diff --git a/_includes/flag.html b/_includes/flag.html index 0603cef6d..8b28e5a48 100644 --- a/_includes/flag.html +++ b/_includes/flag.html @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@

An official website of the United States Government US flag signifying that this is a United States Federal Government website +src="{{site.baseurl}}/assets/images/us_flag_small.png">

diff --git a/_includes/footer.html b/_includes/footer.html index 3d62690a6..0152d21c4 100644 --- a/_includes/footer.html +++ b/_includes/footer.html @@ -2,38 +2,38 @@
- GSA logo + GSA logo
- Always Be Shipping. + Always Be Shipping.

Work

- Delivery + Delivery
- Consulting + Consulting
- Dashboard + Dashboard
github.com/18F

People

- Team + Team
Join us

Resources

- Blog + Blog
Guides
- Developer program + Developer program

Policies

- Linking + Linking
Open source
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@

Policies

Contact Us

- Press + Press
@18F
diff --git a/_includes/head.html b/_includes/head.html index 0622651d7..9261a2c43 100644 --- a/_includes/head.html +++ b/_includes/head.html @@ -59,40 +59,40 @@ - - + + - + - + - + - + - + - - - - - - + + + + + + {% include ascii.html %} diff --git a/_includes/logo.html b/_includes/logo.html index e6288bc72..65ee9093f 100644 --- a/_includes/logo.html +++ b/_includes/logo.html @@ -1,8 +1,8 @@ diff --git a/_includes/nav.html b/_includes/nav.html index 6c824799d..583b4a948 100644 --- a/_includes/nav.html +++ b/_includes/nav.html @@ -3,15 +3,15 @@ Menu | diff --git a/_includes/scripts.html b/_includes/scripts.html index 87796f47b..f7f12c22e 100644 --- a/_includes/scripts.html +++ b/_includes/scripts.html @@ -1,13 +1,13 @@ - - + + - + diff --git a/_posts/2014-05-14-hacking-bureaucracy-improving-hiring-and-software.md b/_posts/2014-05-14-hacking-bureaucracy-improving-hiring-and-software.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..94fc81fac --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-05-14-hacking-bureaucracy-improving-hiring-and-software.md @@ -0,0 +1,96 @@ +--- +layout: post +date: '2014-05-14T11:02:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/85724876053/hacking-bureaucracy-improving-hiring-and-software +title: "Hacking bureaucracy: improving hiring and software deployment" +description: "When asked what it is we do, one quick answer is, \"We’re +hacking bureaucracy.\" While it may sound provocative, it isn’t." +excerpt: "When asked what it is we do, one quick answer is, \"we’re hacking +bureaucracy.\" While it may sound provocative, it isn’t. + +In the movies, hackers are often dangerous criminals who break into +large systems, but in the software development community, \"hacker\" +describes the way someone thinks and works rather than a malicious +activity — hackers are problem solvers. We consider ourselves hackers in +that positive sense: productively disruptive and curious. See \"What is a Hacker?\" by Bruce Schneier for a wonderful definition." +authors: +- greg +- noah +tags: +- hacking bureaucracy +- how we work +- culture +- hiring +--- + +When asked what it is we do, one quick answer is, "we’re hacking +bureaucracy." While it may sound provocative, it isn’t. + +In the movies, hackers are often dangerous criminals who break into +large systems, but in the software development community, "hacker" +describes the way someone thinks and works rather than a malicious +activity — hackers are problem solvers. We consider ourselves hackers in +that positive sense: productively disruptive and curious. See ["What is +a +Hacker?"](https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/09/what_is_a_hacke.html) +by Bruce Schneier for a wonderful definition. + +It’s not enough for us to just build software inside the federal +government. Such an approach may bring short term gains, but it won’t +drive long term positive change. At 18F we’re integrating our style of +software development with the many departments and employees of the +federal bureaucracy. This is the human platform on which we build our +software platforms. + +When we launched 18F internally in December, we decided to start with +two initial big and challenging projects: improving the efficiency and +agility of first the hiring process and second the software deployment +process. Building our "startup" inside the federal bureaucracy meant +first integrating with the federal bureaucracy. + +Historically, hiring and software deployment practices inside the +federal government have posed significant challenges for agile and +user-centered software development practices. These processes need to +take weeks, not months. + +18F is approaching hiring and software deployment in the same agile, +open, user-centered way that we approach all of our projects: + +- Find innovators inside government who have solved similar problems +- Engage stakeholders and users early and often +- Set up a minimum viable product to get started quickly +- Give real users the process/solution from the beginning +- Learn and iterate our approach +- Stay aligned with the rules of the bureaucracy +- Formalize the process/solution for reuse + +The initial results have been exciting. **Collaboratively, we've +significantly improved turnaround times for hiring and secure +deployments.** We’ve reduced the time to hire by 70 percent, and the +time to deploy software by 80 percent, and many of our products are now +in continuous deployment. Despite the constraints of the federal +bureaucracy, continuous iterative improvement is possible. These +processes and policies are now being formalized and we intend to make +them repeatable and useful to the rest of the federal government. + +Our colleagues, who have been innovating within the government for +years, have been excellent teachers. These results are not possible +without the strong partnerships and leadership provided by multiple +teams inside GSA: the [Administrator’s +Office](http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21034), [Human Resources +Management](http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21403), [Office of the +CIO](http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21404), [Office of the Senior +Information Security Officer](http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/25690), +and many other technologists throughout the federal government. In the +spirit of the collaboration that helped to achieve these results, we +plan to share the details of our HR process and software deployment +process publicly. + +This is the first of an ongoing series of blogs where we share the +details, methods, and stories of how 18F hacks bureaucracy. + +You can also view our ["Hacking Bureaucracy" +presentation](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/hacking-bureaucracy-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014) +from 18F Demo Day on May 9th: + + diff --git a/_posts/2014-05-16-slides-from-the-inaugural-18f-demo-day.html b/_posts/2014-05-16-slides-from-the-inaugural-18f-demo-day.html deleted file mode 100644 index 899436952..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-05-16-slides-from-the-inaugural-18f-demo-day.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,51 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-05-16T10:02:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/85913587113/slides-from-the-inaugural-18f-demo-day - -title: Slides from the inaugural 18F Demo Day - -description: "The presentations given at the inaugural 18F Demo Day on May 9, 2014 are online and available at Speaker Deck. If you would like more information on any topic, please feel free to contact the individual speaker." -excerpt: "The presentations given at the inaugural 18F Demo Day on May 9, 2014 are online and available at Speaker Deck. If you would like more information on any topic, please feel free to contact the individual speaker." - -image: "" - -authors: -- 18F -tags: -- demo day -- presentation -- fbopen -- hacking bureaucracy -- midas -- api -- user-centered design - ---- -

The presentations given at the inaugural 18F Demo Day on May 9, 2014 are online and available at Speaker Deck. If you'd like more information on any topic, please feel free to contact the individual speaker.

- -

Hacking Bureaucracy — -Greg Godbout

- -

FBOpen — Procurement Tools — -Aaron Snow

- -

NotAlone.gov — -Mollie Ruskin

- - - -

Midas / Innovation Toolkit — -Joe Polastre

- -

API Usability Testing — -Gray Brooks

- -

SAM.gov "Pizza Tracker" — -Robert Read and Navin Vembar

- -

CAP Communicart — -Robert Read

- -

We the People: User-Centered Design — -Hillary Hartley

diff --git a/_posts/2014-05-16-slides-from-the-inaugural-18f-demo-day.md b/_posts/2014-05-16-slides-from-the-inaugural-18f-demo-day.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b44b3a075 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-05-16-slides-from-the-inaugural-18f-demo-day.md @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +--- +date: '2014-05-16T10:02:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/85913587113/slides-from-the-inaugural-18f-demo-day +title: Slides from the inaugural 18F Demo Day +description: "The +presentations given at the inaugural 18F Demo Day on May 9, 2014 are +online and available at Speaker Deck. If you would like more information +on any topic, please feel free to contact the individual speaker." +excerpt: "The presentations given at the inaugural 18F Demo Day on May +9, 2014 are online and available at Speaker Deck. If you would like more +information on any topic, please feel free to contact the individual +speaker." +authors: +- 18F +tags: +- demo day +- presentation +- fbopen +- hacking bureaucracy +- midas +- api +- user-centered design +--- + +The [presentations given at the inaugural 18F Demo +Day](https://speakerdeck.com/18f) on May 9, 2014 are online and +available at Speaker Deck. If you'd like more information on any topic, +please feel free to contact the individual speaker. + +[Hacking +Bureaucracy](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/hacking-bureaucracy-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014) +— Greg Godbout + +[FBOpen — Procurement +Tools](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/fbopen-and-procurement-tools-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014) +— Aaron Snow + +[NotAlone.gov](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/notalone-dot-gov-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014) +— Mollie Ruskin + +[Midas / Innovation +Toolkit](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/innovation-toolkit-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014) +— Joe Polastre + +[API Usability +Testing](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/api-usability-testing-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014) +— Gray Brooks + +[SAM.gov "Pizza +Tracker"](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/sam-dot-gov-pizza-tracker-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014) +— Robert Read and Navin Vembar + +[CAP +Communicart](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/cap-communicart-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014) +— Robert Read + +[We the People: User-Centered +Design](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/user-centered-design-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014) +— Hillary Hartley diff --git a/_posts/2014-05-19-packaging-up-api-usability-testing-for-agency-re-use.html b/_posts/2014-05-19-packaging-up-api-usability-testing-for-agency-re-use.html deleted file mode 100644 index c014df200..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-05-19-packaging-up-api-usability-testing-for-agency-re-use.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,35 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-05-19T11:02:14-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/86214382873/packaging-up-api-usability-testing-for-agency-re-use - -title: "Packaging up API usability testing for agency reuse" - -description: "Over the past year, a GSA collaboration has seen a project that offers API usability testing to federal agencies go from the pilot stage to a regular, robust series. Already, 13 agencies and programs have participated, and several more participate with every monthly session that passes. The best examples from across the government have made clear that one of the most important tasks of API producers is to regularly engage their developer community and listen to what they have to say. But just encouraging agencies to do this only goes so far." -excerpt: "Over the past year, a GSA collaboration has seen a project that offers API usability testing to federal agencies go from the pilot stage to a regular, robust series. Already, 13 agencies and programs have participated, and several more participate with every monthly session that passes. The best examples from across the government have made clear that one of the most important tasks of API producers is to regularly engage their developer community and listen to what they have to say. But just encouraging agencies to do this only goes so far." - -image: "" - -authors: -- gray - -tags: -- api -- usability testing -- usability -- open source - ---- -

Over the past year, a GSA collaboration has seen a project that offers API Usability Testing to federal agencies go from the pilot stage to a regular, robust series. Already, 13 agencies and programs have participated, and several more participate with every monthly session that passes. The best examples from across the government have made clear that one of the most important tasks of API producers is to regularly engage their developer community and listen to what they have to say. But just encouraging agencies to do this only goes so far.

- - - -

In addition to offering any federal agency direct support by hosting them at an API Usability session, we’ve also been working to document and open-source the actual process itself. We want every agency to realize how readily they can scale out these exercises on their own. Within the API Usability Kit, agencies will find proposed schedules, email and handout templates, an overall guide, and frequently asked questions. But since each component is itself an open source project, anyone can easily edit any page or fork the entire project.

- -

As we move forward, it’s our hope that you’ll join us — in person for API Usability sessions for your program, but also through open collaboration with the material that we use to run the program. Help make this program better! Anytime you have a suggestion, all you have to do is click the ‘Edit’ button in the sidebar and propose away.

- -

As with any good open-source project, we eat our own dog food and strive to ensure that this program grows through an open, organic process. We’ll continue to edit and build out the resources that make up the API Usability Kit. Through that, we believe we can ensure the best product for agencies and the best results for the final customer — the people of the United States.

- -

See also, Gray's presentation from last week's 18F Demo Day:

- - diff --git a/_posts/2014-05-19-packaging-up-api-usability-testing-for-agency-re-use.md b/_posts/2014-05-19-packaging-up-api-usability-testing-for-agency-re-use.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1a61406c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-05-19-packaging-up-api-usability-testing-for-agency-re-use.md @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ +--- +date: '2014-05-19T11:02:14-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/86214382873/packaging-up-api-usability-testing-for-agency-re-use +title: "Packaging up API usability testing for agency reuse" +description: "Over the past year, a GSA collaboration has seen a project +that offers API usability testing to federal agencies go from the pilot +stage to a regular, robust series. Already, 13 agencies and programs +have participated, and several more participate with every monthly +session that passes. The best examples from across the government have +made clear that one of the most important tasks of API producers is to +regularly engage their developer community and listen to what they have +to say. But just encouraging agencies to do this only goes so far." +excerpt: "Over the past year, a GSA collaboration has seen a project +that offers API usability testing to federal agencies go from the pilot +stage to a regular, robust series. Already, 13 agencies and programs +have participated, and several more participate with every monthly +session that passes. The best examples from across the government have +made clear that one of the most important tasks of API producers is to +regularly engage their developer community and listen to what they have +to say. But just encouraging agencies to do this only goes so far." +authors: +- gray +tags: +- api +- usability testing +- usability +- open source +--- + +Over the past year, a GSA collaboration has seen [a project that offers +API Usability Testing to federal +agencies](https://www.digitalgov.gov/2014/05/09/make-gov-apis-better-with-user-experience/) +go from the pilot stage to a regular, robust series. Already, 13 +agencies and programs have participated, and several more participate +with every monthly session that passes. The best examples from across +the government have made clear that one of the most important tasks of +API producers is to regularly engage their developer community and +listen to what they have to say. But just encouraging agencies to do +this only goes so far. + +In addition to offering any federal agency direct support by hosting +them at an API Usability session, we’ve also been working to [document +and open-source the actual process +itself](https://pages.18f.gov/API-Usability-Testing/). We want every +agency to realize how readily they can scale out these exercises on +their own. Within the [API Usability +Kit](https://pages.18f.gov/API-Usability-Testing/pages/kit/), agencies +will find proposed +[schedules](https://pages.18f.gov/API-Usability-Testing/pages/schedule/), +[email](http://pages.18f.gov/API-Usability-Testing/pages/templates/) and +[handout +templates](https://pages.18f.gov/API-Usability-Testing/pages/handout/), +an overall +[guide](https://pages.18f.gov/API-Usability-Testing/pages/guide/), and +[frequently asked +questions](https://pages.18f.gov/API-Usability-Testing/pages/faq/). But +since each component is itself an open source project, anyone can easily +[edit any +page](https://github.com/18F/API-Usability-Testing/edit/gh-pages/index.md) +or [fork the entire +project](https://github.com/18F/API-Usability-Testing/fork/). + +As we move forward, it’s our hope that you’ll join us — in person for +API Usability sessions for your program, but also through open +collaboration with the material that we use to run the program. Help +make this program better! Anytime you have a suggestion, all you have to +do is click the ‘Edit’ button in the sidebar and propose away. + +As with any good open-source project, we [eat our own dog +food](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_your_own_dog_food) and strive +to ensure that this program grows through an open, organic process. +We’ll continue to edit and build out the resources that make up the [API +Usability Kit](https://pages.18f.gov/API-Usability-Testing/pages/kit/). +Through that, we believe we can ensure the best product for agencies and +the best results for the final customer — the people of the United +States. + +*See also, Gray's presentation from last week's 18F Demo Day:* diff --git a/_posts/2014-05-29-announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for.html b/_posts/2014-05-29-announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for.html deleted file mode 100644 index 5b108a83b..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-05-29-announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,47 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-05-29T17:15:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/87233336788/announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for - -title: "Announcing the /Developer Program: a new hub for federal API creators" - -description: "We recently launched our /Developer Program (pronounced \"slash developer\") to help federal agencies develop useful, robust APIs. The Program is a collection of educational resources, opportunities to engage the community for help and feedback, and tools that can help you build APIs — essentially an ever-growing knowledge base curated by 18F. We affectionately named the /Developer Program after the common practice of providing API documentation and links on government websites at website.gov/developer." - -excerpt: We recently launched our /Developer Program (pronounced "slash developer") to help federal agencies develop useful, robust APIs. The Program is a collection of educational resources, opportunities to engage the community for help and feedback, and tools that can help you build APIs — essentially an ever-growing knowledge base curated by 18F. -image: "" -authors: -- leah -- gray - -tags: -- /developer -- api ---- - -

We recently launched our /Developer Program (pronounced "slash developer") to help federal agencies develop useful, robust APIs. The Program is a collection of educational resources, opportunities to engage the community for help and feedback, and tools that can help you build APIs — essentially an ever-growing knowledge base curated by 18F.

- - - -

-We affectionately named the /Developer Program after the common practice of providing API documentation and links on government websites at website.gov/developer1. -

- -

We use the term "launched" liberally though, because this has been a labor of love over the past year or more for the digital gov community. APIs are basically a way for two programs to share information or perform an action2, and they continue to play an increasingly fundamental role across the web. There are now almost 100 developer hubs that provide access to hundreds of web services across government.

- -

Education

- -

Whether you're new to APIs or have years of experience, the site's list of educational resources can help you better understand the role that APIs can play for your agency as well as explain them to your colleagues. These resources include API definitions and analogies, training, best practices, talking points, FAQs, and case studies in case you need inspiration or examples.

- -

Community and collaboration

- -

The best way to improve and promote your agency's APIs is to get involved with API producers at other agencies and the developers who use your APIs. The site offers links to meetups and other API events, as well as our API Usability Testing program where agencies demo their APIs to real users and customers to get their feedback. We also provide examples of excellent government APIs, sample policy and contract language for building APIs, and links to good API standards and guidelines.

- -

Tools and resources

- -

We are compiling a list of open source tools and resources to help you actually build your APIs, including data converters, standards, developer kits, and more. There are hosted tools that can take data in a spreadsheet file and instantly make it available as a RESTful API. For enterprise needs, a powerful API proxy offers key management and analytics functionality for any agency's use.

- -

Please feel free to provide feedback and suggest additional resources; the entire /Developer Program is an open source project on GitHub.

- -

1: This was recommended in the Digital Government Strategy.

- -

2: Credit: @svt827

diff --git a/_posts/2014-05-29-announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for.md b/_posts/2014-05-29-announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..4cb781c35 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-05-29-announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for.md @@ -0,0 +1,90 @@ +--- +date: '2014-05-29T17:15:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/87233336788/announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for +title: "Announcing the /Developer Program: a new hub for federal API +creators" +description: "We recently launched our /Developer Program +(pronounced \"slash developer\") to help federal agencies develop +useful, robust APIs. The Program is a collection of educational +resources, opportunities to engage the community for help and feedback, +and tools that can help you build APIs — essentially an ever-growing +knowledge base curated by 18F. We affectionately named the /Developer +Program after the common practice of providing API documentation and +links on government websites at website.gov/developer." +excerpt: "We recently launched our [/Developer Program](https://18f.github.io/API-All-the-X) (pronounced \"slash +developer\") to help federal agencies develop useful, robust APIs. The +Program is a collection of educational resources, opportunities to +engage the community for help and feedback, and tools that can help you +build APIs — essentially an ever-growing knowledge base curated by 18F." +authors: +- leah +- gray +tags: +- /developer +- api +--- + +We recently launched our [/Developer +Program](https://18f.github.io/API-All-the-X) (pronounced "slash +developer") to help federal agencies develop useful, robust APIs. The +Program is a collection of educational resources, opportunities to +engage the community for help and feedback, and tools that can help you +build APIs — essentially an ever-growing knowledge base curated by 18F. + +We affectionately named the /Developer Program after the [common +practice](https://www.google.com/#q=site:.gov+/developer) of providing +API documentation and links on government websites at +website.gov/developer[^1^](#footnote-1). + +We use the term "launched" liberally though, because this has been a +labor of love over the past year or more for the digital gov community. +APIs are basically a way for two programs to share information or +perform an action[^2^](#footnote-2), and they +continue to play an [increasingly +fundamental](http://www.programmableweb.com/api-research) role across +the web. There are now almost 100 developer hubs that provide access to +hundreds of web services across government. + +### Education + +Whether you're new to APIs or have years of experience, the site's list +of [educational +resources](https://18f.github.io/API-All-the-X/pages/education) can help +you better understand the role that APIs can play for your agency as +well as explain them to your colleagues. These resources include API +definitions and analogies, training, best practices, talking points, +FAQs, and case studies in case you need inspiration or examples. + +### Community and collaboration + +The best way to improve and promote your agency's APIs is to get +involved with API producers at other agencies and the developers who use +your APIs. The site offers links to meetups and other API events, as +well as our [API Usability +Testing](https://pages.18f.gov/API-Usability-Testing/) program where +agencies demo their APIs to real users and customers to get their +feedback. We also provide examples of excellent government APIs, sample +policy and contract language for building APIs, and links to good API +standards and guidelines. + +### Tools and resources + +We are compiling a [list of open source tools and +resources](https://18f.github.io/API-All-the-X/pages/resources) to help +you actually build your APIs, including data converters, standards, +developer kits, and more. There are hosted tools that can take data in a +spreadsheet file and instantly make it available as a RESTful API. For +enterprise needs, a [powerful API proxy](https://api.data.gov/) offers +key management and analytics functionality for any agency's use. + +Please feel free to [provide feedback and suggest additional +resources](https://github.com/18F/API-All-the-X/issues?state=open); the +entire /Developer Program is an [open source project on +GitHub](https://github.com/18F/API-All-the-X). + +[1:](#back-1) This was recommended in the +[Digital Government +Strategy](https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/egov/digital-government/digital-government.html#open-data-default). + +[2:](#back-2) Credit: +[@svt827](https://twitter.com/svt827) diff --git a/_posts/2014-06-25-intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open.html b/_posts/2014-06-25-intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open.html deleted file mode 100644 index 99305f9dc..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-06-25-intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,63 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-06-25T11:48:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/89867088998/intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open - -title: "Intro to APIs: Working with URLs, JSON, APIs, and Open Data — without writing any code" - -description: "GSA's digital teams are offering a user-friendly intro course to APIs. Regardless of your skill level, you will walk away from this lesson understanding what APIs are and how developers use them." -excerpt: June 27, 2014, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Register now. GSA’s digital teams are offering a user-friendly intro course to APIs. Regardless of your skill level, you will walk away from this lesson understanding what APIs are and how developers use them. - -image: "" - -authors: -- gray -- eric - -tags: -- api -- workshop -- how we work - ---- - -

June 27, 2014, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Register now

- -

GSA’s digital teams are offering a user-friendly intro course to APIs. Regardless of your skill level, you will walk away from this lesson understanding what APIs are and how developers use them.

- - - -

Every federal agency is scaling out its use of APIs so even if they are not a part of your normal daily work, learning what they are, how they work, and why they are changing government.

- -

This is an in-person, interactive session led by Eric Mill, a key developer on GSA’s 18F team and an expert in open data and government technology. Again, this session is designed so that even complete beginners will be able to follow along, so if anyone you know is wondering what all the fuss about APIs is about – this is for you.

- -

Who should attend:

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  • Webmasters
    • -
  • System owners
    • -
  • Digital engagement staff
    • -
  • CIO and CTO staff
    • -
  • Government staff interested in open data efforts
    • -
  • Anyone who's curious!
    • -

What you’ll need:

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  • A laptop, with a working connection to the public Internet
    • -
  • A recent version of Firefox or Chrome
    • -
  • An extension installed for Firefox or Chrome to view JSON in your browser (please install beforehand) - -
    • -

Links that will come up:

- -

Details

- -

Friday, June 27, 2014
-9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
-GSA Central Office
-1800 F St NW, Washington, D.C. 20006

- -

Register Now

diff --git a/_posts/2014-06-25-intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open.md b/_posts/2014-06-25-intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..17b8faef5 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-06-25-intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +--- +date: '2014-06-25T11:48:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/89867088998/intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open +title: "Intro to APIs: Working with URLs, JSON, APIs, and Open Data — +without writing any code" +description: "GSA's digital teams are offering +a user-friendly intro course to APIs. Regardless of your skill level, +you will walk away from this lesson understanding what APIs are and how +developers use them." +excerpt: "June 27, 2014, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 +a.m. Register now. GSA’s digital teams are offering a user-friendly +intro course to APIs. Regardless of your skill level, you will walk away +from this lesson understanding what APIs are and how developers use +them." +authors: +- gray +- eric +tags: +- api +- workshop +- how we work +--- + +**June 27, 2014, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.**\ +[Register +now](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open-data-without-writing-any-code-in-person-registration-12028636977) + +GSA’s digital teams are offering a [user-friendly intro course to +APIs](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open-data-without-writing-any-code-in-person-registration-12028636977). +Regardless of your skill level, you will walk away from this lesson +understanding what APIs are and how developers use them. + +Every federal agency is scaling out its use of APIs so even if they are +not a part of your normal daily work, learning what they are, how they +work, and why they are changing government. + +This is an in-person, interactive session led by Eric Mill, a key +developer on GSA’s 18F team and an expert in open data and government +technology. Again, this session is designed so that even complete +beginners will be able to follow along, so if anyone you know is +wondering what all the fuss about APIs is about – this is for you. + +### Who should attend: + +- Webmasters +- System owners +- Digital engagement staff +- CIO and CTO staff +- Government staff interested in open data efforts +- Anyone who's curious! + +### What you’ll need: + +- A laptop, with a working connection to the public Internet +- A recent version of Firefox or Chrome +- An extension installed for Firefox or Chrome to view JSON in your + browser (please install beforehand) + - Firefox: [bit.ly/json-firefox](http://bit.ly/json-firefox) + - Chrome: [bit.ly/json-chrome](http://bit.ly/json-chrome) + +### Links that will come up: + +- [Flickr](http://flickr.com) +- [Sunlight Congress API](http://sunlightlabs.github.io/congress) +- [JSON -\> CSV converter](http://konklone.io/json/) + +### Details + +Friday, June 27, 2014\ + 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.\ + GSA Central Office\ + 1800 F St NW, Washington, D.C. 20006 + +[Register Now](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intro-to-apis-working-with-urls-json-apis-and-open-data-without-writing-any-code-in-person-registration-12028636977) +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-15-hot-off-the-press-18fs-api-standards.html b/_posts/2014-07-15-hot-off-the-press-18fs-api-standards.html deleted file mode 100644 index 207257fc9..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-07-15-hot-off-the-press-18fs-api-standards.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,30 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-07-15T14:41:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/91868213233/hot-off-the-press-18fs-api-standards - -title: "Hot off the press: 18F's API standards" - -description: We recently released the first version of our API Standards — a set of recommendations and guidelines for API production. It is our intention that every 18F API meet these standards, to help us ensure a baseline quality and consistency across all APIs we offer now and in the future. -excerpt: We recently released the first version of our API Standards — a set of recommendations and guidelines for API production. It is our intention that every 18F API meet these standards, to help us ensure a baseline quality and consistency across all APIs we offer now and in the future. -image: "" - -authors: -- alan -- eric - -tags: -- api -- how we work - ---- - -

We recently released the first version of our API Standards — a set of recommendations and guidelines for API production. It is our intention that every 18F API meet these standards, to help us ensure a baseline quality and consistency across all APIs we offer now and in the future.

- -

These standards guide the user-facing implementation details of an API. Wherever possible, the standards prescribe a goal instead of a specific technology. What was once universally recommended about APIs just a few years ago may be dated today. For example, while the best issue tracker may change every couple years, the need for an obvious point of contact to the API producer is more enduring.

- -

The standards are generally technology-neutral, with a few specific opinions when warranted. For example, our standards don't allow for the use of JSONP, as it raises security and performance concerns.

- -

Though these standards are part of a living document, a focus on goals—and not on tools—will increase their shelf-life. By writing these standards under a goal-oriented and "sane defaults" approach, we hope they help us achieve API objectives that will never change: utility for the users and respect for their time and effort.

- -

We began drafting our standards after forking the White House's own API standards. By publishing their standards in the open so others could benefit, the White House set an important example—one that we greatly support! Similarly, we invite you to fork our API standards and modify as needed for your own organization's use.

diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-15-hot-off-the-press-18fs-api-standards.md b/_posts/2014-07-15-hot-off-the-press-18fs-api-standards.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..6ba16f31f --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-07-15-hot-off-the-press-18fs-api-standards.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +--- +date: '2014-07-15T14:41:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/91868213233/hot-off-the-press-18fs-api-standards +title: "Hot off the press: 18F's API standards" +description: "We recently released the first version of our API Standards — a set of recommendations and guidelines for API production. It is our intention that every 18F API meet these standards, to help us ensure a baseline quality and consistency across all APIs we offer now and in the future." +excerpt: "We recently released the first version of our API Standards — a set of recommendations and guidelines for API production. It is our intention that every 18F API meet these standards, to help us ensure a baseline quality and consistency across all APIs we offer now and in the future." +authors: +- alan +- eric +tags: +- api +- how we work +--- + +We recently released the first version of our [API +Standards](https://github.com/18F/api-standards) — a set of +recommendations and guidelines for API production. It is our intention +that every 18F API meet these standards, to help us ensure a baseline +quality and consistency across all APIs we offer now and in the future. + +These standards guide the user-facing implementation details of an API. +Wherever possible, the standards prescribe a goal instead of a specific +technology. What was once universally recommended about APIs just a few +years ago may be dated today. For example, while the best issue tracker +may change every couple years, the need for an obvious point of contact +to the API producer is more enduring. + +The standards are generally technology-neutral, with a few specific +opinions when warranted. For example, our standards don't allow for the +use of JSONP, as it raises +[security](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSONP#Security_concerns) and +[performance](https://gist.github.com/tmcw/6244497#practical-concerns) +concerns. + +Though these standards are part of a living document, a focus on +goals—and not on tools—will increase their shelf-life. By writing these +standards under a goal-oriented and "sane defaults" approach, we hope +they help us achieve API objectives that will never change: utility for +the users and respect for their time and effort. + +We began drafting our standards after forking the White House's own API +standards. By [publishing their standards in the +open](https://github.com/WhiteHouse/api-standards) so others could +benefit, the White House set an important example—one that we greatly +support! Similarly, we invite you to fork our API standards and modify +as needed for your own organization's use. diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-16-midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government.html b/_posts/2014-07-16-midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government.html deleted file mode 100644 index d1849ec22..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-07-16-midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,64 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-07-16T11:01:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/91952641466/midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government -title: "Midas: a marketplace for innovation in government" -description: "Midas is an online platform that brings to life the vision of an Innovation Toolkit for government. It's a marketplace of skill building opportunities which matches people to projects that they're passionate about. You can think of it as \"Kickstarter for people's time\"." -excerpt: "Midas is an online platform that brings to life the vision of an Innovation Toolkit for government. It's a marketplace of skill building opportunities which matches people to projects that they're passionate about. You can think of it as \"Kickstarter for people's time\"." -image: "" -authors: -- joe -- mattchessen -tags: -- crowdwork -- midas -- platform ---- - -

Midas is an online platform that brings to life the vision of an "Innovation Toolkit" for government. It is a marketplace of skill building opportunities which matches people to projects that they're passionate about. You can think of it as "kickstarter for people's time."

