18F: Digital service delivery | A revised and expanded guide for de-risking government technology projects

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en-US"> <head>  <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge" />  <meta name="HandheldFriendly" content="True" /> <meta name="MobileOptimized" content="320" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />  <title>18F: Digital service delivery | A revised and expanded guide for de-risking government technology projects </title> <meta property="og:title" content="18F: Digital service delivery | A revised and expanded guide for de-risking government technology projects " /> <meta name="description" content="" /> <meta property="og:description" content="" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" /> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@18F" /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="A revised and expanded guide for de-risking government technology projects " /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <link rel="canonical" href="/2024/09/12/derisking-guide-update/" /> <meta property="og:url" content="/2024/09/12/derisking-guide-update/" /> <script async="" src=/assets/js/uswds-init.js></script>  <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/img/favicons/favicon-16x16.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/img/favicons/favicon-32x32.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="192x192" href="/img/favicons/favicon-192x192.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/img/favicons/favicon.svg"> <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="/favicon.ico" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/img/favicons/favicon-180x180.png">  <link href="https://unpkg.com/prismjs@1.20.0/themes/prism.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link rel="preload" as="style" href="/assets/styles/styles-UKMOJPRN.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/styles/styles-UKMOJPRN.css" type="text/css" /> </head> <body class=" "> <a class="usa-skipnav" href="#main-content">Skip to main content</a> <div class="page-landing-page layout-demo "> <a class="usa-skipnav" href="#main-content">Skip to main content</a> <div class="usa-banner"> <div class="usa-accordion"> <section id="gov-banner-header-section" aria-label="USA Gov banner section header" class="usa-banner__header" > <div class="usa-banner__inner"> <div class="grid-col-auto"> <img src="/img/us_flag_small-VKjpzbKpq_.png" class="usa-banner__header-flag" alt="U.S. flag" loading="lazy" decoding="async"> </div> <div class="grid-col-fill tablet:grid-col-auto"> <p class="usa-banner__header-text"> An official website of the United States government </p> <p class="usa-banner__header-action" aria-hidden="true"> Here鈥檚 how you know </p> </div> <button class="usa-accordion__button usa-banner__button" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="gov-banner" type="button" > <span class="usa-banner__button-text">Here's how you know</span> </button> </div> </section> <div class="usa-banner__content usa-accordion__content" id="gov-banner"> <div class="grid-row grid-gap-lg"> <div class="usa-banner__guidance tablet:grid-col-6"> <div class="usa-media-block__body"> <p> <strong>The .gov means it鈥檚 official.</strong> <br /> Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. 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Find all the recommendations from the original guide鈥檚 two parts鈥攖he State Software Budgeting Handbook and the Federal Field Guide鈥攏ow in one unified package. Plus, there's a new, in-depth section on vendor management!</p> <p>Government technology projects face challenges to successful delivery from budgeting through post-award. To lower risk of failure at any stage, the guide offers methods, models, and examples that reflect:</p> <ul> <li>Best practices in modern software development</li> <li>18F鈥檚 experience working with federal and state partners</li> <li>Input from state employees</li> </ul> <p>Topics covered include:</p> <ul> <li>The differences and trade-offs between commercial and custom software</li> <li>Key principles for effective custom software development</li> <li>How (and why) to buy custom software development services using performance-based services contracting</li> <li>How to work with a vendor development team to deliver human-centered software quickly</li> </ul> <p>These changes respond to current government agency needs. As part of the Office of Management and Budget鈥檚 <a href="https://www.performance.gov/cx/life-experiences/facing-a-financial-shock/">Facing a Financial Shock initiative</a>, an 18F team talked with state employees about challenges to procuring and developing state benefits technology systems and possible improvements. Staff expressed a strong desire for federally authored resources about managing technology projects and enabling successful vendor performance. The revised guide is a resource for both.</p> <p>The changes also reflect the core 18F value to iterate. The guide's original authors hoped it would be revised over time. As we're able, we'll continue to do so.