need to have
The website standards —as defined in 21st Century IDEA
21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act —21st Century IDEA aims to improve the digital experience for government customers and reinforces existing requirements for federal public websites.
Connected Government Act —As of July of 2018, all new and redesigned agency websites are required to be mobile friendly.
Government Customer Service Policies & Requirements: 1993 to Present —May 2016—GAO Report GAO-16-509 March 2016—OMB Memo M-16-08 Establishment of the Core Federal Services Council 6/15/2017: …
Implementation of the Government Paperwork Elimination Act —The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provided this guidance to implement the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA). GPEA required …
2012 Digital Government Strategy —The Digital Government Strategy complements several initiatives aimed at building a 21st century government that works better for the …
Requirements for Accepting Externally Issued Identity Credentials —This memo dated October 6, 2011, from the Federal CIO to the CIO’s of Executive Departments and Agencies, mandates that …
OMB Final Guidance on Implementing the Plain Writing Act of 2010 (M 11-15) —In the January 2009 Memo on Transparency and Open Government, President Obama emphasized the importance of establishing “a system of …
OMB Memo on Testing and Simplifying Federal Forms —This memo set forth that “To the extent feasible and appropriate, especially for complex or lengthy forms, agencies shall engage in …
Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information —Openness in government strengthens our democracy, promotes the delivery of efficient and effective services to the public, and contributes …
Dept. of Justice Memo Reaffirming the Mandates of EO 13166 —Executive Order 13 1661 was issued in August of 2000 and this memorandum reaffirms its mandate. The Executive Order has two primary parts: …
Improving Access to Services for People with Limited English Proficiency (EO 13166) —On August 11, 2000, the President signed Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English …
Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the E–Government Act of 2002 (M-03–22) —This guidance provides information to agencies on implementing the privacy provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002. It addresses privacy …
GOV Domain Registration Process Final Rule —This final rule provided a new policy for the .GOV domain that will be included in the Federal Management Regulation. This final rule …
Digital Millennium Copyright Act —The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual …
U.S. Trademark Law —United States trademark law is mainly governed by the Lanham Act. “Common law” trademark rights are acquired automatically when …
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) —The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 requires that agencies obtain Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval before requesting …
Guidance on the Use of Challenges and Prizes to Promote Open Government —In September 2009, the President released his Strategy for American Innovation, calling for agencies to increase their ability to promote …
Guidelines for Secure Use of Social Media —The use of social media for federal services and interactions is growing tremendously, supported by initiatives from the administration, …
Antideficiency Act Implications of Certain Online Terms of Service Agreements —This memo contains the opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and sheds light on specific, …
Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 – Presentation to the 2003 FISSEA Conference —The head of the agency delegates to the CIO a number of information security responsibilities. The CIO in turn designates a senior agency …
Guidelines on Securing Public Web Servers —The World Wide Web (WWW) is a system for exchanging information over the Internet. At the most basic level, the Web can be divided into two …
FY 2004 Reporting Instructions for the Federal Information Security Management Act —This memorandum provides updated instructions for agency reporting under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA). …
NARA guidance on Managing Social Media Records —This Bulletin provides high-level record keeping requirements and best practices for capturing records created when federal agencies use …
NARA guidance on Managing Web Records —Managing web records properly is essential to effective web site operations, especially the mitigation of the risks an agency faces by using …
NARA Guidance for Implementing Section 207(e) of the E-Government Act of 2002 —This bulletin provides Federal agencies with the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) approach to improve the …
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 1220-1238 —Subchapter B of the CFR specifies polices for federal agencies records management programs relating to proper records creation and …
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”) —The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule,imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to …
Appendix I to OMB Circular No. A-130 Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals —This Appendix describes agency responsibilities for implementing the reporting and publication requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 …
Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and Applications —This Memorandum requires Federal agencies to take specific steps to protect individual privacy whenever they use third-party websites and …
No FEAR Act —The No FEAR Act requires a Federal agency to post on its public Web site summary statistical data pertaining to complaints of employment …
Guidance on President’s Management Agenda Scorecard Meetings —This memorandum provides Resource Management Offices and PMA Initiative Leads with instructions for preparing for the quarterly PMA …
Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act —Inspired by the goal of promoting flexible and open interactions between federal agencies and the public this memo clarifies when and how …
Executive Order 13571–Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service —The Executive Order 13571 on Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service “requires agencies that provide significant …
M-11-24 Implementing Executive Order 13571 on Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service —Memo M-11-24 is guidance to Implement Executive Order 13571. In order to “keep pace with the public’s expectations and to …
M-10-22 Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies —On January 21, 2009, the President issued a memorandum calling for the establishment of “a system of transparency, public …
M-11-26 New Fast-Track Process for Collecting Service Delivery Feedback Under the Paperwork Reduction Act —The new Paperwork Reduction Act Fast Track Process will allow agencies to obtain timely feedback on service delivery while ensuring that …
The Section 508 Standards —The Section 508 Standard for Electronic and Information Technology requires that when a federal agency shares information digitally, …
Plain Writing Act of 2010 —The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (PDF, 153 kb, 3 pages, September 2010) was enacted to enhance citizen access to Government information and …
Implications of Recent Web Technologies for NARA Web Guidance —This document explores some of the emerging web applications and their impact on records management. In its early days, the web was seen …
Federal Plain Language Guidelines —The Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN) put together these federal guidelines to help implement the Plain Language Act of …
E-Gov Act of 2002 —The E-Government Act of 2002 (Pub.L. 107–347, 116 Stat. 2899, 44 U.S.C. § 101, H.R. 2458/S. 803), is a United States statute …
Freedom of Information Act Memo 2009 —The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is the law that gives anyone the right to access information from the federal government. It is often …
Paperwork Reduction Act Fast Track Process —Protect Your Customer’s Privacy Federal agencies must follow various laws and regulations, including the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) …
Web Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) —A single shared standard for web content accessibility, developed in the open to meet the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally

Privacy

Privacy-Preserving Collaboration Using Cryptography —In conjunction with her May 2020 presentation, Dr. Emily Shen outlines her work on Secure multi-party computation (MPC), a type of …
Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the E–Government Act of 2002 (M-03–22) —This guidance provides information to agencies on implementing the privacy provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002. It addresses privacy …

Product Management

Foundations of Agile, Part I —18F’s Alan Atlas and Alan Brouilette cover the fundamentals of Agile.
Foundations of Agile, Part II —18F’s Alan Atlas and Alan Brouilette cover the fundamentals of Agile.
OMB M-20-19 —Harnessing Technology to Support Mission Continuity
An Introduction to USWDS 2.0 —A design system for the federal government.
OMB Circular A-130 —Managing Information as a Strategic Resource
OMB M-17-06 —Policies for Federal Agency Public Websites and Digital Services
Tips for Starting Your Customer Experience Journey —Low-cost, low-lift actions that any federal employee can take to improve customer experience.
Checklist of Requirements for Federal Websites and Digital Services —The relevant laws, policies, and regulations for federal agencies.
Eight Principles of Mobile-Friendliness —Following these principles will help you make your site more usable and user-friendly.
18F De-risking Guides —Field guides for state and federal agencies on how to structure software development teams, write contracts, and oversee agile software activities to reduce risks and improve outcomes for end-users.
Introduction to Accessibility —An introduction to accessibility, and why it matters.
Federal Web Council —A cross-agency group that is working to improve the delivery of government information and digital services.
18F Guide to Product Management —Best practices on doing product management well
Connected Government Act —As of July of 2018, all new and redesigned agency websites are required to be mobile friendly.

Project Management

Foundations of Agile, Part I —18F’s Alan Atlas and Alan Brouilette cover the fundamentals of Agile.
Foundations of Agile, Part II —18F’s Alan Atlas and Alan Brouilette cover the fundamentals of Agile.
18F De-risking Guides —Field guides for state and federal agencies on how to structure software development teams, write contracts, and oversee agile software activities to reduce risks and improve outcomes for end-users.
18F Guide to Product Management —Best practices on doing product management well

Research

18F Research Guidelines —Covers the basic principles research: informing and getting consent, and managing personally identifiable information (PII)
Addressing Barriers to User-Centered Design —An overview of the most common barriers and how federal agencies might address them.
Managing Research Projects Remotely —Best practices for distributed teams.
The basics of human-centered design in government —How the Lab at OPM drives innovation through design education
Stakeholder and User Interview Checklist —Stakeholder and User Interview Checklist
Usability Testing with Steve Krug —Get started making usability fixes to your website or product.
Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act —A plain language guide which answers the most common questions to the PRA
Tips for capturing the best data from user interviews —How to ensure the most useful information makes its way back to your team for further analysis
18F Methods —A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.

Security

Privacy-Preserving Collaboration Using Cryptography —In conjunction with her May 2020 presentation, Dr. Emily Shen outlines her work on Secure multi-party computation (MPC), a type of …
OMB Circular A-130 —Managing Information as a Strategic Resource
How to Prevent Security Certificates From Expiring During a Lapse in Operations —These are the steps that people in government can take to avoid having security certificates expire during a lapse in operations.
Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 – Presentation to the 2003 FISSEA Conference —The head of the agency delegates to the CIO a number of information security responsibilities. The CIO in turn designates a senior agency …
Social Media Cyber-Vandalism Toolkit —Guidance on how to respond to cyber-hijacking.