- - - -

The concept of an Innovation Toolkit started as a Presidential Innovation Fellows project to give federal employees a place to work on innovative ideas across government that may occur outside their normal job or management chain. The Department of State's Office of eDiplomacy teamed up with The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to prototype a crowdsourced marketplace for innovation.

- -

The history of Midas

- -

To understand why the State Department was interested in such a project, first imagine that you're an enthusiastic federal employee that has lots of ideas for government to better serve its people and businesses. One such group of feds is foreign service officers, especially junior foreign service officers who spend their first few years performing consular work. They are located around the world and typically process visas and passports full time. Foreign service officers are highly educated and trained individuals – often with advanced degrees and significant work experience. The question was posed: how can we leverage this untapped potential of the federal workforce to make meaningful progress on innovative projects? And how do we provide professional development opportunities to both local and remote workers that want to build their skills and advance in their career?

- -

From June through December 2013, through the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, we conducted numerous user interviews and meetings with stakeholders at the State Department. We met with foreign service officers, supervisors, and country desk officers that coordinate activities in each region. From these interviews, tests, and prototypes came Midas – a marketplace for projects and opportunities. At State, they started calling it "crowdworking." (The internal website at State is officially called "Crowdwork.")

- -

How Midas works

- -

Midas Project Card

- -

Midas consists of three main components — projects, opportunities, and profiles – all of which are connected through skills and topics of interest.

- -

When employees sign up, they get a profile on Midas (which can be imported from existing services such as LinkedIn). Profiles contain a list of skills as well as topics that employees are interested in or passionate about.

- -

Projects are a container that holds the discussions, events, files, and participants of a proposed activity. Projects also have skills and topics associated with them. This is where work can be coordinated. A project doesn't have to be a project in the traditional sense; it can be a "tiger team", a community of practice, or an interest group (for example, a group of people that get together to volunteer for a particular cause outside of work).

- -

Midas Opportunity Card

- -

Opportunities are crowdsourced tasks that need volunteers. Opportunities are also associated with skills and topics. An opportunity can be part of a project, or a standalone need. These can be accomplished in as little as 15 minutes, or could be as consuming as a 6 or 12 month full time detail of the employee to another office.

- -

Midas in action

- -

Midas is currently being piloted by the Department of State [GitHub] and the Department of Health and Human Services [GitHub]. Midas is also a key component of the Office of Personnel Management's GovConnect initiative, which is part of the President's Second Term Management Agenda. Through GovConnect, agencies can experiment, prototype, and implement new workforce engagement programs, like Midas.

- -

Crowdwork, the name of the Midas system at the Department of State, received the NextGen Exemplary Group Award. The award will be celebrated at the NextGen Training Summit on July 23, 2014 in Washington, D.C.

- -

Midas for you

- -

At 18F, we are now offering Midas to federal agencies as a Software as a Service. Any agency can test out Midas quickly, and focus on the programmatic aspect of "crowdworking" in their community rather than get bogged down in the details of acquiring and standing up the technology.

- -

Strategic benefits of using Midas:

-
    -
  • Leverage capacity of remote offices to accomplish more within an agency
    • -
  • Augment existing teams (both within and outside agency) with skillsets needed but not currently available within the team
    • -
  • Provide additional professional development opportunities to employees that match their interests and passions
    • -
  • Improve employee morale and engagement
    • -
- -

From day one, Midas has been available as open source on GitHub. It's free for anyone to download, install, and use. All of our issues, features, and bugs are out in the open. Management of Midas uses agile methodologies and development is organized into sprints.

- -

Come check out Midas for yourself on GitHub, and see how federal employees are working more organically, across traditional silos, and more collaboratively to improve government.

diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-16-midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government.md b/_posts/2014-07-16-midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..214e033b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-07-16-midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government.md @@ -0,0 +1,149 @@ +--- +layout: post +date: '2014-07-16T11:01:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/91952641466/midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government +title: "Midas: a marketplace for innovation in government" +description: "Midas is an online platform that brings to life the vision of an +Innovation Toolkit for government. It's a marketplace of skill building +opportunities which matches people to projects that they're passionate +about. You can think of it as \"Kickstarter for people's time\"." +excerpt: "Midas is an online platform that brings to life the vision of +an Innovation Toolkit for government. It's a marketplace of skill building opportunities which matches people to projects that they're passionate about. You can think of it as \"Kickstarter for people's time\"." +authors: +- joe +- mattchessen +tags: +- crowdwork +- midas +- platform +--- + +[Midas](https://github.com/18f/midas) is an online platform that brings +to life the vision of an "Innovation Toolkit" for government. It is a +marketplace of skill building opportunities which matches people to +projects that they're passionate about. You can think of it as +"[kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com "kickstarter") for people's +time." + +The concept of an [Innovation +Toolkit](https://www.whitehouse.gov/innovationfellows/projects) started +as a [Presidential Innovation +Fellows](https://www.whitehouse.gov/innovationfellows) project to give +federal employees a place to work on innovative ideas across government +that may occur outside their normal job or management chain. The +[Department of State's Office of +eDiplomacy](http://www.state.gov/m/irm/ediplomacy/) teamed up with [The +White House Office of Science and Technology +Policy](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp) to prototype +a crowdsourced marketplace for innovation. + +The history of Midas +-------------------- + +To understand why the State Department was interested in such a project, +first imagine that you're an enthusiastic federal employee that has lots +of ideas for government to better serve its people and businesses. One +such group of feds is [foreign service +officers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Service_Officer), +especially junior foreign service officers who spend their first few +years performing consular work. They are located around the world and +typically process visas and passports full time. Foreign service +officers are highly educated and trained individuals – often with +advanced degrees and significant work experience. The question was +posed: how can we leverage this untapped potential of the federal +workforce to make meaningful progress on innovative projects? And how do +we provide professional development opportunities to both local and +remote workers that want to build their skills and advance in their +career? + +From June through December 2013, through the Presidential Innovation +Fellows program, we conducted numerous user interviews and meetings with +stakeholders at the State Department. We met with foreign service +officers, supervisors, and country desk officers that coordinate +activities in each region. From these interviews, tests, and prototypes +came Midas – a marketplace for projects and opportunities. At State, +they started calling it "crowdworking." (The internal website at State +is officially called "Crowdwork.") + +How Midas works +--------------- + +![Midas Project +Card]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/midas/midas-1.png) + +Midas consists of three main components — projects, opportunities, and +profiles – all of which are connected through **skills** and **topics** +of interest. + +When employees sign up, they get a **profile** on Midas (which can be +imported from existing services such as LinkedIn). Profiles contain a +list of skills as well as topics that employees are interested in or +passionate about. + +**Projects** are a container that holds the discussions, events, files, +and participants of a proposed activity. Projects also have skills and +topics associated with them. This is where work can be coordinated. A +project doesn't have to be a project in the traditional sense; it can be +a ["tiger team"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_team), a community +of practice, or an interest group (for example, a group of people that +get together to volunteer for a particular cause outside of work). + +![Midas Opportunity +Card]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/midas/midas-2.png) + +**Opportunities** are crowdsourced tasks that need volunteers. +Opportunities are also associated with skills and topics. An opportunity +can be part of a project, or a standalone need. These can be +accomplished in as little as 15 minutes, or could be as consuming as a 6 +or 12 month full time detail of the employee to another office. + +Midas in action +--------------- + +Midas is currently being piloted by the [Department of +State](http://www.state.gov) +[[GitHub](https://github.com/USStateDept/midas-crowdwork)] and the +[Department of Health and Human +Services](http://www.hhs.gov/idealab/i-want-support/for-hhs-2/) +[[GitHub](https://github.com/HHSIDEAlab/HHSFairTrade-Configs)]. Midas is +also a key component of the Office of Personnel Management's +[GovConnect](https://www.chcoc.gov/transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=6076) +initiative, which is part of the [President's Second Term Management +Agenda](https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/07/08/smarter-more-innovative-government-american-people). +Through GovConnect, agencies can experiment, prototype, and implement +new workforce engagement programs, like Midas. + +Crowdwork, the name of the Midas system at the Department of State, +received the [NextGen Exemplary Group +Award](http://www.nextgengovt.com/nextgen-awards). The award will be +celebrated at the [NextGen Training Summit](http://www.nextgengovt.com/) +on July 23, 2014 in Washington, D.C. + +Midas for you +------------- + +At [18F](https://18f.gsa.gov), we are now offering Midas to federal +agencies as a Software as a Service. Any agency can test out Midas +quickly, and focus on the programmatic aspect of "crowdworking" in their +community rather than get bogged down in the details of acquiring and +standing up the technology. + +**Strategic benefits of using Midas:** + +- Leverage capacity of remote offices to accomplish more within an + agency +- Augment existing teams (both within and outside agency) with + skillsets needed but not currently available within the team +- Provide additional professional development opportunities to + employees that match their interests and passions +- Improve employee morale and engagement + +From day one, Midas has been available as open source on GitHub. It's +free for anyone to download, install, and use. All of our issues, +features, and bugs are out in the open. Management of Midas uses agile +methodologies and development is organized into sprints. + +Come check out Midas for yourself on +[GitHub](https://github.com/18f/midas), and see how federal employees +are working more organically, across traditional silos, and more +collaboratively to improve government. diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-23-take-a-gander-at-our-developer-page.html b/_posts/2014-07-23-take-a-gander-at-our-developer-page.html deleted file mode 100644 index ec8c58b72..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-07-23-take-a-gander-at-our-developer-page.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,26 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-07-23T10:01:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/92632274379/take-a-gander-at-our-developer-page - -title: "Take a gander at our /Developer page" - -description: "A growing trend both inside government and outside is to have a simple welcoming page for outside developers who may be interested in your team’s efforts. This material is often located at website.gov/developer and points visitors to technical material that developers may be interested in, especially APIs. Collecting technical documentation in one place facilitates the developer experience, ensuring that they can find and begin using APIs with as little friction as possible." -excerpt: "A growing trend both inside government and outside is to have a simple welcoming page for outside developers who may be interested in your team’s efforts. This material is often located at website.gov/developer and points visitors to technical material that developers may be interested in, especially APIs. Collecting technical documentation in one place facilitates the developer experience, ensuring that they can find and begin using APIs with as little friction as possible." -image: "" -authors: -- gray - -tags: -- api -- /developer - ---- - -

A growing trend both inside government and outside is to have a simple welcoming page for outside developers who may be interested in your team’s efforts. This material is often located at website.gov/developer 1 and points visitors to technical material that developers may be interested in, especially APIs.Collecting technical documentation in one place facilitates the developer experience, ensuring that they can find and begin using APIs with as little friction as possible.

- - - -

Believing in this best practice, we’re launching 18F's /developer page to provide a consistent and friendly starting point for other coders — both in the public and within government. There are two main sections, one for our APIs and another for 18F initiatives that are targeted to this community. There’s a good bit there, but we hope you’ll check back often as we add more APIs... a lot more APIs!

- -

1: as recommended in the Digital Government Strategy

diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-23-take-a-gander-at-our-developer-page.md b/_posts/2014-07-23-take-a-gander-at-our-developer-page.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..696373cdd --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-07-23-take-a-gander-at-our-developer-page.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +--- +date: '2014-07-23T10:01:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/92632274379/take-a-gander-at-our-developer-page +title: "Take a gander at our /Developer page" +description: "A growing +trend both inside government and outside is to have a simple welcoming +page for outside developers who may be interested in your team’s +efforts. This material is often located at website.gov/developer and +points visitors to technical material that developers may be interested +in, especially APIs. Collecting technical documentation in one place +facilitates the developer experience, ensuring that they can find and +begin using APIs with as little friction as possible." +excerpt: "A +growing trend both inside government and outside is to have a simple +welcoming page for outside developers who may be interested in your +team’s efforts. This material is often located at website.gov/developer +and points visitors to technical material that developers may be +interested in, especially APIs. Collecting technical documentation in +one place facilitates the developer experience, ensuring that they can +find and begin using APIs with as little friction as possible." +authors: +- gray +tags: +- api +- /developer +--- + +A growing trend both inside government and outside is to have a simple +welcoming page for outside developers who may be interested in your +team’s efforts. This material is [often +located](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/05/29/announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for/) +at *website.gov/developer* [1](#footnote-1) +and points visitors to technical material that developers may be +interested in, especially APIs.Collecting technical documentation in one +place facilitates the developer experience, ensuring that they can find +and begin using APIs with as little friction as possible. + +Believing in this best practice, we’re launching 18F's [/developer +page](https://18f.gsa.gov/developer) to provide a consistent and +friendly starting point for other coders — both in the public and within +government. There are two main sections, one for our APIs and another +for 18F initiatives that are targeted to this community. There’s a good +bit there, but we hope you’ll check back often as we add more APIs... a +lot more APIs! + +[1:](#back-1) as recommended in the +[Digital Government +Strategy](https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/egov/digital-government/digital-government.html#open-data-default) diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-29-18f-an-open-source-team.html b/_posts/2014-07-29-18f-an-open-source-team.html deleted file mode 100644 index 451320932..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-07-29-18f-an-open-source-team.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,36 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-07-29T14:01:55-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/93226835135/18f-an-open-source-team - -title: "18F: an open source team" - -description: "At 18F, we place a premium on developing digital tools and services in the open. This means contributing our source code back to the community, actively repurposing our code across projects, and contributing back to the open source tools we use. For a variety of reasons, we believe that doing so improves the final product we create." - -excerpt: "At 18F, we place a premium on developing digital tools and services in the open. This means contributing our source code back to the community, actively repurposing our code across projects, and contributing back to the open source tools we use. For a variety of reasons, we believe that doing so improves the final product we create." -image: "" -authors: -- majma -- eric - -tags: -- open source -- how we work -- culture -- policy - ---- -

At 18F, we place a premium on developing digital tools and services in the open. This means contributing our source code back to the community, actively repurposing our code across projects, and contributing back to the open source tools we use. For a variety of reasons, we believe that doing so improves the final product we create. It is because of this that our policy is to:

- - - -
  1. Use free and open source software (FOSS) in our projects and to contribute back to the open source community;
    2. -
  2. Create an environment where any project can be developed in the open; and
    3. -
  3. Publish all source code created or modified by 18F publicly.
    4. -

FOSS is software that does not charge users a purchase or licensing fee for modifying or redistributing the source code. There are many benefits to using FOSS, including allowing for product customization and better interoperability between products. Citizen and consumer needs can change rapidly. FOSS allows us to modify software iteratively and to quickly change or experiment as needed.

- -

Similarly, openly publishing our code creates cost-savings for the American people by producing a more secure, reusable product. Code that is available online for the public to inspect is open to a more rigorous review process that can assist in identifying flaws in the source code. Developing in the open, when appropriate, opens the project up to that review process earlier and allows for discussions to guide the direction of a products development. This creates a distinct advantage over proprietary software that undergoes a less diverse review and provides 18F with an opportunity to engage our stakeholders in ways that strengthen our work.

- -

The use of open source software is not new in the federal government. Agencies have been using open source software for many years to great effect. What fewer agencies do is publish developed source code or develop in the open. When the Food and Drug Administration built out openFDA, an API that lets you query adverse drug events, they did so in the open. Because the source code was being published online to the public, a volunteer was able to review the code and find an issue. The volunteer not only identified the issue, but provided a solution to the team that was accepted as a part of the final product. Our policy hopes to recreate these kinds of public interactions and we look forward to other offices within the federal government joining us in working on FOSS projects.

- -

In the next few days, we're excited to publish a contributor’s guide about reuse and sharing of our code and some advice on working in the open from day one.

diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-29-18f-an-open-source-team.md b/_posts/2014-07-29-18f-an-open-source-team.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..81c7b962f --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-07-29-18f-an-open-source-team.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +--- +date: '2014-07-29T14:01:55-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/93226835135/18f-an-open-source-team +title: "18F: an open source team" +description: "At 18F, we place a +premium on developing digital tools and services in the open. This means +contributing our source code back to the community, actively repurposing +our code across projects, and contributing back to the open source tools +we use. For a variety of reasons, we believe that doing so improves the +final product we create." +excerpt: "At 18F, we place a premium on +developing digital tools and services in the open. This means +contributing our source code back to the community, actively repurposing +our code across projects, and contributing back to the open source tools +we use. For a variety of reasons, we believe that doing so improves the +final product we create." +authors: +- majma +- eric +tags: +- open source +- how we work +- culture +- policy +--- + +At 18F, we place a premium on developing digital tools and services in +the open. This means contributing our source code back to the community, +actively repurposing our code across projects, and contributing back to +the open source tools we use. For a variety of reasons, we believe that +doing so improves the final product we create. It is because of this +that [our +policy](https://github.com/18F/open-source-policy/blob/master/policy.md) +is to: + +1. **Use free and open source software (FOSS) in our projects and to + contribute back to the open source community;** +2. **Create an environment where any project can be developed in the + open;** and +3. **Publish all source code created or modified by 18F publicly.** + +FOSS is software that does not charge users a purchase or licensing fee +for modifying or redistributing the source code. There are many benefits +to using FOSS, including allowing for product customization and better +interoperability between products. Citizen and consumer needs can change +rapidly. FOSS allows us to modify software iteratively and to quickly +change or experiment as needed. + +Similarly, openly publishing our code creates cost-savings for the +American people by producing a more secure, reusable product. Code that +is available online for the public to inspect is open to a more rigorous +review process that can assist in identifying flaws in the source code. +Developing in the open, when appropriate, opens the project up to that +review process earlier and allows for discussions to guide the direction +of a products development. This creates a distinct advantage over +proprietary software that undergoes a less diverse review and provides +18F with an opportunity to engage our stakeholders in ways that +strengthen our work. + +The use of open source software is not new in the federal government. +Agencies have been using open source software for many years to great +effect. What fewer agencies do is publish developed source code or +develop in the open. When the Food and Drug Administration built out +[openFDA](https://open.fda.gov), an API that lets you query adverse drug +events, they did so in the open. Because the source code was being +published online to the public, a volunteer was able to review the code +and find an issue. The volunteer not only identified the issue, but +provided a solution to the team that was accepted as a part of the final +product. Our policy hopes to recreate these kinds of public interactions +and we look forward to other offices within the federal government +joining us in working on FOSS projects. + +In the next few days, we're excited to publish a contributor’s guide +about reuse and sharing of our code and some advice on working in the +open from day one. diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-31-working-in-public-from-day-1.html b/_posts/2014-07-31-working-in-public-from-day-1.html deleted file mode 100644 index 9236b9578..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-07-31-working-in-public-from-day-1.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,40 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-07-31T13:01:47-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/93415834296/working-in-public-from-day-1 - -title: "Working in public from day one" - -description: "Open source your code from day one. Don't wait for a milestone, don't wait for it to be stable — do it from the first commit." -excerpt: "Open source your code from day one. Don't wait for a milestone, don't wait for it to be stable — do it from the first commit." -image: "" -authors: -- eric - -tags: -- open source -- how we work - ---- - -

In the wide world of software, maybe you've heard someone say this, or maybe you've said it yourself: "I'll open source it after I clean up the code; it's a mess right now."

- -

Or: "I think there are some passwords in there; I'll get around to cleaning it out at some point."

- -

Or simply: "No way, it's just too embarrassing."

- - - -

These feelings are totally natural, but keep a lot of good work closed that could easily have been open. The trick to avoiding this is simple: open source your code from day one. Don't wait for a milestone, don't wait for it to be stable — do it from the first commit.

- -

Here are a few reasons why you should feel good about working in the open from the moment your shovel goes in the ground:

- -

No one's going to read your code. Your code is almost certainly boring. Most code is. Instead, people will evaluate your work based on how they'd interact with it. Is it easy to learn how to use it from the README? Is development active? Have many GitHub users starred it? And none of that will matter until your project is far enough along that it's useful. You will not be in the spotlight until you deserve to be.

- -

You will make better decisions. At the most basic level, you will be vastly less likely to accidentally commit a password to an open source project than a closed one. But more than that: even though no one is reading your code, you'll still feel a bit of natural pressure to make better decisions. You'll hardcode less, and move more into configuration files. You'll make things slightly more modular. You'll comment more. You'll catch security holes more quickly. That's a healthy pressure.

- -

It will not waste your time. It may feel like some of those "better decisions" take more time. But even if you're the only person who will ever work on this project, you have to live there. You'll greatly and immediately appreciate having made those decisions the minute you return to your own code after taking a month off. And when making better decisions becomes routine, they stop taking more time — and you become a better coder.

- -

You might just help people. And people might just help you! The internet is a big place and a small world, and GitHub has a way of making unexpected connections. If your work is even a little bit useful to someone else, there's a good chance they'll find their way to your door, start poking around, and find a way to be useful right back. Even if you're working on what you think is the most niche project that no one else would ever use: leave the door open for providence.

- -

Once you get used to beginning your work in public, it stops feeling like performance art and starts feeling like breathing. It's a healthy routine that produces better work and personal growth, and opens the door to spontaneous contribution and engagement. When your default is open, everyone wins.

diff --git a/_posts/2014-07-31-working-in-public-from-day-1.md b/_posts/2014-07-31-working-in-public-from-day-1.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..7a534f9cc --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-07-31-working-in-public-from-day-1.md @@ -0,0 +1,70 @@ +--- +date: '2014-07-31T13:01:47-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/93415834296/working-in-public-from-day-1 +title: "Working in public from day one" +description: "Open source your +code from day one. Don't wait for a milestone, don't wait for it to be +stable — do it from the first commit." +excerpt: "Open source your code +from day one. Don't wait for a milestone, don't wait for it to be stable +— do it from the first commit." +authors: +- eric +tags: +- open source +- how we work +--- + +In the wide world of software, maybe you've heard someone say this, or +maybe you've said it yourself: *"I'll open source it after I clean up +the code; it's a mess right now."* + +Or: *"I think there are some passwords in there; I'll get around to +cleaning it out at some point."* + +Or simply: *"No way, it's just too embarrassing."* + +These feelings are totally natural, but keep a lot of good work closed +that could easily have been open. The trick to avoiding this is simple: +**open source your code from day one**. Don't wait for a milestone, +don't wait for it to be stable — do it from the first commit. + +Here are a few reasons why you should feel good about working in the +open from the moment your shovel goes in the ground: + +**No one's going to read your code.** Your code is almost certainly +boring. Most code is. Instead, people will evaluate your work based on +how they'd interact with it. Is it easy to learn how to use it from the +README? Is development active? Have many GitHub users starred it? And +none of that will matter until your project is far enough along that +it's useful. You will not be in the spotlight until you deserve to be. + +**You will make better decisions.** At the most basic level, you will be +vastly less likely to accidentally commit a password to an open source +project than a closed one. But more than that: even though no one is +reading your code, you'll still feel a bit of natural pressure to make +better decisions. You'll hardcode less, and move more into configuration +files. You'll make things slightly more modular. You'll comment more. +You'll catch security holes more quickly. That's a healthy pressure. + +**It will not waste your time.** It may feel like some of those "better +decisions" take more time. But even if you're the only person who will +ever work on this project, you have to live there. You'll greatly and +immediately appreciate having made those decisions the minute you return +to your own code after taking a month off. And when making better +decisions becomes routine, they stop taking more time — and you become a +better coder. + +**You might just help people.** And people might just help you! The +internet is a big place and a small world, and GitHub has a way of +making unexpected connections. If your work is even a little bit useful +to someone else, there's a good chance they'll find their way to your +door, start poking around, and find a way to be useful right back. Even +if you're working on what you think is the most niche project that no +one else would ever use: leave the door open for providence. + +Once you get used to beginning your work in public, it stops feeling +like performance art and starts feeling like breathing. It's a healthy +routine that produces better work and personal growth, and opens the +door to spontaneous contribution and engagement. When your default is +open, everyone wins. diff --git a/_posts/2014-08-12-the-contributors-guide-to-18f-code-for-the-common.html b/_posts/2014-08-12-the-contributors-guide-to-18f-code-for-the-common.html deleted file mode 100644 index bd04360d6..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-08-12-the-contributors-guide-to-18f-code-for-the-common.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,69 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-08-12T12:31:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/94543290971/the-contributors-guide-to-18f-code-for-the-common - -title: "The contributor's guide to 18F: code for the common good" - -description: "Transparency in coding makes code more secure. Open source development is development in the light, sometimes a harsh light, that shows every blemish. At 18F we strongly believe this improves the rapidity of our coding and the quality and security of the code." -excerpt: "Transparency in coding makes code more secure. Open source development is development in the light, sometimes a harsh light, that shows every blemish. At 18F we strongly believe this improves the rapidity of our coding and the quality and security of the code." - -image: "" -authors: -- robert - -tags: -- open source -- public service - ---- - -

Introduction

- -

Transparency in coding makes code more secure. Open source development is development in the light, sometimes a harsh light, that shows every blemish. At 18F we strongly believe this improves the rapidity of our coding and the quality and security of the code.

- - - -

We keep the code open to each other, which allows us to quickly scrub in on projects and to dexterously apply the most talented resources to a problem without too much concern for who is formally working on or in charge of a given project. The code is also open to Federal employees from outside 18F and from other agencies. This means that they may both review the code, offers suggestions, and, in some cases, learn from and reuse the code. Just as we reuse open source code developed outside the government to save money for the US taxpayer, so too do we offer our code to be reused by our teammates, other agencies, other governmental bodies, or citizens and businesses.

- -

The purpose of this guide is to provide some advice on that reuse and sharing, in hopes of fostering it.

- -

Basic reuse

- -

All our our code is published and released at GitHub.com under the organization 18F. There you can see all our public repositories (or “repos”). Using only a browser, you can look at any of the code in these repositories, or simply read about the projects. If you wish, you can “follow” a project from beginning to end. Since source code revision systems let you look back in time, you can see the complete history of changes leading up to the current state. Imagine being able to see every draft and edit of Shakespeare’s plays leading up to the publication of the First Folio.

- -

One of the projects we are most proud of and which is highly reusable is FBOpen. FBOpen is a set of open source tools to help small businesses search for opportunities to work with the U.S. government. FBOpen presents an Application Programming Interface (API) to published Federal contracting opportunities, as well as implementing a beautiful graphical user interface to the same opportunities.

- -

Anyone who wishes to may reuse this code to create their own website, free of charge and unencumbered by obligations. For example, a State could promote economic development within its borders by taking this code, making a slight modification to limit searches to their own State (you would have to be a software engineer to do this, but it is very easy) and then host “Federal Business Opportunities for the Lone Star State.” A business could also build a website using the FBOpen software and API, perhaps even making money by selling advertisements related to the content. The basic idea is that since the software is open source, anyone can use it to build a tool that suits their needs.

- -

Sharing enhancements

- -

Let us imagine that a business has installed FBOpen, changed the name and branding, and is making some money from ad revenue by target marketing to businesses interested in a particular kind of Federal contract, for example cement and concrete masonry. They’ve made some “masonry specific” changes to the code. In doing so, they realize that they have made the code more modular in some way, an improvement that can be shared back to the Federal Government.

- -

Why would they take the time to share this back to the government, when they won’t get paid for it, and it costs them a small amount of time to do so? Beyond altruism, by doing so they keep their codebase as similar to the official Federal codebase as possible. In this way, when improvements to FBOpen are made by 18F, their software engineers can accept these changes with minimal effort. They may decide that they want to stay up-to-date with the FBOpen codebase, and manage only masonry-specific code extensions.

- -

The mechanism for sharing this code back has been worked out and it is relatively simple, as software engineering goes. It is called a pull request, because it is a request or suggestion to the owner of the codebase to accept or “pull” the code change. It is a formal mechanism which makes crystal clear how the code is changing, which is of course critical. 18F will perform strict code review of all such pull requests, and may simply not accept them at all—not every idea is aligned with the codebase owner’s intentions. In general, however, we welcome such pull requests and enhancements. Just as we hope to create opportunities for American business, we can benefit from the creative output of the entrepreneurs and non-commercial software developers. The taxpayers deserve the least expensive, highest-quality software that we can deliver for their tax dollars.

- -

Some legal issues

- -

18F is committed to making our code permissively reusable wherever possible. Work performed by Federal employees, such as the staff of 18F, is not subject to copyright and is in the public domain within the US. However, we use a copyright waiver for other jurisdictions to clarify matters and ensure unrestricted public use outside of the US.

- -

Even though it is our intention to release all code permissively, you may find a derived work of someone else’s code in our repositories. In order to save the taxpayer money, we reuse work that others have created when possible. An example of such a file is pycas.py which is part of the PriceHistory project which was begun by Presidential Innovation Fellows and is now maintained by 18F. This individual file is Copyright Jon Rifkin, 2011, and it was reused and modified as allowed by the Apache License 2.0 under which Mr. Rifkin released it. This file remains copyrighted by Jon Rifkin and covered by the Apache License 2.0.

- -

Since similar situations may arise in any repository, check the individual README and LICENSE files for each project on GitHub for details specific to that project in order to reuse our code legally—which we strongly encourage!

- -

Making contributions

- -

GSA is not permitted to accept voluntary services or ask people to perform work on open source projects free of charge. However, since our open source software projects are available in public repositories for anyone to learn from or reuse, individuals may decide to improve the software for the benefit of others or offer suggestions to improve the code.