</p> <p>Check out the <a href="https://guides.18f.gov/derisking-government-tech/">new guide online</a> and in <a href="https://guides.18f.gov/assets/derisking-government-tech/dist/18f-derisking-guide.pdf">PDF</a>. You can also read the <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/blog/2024/09/11/a-revised-and-expanded-guide-for-derisking-government-technology-projects">GSA.gov press release</a> about the new guide. Share it around. Suggestions, questions, and feedback are welcome! Please reach out through the <a href="https://github.com/18F/guides/issues/new/choose" class="usa-link usa-link--external" rel="noreferrer">18F Guides GitHub repo</a>.</p> </div> </div> <aside class="tablet:grid-offset-1 tablet:grid-col-4"> <div class="bg-primary-darker padding-3 text-white usa-dark-background radius-md"> <h2 class="font-sans-lg text-bold margin-bottom-2">Follow 18F</h2> <ul class="usa-list usa-list--unstyled"> <li class="margin-bottom-2"> <a href="https://github.com/18F" class="usa-link--alt usa-link--external" rel="noreferrer" > <img src="/img/github-lightest-dnvvdJeNxl.svg" class="maxw-3 margin-right-2 text-sub" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async">18F on GitHub </a> </li> <li class="margin-bottom-2"> <a href="https://twitter.com/18F" class="usa-link--alt usa-link--external" rel="noreferrer" > <img src="/img/twitter-lightest-MyHkS8cnLa.svg" class="maxw-3 margin-right-2 text-sub" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async">18F on Twitter </a> </li> <li class="margin-bottom-2"> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/gsa18f" class="usa-link--alt usa-link--external" rel="noreferrer" > <img src="/img/linkedin-lightest-hDYpqtBBKD.svg" class="maxw-3 margin-right-2 text-sub" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async">18F on LinkedIn </a> </li> <li class="margin-bottom-2"> <a href="/feed.xml" class="usa-link--alt " > <img src="/img/rss-lightest-29xxdTjXfa.svg" class="maxw-3 margin-right-2 text-sub" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async">RSS feed </a> </li> </ul> </div> </aside> </div> </div> </article> <section class="margin-top-6 post-pagination"> <div class="grid-container"> <hr class="hr-1-base-lighter"> <div class="grid-row grid-gap"> <div class="grid-col-6"> <a href="/2024/08/20/andrew-hyder-award/" class="text-no-underline post-pagination__link" > <h2 class="post-pagination__heading"> <svg class="icon caret" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" version="1.1" x="0px" y="0px" width="512px" height="512px" viewBox="0 0 444.531 444.531" style="enable-background:new 0 0 444.531 444.531;" xml:space="preserve" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <title>Arrow left</title> <desc>Arrow pointing to the left</desc> <g> <path d="M213.13,222.409L351.88,83.653c7.05-7.043,10.567-15.657,10.567-25.841c0-10.183-3.518-18.793-10.567-25.835 l-21.409-21.416C323.432,3.521,314.817,0,304.637,0s-18.791,3.521-25.841,10.561L92.649,196.425 c-7.044,7.043-10.566,15.656-10.566,25.841s3.521,18.791,10.566,25.837l186.146,185.864c7.05,7.043,15.66,10.564,25.841,10.564 s18.795-3.521,25.834-10.564l21.409-21.412c7.05-7.039,10.567-15.604,10.567-25.697c0-10.085-3.518-18.746-10.567-25.978 L213.13,222.409z" fill="#046b99"/> </g> </svg> Previous Post </h2> <p class="measure-1 text-bold text-primary-darkest">Andrew Hyder Government Service Improvement Award recognizes commitment to serving the public </p> </a> </div> <div class="grid-col-6 text-right"> <a href="/2024/10/08/18f-year-of-launches/" class="text-no-underline post-pagination__link" > <h2 class="post-pagination__heading"> Next Post <svg class="icon caret" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="444.819" height="444.819" viewBox="0 0 444.819 444.819" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <title>Arrow right</title> <desc>Arrow pointing to the right</desc> <path fill="#046b99" d="M352.025 196.712L165.885 10.848C159.028 3.615 150.468 0 140.185 0s-18.84 3.62-25.696 10.848l-21.7 21.416c-7.045 7.043-10.567 15.604-10.567 25.692 0 9.897 3.52 18.56 10.566 25.98L231.544 222.41 92.785 361.168c-7.04 7.043-10.563 15.604-10.563 25.693 0 9.9 3.52 18.566 10.564 25.98l21.7 21.417c7.043 7.043 15.612 10.564 25.697 10.564 10.09 0 18.656-3.52 25.697-10.564L352.025 248.39c7.046-7.423 10.57-16.084 10.57-25.98.002-10.09-3.524-18.655-10.57-25.698z"/> </svg> </h2> <p class="measure-1 float-right text-bold text-primary-darkest text-right">18F鈥檚 year of launches</p> </a> </div> </div> <hr class="hr-1-base-lighter"> </div> </section> <section class="margin-top-3 margin-bottom-6"> <div class="grid-container"> <ul class="grid-row grid-gap usa-list--unstyled"> <li class="grid-col-12 tablet:grid-col-6 tablet-lg:grid-col-4 margin-bottom-5 "> <a href="/2023/09/21/18f-website-refresh/" class="text-no-underline"> <h3 class="border-top-05 border-primary hover-primary-dark padding-top-3 margin-bottom-3 text-bold "> A website refresh in 3 months </h3> </a> A website redesign doesn't have to be a big project. 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18F: Digital service delivery | A revised and expanded guide for de-risking government technology projects