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Guides and Resources

🌲 Essential ‘how-to’ guidance for product managers in government.

All Resources by Topic

Accessibility

Acquisition

  • Cloud Smart: Federal Cloud Computing Strategy

    Founded on three key pillars of successful cloud adoption—security, procurement, and workforce—the Cloud Smart strategy includes 11 action items from the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council.

  • TechFAR Hub

    Understand how to buy, build, and deliver modern digital services while staying on the correct side of compliance with the TechFAR Hub.

  • Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

    The primary regulation for use by all executive agencies in their acquisition of supplies and services with appropriated funds. The FAR also contains standard solicitation provisions and contract clauses and the various agency FAR supplements.

  • Find Your Section 508 Program Manager

    Agency Section 508 Program Managers (PMs) are your first point of contact for questions about IT accessibility.

  • Tabular Comparison of the Previous FAR Text Against the 2021 Update

    These FAR Council updates are effective as of September 10, 2021.

  • Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART)

    ART is a multifaceted tool that offers interactive, step-by-step guidance on how to determine applicable accessibility requirements.

  • Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 39.2 - Information and Communication Technology

    This subpart implements section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794 d), and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board’s (U.S. Access Board) information and communication technology (ICT) accessibility standards at 36 CFR 1194.1.

  • 18F De-risking Guides

    The Federal Field Guide to De-risk Government Technology offers guidance to 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.

Analytics

Artificial intelligence

Best Practices

  • Guidelines for Digital.gov event presenters

    A checklist of requirements for people who are presenting at a Digital.gov event.

  • Cloud Smart: Federal Cloud Computing Strategy

    Founded on three key pillars of successful cloud adoption—security, procurement, and workforce—the Cloud Smart strategy includes 11 action items from the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council.

  • Moving to .gov

    If you’re moving to .gov from another top-level domain, like .com, .org, or .us, here are some best practices to help you plan that transition.

  • Introduction to self-description

    Help create inclusive digital spaces with these tips for using self-descriptions in virtual meetings or conference calls.

Budgeting and performance

  • Requirements for improving the management of federal programs and projects

    Learn how to implement the Program Management Improvement Accountability Act to deliver better websites and digital services.

  • Performance.gov

    Performance.gov provides the public, agencies, members of Congress, academics, and the media a view into the progress underway to improve federal government performance and accountability to the American public.

  • TechFAR Hub

    Understand how to buy, build, and deliver modern digital services while staying on the correct side of compliance with the TechFAR Hub.

  • An introduction to analytics

    Learn how to set performance goals, and identify specific KPIs and targets to measure and meet them, using web analytics.

  • How to Build an Analytics Strategy

    A case study using Digital.gov as an example of how to assess, report, and take action using web analytics as part of an analytics strategy.

  • How to track performance

    A step-by-step guide to picking metrics and tools for tracking performance on your site.

Challenges & Prize Competitions

  • Guidance on the Use of Challenges and Prizes to Promote Open Government

    This guidance calls for the increased use of challenges and prizes to develop new tools and approaches to improve open government, and highlights for agencies policy and legal issues related to the use of prizes and challenges as tools for promoting open government, innovation, and other national priorities.

Cloud and infrastructure

  • Cloud Smart: Federal Cloud Computing Strategy

    Founded on three key pillars of successful cloud adoption—security, procurement, and workforce—the Cloud Smart strategy includes 11 action items from the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council.

Communication

Contact Centers

  • Tips for Starting Your Customer Experience Journey

    Low-cost, low-lift actions that any federal employee can take to improve customer experience.

  • Fifteen Plays of Our Contact Center Approach

    Following relevant laws, policies, and guidance, the Contact Center Center of Excellence (CoE) developed a 15-play Playbook for federal agencies that are looking to modernize and optimize their contact centers. While not every play will apply to your agency, these plays will get you started.

  • Contact Center Operation and Management

    Many things can impact the service quality, economics, and sustainability of your government contact center. This section provides insight on various aspects of operating and managing a contact center to help you improve its performance.

  • Contact Center Technologies

    A contact center is supported by many technologies designed to enhance the customer experience, improve the operating and management efficiency, or lower the overall costs of running a contact center.

  • Getting Started with your Contact Center

    This guide provides you with the information to get a governement contact center started

  • Contact Center Guidelines

    The Contact Center is no longer viewed as only a center to receive complaints, but as a valued operation in an agency’s strategy to deliver a quality customer experience.

Content Strategy

Crowdsourcing & Citizen Science

  • Crowdsourcing Toolkit for Federal Agencies

    What is a Challenge? In a challenge, a “seeker” challenges “solvers” to identify a solution to a particular problem, or rewards contestants for accomplishing a goal.

Customer experience

Design

Digital Service Delivery

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Domain Management

Governance

Information collection

Innovation

  • Open Data Policy (M-13-13)

    This Memorandum establishes a framework to help institutionalize the principles of effective information management at each stage of the information’s life cycle to promote interoperability and openness.

Mobile

  • Eight Principles of Mobile-Friendliness

    Following these principles will help you make your site more usable and user-friendly.