- -

In general, individuals who choose to contribute to an open source project do so without the expectation of payment. There are a variety of reasons why software developers elect to contribute to any open source software project. The reasons include:

- -
  • Desire to make an improvement to software that a programmer is using
    • -
  • Demonstrating one’s commitment, talent, and experience
    • -
  • Altruism
    • -

In the case of our repositories, there are several kinds of contributions:

- -
  • Report bugs, ideas, requests for features by creating “Issues” at GitHub in our project repositories. An issue that begins “Have you thought of…” could save a project months of labor
    • -
  • Fork our code and play with it, whether you later choose to make a pull request or not
    • -
  • Create pull requests of changes that you think are laudatory. From typos to major design flaws, you will find a target-rich environment for improvements
    • -
diff --git a/_posts/2014-08-12-the-contributors-guide-to-18f-code-for-the-common.md b/_posts/2014-08-12-the-contributors-guide-to-18f-code-for-the-common.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..486de5c2f --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-08-12-the-contributors-guide-to-18f-code-for-the-common.md @@ -0,0 +1,171 @@ +--- +date: '2014-08-12T12:31:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/94543290971/the-contributors-guide-to-18f-code-for-the-common +title: "The contributor's guide to 18F: code for the common good" +description: "Transparency in coding makes code more secure. Open source +development is development in the light, sometimes a harsh light, that +shows every blemish. At 18F we strongly believe this improves the +rapidity of our coding and the quality and security of the code." +excerpt: "Transparency in coding makes code more secure. Open source +development is development in the light, sometimes a harsh light, that +shows every blemish. At 18F we strongly believe this improves the +rapidity of our coding and the quality and security of the code." +authors: +- robert +tags: +- open source +- public service +--- + +Introduction +------------ + +Transparency in coding makes code more secure. Open source development +is development in the light, sometimes a harsh light, that shows every +blemish. At [18F](https://18f.gsa.gov/) we strongly believe this +improves the rapidity of our coding and the quality and security of the +code. + +We keep the code [open to each other](https://github.com/18F), which +allows us to quickly scrub in on projects and to dexterously apply the +most talented resources to a problem without too much concern for who is +formally working on or in charge of a given project. The code is also +open to Federal employees from outside 18F and from other agencies. This +means that they may both review the code, offers suggestions, and, in +some cases, learn from and reuse the code. Just as we reuse open source +code developed outside the government to save money for the US taxpayer, +so too do we offer our code to be reused by our teammates, other +agencies, other governmental bodies, or citizens and businesses. + +The purpose of this guide is to provide some advice on that reuse and +sharing, in hopes of fostering it. + +Basic reuse +----------- + +All our our code is published and released at GitHub.com under the +[organization 18F](https://github.com/18F/). There you can see all our +public repositories (or “repos”). Using only a browser, you can look at +any of the code in these repositories, or simply read about the +projects. If you wish, you can “follow” a project from beginning to end. +Since source code revision systems let you look back in time, you can +see the complete history of changes leading up to the current state. +Imagine being able to see every draft and edit of Shakespeare’s plays +leading up to the publication of the [First +Folio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Folio). + +One of the projects we are most proud of and which is highly reusable is +[FBOpen](https://github.com/18F/fbopen). +[FBOpen](https://fbopen.gsa.gov/) is a set of open source tools to help +small businesses search for opportunities to work with the U.S. +government. FBOpen presents an Application Programming Interface (API) +to published Federal contracting opportunities, as well as implementing +a beautiful graphical user interface to the same opportunities. + +Anyone who wishes to may reuse this code to create their own website, +free of charge and unencumbered by obligations. For example, a State +could promote economic development within its borders by taking this +code, making a slight modification to limit searches to their own State +(you would have to be a software engineer to do this, but it is very +easy) and then host “Federal Business Opportunities for the Lone Star +State.” A business could also build a website using the FBOpen software +and API, perhaps even making money by selling advertisements related to +the content. The basic idea is that since the software is open source, +anyone can use it to build a tool that suits their needs. + +Sharing enhancements +-------------------- + +Let us imagine that a business has installed +[FBOpen](https://github.com/18F/fbopen), changed the name and branding, +and is making some money from ad revenue by target marketing to +businesses interested in a particular kind of Federal contract, for +example cement and concrete masonry. They’ve made some “masonry +specific” changes to the code. In doing so, they realize that they have +made the code more modular in some way, an improvement that can be +shared back to the Federal Government. + +Why would they take the time to share this back to the government, when +they won’t get paid for it, and it costs them a small amount of time to +do so? Beyond altruism, by doing so they keep their codebase as similar +to the official Federal codebase as possible. In this way, when +improvements to FBOpen are made by 18F, their software engineers can +accept these changes with minimal effort. They may decide that they want +to stay up-to-date with the FBOpen codebase, and manage only +masonry-specific code extensions. + +The mechanism for sharing this code back has been worked out and it is +relatively simple, as software engineering goes. It is called a [pull +request](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests), because +it is a request or suggestion to the owner of the codebase to accept or +“pull” the code change. It is a formal mechanism which makes crystal +clear how the code is changing, which is of course critical. 18F will +perform strict code review of all such pull requests, and may simply not +accept them at all—not every idea is aligned with the codebase owner’s +intentions. In general, however, we welcome such pull requests and +enhancements. Just as we hope to create opportunities for American +business, we can benefit from the creative output of the entrepreneurs +and non-commercial software developers. The taxpayers deserve the least +expensive, highest-quality software that we can deliver for their tax +dollars. + +Some legal issues +----------------- + +18F is committed to making our code permissively reusable wherever +possible. Work performed by Federal employees, such as the staff of 18F, +is not subject to copyright and is in the public domain within the US. +However, we use a copyright waiver for other jurisdictions to clarify +matters and ensure unrestricted public use outside of the US. + +Even though it is our +[intention](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/07/29/18f-an-open-source-team/) to +release all code permissively, you may find a derived work of someone +else’s code in our repositories. In order to save the taxpayer money, we +reuse work that others have created when possible. An example of such a +file is +[pycas.py](https://github.com/18F/PriceHistoryAuth/blob/master/pycas.py) +which is part of the +[PriceHistory](https://github.com/18F/PriceHistoryInstall) project which +was begun by Presidential Innovation Fellows and is now maintained by +18F. This individual file is Copyright Jon Rifkin, 2011, and it was +reused and modified as allowed by the [Apache License +2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0) under which Mr. Rifkin +released it. This file remains copyrighted by Jon Rifkin and covered by +the Apache License 2.0. + +Since similar situations may arise in any repository, check the +individual README and LICENSE files for each project on GitHub for +details specific to that project in order to reuse our code +legally—which we strongly encourage! + +Making contributions +-------------------- + +GSA is not permitted to accept voluntary services or ask people to +perform work on open source projects free of charge. However, since our +open source software projects are available in public repositories for +anyone to learn from or reuse, individuals may decide to improve the +software for the benefit of others or offer suggestions to improve the +code. + +In general, individuals who choose to contribute to an open source +project do so without the expectation of payment. There are a variety of +reasons why software developers elect to contribute to any open source +software project. The reasons include: + +- Desire to make an improvement to software that a programmer is using +- Demonstrating one’s commitment, talent, and experience +- Altruism + +In the case of our repositories, there are several kinds of +contributions: + +- Report bugs, ideas, requests for features by creating “Issues” at + GitHub in our project repositories. An issue that begins “Have you + thought of…” could save a project months of labor +- Fork our code and play with it, whether you later choose to make a + pull request or not +- Create pull requests of changes that you think are laudatory. From + typos to major design flaws, you will find a target-rich environment + for improvements diff --git a/_posts/2014-08-21-creating-an-open-fec.html b/_posts/2014-08-21-creating-an-open-fec.html deleted file mode 100644 index 02c417960..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-08-21-creating-an-open-fec.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,49 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-08-21T12:10:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/95378798453/creating-an-open-fec - -title: "Creating an open FEC" - -description: "Campaign finance information is not very approachable, even when made available as open data. The laws that regulate how money can be spent around elections are important to our democracy, but sometimes it's difficult to understand how these laws apply. Between Senate, House, and Presidential campaigns, thousands of people run for office on a regular basis (every two years for the House of Representatives, every six years for the Senate, and every four years for the Presidency). With each election comes a huge collection of information on candidates and political committees, most notably the contributions and expenditures they receive and make. This information can, at times, be difficult to understand, especially without a full understanding of the context of the rules and regulations around how it is collected and monitored." -excerpt: "Campaign finance information is not very approachable, even when made available as open data. The laws that regulate how money can be spent around elections are important to our democracy, but sometimes it's difficult to understand how these laws apply. Between Senate, House, and Presidential campaigns, thousands of people run for office on a regular basis (every two years for the House of Representatives, every six years for the Senate, and every four years for the Presidency). With each election comes a huge collection of information on candidates and political committees, most notably the contributions and expenditures they receive and make. This information can, at times, be difficult to understand, especially without a full understanding of the context of the rules and regulations around how it is collected and monitored." - -image: "" - -authors: -- majma -- sean -- manger -- victor -- amos - -tags: -- our projects -- fec -- open data - ---- - -

Campaign finance information is not very approachable, even when made available as open data. The laws that regulate how money can be spent around elections are important to our democracy, but sometimes it’s difficult to understand how these laws apply. Between Senate, House, and Presidential campaigns, thousands of people run for office on a regular basis (every two years for the House of Representatives, every six years for the Senate, and every four years for the Presidency).

- - - -

With each election comes a huge collection of information on candidates and political committees, most notably the contributions and expenditures they receive and make. This information can, at times, be difficult to understand, especially without a full understanding of the context of the rules and regulations around how it is collected and monitored.

- -

The good news is that this information is already made available for public use by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC is a regulatory agency that, among other things, releases campaign finance information. The commission is bipartisan and has long shown a commitment to making sure their actions fairly and equitably disclose important data around certain election activities. This data powers important work by a number of transparency groups, is used by journalists to report on election trends, and informs the public about how money is spent around federal elections.

- -

A few weeks ago, FEC and 18F started to explore how all of this great information can be better presented to the public. Over the past few weeks, we’ve begun learning all we can about the FEC, the process by which it collects and shares data, and how individuals outside of FEC use that data on a regular basis to gain insights into the workings of our democracy.

- -

Users of the FEC website vary in profession and expertise in campaign finance policy and laws, which leads us to consider:

- -
    -
  • Different formats and presentations
    • -
  • Interactive web presentation or aggregated data as CSV reports
    • -
  • Raw filing data for independent analysis
    • -
- -

Creating a solution that will be effective for different use cases is a challenge — exactly the type of challenge that fits what 18F was created for. We’re excited about the opportunity to work on a project of such critical importance to the United States.

- -

We’re still learning about the FEC’s current and future users and will continue working with groups both inside and outside FEC to better understand their needs. We are performing research to better understand FEC’s current audience, as well as the audience they’re not currently reaching. We will test the strengths and weaknesses of our ideas and understanding of the FEC’s website users by developing small-scale prototypes we think will address user needs then let people use and critique these prototypes.

- -

This work, and your input, will directly impact how we and the FEC reimagine their digital presence. Please follow our repository and send us specific requests or ideas through our issue tracker. You can also be bold and provide us a specific approach or implementation idea through a pull request! We can’t wait to work with you to create a more elegant, user friendly, and accessible way to interact with the FEC.

diff --git a/_posts/2014-08-21-creating-an-open-fec.md b/_posts/2014-08-21-creating-an-open-fec.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..79e9ebc19 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-08-21-creating-an-open-fec.md @@ -0,0 +1,105 @@ +--- +date: '2014-08-21T12:10:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/95378798453/creating-an-open-fec +title: "Creating an open FEC" +description: "Campaign finance information is not +very approachable, even when made available as open data. The laws that +regulate how money can be spent around elections are important to our +democracy, but sometimes it's difficult to understand how these laws +apply. Between Senate, House, and Presidential campaigns, thousands of +people run for office on a regular basis (every two years for the House +of Representatives, every six years for the Senate, and every four years +for the Presidency). With each election comes a huge collection of +information on candidates and political committees, most notably the +contributions and expenditures they receive and make. This information +can, at times, be difficult to understand, especially without a full +understanding of the context of the rules and regulations around how it +is collected and monitored." +excerpt: "Campaign finance information is +not very approachable, even when made available as open data. The laws +that regulate how money can be spent around elections are important to +our democracy, but sometimes it's difficult to understand how these laws +apply. Between Senate, House, and Presidential campaigns, thousands of +people run for office on a regular basis (every two years for the House +of Representatives, every six years for the Senate, and every four years +for the Presidency). With each election comes a huge collection of +information on candidates and political committees, most notably the +contributions and expenditures they receive and make. This information +can, at times, be difficult to understand, especially without a full +understanding of the context of the rules and regulations around how it +is collected and monitored." +authors: +- majma +- sean +- manger +- victor +- amos +tags: +- our projects +- fec +- open data +--- + +Campaign finance information is not very approachable, even when made +available as open data. The laws that regulate how money can be spent +around elections are important to our democracy, but sometimes it’s +difficult to understand how these laws apply. Between Senate, House, and +Presidential campaigns, thousands of people run for office on a regular +basis (every two years for the House of Representatives, every six years +for the Senate, and every four years for the Presidency). + +With each election comes a huge collection of information on candidates +and political committees, most notably the contributions and +expenditures they receive and make. This information can, at times, be +difficult to understand, especially without a full understanding of the +context of the rules and regulations around how it is collected and +monitored. + +The good news is that this information is already made available for +public use by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC is a +regulatory agency that, among other things, releases campaign finance +information. The commission is bipartisan and has long shown a +commitment to making sure their actions fairly and equitably disclose +important data around certain election activities. This data powers +important work by a number of transparency groups, is used by +journalists to report on election trends, and informs the public about +how money is spent around federal elections. + +A few weeks ago, FEC and 18F started to explore how all of this great +information can be better presented to the public. Over the past few +weeks, we’ve begun learning all we can about the FEC, the process by +which it collects and shares data, and how individuals outside of FEC +use that data on a regular basis to gain insights into the workings of +our democracy. + +Users of the [FEC website](http://fec.gov) vary in profession and +expertise in campaign finance policy and laws, which leads us to +consider: + +- Different formats and presentations +- Interactive web presentation or aggregated data as CSV reports +- Raw filing data for independent analysis + +Creating a solution that will be effective for different use cases is a +challenge — exactly the type of challenge that fits what 18F was created +for. We’re excited about the opportunity to work on a project of such +critical importance to the United States. + +We’re still learning about the FEC’s current and future users and will +continue working with groups both inside and outside FEC to better +understand their needs. We are performing research to better understand +FEC’s current audience, as well as the audience they’re not currently +reaching. We will test the strengths and weaknesses of our ideas and +understanding of the FEC’s website users by developing small-scale +prototypes we think will address user needs then let people use and +critique these prototypes. + +This work, and your input, will directly impact how we and the FEC +reimagine their digital presence. Please follow our +[repository](http://www.github.com/18f/FEC) and send us specific +[requests or ideas](https://github.com/18F/fec/issues) through our issue +tracker. You can also be bold and provide us a specific approach or +implementation idea through a [pull +request](https://github.com/18F/fec/pulls)! We can’t wait to work with +you to create a more elegant, user friendly, and accessible way to +interact with the FEC. diff --git a/_posts/2014-09-04-a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act.html b/_posts/2014-09-04-a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act.html deleted file mode 100644 index 4d8511b24..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-09-04-a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,48 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-09-04T12:02:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/96625804492/a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act - -title: "A new look at the Freedom of Information Act" - -image: /assets/blog/foia/in-hand.jpg - -description: "As demand for information continues to grow, it is important to continue iterating the ways we refine the FOIA request process. Our effort is one of a number of commitments towards creating a more open, transparent government. We will explore how to supplement the work that has already been done by creating tools to improve the online FOIA requests process by designing for the user." -excerpt: "As demand for information continues to grow, it is important to continue iterating the ways we refine the FOIA request process. Our effort is one of a number of commitments towards creating a more open, transparent government. We will explore how to supplement the work that has already been done by creating tools to improve the online FOIA requests process by designing for the user." - -tags: -- foia -- our projects -- open data - -authors: -- jackie -- shashank -- majma -- eric -- victor - ---- - -

There are many ways the public can get information from the Federal Government. For example, you can check out data.gov to find scores of datasets and APIs, agency websites for information about their work, or other important information in online FOIA Libraries.

- - - -

Or you can also just ask for it.

- -

Since 1966, the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, has granted the public the right to access information from the Federal Government. This public right has been maintained for decades and has served as the backbone for information disclosures. This has led to the publication of many important news stories and greater public awareness around government activities.

- -

As demand for information continues to grow, it is important to continue iterating the ways we refine the FOIA request process. Our effort is one of a number of commitments towards creating a more open, transparent government. We will explore how to supplement the work that has already been done by creating tools to improve the online FOIA requests process by designing for the user.

- -

photo: a mockup of our app on an iPhone
Above: an illustrative prototype running on a mobile device (the logo in the photo is not a live URL)

- -

We're exploring building tools that:

- -
  • Improve the FOIA request submission experience
    • -
  • Create a scalable infrastructure for making requests to federal agencies
    • -
  • Make it easier for requesters to find records and other information that have already been made available online
    • -

This effort will be conducted with the assistance of a number of agencies and offices within the Federal Government. A FOIA Task Force, which consists of representatives from the Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and others, has been created to oversee the creation of these open source software resources.

- -

To reach our goals, the FOIA team at 18F has been meeting with stakeholders, both inside and outside the government, to discuss some of the practical obstacles impeding the current FOIA experience.

- -

As we continue, we look forward to informing you of what we learned, but more importantly we look forward to informing you of what we’re building. We currently have a prototype available of what a consolidated request submission hub could look like. Please follow along at our main FOIA repo, give us feedback or contribute, and look for more updates in the future.

diff --git a/_posts/2014-09-04-a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act.md b/_posts/2014-09-04-a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..71950ddc1 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-09-04-a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act.md @@ -0,0 +1,87 @@ +--- +layout: post +date: '2014-09-04T12:02:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/96625804492/a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act +title: "A new look at the Freedom of Information Act" +image: /assets/blog/foia/in-hand.jpg +description: "As demand for information +continues to grow, it is important to continue iterating the ways we +refine the FOIA request process. Our effort is one of a number of +commitments towards creating a more open, transparent government. We +will explore how to supplement the work that has already been done by +creating tools to improve the online FOIA requests process by designing +for the user." +excerpt: "As demand for information continues to grow, it +is important to continue iterating the ways we refine the FOIA request +process. Our effort is one of a number of commitments towards creating a +more open, transparent government. We will explore how to supplement the +work that has already been done by creating tools to improve the online +FOIA requests process by designing for the user." +tags: +- foia +- our projects +- open data +authors: +- jackie +- khandelwal +- majma +- eric +- victor +--- + +There are many ways the public can get information from the Federal +Government. For example, you can check out data.gov to find scores of +datasets and APIs, agency websites for information about their work, or +other important information in online FOIA Libraries. + +Or you can also just ask for it. + +Since 1966, the [Freedom of Information +Act](http://www.foia.gov/about.html), FOIA, has granted the public the +right to access information from the Federal Government. This public +right has been maintained for decades and has served as the backbone for +information disclosures. This has led to the publication of many +important news stories and greater public awareness around government +activities. + +As demand for information continues to grow, it is important to continue +iterating the ways we refine the FOIA request process. Our effort is one +of a number of +[commitments](https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/us_national_action_plan_6p.pdf) +towards creating a more open, transparent government. We will explore +how to supplement the work that has already been done by creating tools +to improve the online FOIA requests process by designing for the user. + +![photo: a mockup of our app on an +iPhone]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/foia/in-hand.jpg)\ +*Above: an illustrative prototype running on a mobile device (the logo +in the photo is not a live URL)* + +We're exploring building tools that: + +- Improve the FOIA request submission experience +- Create a scalable infrastructure for making requests to federal + agencies +- Make it easier for requesters to find records and other information + that have already been made available online + +This effort will be conducted with the assistance of a number of +agencies and offices within the Federal Government. A FOIA Task Force, +which consists of representatives from the Department of Justice, +Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Management and Budget, +the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and others, has been +created to oversee the creation of these open source software resources. + +To reach our goals, the FOIA team at 18F has been meeting with +stakeholders, both inside and outside the government, to discuss some of +the practical obstacles impeding the current FOIA experience. + +As we continue, we look forward to informing you of what we learned, but +more importantly we look forward to informing you of what we’re +building. We currently have a prototype available of what a +[consolidated request submission +hub](https://github.com/18F/foia-design/pull/40) could look like. Please +follow along at our main [FOIA repo](https://github.com/18F/foia-hub), +give us feedback or +[contribute](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/08/12/the-contributors-guide-to-18f-code-for-the-common/), +and look for more updates in the future. diff --git a/_posts/2014-09-08-the-encasement-strategy-on-legacy-systems-and-the.html b/_posts/2014-09-08-the-encasement-strategy-on-legacy-systems-and-the.html deleted file mode 100644 index 276f15940..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-09-08-the-encasement-strategy-on-legacy-systems-and-the.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,67 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post - -title: "The encasement strategy: on legacy systems and the importance of APIs" - -image: "/assets/blog/encasement/encasement1.png" - -description: "In 1986 a nuclear reactor known as Chernobyl released harmful radioactivity which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe. The core of this reactor remains a glowing, ineradicable mass of deadly radioactive lava in the middle of a large Exclusion Zone unfit for human habitation." - -excerpt: "In 1986 a nuclear reactor known as Chernobyl released harmful radioactivity which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe. The core of this reactor remains a glowing, ineradicable mass of deadly radioactive lava in the middle of a large Exclusion Zone unfit for human habitation." - -authors: -- robert -- mhz - -tags: -- api -- how we work ---- - -

In 1986 a nuclear reactor known as Chernobyl released harmful radioactivity which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe. The core of this reactor remains a glowing, ineradicable mass of deadly radioactive lava in the middle of a large Exclusion Zone unfit for human habitation.

- - - -

The Chernobyl reactor core could not be removed. It was and is too big, too hot, and there is no where for it to go. Instead, it was entombed in a concrete sarcophagus where it will radiate harmlessly for decades if not centuries. This was unfortunately the best outcome that could be achieved. In the software industry, I’ve often seen this same approach used with legacy software systems. I call it The Encasement Strategy.

- -

Legacy systems make everyone that has to touch them queasy, from the software engineers to the managers. But most especially there comes a time when the system no longer serves the most important constituent of all, the customer. This not only contributes to inefficiency, but can sometimes have detrimental effects on the users of a system.

- -

legacy software can be toxic to customers and stakeholders

- -

Like Chernobyl, these systems are toxic; but unlike a power plant, what they once produced is not fungible with other sources. There is often no replacement for the legacy system.

- -

The basic mechanism for remediating such a system comes straight out of Computer Programming 101: you create a well-designed interface. In modern terms, this is an Application Programming Interface or API. That term API used to be more general, but now it almost always connotes a web-based interface accessed through HTTP and usually using JSON as its data format.

- -

An API is an inter-face, a face, a façade or a wall between. It allows the user blissful ignorance of what precisely is behind the wall. You need only worry about what comes and goes through the gate. What lies beyond—whether it’s magic, or a red-hot mass of legacy code—is no longer the user’s concern.The customers on the user side of the API are protected from the toxins, leaving the engineers to deal with implementation.

- -

A new GUI separating customers from legacy software

- -

There is something magical about this basic act of defining an interface. To paraphrase Buckminster Fuller, to define is divine. It creates something simple and understandable from nothing, something you can grab onto, something solid.

- -

By defining an API, you can begin to immediately serve the customer, because you can build a modern GUI on top of it, unencumbered by the legacy of the past. You can begin to build what history has shown needs to be built to serve the customer, whether that is the US citizen at large, or a division of an office, or a bureau of an agency. You may choose to allow outsiders to directly make calls to your API, but even if you do not do this, you can create independence of the legacy technology.

- -

Sometimes, such an API can be constructed based on a clear engineering understanding of the internals of the legacy system. This is the best approach; however, it may be impractical if the knowledge and understanding of the system has been lost. In such a case, programmers are wont to resort to reverse engineering solutions, as I did recently. Any system which offers a GUI (graphical user interface) to users can be reverse engineered to construct a programmatic interface on top of that interface. We generally call this scraping the GUI, and it isn’t pretty. It leads to the absurd architectural diagram of a GUI on top of an API on top of a GUI on top of a miasma. But it gets the job done, and that is what a pragmatic software engineer must care about: serving the customer.

- -

build an API and an interface to scrape information from a legacy system

- -

Once a valuable API is defined, there is a wall between decisions about how to effectively use the API that completely divorces them from decisions about what to do with the code that implements the API. Efforts to rewrite the legacy system may proceed mostly independent of the efforts to build functionality that uses the API. Or, efforts to rewrite it may not proceed at all—the Encasement Strategy.

- -

As an engineer who loves hard problems, the idea of leaving a legacy system in place and not attempting to rewrite it is a serious challenge. But I think we should always make that decision independent of decisions on how to best serve the customer.

- -

Let us work through a highly contrived thought experiment. Imagine that 100 years from now there is a team of 5 highly skilled specialists, known as Software Conservationists. Their sole job is to maintain the sealed-off core of the legacy system which is STILL implementing an API that serves the US Citizen. Just like Art Conservationists working at the Smithsonian today, future citizens could train to do it.

- -

The Software Conservationists are employed because of two decisions made today:

- -
  1. A decision to create an API
    2. -
  2. A decision not to rewrite the legacy system
    3. -

Let us say that it costs $1,000,000 present-day dollars to maintain this team every year from now until the corium in Chernobyl is no longer hot.

- -

How much money would you have to save this year in order to justify paying out an annuity of $1,000,000? Assuming that one could obtain a risk-free 3% after-inflation return on an investment (or, in accounting terms, discount rate of 3%), how much money would you have to save to justify making a decision today that creates the Software Conservationists profession a century from now? The answer is an elementary present value calculation: $34 million or more.

- -

If a realist who is keeping her users top of mind can save the US Taxpayer $34 million today, she should employ the Encasement Strategy and not be ashamed of it. Such a realist should of course recognize the long-term effects of Software Conservation versus the creation of a new, modern system.

- -

Whether the details of your toxic system lead you to begin the legacy rewrite immediately or to employ the Encasement Strategy of delaying the rewrite indefinitely, get started on a well-designed API today.

- -

Postscript

- -

After this article was published, a kind tweet by David Illsley suggested that this was the Strangler Pattern which Martin Fowler has blogged about. Martin Fowler credits a paper by Chris Stevenson and Andy Pols as the initiator of this idea, and further more references a set of case studies collected by Paul Hammant.

diff --git a/_posts/2014-09-08-the-encasement-strategy-on-legacy-systems-and-the.md b/_posts/2014-09-08-the-encasement-strategy-on-legacy-systems-and-the.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..2dcedebe4 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-09-08-the-encasement-strategy-on-legacy-systems-and-the.md @@ -0,0 +1,164 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: "The encasement strategy: on legacy systems and +the importance of APIs" +image: "/assets/blog/encasement/encasement1.png" +description: "In 1986 a nuclear reactor known as Chernobyl released +harmful radioactivity which spread over much of the western USSR and +Europe. The core of this reactor remains a glowing, ineradicable mass of +deadly radioactive lava in the middle of a large Exclusion Zone unfit +for human habitation." +excerpt: "In 1986 a nuclear reactor known as +Chernobyl released harmful radioactivity which spread over much of the +western USSR and Europe. The core of this reactor remains a glowing, +ineradicable mass of deadly radioactive lava in the middle of a large +Exclusion Zone unfit for human habitation." +authors: +- robert +- mhz +tags: +- api +- how we work +--- + +In 1986 a nuclear reactor known as +[Chernobyl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster) released +harmful radioactivity which spread over much of the western USSR and +Europe. The core of this reactor remains a glowing, ineradicable mass of +deadly radioactive lava in the middle of a large Exclusion Zone unfit +for human habitation. + +The Chernobyl reactor core could not be removed. It was and is too big, +too hot, and there is no where for it to go. Instead, it was entombed in +a concrete sarcophagus where it will radiate harmlessly for decades if +not centuries. This was unfortunately the best outcome that could be +achieved. In the software industry, I’ve often seen this same approach +used with legacy software systems. I call it *The Encasement Strategy*. + +Legacy systems make everyone that has to touch them queasy, from the +software engineers to the managers. But most especially there comes a +time when the system no longer serves the most important constituent of +all, the customer. This not only contributes to inefficiency, but can +sometimes have detrimental effects on the users of a system. + +![legacy software can be toxic to customers and +stakeholders]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/encasement/encasement1.png) + +Like Chernobyl, these systems are toxic; but unlike a power plant, what +they once produced is not fungible with other sources. There is often no +replacement for the legacy system. + +**The basic mechanism for remediating such a system comes straight out +of Computer Programming 101: you create a well-designed interface.** In +modern terms, this is an *Application Programming Interface* or API. +That term API used to be more general, but now it almost always connotes +a web-based interface accessed through HTTP and usually using JSON as +its data format. + +An API is an *inter-face*, a face, a façade or a wall *between*. It +allows the user blissful ignorance of what precisely is behind the wall. +You need only worry about what comes and goes through the gate. What +lies beyond—whether it’s magic, or a red-hot mass of legacy code—is no +longer the user’s concern.The customers on the user side of the API are +protected from the toxins, leaving the engineers to deal with +implementation. + +![A new GUI separating customers from legacy +software]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/encasement/encasement2.png) + +There is something magical about this basic act of defining an +interface. To paraphrase [Buckminster +Fuller](https://bfi.org/about-fuller), to *define* is *divine*. It +creates something simple and understandable from nothing, something you +can grab onto, something solid. + +**By defining an API, you can begin to immediately serve the customer, +because you can build a modern GUI on top of it, unencumbered by the +legacy of the past.** You can begin to build what history has shown +needs to be built to serve the customer, whether that is the US citizen +at large, or a division of an office, or a bureau of an agency. You may +choose to allow outsiders to directly make calls to your API, but even +if you do not do this, you can create independence of the legacy +technology. + +Sometimes, such an API can be constructed based on a clear engineering +understanding of the internals of the legacy system. This is the best +approach; however, it may be impractical if the knowledge and +understanding of the system has been lost. In such a case, programmers +are wont to resort to reverse engineering solutions, as I did +[recently](https://github.com/18F/gsa-advantage-scrape). Any system +which offers a +[GUI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_user_interface) (graphical +user interface) to users can be reverse engineered to construct a +programmatic interface on top of that interface. We generally call this +[scraping](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_scraping) the GUI, and it +isn’t pretty. It leads to the absurd architectural diagram of a GUI on +top of an API on top of a GUI on top of a miasma. But it gets the job +done, and that is what a pragmatic software engineer must care about: +serving the customer. + +![build an API and an interface to scrape information from a legacy +system]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/encasement/encasement3.png) + +Once a valuable API is defined, there is a wall between decisions about +how to effectively use the API that completely divorces them from +decisions about what to do with the code that implements the API. +Efforts to rewrite the legacy system may proceed mostly independent of +the efforts to build functionality that uses the API. Or, efforts to +rewrite it may not proceed at all—the Encasement Strategy. + +As an engineer who loves hard problems, the idea of leaving a legacy +system in place and not attempting to rewrite it is a serious challenge. +But I think we should always make that decision independent of decisions +on how to best serve the customer. + +Let us work through a highly contrived thought experiment. Imagine that +100 years from now there is a team of 5 highly skilled specialists, +known as *Software Conservationists*. Their sole job is to maintain the +sealed-off core of the legacy system which is STILL implementing an API +that serves the US Citizen. Just like Art Conservationists working at +the Smithsonian today, future citizens could train to do it. + +The Software Conservationists are employed because of two decisions made +today: + +1. A decision to create an API +2. A decision not to rewrite the legacy system + +Let us say that it costs \$1,000,000 present-day dollars to maintain +this team every year from now until the +[corium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corium_(nuclear_reactor)) in +Chernobyl is no longer hot. + +How much money would you have to save this year in order to justify +paying out an annuity of \$1,000,000? Assuming that one could obtain a +risk-free 3% after-inflation return on an investment (or, in accounting +terms, [discount rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discount_rate) of +3%), how much money would you have to save to justify making a decision +today that creates the Software Conservationists profession a century +from now? The answer is an elementary [present value +calculation](http://www.ultimatecalculators.com/present_value_annuity_calculator.html): +\$34 million or more. + +If a realist who is keeping her users top of mind can save the US +Taxpayer \$34 million today, she should employ the Encasement Strategy +and not be ashamed of it. Such a realist should of course recognize the +long-term effects of Software Conservation versus the creation of a new, +modern system. + +Whether the details of your toxic system lead you to begin the legacy +rewrite immediately or to employ the Encasement Strategy of delaying the +rewrite indefinitely, get started on a [well-designed +API](http://apievangelist.com) today. + +**Postscript** + +After this article was published, a kind tweet by David Illsley +suggested that this was the [Strangler +Pattern](http://martinfowler.com/bliki/StranglerApplication.html) which +Martin Fowler has blogged about. Martin Fowler credits a +[paper](http://cdn.pols.co.uk/papers/agile-approach-to-legacy-systems.pdf) +by Chris Stevenson and Andy Pols as the initiator of this idea, and +further more references a set of [case +studies](http://paulhammant.com/2013/07/14/legacy-application-strangulation-case-studies/) +collected by Paul Hammant. diff --git a/_posts/2014-09-15-say-hello-to-the-new-presidential-innovation-fellows.html b/_posts/2014-09-15-say-hello-to-the-new-presidential-innovation-fellows.html deleted file mode 100644 index 60a8c95ac..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-09-15-say-hello-to-the-new-presidential-innovation-fellows.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,34 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-09-15T14:39:05-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/97581261153/say-hello-to-the-new-presidential-innovation-fellows - -title: "Say hello to the new Presidential Innovation Fellows" - -image: "" -description: The third class of Presidential Innovation Fellows was sworn into duty last week by former CTO Todd Park. We are excited to welcome them into the 18F family. - -excerpt: The third class of Presidential Innovation Fellows was sworn into duty last week by former CTO Todd Park. We are excited to welcome them into the 18F family. - -authors: -- garren - -tags: -- presidential innovation fellows - ---- -

Former CTO Todd Park swore in the third class of Presidential Innovation Fellows last week. We're excited to welcome them into the 18F family.