Guidelines for Secure Use of Social Media —The use of social media for federal services and interactions is growing tremendously, supported by initiatives from the administration, …
NARA guidance on Managing Social Media Records —This Bulletin provides high-level record keeping requirements and best practices for capturing records created when federal agencies use …
Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act —Inspired by the goal of promoting flexible and open interactions between federal agencies and the public this memo clarifies when and how …
Social Media Cyber-Vandalism Toolkit —Guidance on how to respond to cyber-hijacking.
Improving the Accessibility of Social Media in Government —Government agencies are increasingly using social media to engage with citizens, share information and deliver services more quickly and …
Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad —Improving the Accessibility of Social Media for Public Service The following contains the shared document for the development of the Social …
Guidance for Social Media Providers —GSA welcomes interest from providers that want to offer, for the federal government’s consideration, social media products that are …

Strategy

Tips for Starting Your Customer Experience Journey —Low-cost, low-lift actions that any federal employee can take to improve customer experience.
18F De-risking Guides —Field guides for state and federal agencies on how to structure software development teams, write contracts, and oversee agile software activities to reduce risks and improve outcomes for end-users.
18F Guide to Product Management —Best practices on doing product management well
Mobile Development Strategies —The following is a list of the most common mobile development strategies.
A Guide to Creating Mobile-Friendly Websites —Five tactics for improving the performance of your website

Training

An Introduction to GitHub —How to use GitHub in easy, practical steps to create, manage and publish website content.

U.S. Web Design System

Deceptive Design: How to Identify and Combat Consequence Design —Consequence design is part of everyday life. Deceptive techniques like “dark patterns” and “hostile design” trick people into taking …
An Introduction to USWDS 2.0 —A design system for the federal government.
USWDS Maturity Model —How to adopt the design system incrementally and design and build better digital experiences.
Best Practices for Writing for the Accessible Web —Tips for making online information accessible for those with auditory and visual needs.
The website standards —as defined in 21st Century IDEA
21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act —21st Century IDEA aims to improve the digital experience for government customers and reinforces existing requirements for federal public websites.
How to track performance —A step-by-step guide to picking metrics and tools for tracking performance on your siteundefined

Usability

Usability Testing with Steve Krug —Get started making usability fixes to your website or product.
18F Methods —A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.
Usability Starter Kit —Here are some tools and templates to help you create better user experiences.
Fueleconomy.gov – Extended Case Study —Like any valid business decision, User Experience work should produce results and demonstrable impact. To see a list of screenshots from …
Government Usability Case Studies —This list of government usability case studies shows how government sites, mobile apps and other products become more effective, more …

User Experience

Deceptive Design: How to Identify and Combat Consequence Design —Consequence design is part of everyday life. Deceptive techniques like “dark patterns” and “hostile design” trick people into taking …
An Introduction to USWDS 2.0 —A design system for the federal government.
18F Accessibility Guide —A resource for developing accessible products.
Accessibility for Teams —A guide to making products more accessible for everyone.
How to track performance —A step-by-step guide to picking metrics and tools for tracking performance on your siteundefined
18F Methods —A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.
Usability Starter Kit —Here are some tools and templates to help you create better user experiences.
DigitalGov User Experience Program: Test Support —It’s always best to test a product BEFORE you release it. So the best time to evaluate the usability of a product is as early as …
DigitalGov User Experience Program: Speaking Opportunities —The DigitalGov User Experience Program presents to federal audiences by phone, webinar and in person. We cover a variety of topics, …
Fueleconomy.gov – Extended Case Study —Like any valid business decision, User Experience work should produce results and demonstrable impact. To see a list of screenshots from …
Government Usability Case Studies —This list of government usability case studies shows how government sites, mobile apps and other products become more effective, more …
Mobile User Experience Guidelines —Six user experience guidelines for creating a mobile product.
DigitalGov User Experience Resources —DigitalGov’s user experience resources provide tools for federal employees on how to make products and services more user-friendly, …

User Research

18F Research Guidelines —Covers the basic principles research: informing and getting consent, and managing personally identifiable information (PII)
Addressing Barriers to User-Centered Design —An overview of the most common barriers and how federal agencies might address them.
Managing Research Projects Remotely —Best practices for distributed teams.
The basics of human-centered design in government —How the Lab at OPM drives innovation through design education
Stakeholder and User Interview Checklist —Stakeholder and User Interview Checklist
Usability Testing with Steve Krug —Get started making usability fixes to your website or product.
Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act —A plain language guide which answers the most common questions to the PRA
Tips for Starting Your Customer Experience Journey —Low-cost, low-lift actions that any federal employee can take to improve customer experience.
Tips for capturing the best data from user interviews —How to ensure the most useful information makes its way back to your team for further analysis
18F Methods —A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.
DigitalGov User Experience Resources —DigitalGov’s user experience resources provide tools for federal employees on how to make products and services more user-friendly, …

Writing

PlainLanguage.gov —A guide to making copy clear and easy to understand.
Style Guides by Government Agencies —This page is a collection of style guides created by government agencies.
Plain Language Web Writing Tips —On the Web, people are in a hurry. They skim and scan, looking for fast answers to their questions, so it’s important to get to the …

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