  • An Introduction to USWDS 3.0

    A design system for the federal government that makes it easier to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites for the American public.

  • Introduction to QR codes

    What is a QR code and how can you create one? What are some alternatives to using QR codes? This introductory resource will help you explore your options.

  • U.S. Web Design System

    A design system for the federal government that makes it easier to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites for the American public.

  • How to track performance

    A step-by-step guide to picking metrics and tools for tracking performance on your site.

  • Mobile Development Strategies

    The following is a list of the most common mobile development strategies.

  • A Guide to Creating Mobile-Friendly Websites

    Based on a recent six-month study, this guide outlines the top five practices needed to improve the mobile-friendliness of federal websites: the optimization of JavaScript, CSS, and images, caching, and pop-ups.

  • Connected Government Act

    Resources to help your agency comply with the Connected Government Act.

  • Mobile User Experience Guidelines

    These mobile user experience guidelines were distilled from community feedback about mobile UX practices.

  • 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 organization issues for IT products and services.

Multilingual

Multimedia

Open Data

  • How to Build an Analytics Strategy

    A case study using Digital.gov as an example of how to assess, report, and take action using web analytics as part of an analytics strategy.

  • Inventory.data.gov Guide

    Introduction Features Using inventory.data.gov Creating a User Account Using inventory.data.gov to manage datasets Adding a Dataset Exporting Data.json Automating data.json downloads by agencies Dataset Hosting Webinar on inventory.data.gov Introduction Inventory.data.gov is a data management tool established in 2013 by the Data.gov Program Management Office (PMO) in what is now the Technology Transformation Service of the

  • 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 Data.gov for greater discoverability and and impact.

Open Government

  • 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 described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. This 2009 FOIA memo covers the following: An agency should not withhold information simply because it may do so legally. Whenever an

Plain Language

Podcast

Policies and Regulations

Privacy

Product and project management

Professional Development

Records Management

Research

Robotic process automation

Search Engine Optimization

Security

Social Media

  • Social media cyber-vandalism toolkit

    Cyber-vandalism presents a serious challenge to online-based communication tools. This resource provides information for agency practitioners to prepare for, recover from, and respond to cyber-vandalism.

  • An introduction to working with social media influencers

    Learn how to partner with social media influencers and design, implement, and measure an influencer program.

  • How to start and sustain a federal podcast

    Discover how to create and maintain a successful podcast at your federal agency.

  • Introduction to QR codes

    What is a QR code and how can you create one? What are some alternatives to using QR codes? This introductory resource will help you explore your options.

  • Guidelines for Secure Use of Social Media

    Guidelines and recommendations for using social media technologies in a manner that minimizes risks are analyzed and presented in this document.

  • Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act

    This memo clarifies when and how the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA) applies to federal agency use of social media and web-based interactive technologies.

  • Social Media Cyber-Vandalism Toolkit

    Cyber-vandalism presents a serious challenge to online-based communication tools. This document provides guidance and security practices to federal, state, and local government employees. Suggestions and resources prepare users 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 effectively than ever before. But as social content, data and platforms become more diverse, agencies have a responsibility to ensure these digital services are accessible to all citizens, including people with disabilities.

  • Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad

    The following contains the shared document for the development of the Social Media Policy Toolkit, a shared service of the Federal Social Media Community of Practice lead by teams including The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.

  • 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 free of charge. If you are such a provider, please email GSA and include the following information: Explanation of the

Software Engineering

  • Requirements for delivering a digital-first public experience

    Learn how to implement 21st Century IDEA to design and deliver better websites and digital services.

  • An introduction to GitHub

    Steps for managing website content in GitHub.

  • An Introduction to USWDS 3.0

    A design system for the federal government that makes it easier to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites for the American public.

  • USWDS Maturity Model

    How to adopt the design system incrementally and design and build better digital experiences.

  • An introduction to ATOs

    What is an Authorization to Operate? Before you use software in government, you need to make sure it is allowed. You should know what an ATO is and when you need one.

  • U.S. Web Design System

    A design system for the federal government that makes it easier to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites for the American public.

  • Revised 508 Standards Roadmap

    Follow the Revised 508 Standards to ensure your information and communication technology (ICT) is accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities.

  • 18F De-risking Guides

    The Federal Field Guide to De-risk Government Technology offers guidance to 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.

Terms of Service

Trust

Usability

  • Department of Homeland Security: Usability Testing Kit

    A resource with four approaches to help federal employees perform usability testing.

  • An introduction to content

    Best practices for creating clear, useful, digital content for federal websites and digital services.

  • 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 websites we’ve improved, visit the rest of our Usability Case Studies. Or see a more complete case study below. Case Study: Fueleconomy.gov Mobile Site In December of 2012

  • Government Usability Case Studies

    This list of government usability case studies shows how government sites, mobile apps and other products become more effective, more coherent and more usable by focusing on the User Experience of their customers. Want to be featured here? Just email us. National Cancer Institute Persona

User Experience

Resources by Topic

See all topics

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