- - - -
-

We recently welcomed the newest group of Presidential Innovation Fellows into the federal government. This diverse group represents some of the nation’s most talented and creative civic-minded innovators.

- -

More than a thousand candidates applied to serve the country in this unique capacity. From this pool of amazing and incredibly motivated applicants, we selected almost 30 designers, developers, entrepreneurs and executives to bring their unique skills into government.

-
- -

Read the full post at the GSA blog.

- -

Meet the 27 Fellows.

- -

Read more about the projects that make up these initiatives, and the previous successes the program has helped shape.

diff --git a/_posts/2014-09-15-say-hello-to-the-new-presidential-innovation-fellows.md b/_posts/2014-09-15-say-hello-to-the-new-presidential-innovation-fellows.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..16b094f84 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-09-15-say-hello-to-the-new-presidential-innovation-fellows.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +--- +date: '2014-09-15T14:39:05-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/97581261153/say-hello-to-the-new-presidential-innovation-fellows +title: "Say hello to the new Presidential Innovation Fellows" +image: "" +description: "The third class of Presidential Innovation Fellows was +sworn into duty last week by former CTO Todd Park. We are excited to +welcome them into the 18F family." +excerpt: "The third class of +Presidential Innovation Fellows was sworn into duty last week by former +CTO Todd Park. We are excited to welcome them into the 18F family." +authors: +- garren +tags: +- presidential innovation fellows +--- + +Former CTO Todd Park swore in the third class of Presidential Innovation +Fellows last week. We're excited to welcome them into the 18F family. + +> We recently welcomed the newest group of Presidential Innovation +> Fellows into the federal government. This diverse group represents +> some of the nation’s most talented and creative civic-minded +> innovators. +> +> More than a thousand candidates applied to serve the country in this +> unique capacity. From this pool of amazing and incredibly motivated +> applicants, we selected almost 30 designers, developers, entrepreneurs +> and executives to bring their unique skills into government. + +[Read the full post at the GSA +blog.](https://gsablogs.gsa.gov/gsablog/2014/09/15/welcoming-the-third-class-of-presidential-innovation-fellows/) + +[Meet the 27 +Fellows.](https://www.whitehouse.gov/innovationfellows/meet-the-fellows) + +[Read more about the +projects](https://www.whitehouse.gov/innovationfellows/projects) that +make up these initiatives, and the previous successes the program has +helped shape. diff --git a/_posts/2014-09-18-getting-to-work-for-the-american-people.html b/_posts/2014-09-18-getting-to-work-for-the-american-people.html deleted file mode 100644 index 9114c0225..000000000 --- a/_posts/2014-09-18-getting-to-work-for-the-american-people.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,80 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: post -date: '2014-09-18T15:21:00-04:00' -tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/97827848353/getting-to-work-for-the-american-people - -title: "Getting to work for the American people" - -image: /assets/blog/getting-to-work/18fdc-pif.jpg - -description: Over the last six months, 18F has embarked on a mission to transform the way the U.S. Government builds and buys digital services. We’re currently working with more than half a dozen agencies to help them deliver on their missions in a design-centric, agile, open, and data-driven way. - -excerpt: Over the last six months, 18F has embarked on a mission to transform the way the U.S. Government builds and buys digital services. We’re currently working with more than half a dozen agencies to help them deliver on their missions in a design-centric, agile, open, and data-driven way. - -authors: -- hillary -- aaron -- greg - -tags: -- how we work -- team ---- -

Over the last six months, we've embarked on a mission to transform the way the U.S. government builds and buys digital services. We’re currently working with more than half a dozen agencies to help them deliver on their missions in a design-centric, agile, open, and data-driven way.

- - - -

How do we say yes to a project?

- -

We ask ourselves:

- -
  • Is there an opportunity to improve the interaction between government and the people it serves?
    • -
  • Does it align with the 18F core principles of staying focused on user needs while being agile, open, and data-driven?
    • -
  • Is the partner agency motivated to modernize how they research and build services?
    • -
  • Does it fit within our project focus areas?
    • -
  • Does it contain an opportunity to build a cross-government shared platform, service, or module?
    • -

Agile development already underway

- -

For our first year, 18F projects focus on:

- -
  • Providing cross-functional teams to government agencies, with a focus on user-centered agile product development (agency modernization)
    • -
  • Making government more transparent and accessible to the American people (open government)
    • -
  • Saving government time and money by optimizing internal purchasing processes (procurement)
    • -
  • Creating shared tools and platforms to be used by multiple government agencies (shared services)
    • -

18F’s current project list and innovative partner agencies

- -

Agency modernization

- -
  • MyUSCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)
    • -
  • MyRA: My Retirement Account (Department of Treasury)
    • -
  • PeaceCorps.gov (Peace Corps)
    • -

Open government

- -
  • FOIA Modernization (Department of Justice)
    • -
  • OpenFEC (Federal Election Commission)
    • -
  • Income Verification Pilot (Department of Treasury)
    • -
  • U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (Department of Interior)
    • -

Procurement

- -
  • Common Acquisition Platform Tools (General Services Administration)
    • -
  • FBOpen
    • -
  • Mirage - OASIS market research tool (General Services Administration)
    • -

Shared services

- -

Attracting great digital talent

- -

18F's DC troop
The DC team at GSA HQ

- -

Since launching in March 2014, we've grown from a small group of Presidential Innovation Fellows into a team of almost 60 designers, developers, product managers, researchers, writers, and specialists. This growth is entirely due to the demand by agencies to work with 18F, as was described above. And we continue to be inspired and amazed by the number of experienced technologists eager to move into public service.

- -

This month, the fall 2014 cohort of Presidential Innovation Fellows also joined 18F, bringing our total number to almost 90. That’s 90 people right now that are collaborating with government agencies to deliver smart, cost effective user-centered digital services. Ninety people who’ve come to us from both government and industry, having worked at the State Department, NASA, NOAA, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Pivotal Labs, Linden Labs, IDEO, The Washington Post, The New York Times, IndieGogo, Sunlight Foundation, Groupon, and more.

- -

On two coasts and growing

- -

Although 18F is headquartered in Washington, DC at 1800 F St. NW, we’ve also got a team working in GSA’s 50 UN Plaza in the heart of San Francisco (adjacent to the city’s tech heavy mid-Market area). Twitter, Square, Uber, Zendesk, Yahoo!, and Code for America are nearby. Regardless of where, we work as cross-functional teams dedicated to specific projects that will improve how citizens and businesses interact with government.

- -

Please stay tuned! Follow 18F on our blog, Twitter, or sign up to be notified by email as we share more about these projects in the coming weeks.

diff --git a/_posts/2014-09-18-getting-to-work-for-the-american-people.md b/_posts/2014-09-18-getting-to-work-for-the-american-people.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..7ecfa3291 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2014-09-18-getting-to-work-for-the-american-people.md @@ -0,0 +1,132 @@ +--- +date: '2014-09-18T15:21:00-04:00' +tumblr_url: http://18fblog.tumblr.com/post/97827848353/getting-to-work-for-the-american-people +title: "Getting to work for the American people" +image: /assets/blog/getting-to-work/18fdc-pif.jpg +description: "Over the last +six months, 18F has embarked on a mission to transform the way the U.S. +Government builds and buys digital services. We’re currently working +with more than half a dozen agencies to help them deliver on their +missions in a design-centric, agile, open, and data-driven way." +excerpt: "Over the last six months, 18F has embarked on a mission to transform the +way the U.S. Government builds and buys digital services. We’re +currently working with more than half a dozen agencies to help them +deliver on their missions in a design-centric, agile, open, and +data-driven way." +authors: +- hillary +- aaron +- greg +tags: +- how we work +- team +--- + +Over the last six months, we've embarked on a mission to transform the +way the U.S. government builds and buys digital services. We’re +currently working with more than half a dozen agencies to help them +deliver on their missions in a design-centric, agile, open, and +data-driven way. + +### How do we say yes to a project? + +We ask ourselves: + +- Is there an opportunity to improve the interaction between + government and the people it serves? +- Does it align with the 18F core principles of staying focused on + user needs while being agile, open, and data-driven? +- Is the partner agency motivated to modernize how they research and + build services? +- Does it fit within our project focus areas? +- Does it contain an opportunity to build a cross-government shared + platform, service, or module? + +### Agile development already underway + +For our first year, 18F projects focus on: + +- Providing cross-functional teams to government agencies, with a + focus on user-centered agile product development (agency + modernization) +- Making government more transparent and accessible to the American + people (open government) +- Saving government time and money by optimizing internal purchasing + processes (procurement) +- Creating shared tools and platforms to be used by multiple + government agencies (shared services) + +### 18F’s current project list and innovative partner agencies + +**Agency modernization** + +- MyUSCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) +- MyRA: My Retirement Account (Department of Treasury) +- PeaceCorps.gov (Peace Corps) + +**Open government** + +- [FOIA + Modernization](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/09/04/a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act/) + (Department of Justice) +- [OpenFEC](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/08/21/creating-an-open-fec/) + (Federal Election Commission) +- Income Verification Pilot (Department of Treasury) +- U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (Department of + Interior) + +**Procurement** + +- Common Acquisition Platform Tools (General Services Administration) +- [FBOpen](http://fbopen.gsa.gov/) +- Mirage - [OASIS](http://www.gsa.gov/oasis) market research tool + (General Services Administration) + +**Shared services** + +- [api.data.gov](http://api.data.gov/) +- [/Developer + Program](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/05/29/announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for/) +- [Midas](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/07/16/midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government/) +- MyUSA + +Attracting great digital talent +------------------------------- + +![18F's DC +troop]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/getting-to-work/18fdc-pif.jpg)\ +*The DC team at GSA HQ* + +Since launching in March 2014, we've grown from a small group of +[Presidential Innovation Fellows](https://wh.gov/innovationfellows) into +a team of almost 60 designers, developers, product managers, +researchers, writers, and specialists. This growth is entirely due to +the demand by agencies to work with 18F, as was described above. And we +continue to be inspired and amazed by the number of experienced +technologists eager to move into public service. + +This month, the [fall 2014 cohort of Presidential Innovation +Fellows](https://www.whitehouse.gov/innovationfellows/meet-the-fellows#section-round-3) +also joined 18F, bringing our total number to almost 90. That’s 90 +people right now that are collaborating with government agencies to +deliver smart, cost effective user-centered digital services. Ninety +people who’ve come to us from both government and industry, having +worked at the State Department, NASA, NOAA, the Consumer Financial +Protection Bureau, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Pivotal Labs, Linden Labs, +IDEO, The Washington Post, The New York Times, IndieGogo, Sunlight +Foundation, Groupon, and more. + +### On two coasts and growing + +Although 18F is headquartered in Washington, DC at 1800 F St. NW, we’ve +also got a team working in GSA’s 50 UN Plaza in the heart of San +Francisco (adjacent to the city’s tech heavy mid-Market area). Twitter, +Square, Uber, Zendesk, Yahoo!, and Code for America are nearby. +Regardless of where, we work as cross-functional teams dedicated to +specific projects that will improve how citizens and businesses interact +with government. + +Please stay tuned! Follow 18F on [our blog](https://18f.gsa.gov), +[Twitter](https://twitter.com/18f), or [sign up to be notified by +email](https://18f.gsa.gov/#contact) as we share more about these +projects in the coming weeks. diff --git a/_posts/2014-09-25-design-studio-onrr.md b/_posts/2014-09-25-design-studio-onrr.md index 250425b7c..56c85a602 100644 --- a/_posts/2014-09-25-design-studio-onrr.md +++ b/_posts/2014-09-25-design-studio-onrr.md @@ -60,17 +60,17 @@ Next, following a round of introductions, we dove right into the collaborative d **Creating user personas.** Based on the participants’ previous research on users, the group developed [user personas](http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/personas.html) to serve as examples of the types of people who would interact with the website. We did this by brainstorming possible user goals, behavior patterns, skills, attitudes and environments, and then condensing these into representative groups through [affinity mapping](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinity_diagram). The resulting personas give users actual characteristics — names, faces and narratives. This helps our design studio participants (and our 18F team designers!) shift focus away from meeting specific requirements and deliverables, and onto meeting the needs of the users. -![photo: team creating personas](/assets/blog/eiti/eiti1.jpg) +![photo: team creating personas]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/eiti/eiti1.jpg) _Building user personas_ **Sketching.** Next came rapid rounds of sketching. Participants chose a specific user persona to design for, and each individual was asked to produce 5 sketches in 8 minutes depicting how to meet that user’s needs. After the buzzer told everyone to put their pens down, all participants presented and critiqued each other’s sketches. To do this, we focused on: “Does the design satisfy the goals of the user persona?” and “What assumptions does the design make that we want or need to test?” -![photo: critiquing sketches](/assets/blog/eiti/eiti2.jpg) +![photo: critiquing sketches]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/eiti/eiti2.jpg) _Critiquing the first round of sketches_ We didn’t focus on whether the design was pretty or technically feasible; we simply wanted to generate ideas we knew would delight our user personas. This process — sketching, presenting, and critiquing — was repeated until the group converged on a clear set of winning designs. -![photo: wall of sketches](/assets/blog/eiti/eiti3.jpg) +![photo: wall of sketches]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/eiti/eiti3.jpg) _Second round of sketches producing some clear winners!_ ## What’s next? diff --git a/_posts/2014-10-01-open-source-hack-series-midas.md b/_posts/2014-10-01-open-source-hack-series-midas.md index 3d56276ab..d1daf77f7 100644 --- a/_posts/2014-10-01-open-source-hack-series-midas.md +++ b/_posts/2014-10-01-open-source-hack-series-midas.md @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ tags: - midas --- -![Two developers coding together](/assets/blog/midas-oct-hacking/coding.jpg) +![Two developers coding together]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/midas-oct-hacking/coding.jpg) **Do you know JavaScript? Or do you have UX or visual design skills?** **One evening can make an impact!** @@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ tags: Midas is an open source project in active development by 18F, Health & Human Services (HHS) IDEA Lab and the State Department. A small cross-agency team, dedicated to launching this product to empower passionate civil servants and aspiring diplomats all over the world. ## What is Midas? -[Midas is an online marketplace of skill building opportunities](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/07/16/midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government) which matches people to projects that they’re passionate about. Our goal is to foster innovation across team boundaries by connecting projects or challenges that need help within federal government agencies to people who want to work collaboratively on the solution. +[Midas is an online marketplace of skill building opportunities]({{site.baseurl}}/2014/07/16/midas-a-marketplace-for-innovation-in-government) which matches people to projects that they’re passionate about. Our goal is to foster innovation across team boundaries by connecting projects or challenges that need help within federal government agencies to people who want to work collaboratively on the solution. "It's like a Kickstarter for people's time." –Joe Polastre at [18F Demo Day](https://speakerdeck.com/18f/innovation-toolkit-18f-demo-day-9-may-2014?slide=3) @@ -57,4 +57,4 @@ We're building the future of government, but we need your help! We have a stabl ![Designing at the -Whiteboard](/assets/blog/midas-oct-hacking/whiteboard_design.jpg) +Whiteboard]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/midas-oct-hacking/whiteboard_design.jpg) diff --git a/_posts/2014-11-13-why-we-use-https-in-every-gov-website-we-make.md b/_posts/2014-11-13-why-we-use-https-in-every-gov-website-we-make.md index 7af70b09c..e4251beb5 100644 --- a/_posts/2014-11-13-why-we-use-https-in-every-gov-website-we-make.md +++ b/_posts/2014-11-13-why-we-use-https-in-every-gov-website-we-make.md @@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ On today's Internet, in today's web browsers, **HTTPS** (`https://`) offers the That's why 18F's policy is to **use HTTPS for every .gov website we make**. 18F is an in-house government technology team that builds things for the rest of the U.S. federal government, and we're committed to deploying HTTPS across all of our released websites. -![HTTPS URL on desktop](/assets/blog/https-everywhere/18f-https-desktop.png) +![HTTPS URL on desktop]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/https-everywhere/18f-https-desktop.png) Deciding to use HTTPS everywhere was not difficult. Strong encryption benefits our visitors and our government partners by providing: diff --git a/_posts/2014-11-17-taking-control-of-our-website-with-jekyll-and-webhooks.md b/_posts/2014-11-17-taking-control-of-our-website-with-jekyll-and-webhooks.md index 3725687c9..e1f2ec3a4 100644 --- a/_posts/2014-11-17-taking-control-of-our-website-with-jekyll-and-webhooks.md +++ b/_posts/2014-11-17-taking-control-of-our-website-with-jekyll-and-webhooks.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ tags: - howto --- -[![Our website running with Jekyll](/assets/blog/new-jekyll-site/header.png)](https://github.com/18F/18f.gsa.gov/pull/235) +[![Our website running with Jekyll]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/new-jekyll-site/header.png)](https://github.com/18F/18f.gsa.gov/pull/235) A few of us here recently took a bit of time to drastically rework 18F's main [website and blog](https://18f.gsa.gov) — what you're reading right now — and take it fully into our own hands. @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Our site's first draft was a handful of static HTML pages with lots of copied-an We've now moved to **[Jekyll 2.4](http://jekyllrb.com/)**, a basic templating system that generates static files when needed. This enables us to use templated layouts and includes for rendering HTML, and plugins to transform content during the rendering process. The resulting static files can be served extremely efficiently. -We also took the time to **[make data out of our team](https://github.com/18F/18f.gsa.gov/blob/staging/_data/team.yml)** and turn them all into a YAML file. This lets us render a grid of their faces more easily, even open up a [little JSON API of our team](/api/data/team.json): +We also took the time to **[make data out of our team](https://github.com/18F/18f.gsa.gov/blob/staging/_data/team.yml)** and turn them all into a YAML file. This lets us render a grid of their faces more easily, even open up a [little JSON API of our team]({{site.baseurl}}/api/data/team.json): ```javascript [ @@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ We made this work using **[GitHub's webhooks](https://github.com/blog/1778-webho We created two webhooks for [our website's main repository](https://github.com/18f/18f.gsa.gov), pointed at our staging and live URLs: -![18F site webhooks](/assets/blog/new-jekyll-site/webhooks.png) +![18F site webhooks]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/new-jekyll-site/webhooks.png) Each is configured to notify the webhook when changes are made to the files in the repository, either directly or through a pull request. diff --git a/_posts/2014-12-18-a-complete-list-of-gov-domains.md b/_posts/2014-12-18-a-complete-list-of-gov-domains.md index 83a0c37e5..07b9e8785 100644 --- a/_posts/2014-12-18-a-complete-list-of-gov-domains.md +++ b/_posts/2014-12-18-a-complete-list-of-gov-domains.md @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ tags: - open government --- -A section of a spreadsheet of the .gov domain list +A section of a spreadsheet of the .gov domain list There are a lot of `.gov` domains: over 5,300 of them. About 1,300 of these are used by the federal government's executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The rest are spread across states, territories, counties, cities, and native tribes. diff --git a/_posts/2014-12-22-protosketch.md b/_posts/2014-12-22-protosketch.md index 2cdc98233..5d1108794 100644 --- a/_posts/2014-12-22-protosketch.md +++ b/_posts/2014-12-22-protosketch.md @@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ world where agencies are used to having to go through a lengthy procurement process and a requirements writing phase in order to see any design or prototype at all, this is a game-changer. -A +<img src= At another protosketch meeting, this time with GSA Human Resources, we diff --git a/_posts/2015-01-08-an-open-source-tool-for-easier-database-testing.md b/_posts/2015-01-08-an-open-source-tool-for-easier-database-testing.md index 6a75d00d9..80aa34cd0 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-01-08-an-open-source-tool-for-easier-database-testing.md +++ b/_posts/2015-01-08-an-open-source-tool-for-easier-database-testing.md @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ of foreign key relationships between tables can make extracting a limited yet valid subset of its tuples feel like trying to cut a little sweater out of a big sweater without snipping any yarns. -![Don't break any yarns.](/assets/blog/db-testing-tool/cut_sweater.jpg) +![Don't break any yarns.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/db-testing-tool/cut_sweater.jpg) So we've written a new utility, [rdbms-subsetter](https://github.com/18F/rdbms-subsetter), @@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ Populating a test database can be as simple as rdbms-subsetter postgresql://:@/proddb postgresql://:@/testdb 0.001 ``` -![rdbms-subsetter in action](/assets/blog/db-testing-tool/subsetter.png) +![rdbms-subsetter in action]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/db-testing-tool/subsetter.png) It should work against [any database that SQLAlchemy supports](http://docs.sqlalchemy.org/en/rel_0_9/core/engines.html#supported-databases). diff --git a/_posts/2015-01-16-open-source-for-good-government.md b/_posts/2015-01-16-open-source-for-good-government.md index e851625de..89e732570 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-01-16-open-source-for-good-government.md +++ b/_posts/2015-01-16-open-source-for-good-government.md @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ description: 'Organizations like 18F and the U.K.’s Government Digital Service excerpt: 'Organizations like 18F and the U.K.’s Government Digital Service (GDS) fully embrace open source, and their combined commitment to openness and transparency is transforming the delivery of government digital services in both countries.' --- -18F and GDS logos +18F and GDS logos A common misconception of open source is that it is just a licence for using software. For individuals and organizations involved with open source projects, it is a philosophy of openness and collaboration embedded in the project from idea to launch. Whether it’s designing an interface, or deploying an application, open source is fundamental to everything we do. Organizations like 18F and the U.K.’s Government Digital Service (GDS) fully embrace open source, and this commitment to openness and transparency is transforming the delivery of government digital services in both countries. diff --git a/_posts/2015-02-09-the-first-gov-domains-hardcoded-into-your-browser-as-all-https.md b/_posts/2015-02-09-the-first-gov-domains-hardcoded-into-your-browser-as-all-https.md index 036f85419..076dacb8f 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-02-09-the-first-gov-domains-hardcoded-into-your-browser-as-all-https.md +++ b/_posts/2015-02-09-the-first-gov-domains-hardcoded-into-your-browser-as-all-https.md @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ excerpt: "Every .gov website, no matter how small, should give its visitors a se --- -A snapshot of .gov websites preloaded as HTTPS-only +A snapshot of .gov websites preloaded as HTTPS-only Every `.gov` website, no matter how small, should give its visitors a secure, private connection. Plain HTTP (`http://`) connections are neither secure nor @@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ When you connect over ordinary `http://`, it's like **sending a postcard in the mail**, where every computer in between you and the website gets to see your information: -The information sent from you to the website you're requesting over http +The information sent from you to the website you're requesting over http That includes cookies, the browser you use, and any other data the website asks you to send (in this example, your location). @@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ When you can connect over `https://`, it's like **sending a locked briefcase** that only the website's computer can open. IP addresses and a domain name are all that the internet's computers get to see: -The information sent from you to the website you're requesting over https +The information sent from you to the website you're requesting over https IP addresses and domain names do still reveal some information, but it's the bare minimum necessary to make the connection. diff --git a/_posts/2015-02-10-a-story-of-an-agile-workshop.md b/_posts/2015-02-10-a-story-of-an-agile-workshop.md index a681c7d59..8d6668ebf 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-02-10-a-story-of-an-agile-workshop.md +++ b/_posts/2015-02-10-a-story-of-an-agile-workshop.md @@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ been hastily brought in. Their bank of workstations was divided by a big projector — the “stage” upon which the demos would be shown. Other observers sat in the back of the room. -![The room: developers on left, the demo area, and product owners on right.](/assets/blog/agile-workshop/workshop3.JPG) +![The room: developers on left, the demo area, and product owners on right.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/agile-workshop/workshop3.JPG) ## The first sprint brought a quick win @@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ change** over following a plan. People were becoming familiar with the process now. I could almost see light bulbs flashing over people's heads — the excitement was that palpable. The developers and customers were talking on their own in too many conversations for us to follow. (Agile tenet \#3: **Value customer interaction** over contract negotiation.) -The SSA developers at work. +The SSA developers at work. Seeing one the stories implemented up on the big screen showed us something that perhaps nobody had realized — one of the columns was now @@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ But the product team did produce a complete force-ranked prioritization of stories on the board. Jason used this to give the work to his team as he saw fit. -The actual users in the room and having fun. +The actual users in the room and having fun. People were laughing and having fun (Agile tenet \#1: **Value individuals and interactions over processes and tools**). Nearly all the @@ -202,4 +202,4 @@ Workshop](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/10/21/how-to-run-your-own-3-sprint-agile-work coaching, modular contracting expertise and technical advice to Federal agencies at cost-recovery prices. -The completed stories and velocity chart after Sprint 2. +The completed stories and velocity chart after Sprint 2. diff --git a/_posts/2015-02-17-three-18f-products-that-will-help-your-workplace.md b/_posts/2015-02-17-three-18f-products-that-will-help-your-workplace.md index 130ade008..9a094990a 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-02-17-three-18f-products-that-will-help-your-workplace.md +++ b/_posts/2015-02-17-three-18f-products-that-will-help-your-workplace.md @@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ like — in fact, I recommend it. The Hub is just what it sounds like — a centralized place where team members share project documentation and more general information about how 18F works. -![A screenshot of The Hub](/assets/blog/three-products/hub.png) +![A screenshot of The Hub]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/three-products/hub.png) The Hub is really easy to navigate, and it’s equally easy to update — anyone can add new information in seconds. Yesterday, for example, I @@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ Opportunities](https://www.digitalgov.gov/join-digitalgov/open-opportunities-in- which connects people from across and within government agencies to collaborate on projects. So far, over 100 projects have been completed. -![A screenshot of Midas](/assets/blog/three-products/midas.png) +![A screenshot of Midas]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/three-products/midas.png) Midas can benefit all organizations, but it’s especially useful for those with distributed teams and whose employees have diverse skill @@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ designated person collects these Snippets in a CSV file and sends out a weekly email digest. Snippets subscribers can learn, at a glance, what all of their colleagues are up to. - ![A snippet from Mike Bland, describing his workflow](/assets/blog/snippets/20141215-mbland.jpg) + ![A snippet from Mike Bland, describing his workflow]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/snippets/20141215-mbland.jpg) If you don’t have the technical know-how to collect this data in a CSV, you can have people fill out Snippets via email or on a blog — the point diff --git a/_posts/2015-02-18-steve-portigal-pre-event-qa-post.md b/_posts/2015-02-18-steve-portigal-pre-event-qa-post.md index ee67251ee..2656ba170 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-02-18-steve-portigal-pre-event-qa-post.md +++ b/_posts/2015-02-18-steve-portigal-pre-event-qa-post.md @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ description: "Since October, 18F has been bringing in noted individuals from the excerpt: "Since October, 18F has been bringing in noted individuals from the software development world to discuss their work, and we’re excited to kick off a new, design-focused series this Friday, February 20 (10:30 a.m. ET) with Steve Portigal, author of Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights and host of the Dollars to Donuts podcast." --- -![Steve Portigal, author of Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights](/assets/blog/speaker-series/portigal.jpg) +![Steve Portigal, author of Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/speaker-series/portigal.jpg) Since October, 18F has been bringing in noted individuals from the software development world to discuss their work, and we’re excited to diff --git a/_posts/2015-02-24-how-to-use-github-and-the-terminal-a-guide.md b/_posts/2015-02-24-how-to-use-github-and-the-terminal-a-guide.md index e2c0f1520..c375ed9ba 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-02-24-how-to-use-github-and-the-terminal-a-guide.md +++ b/_posts/2015-02-24-how-to-use-github-and-the-terminal-a-guide.md @@ -52,11 +52,11 @@ If you'd rather not use the script, you can also [follow the detailed instructio The terminal icon looks like this: -![Terminal App](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/terminal.png) +![Terminal App]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/terminal.png) And you should have a window like this when you open it: -![Screen shot of blank terminal window](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/terminal-window.png) +![Screen shot of blank terminal window]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/terminal-window.png) * Go to Terminal and paste the following `curl --remote-name https://raw.githubusercontent.com/18F/laptop/master/mac` and press enter. @@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ You're going to see the word "directory" a lot in this tutorial. Directory is an 1. Type `ls`: this will show you everything in the directory where you are currently located. If you type `ls -1` it will list them all in a single column for you. `ls` stands for "**l**i**s**t" and the `-1` tells your computer to list the directory in one column. If you are in your home directory, you will probably see a list in Terminal similar to this screenshot: -![Screenshot: home directory](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/w_screenshot1.png) +![Screenshot: home directory]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/w_screenshot1.png) 2. Now type `cd Documents`: this will take you into your Documents directory, if that was one of the options shown when you used the 'ls' command above. `cd` stands for "**c**hange **d**irectory." 3. Type `ls -1` again to see all the files inside your Documents directory. @@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ I like to put all my GitHub projects in the same directory. So **the first thing > **Pro tip:** You can always get back to your code directory by typing `cd ~/code` -![Screenshot: typing in mkdir code](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/mkdir-code.gif) +![Screenshot: typing in mkdir code]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/mkdir-code.gif) ## Clone a repo on your computer @@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ In this step we are going to _clone_ the 18f.gsa.gov project to your computer. * Type in `cd ~/code` and press enter to get to the `code` directory we created earlier. -![Screenshot: typing in cd code](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/cd-code.gif) +![Screenshot: typing in cd code]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/cd-code.gif) * Go to [18f.gsa.gov's GitHub page](https://github.com/18F/18f.gsa.gov) and look on the right side of the page, under the links for "Issues" and "Graphs." You'll see it says "You can clone with HTTPS, SSH, or Subversion." Click on the SSH link and copy the URL (web address) that's in that text box to your clipboard. @@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ In this step we are going to _clone_ the 18f.gsa.gov project to your computer. * Type in `git clone ` and then paste the URL that you copied to your clipboard. This is now copying the 18f.gsa.gov repo to your local computer. -![screenshot: cloning repo](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/git-clone.gif) +![screenshot: cloning repo]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/git-clone.gif) > If you run into an error here and you haven't used the Laptop script mentioned above, you need to create what's called an SSH key. You can follow the instructions that are located [here](https://help.github.com/articles/generating-ssh-keys/). (Pro Tip: You type in everything _except_ the `$`.) You only have to do this once. An SSH key is a small file that sits on your computer and tells GitHub who you are. It's kind of like a password your computer types in for you automatically. Every time you use this computer to clone a project or pull/push a project, this SSH key will get used. You will have to do this on every computer you have. So, if you plan to work on these projects on a separate computer, you will need to do this process again. @@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ On this page you will see a list of files and folders in this project. All of th You are seeing on the website is another view of files and folders as shown here: -![Screenshot: 18f.gsa.gov's repo in mac folder](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/w_screenshot2.png) +![Screenshot: 18f.gsa.gov's repo in mac folder]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/w_screenshot2.png) If you click on the `branch:staging` button, you can see a list of all of the "branches" that exist on this project. Every time you come directly to [18f.gsa.gov](https://github.com/18F/18f.gsa.gov), it will show you the staging branch because we've made that branch the default. @@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ Branches are little sandboxes for other people working on the project to prepare In the next step we're going to create a branch, and later on, when you make a pull request, GitHub will automatically assume you're trying to contribute to the staging branch. -![Screenshot: showing what the 18f GitHub site looks like](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot4.gif) +![Screenshot: showing what the 18f GitHub site looks like]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot4.gif) > On the right side, you can also see a list of the existing pull requests and issues. All of the pull requests go to the staging branch. When we merge the pull request to the staging branch, GitHub automatically brings those changes into the project, but does not make them live on https://18f.gsa.gov yet. @@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ This last command will show you a little bit of information about what you're wo * _"Your branch is up-to-date with 'origin/staging'"_ means your branch is up to date with the staging branch of the remote location called "origin." A Git repo can have any number of remote locations it can interact with, called "remotes". By default, when you clone a GitHub repo, a remote called "origin" is created that points to the repo on the GitHub website. To view your repo's remote names and their location, type `git remote -v`. The name "origin" is arbitrary. You could rename it to "github" if you wanted to, but we won't do that now. * _"Nothing to commit / working directory clean"_ means you're completely up to date and haven't made any changes. -![Screenshot: how to use git status](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot5.gif) +![Screenshot: how to use git status]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot5.gif) ## Build the 18F site @@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ Okay. Now you're ready to start editing. **Voila! You can now see all of the files that make up the site.** It should look like this. -![Screen Shot: All of the files that make up the 18F site](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image10.png) +![Screen Shot: All of the files that make up the 18F site]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image10.png) > We now want to create a branch, or a sandbox where you can make changes to the website. On this team we always work on branches. This allows you to collaborate with teammates without interfering with other people's existing work. @@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ Okay. Now you're ready to start editing. * Type `git status` to make sure you're now on the branch. You should see something that looks like this: -![Screenshot: git checkout and status](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot11.gif) +![Screenshot: git checkout and status]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot11.gif) ### Edit and commit a blog post @@ -196,11 +196,11 @@ We're now going to walk you through creating a new blog post for 18f.gsa.gov. * Type `ls -1F` to see a list of files and folders that make up 18f.gsa.gov's repo. -![screen shot: ls -F command](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image13.png) +![screen shot: ls -F command]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image13.png) * Go back to Sublime Text and write your post. Then save your post in the `_posts` directory with the name `2015-02-23-new_post.md` where '2015-02-23' is today's date. -![Screen shot: Saving post in _posts directory](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image14.png) +![Screen shot: Saving post in _posts directory]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image14.png) ### Adding front matter @@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ image: /assets/blog/how-to-github/image.jpg A [complete explanation for the front-matter](https://github.com/18F/18f.gsa.gov/tree/staging/_posts#metadata-explained) can be found on the 18F Blogging Guide. And now you can start writing the text of your blog post on line 16. Say hello! It should look like this: -![Screen Shot: Adding Front Matter and saving the post](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image15.png) +![Screen Shot: Adding Front Matter and saving the post]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image15.png) * When you are done writing, save the post by pressing Command + S. @@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ A [complete explanation for the front-matter](https://github.com/18F/18f.gsa.gov > You'll see that the file is now listed under changes to be committed. -![Screen Shot: Git Add Post / Status](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot16.gif) +![Screen Shot: Git Add Post / Status]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot16.gif) > Well done! At this point, you've told Git that this file should be committed, but you haven't committed anything. So you could work on other things that need to be committed, or you could commit this file right now. We're going to commit right now. @@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ create mode 100644 _posts/2015-02-23-new-post.md * Type `git push origin ` (where `` is the name you gave your branch) and then hit enter. -![Screen shot: git commit](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot17.gif) +![Screen shot: git commit]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot17.gif) > This uploads your branch and changes to the 18f.gsa.gov project on GitHub. @@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ create mode 100644 _posts/2015-02-23-new-post.md > It will look like this: -![Screen shot: Pull Request](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image19.png) +![Screen shot: Pull Request]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image19.png) * Click `Compare and Pull Request`. It's a big green button. @@ -288,17 +288,17 @@ create mode 100644 _posts/2015-02-23-new-post.md * Then click `Create Pull Request`. -![Screen Shot: Creating Pull Request](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image20.png) +![Screen Shot: Creating Pull Request]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image20.png) > This asks 18F to accept your contribution. -![Screen Shot: 18F receiving contribution from user](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image21.png) +![Screen Shot: 18F receiving contribution from user]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/image21.png) > You always want to make sure what's on your local machine is as up to date as it can be. So whenever you return to the terminal, make the following a habit: * Type `git checkout staging` followed by `git pull` again, to make sure your version of the staging branch is current. -![screenshot: checkout and pull](/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot22.gif) +![screenshot: checkout and pull]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/github-tutorial/screenshot22.gif) After you type `git pull` one of two things might happen: diff --git a/_posts/2015-02-25-We-Are-Hiring.md b/_posts/2015-02-25-We-Are-Hiring.md index f9a1a7b97..e48c63682 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-02-25-We-Are-Hiring.md +++ b/_posts/2015-02-25-We-Are-Hiring.md @@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Technology changes fast. People have grown to expect fast, personalized, and use Built in the spirit of America's top tech startups, 18F is a consultancy and product delivery team **for** the U.S. government **inside** the U.S. government. We work with federal agencies to rapidly deploy tools and online services that are reusable, cut costs, and are easier for people and businesses to use. ![The 18F Team in D.C. plus 2014 Presidential Innovation -Fellows](/assets/blog/were-hiring/18fdc-pif.jpg) +Fellows]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/were-hiring/18fdc-pif.jpg) We’re on a mission to transform the way government builds and buys digital services. We're currently working with more than a dozen different teams across the federal government to help them deliver on their missions in a user-centered way. We will accomplish this by: @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ We’re transforming government from the inside out, creating cultural change by Whether you’re near an 18F office in Washington DC, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York, or you’re closer to some of our teammates in Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Austin, Tucson, Dayton, Raleigh, or Philadelphia, we want to hear from you! -![A map of 18F team members](/assets/blog/were-hiring/map.png) +![A map of 18F team members]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/were-hiring/map.png) Our rapidly growing team is home to a variety of roles, including these: diff --git a/_posts/2015-02-26-Five-Ways-To-Turn-A-Bad-Idea-Into-A-Great-One.md b/_posts/2015-02-26-Five-Ways-To-Turn-A-Bad-Idea-Into-A-Great-One.md index 5a9993784..3b22a24bc 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-02-26-Five-Ways-To-Turn-A-Bad-Idea-Into-A-Great-One.md +++ b/_posts/2015-02-26-Five-Ways-To-Turn-A-Bad-Idea-Into-A-Great-One.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ excerpt: "Last Friday, consultant and author Steve Portigal left behind the Cali description: "Last Friday, consultant and author Steve Portigal left behind the California sunshine to speak at the 18F headquarters. Steve — principal at Portigal Consulting, author, podcaster, and ramen aficionado — expounded on the topic of bad ideas: Namely, how they add value to the creative process and why we should seek them out." --- -![Steve Portigal presenting at 18F](/assets/blog/portigal-event-image/portigalevent.jpg) +![Steve Portigal presenting at 18F]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/portigal-event-image/portigalevent.jpg) Last Friday, consultant and author [Steve Portigal](http://www.portigal.com/) left behind the California sunshine to speak at the 18F headquarters. Steve — principal at Portigal Consulting, author, podcaster, and ramen aficionado — expounded on the topic of bad ideas: Namely, how they add value to the creative process and why we should seek them out. @@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ As Steve himself describes in a post he wrote for [Core77](http://www.core77.com “Creative activities often follow a double-hump model. At first you'll hit all the obvious ideas. These aren't a waste of time; sometimes the obvious ideas have been neglected and you can treat those as low-hanging fruit: obvious, easy to implement, incremental improvement. But you'll find that you run out of steam with those ideas. Like the false ending in a '80s rock song, don't think this fadeout means it's time to start applauding. There's still more. Push on, and this is when you get to the transgressive, weird, crazy and sometimes innovative ideas. That's the place you want to get to, where you are truly butting up against the edges of what's allowable.” -![The double-hump model](/assets/blog/portigal-event-image/2humps.jpg) +![The double-hump model]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/portigal-event-image/2humps.jpg) ## A safe space is necessary for top-notch brainstorming diff --git a/_posts/2015-02-27-making-procurement-easier-some-questions-for-developer-kaitlin-devine.md b/_posts/2015-02-27-making-procurement-easier-some-questions-for-developer-kaitlin-devine.md index cd27f91cc..c9f8c7047 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-02-27-making-procurement-easier-some-questions-for-developer-kaitlin-devine.md +++ b/_posts/2015-02-27-making-procurement-easier-some-questions-for-developer-kaitlin-devine.md @@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ government?** Probably my elevator pitch would be that it’s an Angie’s List for government contractors. -![Screen: Discovery Homepage](/assets/blog/discovery-launch/discovery-intro.gif) +![Screen: Discovery Homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/discovery-launch/discovery-intro.gif) **So it’s a way for government contractors to find out information?** diff --git a/_posts/2015-03-02-cos-post.md b/_posts/2015-03-02-cos-post.md index 7d2c9bd5b..d450eb864 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-03-02-cos-post.md +++ b/_posts/2015-03-02-cos-post.md @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ excerpt: "When the Employment and Training Administration’s CareerOneStop team description: "When the Employment and Training Administration’s CareerOneStop team set out to redesign the career, training, and job resources sections of the CareerOneStop site, they didn’t immediately begin rewriting code. Instead, they embraced a user-centered approach that focused on the user experience (UX). Read on to learn more about their findings." --- -!["The CareerOneStop homepage"](/assets/images/cos.png) +!["The CareerOneStop homepage"]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/images/cos.png) When the [Employment and Training Administration’s] (http://www.doleta.gov/) [CareerOneStop] (http://www.careeronestop.org) team set out to redesign the career, training, and job resources sections of the site, they didn’t immediately begin rewriting code. Instead, they embraced a user-centered approach that focused on the user experience (UX). In a general sense, focusing on UX means taking a step back to learn about users’ core needs and preferences before making changes to a product or service. diff --git a/_posts/2015-03-04-annoucing-oasis-discovery-making-market-research-easier.md b/_posts/2015-03-04-annoucing-oasis-discovery-making-market-research-easier.md index e1f57fe52..30e05edf2 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-03-04-annoucing-oasis-discovery-making-market-research-easier.md +++ b/_posts/2015-03-04-annoucing-oasis-discovery-making-market-research-easier.md @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Discovery will allow federal acquisition personnel to conduct initial market res This first release is geared for use with GSA’s newly released [OASIS vehicle](http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/gsa-gwac/2014/12/17/oasis-signals-a-new-era-for-gsa/20549171/). Eventually, 18F hopes to make additional vehicles and resources available through Discovery, as well. -![Screen: Discovery Homepage](/assets/blog/discovery-launch/discovery-intro.gif) +![Screen: Discovery Homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/discovery-launch/discovery-intro.gif) ###Who is it for? @@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ Discovery was built with *user-centered* processes, meaning we conducted a signi The screenshot below shows how the Discovery team tracked user input/research. Significant findings were captured on a Discovery Research Trello board, and then were fed back into the main project Trello board as new project tasks, which could then be explored through team and client design exercises (e.g., design studios, sketching). -![Trello Board for Discovery Research Process](/assets/blog/discovery-launch/trelloboard.png) +![Trello Board for Discovery Research Process]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/discovery-launch/trelloboard.png) ###How we used open source with open data diff --git a/_posts/2015-03-06-ux-lessons-learned-from-a-procurement-project.md b/_posts/2015-03-06-ux-lessons-learned-from-a-procurement-project.md index ac5bc81c8..bf5d32d5d 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-03-06-ux-lessons-learned-from-a-procurement-project.md +++ b/_posts/2015-03-06-ux-lessons-learned-from-a-procurement-project.md @@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ there wasn’t one place to get that information. That’s where Discovery fits in. -![Screen: Discovery Homepage](/assets/blog/discovery-launch/discovery-intro.gif) +![Screen: Discovery Homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/discovery-launch/discovery-intro.gif) **How did you determine that Discovery was the tool that you needed to build?** diff --git a/_posts/2015-03-11-onet-today-and-beyond.md b/_posts/2015-03-11-onet-today-and-beyond.md index 37aa2c124..9e49f5728 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-03-11-onet-today-and-beyond.md +++ b/_posts/2015-03-11-onet-today-and-beyond.md @@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ that have existed (and will continue to exist) in the medium term. Examples of some such occupations include firefighter, teacher, and lawyer, to name a few. -![The O*Net Content model takes many sources to identify detailed occupations.](/assets/blog/onet/image01.jpg) +![The O*Net Content model takes many sources to identify detailed occupations.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/onet/image01.jpg) *Fig. 1: O\*NET content model* @@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ A public-private partnership that produces a Skills Market Platform (SMP) (Fig. 2), which is an open, dynamic, growing, standards-based, public-facing platform for skills data. -![Reference architecture for a skills market platform](/assets/blog/onet/image00.png) +![Reference architecture for a skills market platform]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/onet/image00.png) *Fig. 2: reference architecture for a Skills Market Platform (SMP)* @@ -290,4 +290,4 @@ Data Standard. Donate some programming and design cycles to implementing the Skills Network Protocol and or the Skills Innovation Layer. Help change the world as we know it. -[![Send an email to get involved.](/assets/blog/onet/image02.gif)](mailto:openinnovationhrs@dol.gov) +[![Send an email to get involved.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/onet/image02.gif)](mailto:openinnovationhrs@dol.gov) diff --git a/_posts/2015-03-17-does-18f-pass-the-bechdel-test-for-tech.md b/_posts/2015-03-17-does-18f-pass-the-bechdel-test-for-tech.md index 256ae2a9e..3fe45efa1 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-03-17-does-18f-pass-the-bechdel-test-for-tech.md +++ b/_posts/2015-03-17-does-18f-pass-the-bechdel-test-for-tech.md @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ original Bechdel test, which was created by writer and graphic novelist Alison Bechdel. The Bechdel test was originally designed to evaluate works of fiction. A work passed if at least one woman had a conversation with another woman about something other than a man. -![The 18F team](/assets/blog/bechdel/team.jpg) +![The 18F team]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/bechdel/team.jpg) We decided to see how many 18F projects pass this modified test. To pass, a project had to have at least one function written by a woman dev diff --git a/_posts/2015-03-19-18f-by-the-numbers.md b/_posts/2015-03-19-18f-by-the-numbers.md index 8f94ea907..4ed51d2a9 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-03-19-18f-by-the-numbers.md +++ b/_posts/2015-03-19-18f-by-the-numbers.md @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ description: "Today, we’re celebrating our first anniversary. We wanted to tak Today, we’re celebrating our first anniversary. We wanted to take a look at some of the numbers that have helped define 18F during our first year. -![Infographic showing 18F's first-year progress by the numbers](/assets/blog/agile-day/18fbythenumbers.png) +![Infographic showing 18F's first-year progress by the numbers]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/agile-day/18fbythenumbers.png) ##By the projects diff --git a/_posts/2015-03-19-how-we-built-analytics-usa-gov.md b/_posts/2015-03-19-how-we-built-analytics-usa-gov.md index 3bf2aec6e..961528558 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-03-19-how-we-built-analytics-usa-gov.md +++ b/_posts/2015-03-19-how-we-built-analytics-usa-gov.md @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ description: "The U.S. federal government now has a public dashboard and dataset The U.S. federal government now has a public dashboard and dataset for its web traffic, at [**analytics.usa.gov**](https://analytics.usa.gov). -Screenshot of the new Digital Analytics Program public dashboard +Screenshot of the new Digital Analytics Program public dashboard This data comes from a unified [Google Analytics](https://www.google.com/analytics/) profile that is managed by the [Digital Analytics Program](https://www.digitalgov.gov/services/dap/), which (like 18F) is a team inside of the [General Services Administration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Services_Administration). @@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ The real-time data is cached from Google every minute, and re-downloaded every 1 So the big number of people online: -Screenshot of the dashboard's big number of people +Screenshot of the dashboard's big number of people ...is made with this HTML: diff --git a/_posts/2015-03-30-new-rfp-ghostwriting-service-to-improve-contract-success.md b/_posts/2015-03-30-new-rfp-ghostwriting-service-to-improve-contract-success.md index 5577ae427..e58bcaffa 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-03-30-new-rfp-ghostwriting-service-to-improve-contract-success.md +++ b/_posts/2015-03-30-new-rfp-ghostwriting-service-to-improve-contract-success.md @@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ With these types of technical brains at your service, we can help you craft an RFP that increases your acquisition project’s probability of success. -![18F Consulting Services](/assets/blog/rfp-as-a-service/18f-consulting-masthead.gif) +![18F Consulting Services]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/rfp-as-a-service/18f-consulting-masthead.gif) These are the types of questions we ask as we’re reviewing RFPs: diff --git a/_posts/2015-03-31-focus-on-accessibility.md b/_posts/2015-03-31-focus-on-accessibility.md index ac7a9fd9b..bdcbd3cd1 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-03-31-focus-on-accessibility.md +++ b/_posts/2015-03-31-focus-on-accessibility.md @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Last week, we published [this post](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/24/making-twitte To increase the accessibility of the images we Tweet, [@18F](https://twitter.com/18f) has started replying to photo-centric Tweets with *a description of what’s in the photo*. Noting this, our followers offered additional suggestions about how we can increase the accessibility of our Tweets. We’d like to thank all of our followers who offered us suggestions, and encourage you to share suggestions, if you have them. -![Tweet describing a tweet featuring an image](/assets/blog/accessibility/pictureintweet.png) +![Tweet describing a tweet featuring an image]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/accessibility/pictureintweet.png) Accessibility is central to our work here at 18F. In a very broad sense, all of our work is driven by a desire to improve the accessibility of federal resources and knowledge. Consider, for example, some of the work 18F is undertaking. Collaborating with USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and others, our team is helping to redesign the USCIS user experience and the content for websites related to immigration and citizenship. In particular, this team is making sure that the recommended path through the sites, along with the sites’ content, is understandable to diverse audiences, thereby making the information more accessible to everyone. diff --git a/_posts/2015-04-03-18f-discussion-should-project-teams-code-first-or-design-first.md b/_posts/2015-04-03-18f-discussion-should-project-teams-code-first-or-design-first.md index 07a2ed4c7..a33a1a491 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-04-03-18f-discussion-should-project-teams-code-first-or-design-first.md +++ b/_posts/2015-04-03-18f-discussion-should-project-teams-code-first-or-design-first.md @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ When starting a new project, should a team code first or discover first? That was the question recently posed to the 18F team by Robert Read, one of our developers. -![18F employees at the white board, deciding how to start.](/assets/blog/code-design/decisions-blue.png) +![18F employees at the white board, deciding how to start.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/code-design/decisions-blue.png) Rob asked the thought-provoking question hoping it would lead to an internal conversation on different approaches to user-centered software diff --git a/_posts/2015-04-03-how-to-welcome-new-coders-to-a-civic-hackathon.md b/_posts/2015-04-03-how-to-welcome-new-coders-to-a-civic-hackathon.md index d96f779b8..8de106cb3 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-04-03-how-to-welcome-new-coders-to-a-civic-hackathon.md +++ b/_posts/2015-04-03-how-to-welcome-new-coders-to-a-civic-hackathon.md @@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ skills or interests people have. Listing interests on a nametag also helps facilitate conversations between people who may be meeting for the first time. -![Image: nametag from recent hackathon showing color-coded stickers for devs, designers, and content strategists](/assets/blog/new-to-hackathon/nametag.jpg) +![Image: nametag from recent hackathon showing color-coded stickers for devs, designers, and content strategists]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/new-to-hackathon/nametag.jpg) ## Clearly label issues on GitHub with ways people can help diff --git a/_posts/2015-04-07-icymi-a11yhack-accessibility-awareness-hackathon.md b/_posts/2015-04-07-icymi-a11yhack-accessibility-awareness-hackathon.md index eb3a6d851..958ca634c 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-04-07-icymi-a11yhack-accessibility-awareness-hackathon.md +++ b/_posts/2015-04-07-icymi-a11yhack-accessibility-awareness-hackathon.md @@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ Federation of the Blind](https://nfb.org/) could come and help us out. Their insight was inspiring and we got a lot of great feedback from them,” said Nick Bristow, one of the event organizers. -![A tweet from Accessibility Partner: "Having my CAPTCHA mind blown #a11yhack"](/assets/blog/a11yhack/a11ytweet1.png) +![A tweet from Accessibility Partner: "Having my CAPTCHA mind blown #a11yhack"]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/a11yhack/a11ytweet1.png) -![A tweet from Rebecca Williams: "Accessibility advices like, 'don't use read more links, be more descriptive' are also good writing/life advice. #a11yhack"](/assets/blog/a11yhack/allytweet2.png) +![A tweet from Rebecca Williams: "Accessibility advices like, 'don't use read more links, be more descriptive' are also good writing/life advice. #a11yhack"]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/a11yhack/allytweet2.png) “The hackathon itself was also successful. [Megan Smith](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/about/leadershipstaff/smith) @@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ overlook if you don't need it. But I hope that the hackathon helped raise awareness and get the message across that accessibility is something we all can improve.” -[![The hackpad, we've archived this as a markdown file on the hackathon's website. Click this link to read the contents.](/assets/blog/a11yhack/hackpad.png)](https://18f.github.io/hackathons/a11yhack/hackpad-snapshot/) +[![The hackpad, we've archived this as a markdown file on the hackathon's website. Click this link to read the contents.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/a11yhack/hackpad.png)](https://18f.github.io/hackathons/a11yhack/hackpad-snapshot/) Jackie Kazil, another organizer, said several aspects of the gathering stood out to her, including alternatives to Web practices such as video @@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ it’s not acceptable, has to be revisited, is not efficient,” she said, adding that “bringing the accessibility consideration earlier into the process is going to help improve the experience.” -![The crowd at a11yhack](/assets/blog/a11yhack/a11yhack.jpg) +![The crowd at a11yhack]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/a11yhack/a11yhack.jpg)

Photo: Jameson Dempesy

Overall, everyone in attendance seemed to have a great time networking diff --git a/_posts/2015-04-09-flexibility-when-releasing-a-new-product-peace-corps-new-donation-platform.md b/_posts/2015-04-09-flexibility-when-releasing-a-new-product-peace-corps-new-donation-platform.md index ef2641e83..3e48847ae 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-04-09-flexibility-when-releasing-a-new-product-peace-corps-new-donation-platform.md +++ b/_posts/2015-04-09-flexibility-when-releasing-a-new-product-peace-corps-new-donation-platform.md @@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ authors: description: "We were proud to provide design and development work for the Peace Corps' new donation platform. We want to share a few reflections around drawing that delivery line for this new product, and explain where we think we made the right call and look at other decisions which still keep us up at night." excerpt: "We were proud to provide design and development work for the Peace Corps' new donation platform. We want to share a few reflections around drawing that delivery line for this new product, and explain where we think we made the right call and look at other decisions which still keep us up at night." --- -![Screenshot of workflow for new Peace Corps donation platform](/assets/blog/peacecorps/image04.png) +![Screenshot of workflow for new Peace Corps donation platform]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/peacecorps/image04.png) We were proud to provide design and development work for the Peace Corps' new [donations platform](https://beta.peacecorps.gov/donate/) @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ user found a compelling story, they could select a donation amount in-line, turning what used to be a four-step process into a single click. -![screenshot: workflow of donation pathways on Peace Corps site](/assets/blog/peacecorps/image03.png) +![screenshot: workflow of donation pathways on Peace Corps site]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/peacecorps/image03.png) Our ideal interface would have been a seamless user experience, but once scoped would have required a heavy lift from our front end and @@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ kicked out every five minutes while other pages are generated hourly. With several machines primed and auto-scaling capability, we expected to handle dozens of requests per second. -![screenshot of donation platform for Peace Corps birding for conservation project](/assets/blog/peacecorps/image00.png) +![screenshot of donation platform for Peace Corps birding for conservation project]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/peacecorps/image00.png) After reviewing the numbers from Peace Corps' media blitz in early March, we know that part of our calculus was correct — S3 and CloudFront @@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ legacy system also provided a search engine, allowing users to find funds based on keywords. One of these features would make it to launch but the other would not. -![Screenshot: product backlog for Peace Corps sprints](/assets/blog/peacecorps/image02.png) +![Screenshot: product backlog for Peace Corps sprints]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/peacecorps/image02.png) We pushed hard to cut as many fields as possible from the donor form, diff --git a/_posts/2015-04-23-the-dat-team-talks-data-streams.md b/_posts/2015-04-23-the-dat-team-talks-data-streams.md index 978e86547..31226b7bf 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-04-23-the-dat-team-talks-data-streams.md +++ b/_posts/2015-04-23-the-dat-team-talks-data-streams.md @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ excerpt: "Max Ogden and Mathias Buus Madsen are visiting 18F today to talk about description: "Max Ogden and Mathias Buus Madsen are visiting 18F today to talk about dat, an open source project for versioning and sharing datasets. This new piece of software is part of their effort to build “automated, reproducible data pipelines that sync." image: /assets/blog/max-ogden-talk/streams.JPG --- -[![Image of a stream.](/assets/blog/max-ogden-talk/streams.JPG)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Small_streams.JPG) +[![Image of a stream.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/max-ogden-talk/streams.JPG)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Small_streams.JPG) Everything I ever learned about [streams](http://ejohn.org/blog/node-js-stream-playground/), I learned from software developer [Max Ogden](https://twitter.com/maxogden). Max, who lives in Oregon, develops client applications, developer tools, and APIs, and works as a developer at a market research company. diff --git a/_posts/2015-04-28-intersection-of-art-and-technology.md b/_posts/2015-04-28-intersection-of-art-and-technology.md index 330107e07..40529dbc7 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-04-28-intersection-of-art-and-technology.md +++ b/_posts/2015-04-28-intersection-of-art-and-technology.md @@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ At this point, you may be thinking, “Why is someone writing about Bjӧrk on th Our work at 18F is informed by both our users and the experiences they have with the websites and applications we work on. As designers and developers, we help merge the user experiences by using art and technology to [create useful, engaging, and delightful user-centered design](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/09/25/design-studio-onrr/). Artists help people see and experience the world around them in new or different ways. Similarly, our roles are to help government, and the American public, see, experience, and build technology in a different way. -![Screenshot of analytics.gsa.gov](/assets/blog/art-tech/dap-dashboard.png) +![Screenshot of analytics.gsa.gov]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/art-tech/dap-dashboard.png) One way to help people process technology differently is by designing visualizations that allow people to quickly comprehend large amounts of data. Recently, [18F helped launch analytics.gsa.gov](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/19/how-we-built-analytics-usa-gov/) to display the web traffic from various federal government websites. The analytics site serves as a way for the public and government officials to easily see which federal government sites people visit the most. This viewpoint displays highly valuable and relevant information that aids in making impactful and long-term content decisions that affect the public. It also helps federal employees make targeted decisions on how to approach and then decide how to make user interactions more friendly on mobile. diff --git a/_posts/2015-04-29-18f-how-we-write.md b/_posts/2015-04-29-18f-how-we-write.md index edbe3daeb..1765e6261 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-04-29-18f-how-we-write.md +++ b/_posts/2015-04-29-18f-how-we-write.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ We collaborate on much of what we do at 18F, from the way we work on code to the This collaboration begins during the generative stage of the drafting process. Anyone on the 18F team can suggest an idea for a blog post. We collect these ideas as issues in a private GitHub repository and open each issue up to feedback from the entire team. For example, Sarah Allen, a developer at 18F, suggested writing the post you are reading right now: -![Screen shot of a GitHub thread from Sarah Allen: IDEA: we should write a blog post about how we create transparency and alignment within our organization with our blogging process, where anyone on the whole team can chime in on blog posts I was telling some friends about our process and how we use github (or used to?) tagging drafts with idea, draft, ready and approved -- I don't see these labels now. I wanted to share our README from this repo, but its private. I would love to have a written reference to our process -- I think other orgs could learn from it, and would help prospective candidates understand how we work.](/assets/blog/how-we-write/sarah.png) +![Screen shot of a GitHub thread from Sarah Allen: IDEA: we should write a blog post about how we create transparency and alignment within our organization with our blogging process, where anyone on the whole team can chime in on blog posts I was telling some friends about our process and how we use github (or used to?) tagging drafts with idea, draft, ready and approved -- I don't see these labels now. I wanted to share our README from this repo, but its private. I would love to have a written reference to our process -- I think other orgs could learn from it, and would help prospective candidates understand how we work.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/how-we-write/sarah.png) This isn’t the only way we come up with our post ideas. Sometimes, we’ll overhear a great conversation — or witness one in our chat program — and realize that it would make an equally great post. In these cases, one of us will reach out to the conversation participants and ask if they’d like to write a post based on their discussion. If they’re not free or willing to write it, a member of the editorial team will offer to create a GitHub issue and work up the first draft. @@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ We also ask our teammates if they have thoughts on a post date and who, in addit Sometimes we hold posts to coincide with a product launch. In both of these cases, we ask the project leads for their thoughts and make sure that they’re added to the GitHub issue, as well. This ensures that all the relevant information is collected in one place, and makes it easy for anyone who needs to weigh in before publication to do so. -![Screen shot of another GitHub thread: Kate: Sarah, Also love this idea — when would you like to publish?](/assets/blog/how-we-write/kate2.png) +![Screen shot of another GitHub thread: Kate: Sarah, Also love this idea — when would you like to publish?]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/how-we-write/kate2.png) In addition to the editorial team, anyone from 18F is encouraged to enter the GitHub thread and offer feedback or suggest copy for the actual blog post itself. Even if someone may not have time to write an entire post, they can contribute and receive a byline for their efforts. This allows our teammates who are busy coding or designing projects to write about their process and work, without requiring them to sit down and write hundreds of words. (We also have a weekly blog “huddle” with the editorial team, where anyone from 18F can talk about works-in-progress, ask for help, or find collaborators.) diff --git a/_posts/2015-05-07-layering-innovation.md b/_posts/2015-05-07-layering-innovation.md index fc5aaa794..128c3be4d 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-05-07-layering-innovation.md +++ b/_posts/2015-05-07-layering-innovation.md @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ description: "At 18F, we're changing the way government thinks about software, a image: /assets/blog/layering-innovation/layer_cake.jpg --- [![Layer cake, by Flickr user -Kirinohana](/assets/blog/layering-innovation/layer_cake.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiri_no_hana/9623594449/in/photolist-) +Kirinohana]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/layering-innovation/layer_cake.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiri_no_hana/9623594449/in/photolist-) In the past, most government digital projects were created out of requirement documents handed down to designers and developers for them diff --git a/_posts/2015-05-12-announcing-the-calc-tool.md b/_posts/2015-05-12-announcing-the-calc-tool.md index ccb179229..7976d9d06 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-05-12-announcing-the-calc-tool.md +++ b/_posts/2015-05-12-announcing-the-calc-tool.md @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ conduct market research and price analysis for professional labor categories across a database of contract awarded prices for 48,000 labor categories from more than 5,000 recent GSA contracts. -![Gif of a sample CALC search](/assets/blog/calc-announcement/calc_demo.gif) +![Gif of a sample CALC search]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/calc-announcement/calc_demo.gif) Before CALC, contracting officers had to sift through paper contracts or comb through GSA Advantage files to stitch together a picture of fair diff --git a/_posts/2015-05-14-18Fpages.md b/_posts/2015-05-14-18Fpages.md index f003f2cbf..da75bd99a 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-05-14-18Fpages.md +++ b/_posts/2015-05-14-18Fpages.md @@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ for our 18f.gsa.gov technical stack, proved surprisingly straightforward, and now we’re happy to announce [https://pages.18f.gov/](https://pages.18f.gov/), aka “18F Pages.” -![Screenshot of 18F Pages site](/assets/blog/18F-Pages/18Fpages.jpg) +![Screenshot of 18F Pages site]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/18F-Pages/18Fpages.jpg) While the site is still in its earliest stages, we will be adding more content to it over time, as our team generates documentation that we diff --git a/_posts/2015-05-18-myusa.md b/_posts/2015-05-18-myusa.md index e26c63bfb..980e029b4 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-05-18-myusa.md +++ b/_posts/2015-05-18-myusa.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ description: "Soon, users accessing U.S. government websites will be able to use image: /assets/blog/myusa/myusa.jpg --- -[![MyUsa Screenshot](/assets/blog/myusa/myusa.jpg)](https://my.usa.gov/) +[![MyUsa Screenshot]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/myusa/myusa.jpg)](https://my.usa.gov/) Quick! How many times did you visit a government website during the past diff --git a/_posts/2015-05-21-TockingTime.md b/_posts/2015-05-21-TockingTime.md index 2788c0773..811a48abe 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-05-21-TockingTime.md +++ b/_posts/2015-05-21-TockingTime.md @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ our own accounting and for the taxpayers who support our work. For a long time, our internal time tracking looked something like this: -![Old time tracking screenshot](/assets/blog/tockingtime/tock02.jpg) +![Old time tracking screenshot]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/tockingtime/tock02.jpg) Every week, our operations team dutifully created a giant Google Sheets spreadsheet and shared it with the entire team. As we grew, the number @@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ internal platform as a service and flex our Python muscles. The first prototype took about day to build and deploy. We built it entirely in the open (see our [GitHub repository](https://github.com/18f/tock)) and immediately put it online for the team to test. -![Prototype screenshot](/assets/blog/tockingtime/tock03.jpg) +![Prototype screenshot]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/tockingtime/tock03.jpg) *The first iteration of Tock* At the core, this is a very simple Django site. We have four main @@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ grew rapidly as people tried to strike the right balance between capturing work accurately and forcing users to browse a long list of random things: -![List screenshot](/assets/blog/tockingtime/tock00.jpg) +![List screenshot]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/tockingtime/tock00.jpg) *So many items!* We fixed this, in part, by providing an auto-select based on @@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ We fixed this, in part, by providing an auto-select based on designed specifically for this purpose. Now, Tock users can search by either the project or partner agency name when selecting a line item: -![Line screenshot](/assets/blog/tockingtime/tock01.jpg) +![Line screenshot]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/tockingtime/tock01.jpg) ###The future of time diff --git a/_posts/2015-05-27-dan-brown-conflict-in-design.md b/_posts/2015-05-27-dan-brown-conflict-in-design.md index 0eb4b02b4..cacb62b3d 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-05-27-dan-brown-conflict-in-design.md +++ b/_posts/2015-05-27-dan-brown-conflict-in-design.md @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ excerpt: "On Friday, author and designer Dan Brown gave a talk at 18F. “Stop f description: "On Friday, author and designer Dan Brown gave a talk at 18F. “Stop fighting, start designing,” centered around the design process and inherent conflict therein." image: /assets/blog/speaker-series/dan-brown.jpg --- -![Dan Brown presents at 18F](/assets/blog/speaker-series/dan-brown.jpg) +![Dan Brown presents at 18F]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/speaker-series/dan-brown.jpg) Designer Dan Brown was driving through downtown D.C. when he received a nasty client voicemail. New to the city and in his mid-20s, Brown was @@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ pointer around the room. The pattern cards offer techniques for unsticking situations. For example, “make a plan,” or “offer a sneak peek.” -![Pattern and situation cards](/assets/blog/speaker-series/pattern-situation.jpg) +![Pattern and situation cards]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/speaker-series/pattern-situation.jpg) The third piece of the puzzle, “trait” cards, are useful for self-reflection and understanding characteristics. “Dogmatism,” for diff --git a/_posts/2015-05-28-18F-guides.md b/_posts/2015-05-28-18F-guides.md index e439578c2..3756ae2e2 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-05-28-18F-guides.md +++ b/_posts/2015-05-28-18F-guides.md @@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ basics. [18F Guides](https://pages.18f.gov/guides/) aims to fill that role for our young and growing team, and we hope it may be of use to others as well. -![18F Guides homepage](/assets/blog/18F-guides/18F-guides.png) +![18F Guides homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/18F-guides/18F-guides.png) ## Coalescing best practices diff --git a/_posts/2015-06-02-taking-the-pulse-of-the-federal-governments-web-presence.md b/_posts/2015-06-02-taking-the-pulse-of-the-federal-governments-web-presence.md index 4fb685892..2e809df91 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-06-02-taking-the-pulse-of-the-federal-governments-web-presence.md +++ b/_posts/2015-06-02-taking-the-pulse-of-the-federal-governments-web-presence.md @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ The U.S. federal government is launching a new project to monitor how it's doing A sort of health monitor for the U.S. government's websites, it's called **[Pulse](https://pulse.cio.gov)**, and you can find it at **[pulse.cio.gov](https://pulse.cio.gov)**. -[![pulse homepage](/assets/blog/pulse/pulse.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov) +[![pulse homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/pulse/pulse.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov) [Pulse](https://pulse.cio.gov) is a lightweight dashboard that uses the [official .gov domain list](https://github.com/GSA/data/blob/gh-pages/dotgov-domains/2015-03-15-federal.csv) to measure two things: @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ The project will hopefully expand over time to measure more best practices and m ## Background -[![pulse screenshot of analytics](/assets/blog/pulse/analytics-agencies.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/analytics/agencies/) +[![pulse screenshot of analytics]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/pulse/analytics-agencies.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/analytics/agencies/) Pulse is a collaboration between 18F and the [Office of Government-wide Policy](http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104550) (OGP). @@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ Like 18F, OGP is an office of the U.S. General Services Administration. Among ma ## How pulse.cio.gov works -[![pulse screenshot of https](/assets/blog/pulse/https-agencies.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/https/agencies/) +[![pulse screenshot of https]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/pulse/https-agencies.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/https/agencies/) Pulse was created in around six weeks. We built the project [in the open from Day 1](https://github.com/18f/pulse), obtained our domain name and relevant cybersecurity approvals in our first couple weeks, and released new versions of the dashboard to [pulse.cio.gov](https://pulse.cio.gov) early and often throughout the process. @@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ The process is not fully automated, and so Pulse isn't updated every day. There' ## Measuring participation in the Digital Analytics Program -[![pulse screenshot of analytics homepage](/assets/blog/pulse/analytics.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/analytics/domains/) +[![pulse screenshot of analytics homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/pulse/analytics.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/analytics/domains/) The [Digital Analytics Program](https://www.digitalgov.gov/services/dap/) is a free, shared web analytics service for U.S. federal agencies. @@ -72,13 +72,13 @@ To participate, agencies place some JavaScript on their websites that report to Access to the account is shared within the federal government, and much of its data is shared publicly on [analytics.usa.gov](https://analytics.usa.gov/). The Digital Analytics Program also regularly publishes a list of around 4,000 participating websites that have reported visitor data in the preceding 2 weeks. -[![pulse screenshot of analytics domains](/assets/blog/pulse/analytics-domains.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/analytics/domains/) +[![pulse screenshot of analytics domains]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/pulse/analytics-domains.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/analytics/domains/) Pulse measures participation in the simplest way possible: by comparing the .gov domain list to the list of participating websites published by the Digital Analytics Program. It's not rocket science, but in the future we'd like to automate this process using the [`analytics-reporter`](https://github.com/18F/analytics-reporter) tool [we created for analytics.usa.gov](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/19/how-we-built-analytics-usa-gov/). ## Measuring HTTPS in .gov -[![pulse screenshot of https homepage](/assets/blog/pulse/https.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/https/domains/) +[![pulse screenshot of https homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/pulse/https.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/https/domains/) Enforcing strong HTTPS is an [important baseline](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/11/13/why-we-use-https-in-every-gov-website-we-make/) for government websites, and is in the [process](https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2015/04/30/deprecating-non-secure-http/) of [becoming](https://www.chromium.org/Home/chromium-security/marking-http-as-non-secure) the baseline for the web at large. @@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ HTTPS is simple enough to detect, but characterizing HTTPS support for a domain, We lean heavily on the open source [`site-inspector`](https://github.com/benbalter/site-inspector), a command line tool written in Ruby. `site-inspector` measures various useful things about websites, and was originally written by Ben Balter to [analyze .gov domains](http://ben.balter.com/2015/05/11/third-analysis-of-federal-executive-dotgovs/). -[![pulse screenshot of https domains](/assets/blog/pulse/https-domains.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/https/domains/) +[![pulse screenshot of https domains]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/pulse/https-domains.png)](https://pulse.cio.gov/https/domains/) To get the precision we wanted, we needed to take into account several subtle things about domains: diff --git a/_posts/2015-06-08-data-act-data-act-explainer.md b/_posts/2015-06-08-data-act-data-act-explainer.md index f9cbe05ed..29a03f9cb 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-06-08-data-act-data-act-explainer.md +++ b/_posts/2015-06-08-data-act-data-act-explainer.md @@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ appropriation to an actual payment. These systems don’t have a common way to tie money back to specific programs and projects, and that’s what the DATA Act proposes to fix. -[![Diagram of government appropriation reporting](/assets/blog/data-act-implementation/data-act-reporting.jpg)](http://www.datacoalition.org/what-is-data-transparency/data-act/) +[![Diagram of government appropriation reporting]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/data-act-implementation/data-act-reporting.jpg)](http://www.datacoalition.org/what-is-data-transparency/data-act/) *Image courtesy of the [Data Transparency Coalition](http://www.datacoalition.org/what-is-data-transparency/data-act/)* @@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ several different initiatives, the Department may allocate those dollars to more specific buckets like Pell grants, work-study, and scholarships for veterans’ dependents. -![Diagram of account labeling](/assets/blog/data-act-implementation/data-act-labels.jpg) +![Diagram of account labeling]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/data-act-implementation/data-act-labels.jpg) When Treasury pays money to a recipient of student financial aid, it debits the money from the high-level $30 billion account. The specifics diff --git a/_posts/2015-06-08-the-us-government-is-moving-to-https-everywhere.md b/_posts/2015-06-08-the-us-government-is-moving-to-https-everywhere.md index 44bb7625e..dbb4eae95 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-06-08-the-us-government-is-moving-to-https-everywhere.md +++ b/_posts/2015-06-08-the-us-government-is-moving-to-https-everywhere.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ description: "The White House is issuing a memoranda to federal agencies mandati image: /assets/blog/https-memo/whitehouse-small.png --- -[![whitehouse.gov screenshot](/assets/blog/https-memo/whitehouse.png)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2015/m-15-13.pdf) +[![whitehouse.gov screenshot]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/https-memo/whitehouse.png)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2015/m-15-13.pdf) Today, the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) finalized an **[HTTPS-Only Standard](https://https.cio.gov/)** for all publicly accessible federal websites and web services. This standard is designed to ensure a new, strong baseline of user privacy and security across U.S. government websites and APIs. diff --git a/_posts/2015-06-11-18f-at-national-civic-hacking-day.md b/_posts/2015-06-11-18f-at-national-civic-hacking-day.md index d26b65b22..0804eda05 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-06-11-18f-at-national-civic-hacking-day.md +++ b/_posts/2015-06-11-18f-at-national-civic-hacking-day.md @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ enough of this. Fortunately, there were [more than 100 events](http://hackforcha Here’s just some of what we worked on together: -![Pictures from the D.C. event](/assets/blog/national-day-of-civic-hacking-2015/hacking-day-dc.jpg) +![Pictures from the D.C. event]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/national-day-of-civic-hacking-2015/hacking-day-dc.jpg) *Scenes from the event in Washington, D.C.* **Washington, D.C.**: The Small Business Administration and Census @@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ who lives in San Diego, led a for a Street Sweeper app. We got from markers and drawing to working code in less than an hour! -![The group of civic hackers in Tucson](/assets/blog/national-day-of-civic-hacking-2015/hacking-day-tucson.jpg) +![The group of civic hackers in Tucson]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/national-day-of-civic-hacking-2015/hacking-day-tucson.jpg) *Civic hackers at the event hosted by Code for Tucson* **Tucson, Ariz**: [Code for Tucson](http://codefortucson.org/), diff --git a/_posts/2015-06-16-fast-company-story.md b/_posts/2015-06-16-fast-company-story.md index 4e06e4ade..c5ac99f99 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-06-16-fast-company-story.md +++ b/_posts/2015-06-16-fast-company-story.md @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ offers a great metaphor to better explain the relationship of 18F, the U.S. Digi image: /assets/blog/fast-company/jumpshot.jpg --- -![The U.S. Digital Service family](/assets/blog/fast-company/jumpshot.jpg) +![The U.S. Digital Service family]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/fast-company/jumpshot.jpg) *Photo by Daniel Shea for Fast Company* We often get asked to explain how 18F fits in with the larger U.S. diff --git a/_posts/2015-06-17-what-estonia-can-teach-us-about-government-records.md b/_posts/2015-06-17-what-estonia-can-teach-us-about-government-records.md index 978915634..cdebf8b20 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-06-17-what-estonia-can-teach-us-about-government-records.md +++ b/_posts/2015-06-17-what-estonia-can-teach-us-about-government-records.md @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ of Estonia’s most prominent technologists visited D.C. for a week-long tour, which included meetings with the State Department, the World Bank, and U.S. digital services teams. -The Estonian delegation with members of 18F, OSTP, and CTO Megan Smith +The Estonian delegation with members of 18F, OSTP, and CTO Megan Smith *U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith, members of U.S. digital services teams, and the representatives from Estonia.* diff --git a/_posts/2015-06-22-avoiding-cloudfall.md b/_posts/2015-06-22-avoiding-cloudfall.md index a2b1089a1..bdc49f987 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-06-22-avoiding-cloudfall.md +++ b/_posts/2015-06-22-avoiding-cloudfall.md @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ description: "18F has been working on reducing the costs of entry to the cloud a image: /assets/blog/avoiding-cloudfall/cloudfall.jpg --- -![A waterfall over rocks.](/assets/blog/avoiding-cloudfall/cloudfall.jpg) +![A waterfall over rocks.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/avoiding-cloudfall/cloudfall.jpg) *Source: [Recreation.gov Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/pZFSh0ivJe/)* In 2011, the [White House recognized](https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/egov_docs/federal-cloud-computing-strategy.pdf) diff --git a/_posts/2015-06-24-thomas-vander-wal-event.md b/_posts/2015-06-24-thomas-vander-wal-event.md index a4b08bde0..7fee5ad29 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-06-24-thomas-vander-wal-event.md +++ b/_posts/2015-06-24-thomas-vander-wal-event.md @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ Vander Wal said during his lecture. But many companies don’t save instant message conversations. And email buries data in an archive that’s inaccessible to most. -![An illustration of closed-node communication](/assets/blog/vander-wal/email.jpg) +![An illustration of closed-node communication]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/vander-wal/email.jpg) *An illustration of closed-node communication, from Vander Wal’s presentation* @@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ keeping](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/05/28/18F-guides/), and — whenever possible — we illuminate our processes, hopefully [to the benefit of the larger tech community](https://pages.18f.gov/guides/). -![A slide listing the values of open node communication](/assets/blog/vander-wal/opennodes.jpg) +![A slide listing the values of open node communication]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/vander-wal/opennodes.jpg) *Open-node communication allows members of the same community to share institutional knowledge deftly and painlessly.* diff --git a/_posts/2015-07-06-18f-content-guide.md b/_posts/2015-07-06-18f-content-guide.md index 1dc3de132..d1b6f2dbb 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-07-06-18f-content-guide.md +++ b/_posts/2015-07-06-18f-content-guide.md @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ description: "We’re proud to announce the release of our 18F Content Guide, a image: /assets/blog/content-style-guide/style-guide-screen.jpg --- -[![Screenshot of the 18F Content Guide](/assets/blog/content-style-guide/style-guide-screen.jpg)](https://pages.18f.gov/content-guide/) +[![Screenshot of the 18F Content Guide]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/content-style-guide/style-guide-screen.jpg)](https://pages.18f.gov/content-guide/) 18F recently introduced its [series of guides](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/05/28/18F-guides/), a collection of diff --git a/_posts/2015-07-08-openfec-api.md b/_posts/2015-07-08-openfec-api.md index 62bd7e2db..85dc2a303 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-07-08-openfec-api.md +++ b/_posts/2015-07-08-openfec-api.md @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ excerpt: "Today marks the launch of the FEC’s first API. With that API, search description: "Today marks the launch of the FEC’s first API. With that API, searching for candidates and committees will be easier and more interactive." image: /assets/blog/openfec-api/openfec-banner.jpg --- -![The OpenFEC banner](/assets/blog/openfec-api/openfec-banner.jpg) +![The OpenFEC banner]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/openfec-api/openfec-banner.jpg) The Federal Election Commission (FEC) empowers citizens with the information they need to make informed decisions about their democracy. diff --git a/_posts/2015-07-17-the-new-10.md b/_posts/2015-07-17-the-new-10.md index c40a64da6..96edb991a 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-07-17-the-new-10.md +++ b/_posts/2015-07-17-the-new-10.md @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ operates under a cost-recoverable model. Then the fun really began. -![Treasury's The New 10 site](/assets/blog/the-new-10/the-new-10.jpg) +![Treasury's The New 10 site]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/the-new-10/the-new-10.jpg) We set up a number of creative reviews with 18F Consulting and Treasury’s design team. My colleague Jesse Taggert and I partnered diff --git a/_posts/2015-07-29-style-guide-for-open-source-documentation.md b/_posts/2015-07-29-style-guide-for-open-source-documentation.md index 72e1f5cd4..2e78b6274 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-07-29-style-guide-for-open-source-documentation.md +++ b/_posts/2015-07-29-style-guide-for-open-source-documentation.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ image: /assets/blog/open-source-guide/screenshot-of-guide.png We routinely publish our best practices in the [18F Guides](https://pages.18f.gov/guides/), and today we’re happy to launch a new one: the [18F Open Source Style Guide](https://pages.18f.gov/open-source-guide/). -![Screenshot of Open Source Guide](/assets/blog/open-source-guide/screenshot-of-guide.png) +![Screenshot of Open Source Guide]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/open-source-guide/screenshot-of-guide.png) The Open Source Style Guide is a comprehensive handbook for writing clear, accessible, and user-friendly documentation so that your open source code repositories are accessible both internally and externally. diff --git a/_posts/2015-08-06-communicart-tool-will-streamline-purchase-card-process.md b/_posts/2015-08-06-communicart-tool-will-streamline-purchase-card-process.md index fe672a688..c4ad81301 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-08-06-communicart-tool-will-streamline-purchase-card-process.md +++ b/_posts/2015-08-06-communicart-tool-will-streamline-purchase-card-process.md @@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ process. With our partners at the General Service Administration's Public Buildings Service in Washington, D.C., we’ve started building a tool to help make this process fast and efficient. -[![Screenshot of the Communicart approval portal](/assets/blog/communicart/communicart-screenshot.png)](https://cap.18f.gov/) +[![Screenshot of the Communicart approval portal]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/communicart/communicart-screenshot.png)](https://cap.18f.gov/) We call it [Communicart](https://18f.gsa.gov/dashboard/project/C2/). It’s a tool that took some cues from the process for tracking “carts” diff --git a/_posts/2015-08-07-technical-debt-1.md b/_posts/2015-08-07-technical-debt-1.md index 6963befdd..7d4e27e76 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-08-07-technical-debt-1.md +++ b/_posts/2015-08-07-technical-debt-1.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ debt is, how to manage it, and some ways to prevent accumulating it." image: /assets/blog/technical-debt/iceberg-noaa.jpg --- -[![An iceberg](/assets/blog/technical-debt/iceberg-noaa.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/usoceangov/8290528771/) +[![An iceberg]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/technical-debt/iceberg-noaa.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/usoceangov/8290528771/) *Source:* [**National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration**](https://www.flickr.com/photos/usoceangov/8290528771/) diff --git a/_posts/2015-08-10-18f-design-methods.md b/_posts/2015-08-10-18f-design-methods.md index 9ec0f265d..259d6c775 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-08-10-18f-design-methods.md +++ b/_posts/2015-08-10-18f-design-methods.md @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ products." image: /assets/blog/design-method-cards/method-cards-banner.jpg --- -[![A sampling of the 18F Design Method cards](/assets/blog/design-method-cards/method-cards-banner.jpg)](https://methods.18f.gov/) +[![A sampling of the 18F Design Method cards]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/design-method-cards/method-cards-banner.jpg)](https://methods.18f.gov/) We’re thrilled to introduce the beta deck of [18F Design Methods](https://methods.18f.gov/), a collection of research and design @@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ Our design methods are available in two formats: 1. **A [printed card deck](https://methods.18f.gov/assets/downloads/18F-Method-Cards-beta-Preview.pdf) for quick reference.** With printed cards, you can compare different methods side by side, and physically pull together the methods you’re interested in. 2. **An [online version](https://methods.18f.gov/) for more information.** Our “alpha” digital version provides more details about each method, short stories about how we’ve used a given method in our work, and links to additional resources. You also download our [templates] (https://methods.18f.gov/assets/downloads/18F-Method-Cards-beta-Template.zip) and [printable PDFs](https://methods.18f.gov/assets/downloads/18F-Method-Cards-beta_Print.zip). -[![A screenshot of the Design Method Cards website](/assets/blog/design-method-cards/method-cards.png)](https://methods.18f.gov/) +[![A screenshot of the Design Method Cards website]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/design-method-cards/method-cards.png)](https://methods.18f.gov/) ## Principles that are and are not here diff --git a/_posts/2015-08-26-aaron-gustafson-beyond-responsive-design.md b/_posts/2015-08-26-aaron-gustafson-beyond-responsive-design.md index 61a297c51..52ffdb69a 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-08-26-aaron-gustafson-beyond-responsive-design.md +++ b/_posts/2015-08-26-aaron-gustafson-beyond-responsive-design.md @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ excerpt: "Web standards and accessibility expert Aaron Gustafson recently came t description: "Web standards and accessibility expert Aaron Gustafson recently came to 18F to speak about progressive enhancement and to challenge designers to improve user experience across browsers and devices." image: /assets/blog/aaron-gustafson/mms-gustafson.jpg --- -![Aaron Gustafson gives a presentation at 18F](/assets/blog/aaron-gustafson/gustafson.jpg) +![Aaron Gustafson gives a presentation at 18F]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/aaron-gustafson/gustafson.jpg) Web standards and accessibility expert Aaron Gustafson was working with a major drug store chain when he discovered they only tested their website on iPhones and iPads. @@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ The text is the peanut, a fine snack on its own. But with chocolate (CSS), it’s tastier. And it’s best with colorful candy coating (Javascript). Ultimately, you can enjoy it at whatever step you get it. -![A peanut, a chocolate covered peanut, and a peanut M&M](/assets/blog/aaron-gustafson/mms-gustafson.jpg) +![A peanut, a chocolate covered peanut, and a peanut M&M]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/aaron-gustafson/mms-gustafson.jpg) *Slide from [Gustafson’s presentation](http://www.slideshare.net/AaronGustafson/beyond-responsive-18f-2015)*. diff --git a/_posts/2015-08-31-how-playing-with-legos-taught-executives-agile.md b/_posts/2015-08-31-how-playing-with-legos-taught-executives-agile.md index 2208447cb..0c68105ec 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-08-31-how-playing-with-legos-taught-executives-agile.md +++ b/_posts/2015-08-31-how-playing-with-legos-taught-executives-agile.md @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ description: "The Small Business Administration was ready to try something diffe image: /assets/blog/lego-workshop/sba-execs-legos.jpg --- -![Executives from the Small Business Administration learn agile development with Legos.](/assets/blog/lego-workshop/sba-execs-legos.jpg) +![Executives from the Small Business Administration learn agile development with Legos.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/lego-workshop/sba-execs-legos.jpg) The Small Business Administration was ready to try something different. @@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ But they started wondering, is this really the best way? Or should we be trying something new? It turns out not even the creator of waterfall, Dr. Winston Royce, thought waterfall was a good idea! -![A highlighted quote that says "I believe in this concept, but the implementation described above is risky and invites failure."](/assets/blog/lego-workshop/waterfall-quote.jpg) +![A highlighted quote that says "I believe in this concept, but the implementation described above is risky and invites failure."]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/lego-workshop/waterfall-quote.jpg) *From page 2 of Dr. Royce’s 1970 paper, [Managing the Development of Large Software Systems](http://www.serena.com/docs/agile/papers/Managing-The-Development-of-Large-Software-Systems.pdf).* @@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ what agile is. One must experience it for oneself. It was time for the red pill.
-The red and blue pill from The Matrix +The red and blue pill from The Matrix
We split the group into two teams and told them that, in the next 90 @@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ As the product owner, I gave the teams their user stories: And then I dumped a bucket of Lego bricks in front of each team. “Go!” -![SBA executives prepare to build with Legos.](/assets/blog/lego-workshop/sba-execs-legos-2.jpg) +![SBA executives prepare to build with Legos.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/lego-workshop/sba-execs-legos-2.jpg) After a few “I haven’t played with Legos in 40 years…”, they were off! diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-03-every-kid-in-a-park.md b/_posts/2015-09-03-every-kid-in-a-park.md index 908360da2..2f4ef3517 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-03-every-kid-in-a-park.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-03-every-kid-in-a-park.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ lands and water for a full year. Here at 18F, we were proud to develop the site image: /assets/blog/every-kid-in-a-park/every-kid-in-a-park.jpg --- -[![Two students hold up their Every Kid in a Park passes](/assets/blog/every-kid-in-a-park/every-kid-in-a-park.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/usinterior/20900647896/in/album-72157657833038461/) +[![Two students hold up their Every Kid in a Park passes]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/every-kid-in-a-park/every-kid-in-a-park.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/usinterior/20900647896/in/album-72157657833038461/) *Students from Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School receive an Every Kid in a Park pass. Photo credit: Department of Interior.* @@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ photos, to the text on every page. Even the information for parents and teachers was designed to be understandable for our primary users — fourth graders. -![Children and adults sit around a large piece of paper while co-designing the Every Kid in a Park website.](/assets/blog/every-kid-in-a-park/ekip-user-testing.jpg) +![Children and adults sit around a large piece of paper while co-designing the Every Kid in a Park website.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/every-kid-in-a-park/ekip-user-testing.jpg) *Sally Jewell, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, sits with kids as they help co-design the Every Kid in a Park website using methods developed by the University of Maryland Human Computer Interaction KidsTeam Lab. Photo Credit: Evan Golub, 2015.* ## Building a site for kids has unique challenges diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-04-what-is-technical-debt.md b/_posts/2015-09-04-what-is-technical-debt.md index 54f8f0c84..79e0400dd 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-04-what-is-technical-debt.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-04-what-is-technical-debt.md @@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ And the extra time it takes to work with our unwieldy code or design, until it’s fixed, represents the interest portion.
-A bar graph showing how poor design can increase the cost of making changes or adding new features +A bar graph showing how poor design can increase the cost of making changes or adding new features
Like financial debt, not all technical debt is bad debt. For example, @@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ technical debt. Martin Fowler, a leading software expert, classifies technical debt into four types, as shown in the quadrant below.
-A grid of the four types of technical debt. Reckless and deliberate, reckless and inadvertent, prudent and deliberate, prudent and inadvertent. +A grid of the four types of technical debt. Reckless and deliberate, reckless and inadvertent, prudent and deliberate, prudent and inadvertent.
Here's how each type may occur: @@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ within a software product over time: - The predictability of results decreases, making management highly distrustful. (Producing accurate estimates for software with a high amount of debt is nearly impossible.)
-A graph showing how the cost of change increases over time when you have technical debt, and that hurts your ability to meet user needs. +A graph showing how the cost of change increases over time when you have technical debt, and that hurts your ability to meet user needs.
*Source: [Jim diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-08-reimagining-the-immigration-process.md b/_posts/2015-09-08-reimagining-the-immigration-process.md index 0a273c19d..41d5f6f97 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-08-reimagining-the-immigration-process.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-08-reimagining-the-immigration-process.md @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ to help users navigate their relationship with the agency. USCIS approached 18F image: /assets/blog/myuscis/myuscis.jpg --- -![The new myuscis homepage](/assets/blog/myuscis/myuscis.jpg) +![The new myuscis homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/myuscis/myuscis.jpg) After the weather and taxes, immigration is one of the government services that people visit most online. Last week alone, [3.6 million people](https://analytics.usa.gov/) visited the [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website](http://www.uscis.gov/) to understand the application process, check the status of their cases, and seek help. USCIS receives about 6 million petitions and applications a year — that’s more than 16,000 a day. Supporting this many users is a huge task, and USCIS knows it could do more to meet customer needs on its website. diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-09-how-a-two-day-spring-moved-an-agency-twenty-years-forward.md b/_posts/2015-09-09-how-a-two-day-spring-moved-an-agency-twenty-years-forward.md index 8df43726b..b747d3011 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-09-how-a-two-day-spring-moved-an-agency-twenty-years-forward.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-09-how-a-two-day-spring-moved-an-agency-twenty-years-forward.md @@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ meaningful, iterative way?

--- -![Two investigators and an 18F user researcher who is shadowing them](/assets/blog/labor-handbook/field-team.jpg) +![Two investigators and an 18F user researcher who is shadowing them]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/labor-handbook/field-team.jpg) *Two investigators (left and right) and an 18F user researcher (center) who is shadowing them to understand how investigators use paper and digital methods to accomplish their job.* @@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ quickly access and search for much-needed information that helps them complete investigations, particularly when they’re working out in the field. -![Three large binders of handbook materials](/assets/blog/labor-handbook/handbook.jpg) +![Three large binders of handbook materials]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/labor-handbook/handbook.jpg) ## The challenge: How to move this project forward? @@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ We facilitated a two-hour kick-off meeting (sometimes called an Inception). It got the group aligned around the problem and to agree on a plan moving forward. -![The 18F and Labor team writes notes up on a large white board](/assets/blog/labor-handbook/group-1.jpg) +![The 18F and Labor team writes notes up on a large white board]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/labor-handbook/group-1.jpg) *Kick off (Inception)* During this Inception we: @@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ Examples of our user stories: - As an investigator, I want the FOH to be easy to read because past methods have been hard to read. *(provide good version 1 typography and design of this online resource)* -![Developers, investigators, and product owners work together on day 2. The project's progress boards are taped to the windows.](/assets/blog/labor-handbook/group-2.jpg) +![Developers, investigators, and product owners work together on day 2. The project's progress boards are taped to the windows.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/labor-handbook/group-2.jpg) *Day 2 of the team working out of the 18F common space. Developers on the left. Investigators (users) and product owners talking about needs on the right. Taped to the windows are the progress boards (Backlog, @@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ and actionable to their peers. Seconds after code was pushed to the staging site, we observed how they used search and understood the search results pages. Feedback was immediately incorporated. -![Screenshots of the prototype for an online version of the handbook.](/assets/blog/labor-handbook/foh-screenshot.jpg) +![Screenshots of the prototype for an online version of the handbook.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/labor-handbook/foh-screenshot.jpg) *Two days later we had a working prototype showing browsable chapters and a search results page.* diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-14-college-scorecard-launch.md b/_posts/2015-09-14-college-scorecard-launch.md index 42ba7edaa..af2507554 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-14-college-scorecard-launch.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-14-college-scorecard-launch.md @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ College search resources like [ScholarMatch](http://scholarmatcher.scholarmatch. ## How we did it -![A team of people look at a demo of College Scorecard](/assets/blog/college-scorecard/college-scorecard-1.jpg) +![A team of people look at a demo of College Scorecard]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/college-scorecard/college-scorecard-1.jpg) *One of our many demos.* This was a truly collaborative team effort: thank you to the [Department of Education](http://www.ed.gov/), White House Domestic Policy Council, White House Council of Economic Advisors, Department of Treasury, Office of Management and Budget, [18F](https://18f.gsa.gov/) (at GSA) and the team at the [U.S. Digital Service](https://www.whitehouse.gov/digital/united-states-digital-service). @@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ We knew what we needed to do: make people’s lives better by providing them the **Instead of guessing, we decided to go out and ask them.** -![An amazing guidance counselor at Anacostia High with two of his students.](/assets/blog/college-scorecard/college-scorecard-2.jpg) +![An amazing guidance counselor at Anacostia High with two of his students.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/college-scorecard/college-scorecard-2.jpg) *An amazing guidance counselor at Anacostia High with two of his students.* Following our practice of [focusing on user needs](https://playbook.cio.gov/#play1), the College Scorecard team first spent time engaging directly with users at every single step in the project. Some of our favorite conversations were when we talked to high school students in Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood and their excellent guidance counselor. He told us how he “hacks” the process to make sure every one of his students gets an acceptance letter from a college, and feels that rush of possibility. @@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ We built on the hard work of the Department of Education; previously, they met w ### Be agile. -![Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sees the difference between the paper prototype and the mobile-friendly version of the College Scorecard.](/assets/blog/college-scorecard/college-scorecard-3.jpg) +![Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sees the difference between the paper prototype and the mobile-friendly version of the College Scorecard.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/college-scorecard/college-scorecard-3.jpg) *Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sees the difference between the paper prototype and the mobile-friendly version of the College Scorecard.* Based on this research and input from the field, we made the cheapest, fastest prototype of the College Scorecard possible. We knew it needed to be mobile-first, simple, and easy to customize. That prototype ended up being a homemade, cardboard iPhone — slips of paper with wireframes of what the tool could look like. It probably cost less than a cup of coffee to produce. diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-15-federalist-platform-launch.md b/_posts/2015-09-15-federalist-platform-launch.md index ba3635456..27aec7bbc 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-15-federalist-platform-launch.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-15-federalist-platform-launch.md @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ description: "18F’s new Federalist platform is a suite of tools designed to ma image: /assets/blog/federalist/sbst-screenshot.jpg --- -![The new White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team homepage](/assets/blog/federalist/sbst-screenshot-2.jpg) +![The new White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/federalist/sbst-screenshot-2.jpg) Today, the White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST) [launched their new website](https://sbst.gov/). diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-21-cfpb-design-speaker-series.md b/_posts/2015-09-21-cfpb-design-speaker-series.md index 0af96115a..5206cba86 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-21-cfpb-design-speaker-series.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-21-cfpb-design-speaker-series.md @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ description: "Designers Mollie Bates and Natalia Fitzgerald will be speaking tom image: /assets/blog/speaker-series/cfpb-speakers.jpg --- -![Consumer Financial Protection Bureau designers Mollie Bates and Natalia Fitzgerald](/assets/blog/speaker-series/cfpb-speakers.jpg) +![Consumer Financial Protection Bureau designers Mollie Bates and Natalia Fitzgerald]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/speaker-series/cfpb-speakers.jpg) Designers Mollie Bates and Natalia Fitzgerald are intimately acquainted with the ins and outs of consumer finance. Not only did the two diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-21-new-citizenship-resources.md b/_posts/2015-09-21-new-citizenship-resources.md index c3e151fb4..6b6ddb61f 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-21-new-citizenship-resources.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-21-new-citizenship-resources.md @@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ capture new customers’ attention. Our new, highly visual page links out to the existing CRC resources, making it easy for customers to quickly access more detailed information. -![A screenshot of part of the new USCIS rights and responsibilities page](/assets/blog/citizenshipweek/rights-and-responsibilities.jpg) +![A screenshot of part of the new USCIS rights and responsibilities page]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/citizenshipweek/rights-and-responsibilities.jpg) *The new USCIS rights and responsibilities page.* @@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ most informed decision possible. Customers can also use the locator to find nearby citizenship preparation classes, which will help them navigate the naturalization process. -![A map of English and citizenship classes](/assets/blog/citizenshipweek/classes.jpg) +![A map of English and citizenship classes]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/citizenshipweek/classes.jpg) *The English and citizenship preparation class locator provides location and contact information.* diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-22-usa-gov-launches-vote-usa-gov-to-help-citizens-register-and-connect-with-states.md b/_posts/2015-09-22-usa-gov-launches-vote-usa-gov-to-help-citizens-register-and-connect-with-states.md index bd8f7a0c1..cc1d13305 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-22-usa-gov-launches-vote-usa-gov-to-help-citizens-register-and-connect-with-states.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-22-usa-gov-launches-vote-usa-gov-to-help-citizens-register-and-connect-with-states.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ _This post originally appeared on the [GSA Blog](http://gsablogs.gsa.gov/gsablog One of the most important rights of American citizens is the right to vote. It is the foundation of our democracy, and in many ways, the basis of our government. This is why the team at USA.gov is excited to announce the launch of vote.USA.gov. -[![Screen shot of the homepage at vote.usa.gov](/assets/blog/vote-usa-gov/vote.jpg)](https://vote.usa.gov) +[![Screen shot of the homepage at vote.usa.gov]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/vote-usa-gov/vote.jpg)](https://vote.usa.gov) USA.gov is an interagency initiative administered by the Federal Citizen Information Center, a division of the [U.S. General Services Administration's Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies](http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/25729). USA.gov helps connect visitors to important government services and related resources. diff --git a/_posts/2015-09-28-web-design-standards.md b/_posts/2015-09-28-web-design-standards.md index bd44c5dfd..de8426fe0 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-09-28-web-design-standards.md +++ b/_posts/2015-09-28-web-design-standards.md @@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ government services, they’re often met with confusing navigation systems, a cacophony of visual brands, and inconsistent interaction patterns. -![A collection of buttons from government websites with many different colors and styles.](/assets/blog/web-design-standards/buttons.png) +![A collection of buttons from government websites with many different colors and styles.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/web-design-standards/buttons.png) *Each button, a special snowflake. A snapshot of a quick survey of buttons across government websites.* Dedicated federal workers are striving to build helpful digital tools @@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ government websites? ## What we built ![A screenshot of the U.S. Web Design Standards on a desktop, tablet, -and mobile device.](/assets/blog/web-design-standards/home.png) +and mobile device.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/web-design-standards/home.png) *The U.S. Web Design Standards are designed to be viewed on any device.* @@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ cross-functional team of UX, front-end, and visual designers each played a key role in this process: ![An early wireframe of our design suggestion for a reset password -page.](/assets/blog/web-design-standards/wireframe.png) +page.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/web-design-standards/wireframe.png) *An early wireframe of our design suggestion for a reset password page* @@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ patterns were further tested with end users. We believe agencies should still usability test everything they build, but following the standards will help everyone avoid common pitfalls. -![A sample of code from the Web Design Standards.](/assets/blog/web-design-standards/code.png) +![A sample of code from the Web Design Standards.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/web-design-standards/code.png) *All of our standards include code samples.* ### Front-end @@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ After speaking with dozens of front-end developers and designers in government, we sought to strike a balance between modular CSS and code that’s clean and easy-to-use. -![A screenshot of the color section of the Design Standards.](/assets/blog/web-design-standards/colors.png) +![A screenshot of the color section of the Design Standards.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/web-design-standards/colors.png) *The Design Standards include an extensive color palette.* ### Visual design diff --git a/_posts/2015-10-02-building-a-better-government-design-team.md b/_posts/2015-10-02-building-a-better-government-design-team.md index 2141b907e..b5f6daf63 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-10-02-building-a-better-government-design-team.md +++ b/_posts/2015-10-02-building-a-better-government-design-team.md @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ image: /assets/blog/speaker-series/cfpb-talk.jpg --- ![Mollie Bates and Natalia Fitzgerald give a talk at 18F about the design team at the Consumer -Financial Protection Bureau](/assets/blog/speaker-series/cfpb-talk.jpg) +Financial Protection Bureau]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/speaker-series/cfpb-talk.jpg) Building a high-performing design team is tough under the best of circumstances. Add in governmental regulations, a distributed workforce, diff --git a/_posts/2015-10-05-managing-technical-debt.md b/_posts/2015-10-05-managing-technical-debt.md index 9ca88bf1a..90a6e5196 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-10-05-managing-technical-debt.md +++ b/_posts/2015-10-05-managing-technical-debt.md @@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ greater understanding of the value of paying it back or not paying it back. You can do this using our friend, the heat map, like the one shown below. -![A heat map of the various penalties involved with technical debt in different areas of code.](/assets/blog/technical-debt/heat-map.jpg) +![A heat map of the various penalties involved with technical debt in different areas of code.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/technical-debt/heat-map.jpg) *Source: [Modified from a post by James King](http://kingsinsight.com/2010/07/31/estimating-the-impact-of-technical-debt-on-stories-heat-maps/)* diff --git a/_posts/2015-10-06-how-we-start-a-new-project.md b/_posts/2015-10-06-how-we-start-a-new-project.md index 27f93a2df..7e9de0314 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-10-06-how-we-start-a-new-project.md +++ b/_posts/2015-10-06-how-we-start-a-new-project.md @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ project from scratch." image: /assets/blog/federalist/federalist-screenshot.jpg --- -![A screenshot of the Federalist homepage](/assets/blog/federalist/federalist-screenshot.jpg) +![A screenshot of the Federalist homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/federalist/federalist-screenshot.jpg) We recently [launched a site](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/09/15/federalist-platform-launch/) using diff --git a/_posts/2015-10-07-digital-economy-practice.md b/_posts/2015-10-07-digital-economy-practice.md index 3112f5e21..d97b9da8f 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-10-07-digital-economy-practice.md +++ b/_posts/2015-10-07-digital-economy-practice.md @@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Consulting](https://18f.gsa.gov/consulting/): the Digital Economy Practice.
-The Digital Economy Practice competencies include industry and policy, people and organization, design and product, technology and data, and acquisition and procurement. +The Digital Economy Practice competencies include industry and policy, people and organization, design and product, technology and data, and acquisition and procurement.
Across the government, agencies work hard to improve economic outcomes diff --git a/_posts/2015-10-13-open-source-micropurchasing.md b/_posts/2015-10-13-open-source-micropurchasing.md index 03ad70be7..1fd8f9b53 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-10-13-open-source-micropurchasing.md +++ b/_posts/2015-10-13-open-source-micropurchasing.md @@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Specifically, we’re going to use our "micro-purchase" authority. Like all fede There are several reasons we’re trying this experiment. But perhaps the most important reason is this: we want another reason for our partner agencies to support open source code. We've long known at 18F that opening our source code from day one improves our ability to deliver. But we want to show that opening our source code improves our ability to contract for digital services. We also want to see whether this is a sustainable way to engage small businesses and non-traditional contractors in the government space. -![An animation of how the CALC tool works](/assets/blog/calc-announcement/calc_demo.gif) +![An animation of how the CALC tool works]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/calc-announcement/calc_demo.gif) *A demonstration of our CALC tool, which we will use for this micro-purchase experiment.* ## How will it work? diff --git a/_posts/2015-10-15-best-practices-for-distributed-teams.md b/_posts/2015-10-15-best-practices-for-distributed-teams.md index 9afa828de..8f5d03223 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-10-15-best-practices-for-distributed-teams.md +++ b/_posts/2015-10-15-best-practices-for-distributed-teams.md @@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ touch at least part of the day and won’t slow down ‘hot items,’ yet still allows people half the day to focus on actually moving the ball forward.” -![A grid of 18F team members using video chat to attend a meeting.](/assets/blog/distributed-teams/18f-team-acano.jpg) +![A grid of 18F team members using video chat to attend a meeting.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/distributed-teams/18f-team-acano.jpg) *Part of the 18F team at the weekly all-hands meeting.* We share our screens frequently. @@ -201,6 +201,6 @@ their projects. If you have more questions on the tools we use and how we use them, just ask us at [18f@gsa.gov](mailto:18f@gsa.gov). -![A grid of 18F team members using signs to wish their colleague a happy birthday.](/assets/blog/distributed-teams/acano-birthday.jpg) +![A grid of 18F team members using signs to wish their colleague a happy birthday.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/distributed-teams/acano-birthday.jpg) *Our design team takes two minutes out of their weekly meeting to wish teammate Jeremy Canfield (bottom left) a happy birthday.* diff --git a/_posts/2015-10-21-every-kid-in-a-park-follow-up.md b/_posts/2015-10-21-every-kid-in-a-park-follow-up.md index 4e63bbdac..db1caef52 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-10-21-every-kid-in-a-park-follow-up.md +++ b/_posts/2015-10-21-every-kid-in-a-park-follow-up.md @@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ Final touches Although we hope our users never encounter it, we also added a 404 page. We’re proud of the content and design: -![The Every Kid in a Park 404 page.](/assets/blog/every-kid-in-a-park/404.png) +![The Every Kid in a Park 404 page.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/every-kid-in-a-park/404.png) In all, we’re thrilled with [everykidinapark.gov](http://everykidinapark.gov). We’ve handed the diff --git a/_posts/2015-10-29-welcome-to-betafec.md b/_posts/2015-10-29-welcome-to-betafec.md index 20f19e078..c2cfeeb20 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-10-29-welcome-to-betafec.md +++ b/_posts/2015-10-29-welcome-to-betafec.md @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ description: "As the 2016 presidential election heats up, here at 18F we’ve be excerpt: "As the 2016 presidential election heats up, here at 18F we’ve been working with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to make campaign finance data more accessible to the public. Today, we launched betaFEC, the first piece in a complete redesign of the FEC’s online presence." --- -[![The betaFEC homepage.](/assets/blog/fec/beta-fec-home.gif)](https://beta.fec.gov) +[![The betaFEC homepage.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/fec/beta-fec-home.gif)](https://beta.fec.gov) As the 2016 presidential election heats up, here at 18F we’ve been working with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to make campaign diff --git a/_posts/2015-11-02-useiti-what-we-learned-where-were-headed.md b/_posts/2015-11-02-useiti-what-we-learned-where-were-headed.md index 2725dfd19..0a29979d0 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-11-02-useiti-what-we-learned-where-were-headed.md +++ b/_posts/2015-11-02-useiti-what-we-learned-where-were-headed.md @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ description: During Sunshine Week, we wrote about our progress on the U.S. Extra excerpt: During Sunshine Week, we wrote about our progress on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, or EITI, an international coalition organized here by the U.S. Department of the Interior and a multi-stakeholder group that includes representatives from nonprofits, academia, industry and local governments. Since March, the 18F team has worked with the USEITI team to process research on the current state of the project as well as the next steps for the U.S. as a candidate country for the global initiative. image: /assets/blog/eiti/drill.jpg --- -![An oil rig on public land. Courtesy of the Department of Energy](/assets/blog/eiti/drill.jpg) +![An oil rig on public land. Courtesy of the Department of Energy]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/eiti/drill.jpg) _Oil drilling is one of many industries included in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The U.S. Department of the Interior and the USEITI multi-stakeholder group will publish the first report this December._ diff --git a/_posts/2015-11-03-content-strategy-for-all-insights-from-cfpb-natalie-kurz.md b/_posts/2015-11-03-content-strategy-for-all-insights-from-cfpb-natalie-kurz.md index c949b1c6b..315ddcc07 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-11-03-content-strategy-for-all-insights-from-cfpb-natalie-kurz.md +++ b/_posts/2015-11-03-content-strategy-for-all-insights-from-cfpb-natalie-kurz.md @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Bureau, recently spoke at 18F about some best practices for creating and promoti image: /assets/blog/speaker-series/natalie-kurz-presentation.jpg --- -![Natalie Kurz presents at 18F](/assets/blog/speaker-series/natalie-kurz-presentation.jpg) +![Natalie Kurz presents at 18F]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/speaker-series/natalie-kurz-presentation.jpg) *Natalie Kurz from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau presents at 18F.* diff --git a/_posts/2015-11-04-complexity-is-the-adversary.md b/_posts/2015-11-04-complexity-is-the-adversary.md index 3636eff8e..116131807 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-11-04-complexity-is-the-adversary.md +++ b/_posts/2015-11-04-complexity-is-the-adversary.md @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Look at [goto fail](https://www.imperialviolet.org/2014/02/22/applebug.html), [H It's not just the complexity of the technology itself that's the problem. When our compliance documentation is complex, we’re making ourselves less secure. If it takes a hundred (or several hundred) pages to explain all the security controls you've implemented on a piece of software, that's not a good thing. -![A sample of required security documentation for federal websites.](/assets/blog/complexity-and-security/security-documentation-1.jpg) +![A sample of required security documentation for federal websites.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/complexity-and-security/security-documentation-1.jpg) _A sample of required security documentation. It's not uncommon to see 300 pages or more._ diff --git a/_posts/2015-11-06-micro-purchase-lessons.md b/_posts/2015-11-06-micro-purchase-lessons.md index 4097dbc39..e68522582 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-11-06-micro-purchase-lessons.md +++ b/_posts/2015-11-06-micro-purchase-lessons.md @@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ But beyond the fact that we got working software in a little less than a week af * The largest bid increment was $740, the smallest bid increment was $1, and the most common bid increment was $50. * As of the afternoon of November 6, 2015, there were more than 10,000 unique visitors to the GitHub issue (though much of it was driven by being on the [front page of Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10471677)), and more than 300 unique visitors to the underlying data that is the subject of the micro-purchase experiment. -![Traffic statistics for the CALC repository in GitHub](/assets/blog/micro-purchase/micro-purchase-analytics.jpg) +![Traffic statistics for the CALC repository in GitHub]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/micro-purchase/micro-purchase-analytics.jpg) *A snapshot of the analytics for the CALC repository on GitHub.* Given these statistics, we think it’s fair to say that there is a market for open-source micro-purchasing, though we obviously will need to spend some time and effort refining our methods. diff --git a/_posts/2015-11-10-boston-is-using-gsa-calc-tool.md b/_posts/2015-11-10-boston-is-using-gsa-calc-tool.md index 40e7aff9a..8067058b3 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-11-10-boston-is-using-gsa-calc-tool.md +++ b/_posts/2015-11-10-boston-is-using-gsa-calc-tool.md @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ get a broader perspective on the market. making decisions based solely on information provided by vendors. CALC...can help ensure decisions are fully informed,” he says. -![The CALC tool in action](/assets/blog/calc-announcement/calc_demo.gif) +![The CALC tool in action]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/calc-announcement/calc_demo.gif) CALC helps contracting officers determine the range of pricing — at the highest level — for a specific labor category. For example, a search for diff --git a/_posts/2015-11-17-choose-design-over-architecture.md b/_posts/2015-11-17-choose-design-over-architecture.md index 17bd68fb4..6e03d90e1 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-11-17-choose-design-over-architecture.md +++ b/_posts/2015-11-17-choose-design-over-architecture.md @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ description: "Conventional wisdom often encourages engineers to start with a big image: /assets/blog/design-over-architecture/architecture-overview.jpg --- -![A comical sketch of an architectural overview of a coding project](/assets/blog/design-over-architecture/architecture-overview.jpg) +![A comical sketch of an architectural overview of a coding project]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/design-over-architecture/architecture-overview.jpg) Conventional wisdom often encourages engineers to start with a big architectural overview. Services with databases are connected via lines @@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ technical debt. ## Starting from user stories and user experience -![A user story generating architecture organically.](/assets/blog/design-over-architecture/user-story-architecture.jpg) +![A user story generating architecture organically.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/design-over-architecture/user-story-architecture.jpg) *A user story generating architecture organically.* [User stories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_story) are simple @@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ design process, software design. ## Keeping our code from becoming a structureless mess -![Without good software design techniques, your code can become a mess as you fulfill more user stories.](/assets/blog/design-over-architecture/messy-code.jpg) +![Without good software design techniques, your code can become a mess as you fulfill more user stories.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/design-over-architecture/messy-code.jpg) *Without good software design techniques, your code can become a mess as you fulfill more user stories.* Without a guiding architectural map, how does a team keep the code clean @@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ Seemingly since the dawn of programming, engineers have been concerned with making code more modular and flexible. In that time, we have developed great guiding principles. -![Using refactoring to impose design on the chaos that happens with continual development](/assets/blog/design-over-architecture/refactoring.jpg) +![Using refactoring to impose design on the chaos that happens with continual development]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/design-over-architecture/refactoring.jpg) *Using refactoring to impose design on the chaos that happens with continual development.* ### SOLID diff --git a/_posts/2015-11-17-gsa-gov-refreshed-with-eye-toward-mobile-users.md b/_posts/2015-11-17-gsa-gov-refreshed-with-eye-toward-mobile-users.md index f1365e305..97d284b30 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-11-17-gsa-gov-refreshed-with-eye-toward-mobile-users.md +++ b/_posts/2015-11-17-gsa-gov-refreshed-with-eye-toward-mobile-users.md @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ mobile users." image: /assets/blog/gsa-homepage/gsa-homepage.jpg --- -![A screenshot of the new gsa.gov homepage](/assets/blog/gsa-homepage/gsa-homepage.jpg) +![A screenshot of the new gsa.gov homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/gsa-homepage/gsa-homepage.jpg) *Originally posted on [GSA's blog](http://gsablogs.gsa.gov/gsablog/2015/11/17/gsa-gov-refreshed-with-eye-toward-mobile-users/).* diff --git a/_posts/2015-11-18-automating-easy-government-decisions-with-machine-learning.md b/_posts/2015-11-18-automating-easy-government-decisions-with-machine-learning.md index 08f959375..465c17ac7 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-11-18-automating-easy-government-decisions-with-machine-learning.md +++ b/_posts/2015-11-18-automating-easy-government-decisions-with-machine-learning.md @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ learning algorithms." image: /assets/blog/machine-learning/computer-motherboard.jpg --- -![A computer motherboard](/assets/blog/machine-learning/computer-motherboard.jpg) +![A computer motherboard]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/machine-learning/computer-motherboard.jpg) Should I get married? What is my calling? Should I eat gluten? A lot of decisions in life are hard. We spend months or years collecting diff --git a/_posts/2015-11-30-complex-data-in-useiti.md b/_posts/2015-11-30-complex-data-in-useiti.md index 1e39801b2..8efc617a8 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-11-30-complex-data-in-useiti.md +++ b/_posts/2015-11-30-complex-data-in-useiti.md @@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ federal lands. The "federal production number" -------------------------------
- Photo of Minot, ND with an oil well icon from the USEITI project superimposed. + Photo of Minot, ND with an oil well icon from the USEITI project superimposed.
Minot, ND. photo by Bobak Ha'Eri. Licensed CC 3.0, BY-SA. Pumpjack graphic by hunotika from the Noun Project. Licensed CC 3.0, BY-SA.
diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-01-how-we-dramatically-improved-18fs-onboarding-process-in-3-months.md b/_posts/2015-12-01-how-we-dramatically-improved-18fs-onboarding-process-in-3-months.md index df4f80aba..3d4730279 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-01-how-we-dramatically-improved-18fs-onboarding-process-in-3-months.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-01-how-we-dramatically-improved-18fs-onboarding-process-in-3-months.md @@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ From the beginning, we conceived of onboarding as a series of interlinking blocks. Here’s the way we drew our mental model of these blocks back in September: -![An early sketch for onboarding modules](/assets/blog/onboarding/learning-modules.jpg) +![An early sketch for onboarding modules]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/onboarding/learning-modules.jpg) Every 18F employee needs to know certain general stuff: what the [Hatch Act is](http://www.oge.gov/Topics/Outside-Employment-and-Activities/Political-Activities/), where to file their health insurance, and how to add their biography to our website, @@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ Mrs. Landingham releases one message per day to new hires over their first 30 days. The messages are prewritten: when new hires are signed up, they begin the 30 day cycle of messaging. They look like this: -![A test conversation with Mrs. Dolores Landingham, the onboarding chat bot.](/assets/blog/onboarding/dolores.jpg) +![A test conversation with Mrs. Dolores Landingham, the onboarding chat bot.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/onboarding/dolores.jpg) We find that Mrs. Landingham is a fun, easy, and efficient way to provide information to new hires. She helps them learn about Slack by diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-02-analytics-usa-gov-new-features-more-data.md b/_posts/2015-12-02-analytics-usa-gov-new-features-more-data.md index a7ce41bab..81a527c78 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-02-analytics-usa-gov-new-features-more-data.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-02-analytics-usa-gov-new-features-more-data.md @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ image: /assets/blog/dap/analytics-homepage.jpg *This post was originally published on the [DigitalGov blog](https://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/12/01/analytics-usa-gov-new-features-and-more-data).* -![The analytics.usa.gov homepage.](/assets/blog/dap/analytics-homepage.jpg) +![The analytics.usa.gov homepage.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/dap/analytics-homepage.jpg) As of writing this post, 25,225 of the 124,878 total visitors on federal government websites participating in the [Digital Analytics @@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ world event and for some reason a large proportion of people in Mumbai, India (for example), are visiting U.S. government websites, the chart will reflect that. -![A snapshot of location data from analytics.usa.gov](/assets/blog/dap/analytics-locations.jpg) +![A snapshot of location data from analytics.usa.gov]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/dap/analytics-locations.jpg) One thing to keep in mind about location information is that since we anonymize IP addresses of visitors at the earliest possible point, the @@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ PDF files seem to dominate the list, but other extensions in the category include .doc, .xls., .mp3, among others. The data reflects the number of times the file was accessed in the past seven days. -![A screenshot of a top downloaded item, in this case an Application for Naturalization from USCIS.](/assets/blog/dap/analytics-downloads.jpg) +![A screenshot of a top downloaded item, in this case an Application for Naturalization from USCIS.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/dap/analytics-downloads.jpg) You can click on the page title, “Application for Naturalization | USCIS,” to go to the page the file is located, or you can click on the @@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ analytics.usa.gov! Expanded downloadable files --------------------------- -
A list of types of data you can download from analytics.usa.gov.
+
A list of types of data you can download from analytics.usa.gov.
There’s a limit to how much data we can display on the page for you, so we have greatly expanded the downloadable data reports. We offer diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-03-epa-environmental-digital-services-marketplace.md b/_posts/2015-12-03-epa-environmental-digital-services-marketplace.md index 34573730d..4564f47a6 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-03-epa-environmental-digital-services-marketplace.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-03-epa-environmental-digital-services-marketplace.md @@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ description: "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working on ways to co image: /assets/blog/epa-marketplace/blue-sky-clouds.jpg --- -![Blue sky and clouds](/assets/blog/epa-marketplace/blue-sky-clouds.jpg) +![Blue sky and clouds]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/epa-marketplace/blue-sky-clouds.jpg) Over the past year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has undertaken a [broad initiative to transform the way it delivers digital services](http://fedscoop.com/epa-to-grow-digital-services-with-godbout-at-helm). diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-03-power-of-mindset-normatives-matthew-milan.md b/_posts/2015-12-03-power-of-mindset-normatives-matthew-milan.md index 191813f99..d4e37d075 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-03-power-of-mindset-normatives-matthew-milan.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-03-power-of-mindset-normatives-matthew-milan.md @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ Catalog and co-founder of the Long Now Foundation, helped to shape Engelbart’s raw material into a presentation that was direct, convincing, and easy to comprehend. -
Matthew Milan
+
Matthew Milan
This concept — the transformative power of shared mindset — was the focus of Matthew Milan’s recent talk for the 18F Design Presents speaker diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-07-what-exactly-do-we-even-do-all-day.md b/_posts/2015-12-07-what-exactly-do-we-even-do-all-day.md index 61f324297..5784c709c 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-07-what-exactly-do-we-even-do-all-day.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-07-what-exactly-do-we-even-do-all-day.md @@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ addition to open sourcing our code on GitHub, the combined EPA e-Manifest and 18F team adopted Trello as our project management tool, and [set it to public](https://trello.com/b/0geMlbgF/epa-emanifest). -[![The public Trello board for the e-Manifest project](/assets/blog/e-manifest/e-manifest-trello.jpg)](https://trello.com/b/0geMlbgF/epa-emanifest) +[![The public Trello board for the e-Manifest project]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/e-manifest/e-manifest-trello.jpg)](https://trello.com/b/0geMlbgF/epa-emanifest) *The public Trello board for the e-Manifest project.* We shared the link with internal stakeholders at EPA, OMB, and in diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-08-using-emoji-for-knowledge-sharing.md b/_posts/2015-12-08-using-emoji-for-knowledge-sharing.md index cf29079ba..e10722723 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-08-using-emoji-for-knowledge-sharing.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-08-using-emoji-for-knowledge-sharing.md @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ So I tried an experiment: I asked my 18F coworkers to tag messages *that every new 18F employee should know* with the :evergreen_tree: emoji. -![Melody Kramer explaining how to tag messages on Slack](/assets/blog/onboarding/evergreen-tree.png) +![Melody Kramer explaining how to tag messages on Slack]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/onboarding/evergreen-tree.png) This allowed me to search Slack using this command: "has::evergreen_tree:" to surface all of the tips and tricks my diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-09-an-open-source-government-is-a-faster-more-efficient-government.md b/_posts/2015-12-09-an-open-source-government-is-a-faster-more-efficient-government.md index 5d4aabbe1..9e6b842ce 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-09-an-open-source-government-is-a-faster-more-efficient-government.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-09-an-open-source-government-is-a-faster-more-efficient-government.md @@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ months of time, allowing our small team to focus on issues with ATF-specific regulations, branding, and deployment. This is the great, fulfilled promise of open source; we reap the benefits every day. -![A comparison of CFPB's eRegs and ATF's eRegs](/assets/blog/atf/eregs-comparison.jpg) +![A comparison of CFPB's eRegs and ATF's eRegs]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/atf/eregs-comparison.jpg) Collaborating with our peers ---------------------------- diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-11-how-we-test-18f-gsa-gov.md b/_posts/2015-12-11-how-we-test-18f-gsa-gov.md index 640ec9b5e..a37612a6d 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-11-how-we-test-18f-gsa-gov.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-11-how-we-test-18f-gsa-gov.md @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ complicated, we started making mistakes that were hard to catch before publishing. So we came up with a way to catch many of those errors, before they end up in your browser. -![A screenshot of an image error](/assets/blog/18f-site/site-with-tests.png) +![A screenshot of an image error]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/18f-site/site-with-tests.png) *Basic content problems are a pain. This is why we run automated tests on 18f.gsa.gov.* One advantage of hosting our site’s code on GitHub is we can integrate diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-15-how-bot-named-dolores-landingham-transformed-18fs-onboarding.md b/_posts/2015-12-15-how-bot-named-dolores-landingham-transformed-18fs-onboarding.md index 38bfbe132..48f574cb7 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-15-how-bot-named-dolores-landingham-transformed-18fs-onboarding.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-15-how-bot-named-dolores-landingham-transformed-18fs-onboarding.md @@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ Naming is a fun and important step for any project. 18F already had a Slackbot n Then, Greg Boone suggested “Landingham”, which was immediately greeted with a heart-eyes emoji reaction. There are many [West Wing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Wing) fans at 18F, and something felt right about bringing back the beloved character Dolores Landingham, who served as fictional President Bartlett’s wise and sometimes ornery secretary, to guide new employees through the turbulent waters of onboarding. -![Screenshot of Dolores Landingham being named.](/assets/blog/onboarding/landingham-slack.jpg) +![Screenshot of Dolores Landingham being named.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/onboarding/landingham-slack.jpg) Voila! `Mrs. Landingham` was born. diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-16-useiti-whats-in-first-report.md b/_posts/2015-12-16-useiti-whats-in-first-report.md index f545a3d86..62f2565a2 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-16-useiti-whats-in-first-report.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-16-useiti-whats-in-first-report.md @@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ U.S. Department of the Interior released the first report from the United States, a major step toward becoming [fully compliant with the global EITI standard](https://eiti.org/countries). You should really stop reading this post and [check it out for yourself](https://useiti.doi.gov). -![A screen shot of the new USEITI homepage](/assets/blog/eiti/useiti-homepage.png) +![A screen shot of the new USEITI homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/eiti/useiti-homepage.png) This project is the culmination of hard work and years of effort across many parts of the U.S. government and collaboration among the [39 @@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ for a more detailed view of where money came from. From there you can [filter by commodity](https://useiti.doi.gov/explore/federal-revenue-by-location/#region=MN&year=2013&group=minerals&commodity=Copper) or year. You can [learn a lot by exploring the data](https://useiti.doi.gov/explore/). In some places you can watch industries grow, like [oil and gas in North Dakota](https://useiti.doi.gov/explore/federal-revenue-by-location/#region=ND&group=oilgas&year=2013). You can spot major production centers like Campbell County, WY, which produced almost [35 percent of all coal in the U.S. in 2013](https://useiti.doi.gov/explore/all-lands-production/#year=2013&product=Coal+(short+tons)®ion=WY). Nearly 88 percent of that coal was [produced on federal lands](https://useiti.doi.gov/explore/all-lands-production/#year=2013&product=Coal+(short+tons)®ion=WY), accounting for 80 percent of federal revenue [from coal](https://federalist.18f.gov/preview/18F/doi-extractives-data/dev/explore/federal-revenue-by-location/#region=WY&year=2013&group=coal). -[![A snapshot of the total federal revenue visualization from the USEITI website](/assets/blog/eiti/fed-revenues.png)](https://useiti.doi.gov/explore/federal-revenue-by-location/) +[![A snapshot of the total federal revenue visualization from the USEITI website]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/eiti/fed-revenues.png)](https://useiti.doi.gov/explore/federal-revenue-by-location/) *A map from the 2015 USEITI report showing federal revenue data for all locations in 2013. [Explore other years and specific commodities on the site.](https://useiti.doi.gov/explore/federal-revenue-by-location/)* diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-17-plain-language-betafec-new-content-design.md b/_posts/2015-12-17-plain-language-betafec-new-content-design.md index 20576aed9..707daa750 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-17-plain-language-betafec-new-content-design.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-17-plain-language-betafec-new-content-design.md @@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ topic. With the help of dedicated subject matter experts, we looked at the existing content and condensed it for today’s release. We started with about 16,000 words. What launched today is fewer than 4,000. -[![The new registration and reporting page](/assets/blog/fec/registration-reporting.jpg)](https://beta.fec.gov/registration-and-reporting/) +[![The new registration and reporting page]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/fec/registration-reporting.jpg)](https://beta.fec.gov/registration-and-reporting/) Site visitors can read about registration and reporting as well as view the different types of registrants — including candidates, political @@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ reports, and more. Eventually, we’ll launch an essentials checklist for every type of FEC registrant. -[![The new checklist for what you need to do to register with the FEC](/assets/blog/fec/checklist.jpg)](https://beta.fec.gov/registration-and-reporting/essentials-house-and-senate-candidates-and-committees/) +[![The new checklist for what you need to do to register with the FEC]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/fec/checklist.jpg)](https://beta.fec.gov/registration-and-reporting/essentials-house-and-senate-candidates-and-committees/) Plain language was an important goal for this project. It lowers the bar of entry for readers — we don’t want folks to **need** a lawyer just to @@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ Even so, we didn’t want our readers to get lost navigating the site. A glossary tool allows readers to click an icon next to legal terms and read the definition. -[![The new integrated glossary in action on betafec.gov](/assets/blog/fec/glossary.jpg)](https://beta.fec.gov/registration-and-reporting/essentials-house-and-senate-candidates-and-committees/) +[![The new integrated glossary in action on betafec.gov]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/fec/glossary.jpg)](https://beta.fec.gov/registration-and-reporting/essentials-house-and-senate-candidates-and-committees/) What folks are saying --------------------- diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-22-uk-digital-service-visits-us-to-begin-series-of-exchanges.md b/_posts/2015-12-22-uk-digital-service-visits-us-to-begin-series-of-exchanges.md index 184ebff36..b5dfe58dc 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-22-uk-digital-service-visits-us-to-begin-series-of-exchanges.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-22-uk-digital-service-visits-us-to-begin-series-of-exchanges.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ Across the pond, the motto of the United Kingdom's [Government Digital Service ( Or as Chris Ferguson, Director of GDS’s digital group, recently put it, “Get on with it and demonstrate that you are there to get things done.” -![Chris Ferguson with Hillary Hartley and Phaedra Chrousos](/assets/blog/gds/2015-visit.jpg) +![Chris Ferguson with Hillary Hartley and Phaedra Chrousos]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/gds/2015-visit.jpg) _Photo courtesy of Ross Dakin, Presidential Innovation Fellow_ Ferguson and a team from GDS recently spent a week in Washington meeting with teams at 18F, the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), and others in the [federal digital coalition](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/05/11/moveforward/). The teams shared successes, challenges, and plans for how they will continue to support digital progress in their respective governments. This follows [a summer trip by digital coalition leaders to the UK](https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2015/07/29/same-but-different-a-common-international-approach-to-digital-government/) to share knowledge and seed partnerships across civic technology groups. And it comes on the heels of regular video chats this summer and fall between GDS and 18F content teams to share their latest work, ideas, and problems. diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-23-looking-back-2015-our-own-words.md b/_posts/2015-12-23-looking-back-2015-our-own-words.md index 495934f60..9e9e1289f 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-23-looking-back-2015-our-own-words.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-23-looking-back-2015-our-own-words.md @@ -26,11 +26,11 @@ Below, everyone at 18F shares what they learned, what they did, and how they gre ## Accessibility -*[The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp), [18F](/), the [National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research](http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/nidrr/index.html), and [DC Legal Hackers](http://dclegalhackers.org/) hosted an [Accessibility Hackathon](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/04/07/icymi-a11yhack-accessibility-awareness-hackathon/) on March 31, 2015.* +*[The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp), [18F]({{site.baseurl}}/), the [National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research](http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/nidrr/index.html), and [DC Legal Hackers](http://dclegalhackers.org/) hosted an [Accessibility Hackathon](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/04/07/icymi-a11yhack-accessibility-awareness-hackathon/) on March 31, 2015.* “I loved organizing the accessibility hackathon and it’s been a blast working on the [micropurchase experiment](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/10/13/open-source-micropurchasing/) and the [Agile BPA](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/06/15/agile-bpa-is-here/) work.” - **Alan deLevie** -![The crowd at the hackathon](/assets/blog/a11yhack/a11yhack.jpg) +![The crowd at the hackathon]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/a11yhack/a11yhack.jpg) _Photo: Jameson Dempesy_ ## Blog @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ _Photo: Jameson Dempesy_ “I thoroughly enjoyed helping agencies get their .gov domains hardcoded into browsers as secure.“ - **Eric Mill** -![Snapshot of the first HSTS preloaded government domains.](/assets/blog/hsts/hsts-preload-list.png) +![Snapshot of the first HSTS preloaded government domains.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/hsts/hsts-preload-list.png) _Since we wrote about it in February, 14 more.gov domains have been fully preloaded._ ## Diversity Working Group @@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ _Since we wrote about it in February, 14 more.gov domains have been fully preloa “I feel honored to be part of the analytics.usa.gov team every time I see another government office use our open source project to make their analytics data publicly available.” - **Gabriel Ramirez** -![The analytics.usa.gov homepage.](/assets/blog/dap/analytics-homepage.jpg) +![The analytics.usa.gov homepage.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/dap/analytics-homepage.jpg) ### betaFEC @@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ _Since we wrote about it in February, 14 more.gov domains have been fully preloa “I loved working on the team that helped make betaFEC. It was especially exciting to help our partners at the FEC find how they wanted to express their agency through a modernized web experience, and build an updated look and feel with them.” - **Jennifer Thibault** -![The betaFEC glossary](/assets/blog/fec/glossary.jpg) +![The betaFEC glossary]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/fec/glossary.jpg) ### CALC @@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ _Since we wrote about it in February, 14 more.gov domains have been fully preloa “Working on [CALC](https://calc.gsa.gov/ "The CALC Tool") was meaningful to me, because I know it is saving people hours of work every week, and saving the taxpayers millions of dollars.” - **Nick Brethauer** -![The CALC homepage](/assets/blog/calc-announcement/calc_homepage.jpg) +![The CALC homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/calc-announcement/calc_homepage.jpg) ### cloud.gov @@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ _Since we wrote about it in February, 14 more.gov domains have been fully preloa “Many of us have experienced firsthand how security compliance requirements may hinder the government's ability to ship new projects. I'm proud to be working on methods for accelerating the compliance process in the open and excited to see the support and contributions of the open source community.” - **Gabriel Ramirez** -![The cloud.gov homepage](/assets/blog/cloud-gov/cloud-gov-homepage.jpg) +![The cloud.gov homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/cloud-gov/cloud-gov-homepage.jpg) ### College Scorecard @@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ _Since we wrote about it in February, 14 more.gov domains have been fully preloa “I really enjoyed working with USDS, 18F and the Department of Education on [https://collegescorecard.ed.gov](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov) because it demonstrated how multiple agencies can come together to build something great." - **Ozzy Johnson** -![Paper prototype testing the college scorecard](/assets/blog/college-scorecard/college-scorecard-3.jpg) +![Paper prototype testing the college scorecard]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/college-scorecard/college-scorecard-3.jpg) ### DATA Act @@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ _Since we wrote about it in February, 14 more.gov domains have been fully preloa “The best thing I worked on was the DATA Act. In 2012, I first wrote about DATA Act. In 2013, I visited my reps on Capitol Hill about voting for it. In 2014, I went to the Treasury’s federal spending data town hall and kvetched about poor data quality. And then in 2015, I worked with those same Treasury folks to get it fixed.” - **Becky Sweger** -![Diagram of government appropriation reporting](/assets/blog/data-act-implementation/data-act-reporting.jpg) +![Diagram of government appropriation reporting]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/data-act-implementation/data-act-reporting.jpg) _Image courtesy of the [Data Transparency Coalition](http://www.datacoalition.org/what-is-data-transparency/data-act/)_ ### Draft U.S. Web Design Standards @@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ _Image courtesy of the [Data Transparency Coalition](http://www.datacoalition.or “I’m proud to have [started a project](http://github.com/18F/web-design-standards-drupal "A Drupal Theme") that will make the U.S. \[Draft\] Web Design Standards easier to use for the >25% of U.S. government websites that run on Drupal. I’m working with members of the larger Drupal community as well as people in government to help these standards scale without the need for custom development.” — **Rhys Fureigh** -![The web design standards on multiple sizes of screen](/assets/blog/web-design-standards/home.png) +![The web design standards on multiple sizes of screen]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/web-design-standards/home.png) _The U.S. Web Design Standards are designed to be viewed on any device._ ### U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative @@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ _The U.S. Web Design Standards are designed to be viewed on any device._ “EITI reports have traditionally been thick, printed PDFs full of statistics, meant for a specialist audience. It was so great to be a part of the U.S. process that is leading the world in making this data available online along with tons of rich contextual information to make it understandable.” - **Michelle Hertzfeld** -![A map of the U.S. visualizing federal natural resource revenues](/assets/blog/eiti/fed-revenues.png) +![A map of the U.S. visualizing federal natural resource revenues]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/eiti/fed-revenues.png) ### Every Kid in a Park @@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ _The U.S. Web Design Standards are designed to be viewed on any device._ “Working on the content design for Every Kid in a Park reminded me that government websites **can** be joyful, inclusive, and easy to read.” - **Emileigh Barnes** -![The kid-friendly 404 page for everykidinapark.gov](/assets/blog/every-kid-in-a-park/404.png) +![The kid-friendly 404 page for everykidinapark.gov]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/every-kid-in-a-park/404.png) _The Every Kid in a Park 404, not found page, designed for fourth graders._ ### Federalist @@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ _The Every Kid in a Park 404, not found page, designed for fourth graders._ “I’m really proud of the work I did on Federalist because it helped streamline the launch of sites that addressed [college affordability data](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/ "College Scorecard") and the [quantity of natural resources being extracted from federal lands](https://useiti.doi.gov/ "USEITI").” - **Jeremia Kimelman** -![The Social and Behavior Sciences homepage](/assets/blog/federalist/sbst-screenshot-2.jpg) +![The Social and Behavior Sciences homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/federalist/sbst-screenshot-2.jpg) _The Social and Behavioral Sciences team was the first adopter for Federalist._ ### SBIR-EZ @@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ _The Social and Behavioral Sciences team was the first adopter for Federalist._ “I really enjoyed partnering with US Treasury to [craft the digital strategy](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/07/17/the-new-10/ "18F: The new 10") for #TheNew10. We're putting a woman on the $10 bill!" - **Kara DeFrias** -![The new $10 homepage](/assets/blog/the-new-10/the-new-10.jpg) +![The new $10 homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/the-new-10/the-new-10.jpg) ### USCIS @@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ _The Social and Behavioral Sciences team was the first adopter for Federalist._ “This year I made [an account system](http://myaccount.uscis.dhs.gov/ "My Account, MyUSCIS") that helps immigrants keep their information up to date. It now has hundreds of thousands of users.” - **Sasha Magee** -![The MyUSCIS homepage](/assets/blog/myuscis/myuscis.jpg) +![The MyUSCIS homepage]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/myuscis/myuscis.jpg) ## Guides, resources, and tools @@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ _The Social and Behavioral Sciences team was the first adopter for Federalist._ “The first thing I worked on at 18F was the Design Methods. Teaching tools of great design has been part of this job since I started, which means ​learning​ tools of great design has been part of this job since I started. I’ve never learned so much in such a small amount of time.” - **James Hupp** -![The method cards](/assets/blog/design-method-cards/method-cards-banner.jpg) +![The method cards]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/design-method-cards/method-cards-banner.jpg) _The 18F Design Method cards are open source to download and print off._ ### Partnership Playbook @@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ _The 18F Design Method cards are open source to download and print off._ “I've spent the last few months working with the pesticides division of the EPA, helping them modernize the way that pesticide labels are accessed and analyzed by inspectors. Pesticide labels are a surprisingly complex and important thing to get right, because when they're wrong people can (and do) die. Bringing modern technology into the work the field inspectors do every single day is going to significantly improve their ability to do their job, and I feel incredibly lucky to get to help with that and know that what I'm doing could genuinely help save lives.” - **Lane Becker** -![A group of government executives playing with legos.](/assets/blog/lego-workshop/sba-execs-legos.jpg) +![A group of government executives playing with legos.]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/lego-workshop/sba-execs-legos.jpg) _We spent 90 minutes working with legos to teach the Small Business Administration agile development._ ### Process and documentation @@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ _We spent 90 minutes working with legos to teach the Small Business Administrati “I think the best thing that I've made this year has been the Official Guide to Travel at 18F. Taking on the complexity of Concur and the rules of government travel and splitting them into manageable steps seems to have reduced confusion as well as the amount of time spent helping people stuck in various parts of the process. I'm excited to continue the work in 2016, pinpointing the remaining areas of confusion and improving the Guide to address those.” - **Ethan Heppner** -![A test conversation with Dolores Landingham](/assets/blog/onboarding/dolores.jpg) +![A test conversation with Dolores Landingham]({{site.baseurl}}/assets/blog/onboarding/dolores.jpg) ### Growing our team diff --git a/_posts/2015-12-30-turning-learning-up-to-11.md b/_posts/2015-12-30-turning-learning-up-to-11.md index dcc85238c..d5959e9e0 100644 --- a/_posts/2015-12-30-turning-learning-up-to-11.md +++ b/_posts/2015-12-30-turning-learning-up-to-11.md @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ entire organization. This is the first post in a series about the tools and pro image: /assets/blog/turn-up-to-11/turn-up-to-11.jpg --- -[![A screenshot from the movie Spinal Tap showing a guitar amp dial that goes up to 11](/assets/blog/turn-up-to-11/turn-up-to-11.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_to_eleven) +[![A screenshot from the movie Spinal Tap showing a guitar amp dial that goes up to 11]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/turn-up-to-11/turn-up-to-11.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_to_eleven) The feature that distinguishes high-performing organizations across all industries is their ability to facilitate knowledge sharing across the diff --git a/_posts/2016-01-04-turning-learning-up-to-11-transparency.md b/_posts/2016-01-04-turning-learning-up-to-11-transparency.md index e947c74d3..d68eaee88 100644 --- a/_posts/2016-01-04-turning-learning-up-to-11-transparency.md +++ b/_posts/2016-01-04-turning-learning-up-to-11-transparency.md @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ internal operations." image: /assets/blog/turn-up-to-11/skeleton-t-shirt.jpg --- -[![An image of a man wearing a skeleton t-shirt from the movie Spinal Tap](/assets/blog/turn-up-to-11/skeleton-t-shirt.jpg)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XuzpsO4ErOQ/maxresdefault.jpg)[*“This is my exact inner structure, done in a tee shirt. Exactly medically accurate. See?”*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/quotes?item=qt0261729) +[![An image of a man wearing a skeleton t-shirt from the movie Spinal Tap]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/turn-up-to-11/skeleton-t-shirt.jpg)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XuzpsO4ErOQ/maxresdefault.jpg)[*“This is my exact inner structure, done in a tee shirt. Exactly medically accurate. See?”*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/quotes?item=qt0261729) In the [first post of this trilogy](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/12/30/turning-learning-up-to-11/), I diff --git a/_posts/2016-01-07-announcing-the-18f-micro-purchase-platform.md b/_posts/2016-01-07-announcing-the-18f-micro-purchase-platform.md index db6e89744..5e8660ce8 100644 --- a/_posts/2016-01-07-announcing-the-18f-micro-purchase-platform.md +++ b/_posts/2016-01-07-announcing-the-18f-micro-purchase-platform.md @@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ We’ll be posting batches of new tasks onto the micro-purchase platform in the coming weeks, and bidders will once again have an opportunity to contribute open source code to our projects for $3,500 or less. -[![The homepage of the new micro-purchase platform](/assets/blog/micro-purchase/micro-purchase-homepage.jpg) +[![The homepage of the new micro-purchase platform]({{ site.baseurl }}/assets/blog/micro-purchase/micro-purchase-homepage.jpg) ](http://micropurchase.18f.gov) Developing a posting and bidding platform ----------------------------------------- diff --git a/assets/css/fonts.css b/assets/css/fonts.css index 7877b6c6e..30205d45c 100644 --- a/assets/css/fonts.css +++ b/assets/css/fonts.css @@ -2,11 +2,11 @@ @font-face { font-family: "18f"; - src:url("/assets/fonts/18f-font.eot"); - src:url("/assets/fonts/18f-font.eot?#iefix") format("embedded-opentype"), - url("/assets/fonts/18f-font.woff") format("woff"), - url("/assets/fonts/18f-font.ttf") format("truetype"), - url("/assets/fonts/18f-font.svg#untitled-font-1") format("svg"); + src:url("../fonts/18f-font.eot"); + src:url("../fonts/18f-font.eot?#iefix") format("embedded-opentype"), + url("../fonts/18f-font.woff") format("woff"), + url("../fonts/18f-font.ttf") format("truetype"), + url("../fonts/18f-font.svg#untitled-font-1") format("svg"); font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; diff --git a/blog/index.html b/blog/index.html index c7e0a8cf1..ae04a594d 100644 --- a/blog/index.html +++ b/blog/index.html @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@

Blog

{% endfor %} @@ -57,7 +57,7 @@

{% if paginator.previous_page %} - +

Previous

 {% else %} @@ -69,7 +69,7 @@

Previous

{% if paginator.next_page %} - +

Next

{% else %} diff --git a/pages/404.html b/pages/404.html index 26d8a8aa5..03369c01c 100644 --- a/pages/404.html +++ b/pages/404.html @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@

We looked so hard for this page,
-

Try checking out 18F's homepage or blog.

+

Try checking out 18F's homepage or blog.

Or, contact us if you can't find what you're looking for.

diff --git a/pages/consulting.md b/pages/consulting.md index c40d1fb2b..286466229 100644 --- a/pages/consulting.md +++ b/pages/consulting.md @@ -12,15 +12,15 @@ Building new digital services or improving old ones can be risky, complex, and e ## What should you build, buy, or change? -Too often, teams tasked with solving a problem don't know where to begin or get locked into an idea too soon. 18F Consulting helps you understand your audiences, and we counsel you on available options (e.g., product strategy, new technology, acquisition). +Too often, teams tasked with solving a problem don't know where to begin or get locked into an idea too soon. 18F Consulting helps you understand your audiences, and we counsel you on available options (e.g., product strategy, new technology, acquisition). ## How should you do it? -We guide you through proven practices in human-centered design, lean startup, agile architecture, agile development, open data, and DevOps. These industry-standard techniques increase the likelihood your next initiative will thrive. +We guide you through proven practices in human-centered design, lean startup, agile architecture, agile development, open data, and DevOps. These industry-standard techniques increase the likelihood your next initiative will thrive. ## Who should do it? -Procuring the right team through an outside vendor or recruiting talent in-house is key to producing high-quality digital services. We understand that federal acquisition and hiring processes have long been barriers to success. We use every tool in our kit to change that, to prioritize getting the right people, and to help you hold them accountable for their work. +Procuring the right team through an outside vendor or recruiting talent in-house is key to producing high-quality digital services. We understand that federal acquisition and hiring processes have long been barriers to success. We use every tool in our kit to change that, to prioritize getting the right people, and to help you hold them accountable for their work. Let us assist as you develop a strategy for soliciting and onboarding vendors and design or technology hires. Once you've built a team for your project or organization, we'll help you manage their performance. @@ -30,15 +30,15 @@ Let us assist as you develop a strategy for soliciting and onboarding vendors an - **Design sprint** to quickly prototype and validate different ideas (based on [Google Ventures five-day model](https://www.gv.com/sprint/)). -- **[Protosketching](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/01/06/protosketch/)** for quick technical explorations. +- **[Protosketching]({{site.baseurl}}/2015/01/06/protosketch/)** for quick technical explorations. - **Design methods workshop** to teach your team to collaboratively solve problems using “design thinking” and other human-centered methods. This includes hands-on, real-world learning to get your team from idea to experimentation and delivery in no time. -- **[Agile workshop](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/10/21/how-to-run-your-own-3-sprint-agile-workshop/)** to accelerate your team’s learning and adoption of agile development principles and practices. +- **[Agile workshop]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/10/21/how-to-run-your-own-3-sprint-agile-workshop/)** to accelerate your team’s learning and adoption of agile development principles and practices. - **DevOps workshop** to move your team toward adoption of DevOps principles and practices. -- **[RFP ghostwriting and review](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/30/new-rfp-ghostwriting-service-to-improve-contract-success/)** to increase your contract’s probability of success. +- **[RFP ghostwriting and review]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/03/30/new-rfp-ghostwriting-service-to-improve-contract-success/)** to increase your contract’s probability of success. - **Capabilities delivery analysis** to determine what and how to acquire the capabilities your project or organization needs to deliver effectively (e.g., more in-house talent, learning and training programs). @@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ Let us assist as you develop a strategy for soliciting and onboarding vendors an - **Agile coaching** to guide your team or organization through adoption of agile practices during the lifecycle of a current project. -- **Vendor marketplace development** to set up and curate targeted, high-performance marketplaces to meet your agency’s specific IT buying needs (e.g., [Agile Delivery Services Vendor Marketplace](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/01/08/creating-a-federal-marketplace-for-agile-delivery-services/)). +- **Vendor marketplace development** to set up and curate targeted, high-performance marketplaces to meet your agency’s specific IT buying needs (e.g., [Agile Delivery Services Vendor Marketplace]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/01/08/creating-a-federal-marketplace-for-agile-delivery-services/)). ## We’d love to hear from you @@ -71,18 +71,18 @@ Email with your need and we’ll be happy to talk fur ## Learn more about the work we do -- [Agile Development’s Secret Weapon: Transparency](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/04/24/agile-developments-secret-weapon-transparency/) -- [18F Discussion: Should Project Teams Code First Or Design First?](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/04/03/18f-discussion-should-project-teams-code-first-or-design-first/) -- [New RFP Ghostwriting Service To Improve Contract Success](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/30/new-rfp-ghostwriting-service-to-improve-contract-success/) -- [How to Protosketch](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/13/how-to-protosketch/) +- [Agile Development’s Secret Weapon: Transparency]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/04/24/agile-developments-secret-weapon-transparency/) +- [18F Discussion: Should Project Teams Code First Or Design First?]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/04/03/18f-discussion-should-project-teams-code-first-or-design-first/) +- [New RFP Ghostwriting Service To Improve Contract Success]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/03/30/new-rfp-ghostwriting-service-to-improve-contract-success/) +- [How to Protosketch]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/03/13/how-to-protosketch/) - [Labor Category Descriptions for Agile Procurements](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/10/Labor-Category-Descriptions-for-Agile-Procurements/) -- [Highlights from the Agile Delivery Services Industry Day Events](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/02/12/highlights-from-the-agile-delivery-services-industry-day-events/) -- [A Story of an Agile Workshop](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/02/11/a-story-of-an-agile-workshop/) -- [Creating a Federal Marketplace for Agile Delivery Services](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/01/08/creating-a-federal-marketplace-for-agile-delivery-services/) -- [Sketching with Code: Protosketching](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/01/06/protosketch/) -- [How to Use More Open Source in Your Next Federal IT Acquisition](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/11/26/how-to-use-more-open-source/) -- [How to Run Your Own 3-Sprint Agile Workshop](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/10/21/how-to-run-your-own-3-sprint-agile-workshop/) -- [The Encasement Strategy: On Legacy Systems and the Importance of APIs](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/09/08/the-encasement-strategy-on-legacy-systems-and-the/) +- [Highlights from the Agile Delivery Services Industry Day Events]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/02/12/highlights-from-the-agile-delivery-services-industry-day-events/) +- [A Story of an Agile Workshop]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/02/11/a-story-of-an-agile-workshop/) +- [Creating a Federal Marketplace for Agile Delivery Services]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/01/08/creating-a-federal-marketplace-for-agile-delivery-services/) +- [Sketching with Code: Protosketching]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/01/06/protosketch/) +- [How to Use More Open Source in Your Next Federal IT Acquisition]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/11/26/how-to-use-more-open-source/) +- [How to Run Your Own 3-Sprint Agile Workshop]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/10/21/how-to-run-your-own-3-sprint-agile-workshop/) +- [The Encasement Strategy: On Legacy Systems and the Importance of APIs]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/09/08/the-encasement-strategy-on-legacy-systems-and-the/) diff --git a/pages/delivery.md b/pages/delivery.md index cbf655355..9954c9024 100644 --- a/pages/delivery.md +++ b/pages/delivery.md @@ -31,14 +31,14 @@ Our developers, designers, and project managers work side-by-side with researche If you work at an agency and are interested in partnering with 18F, send us an email at inquiries18f@gsa.gov. ##Learn more about the work we do -- [Taking the pulse of the federal government’s web presence](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/06/02/taking-the-pulse-of-the-federal-governments-web-presence/) -- [Announcing the CALC tool: making pricing research easier in federal procurement](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/05/12/announcing-the-calc-tool/) -- [Flexibility when releasing a new product: Peace Corps’ new donations platform](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/04/09/flexibility-when-releasing-a-new-product-peace-corps-new-donation-platform/) -- [18F by the numbers](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/19/18f-by-the-numbers/) -- [How we built analytics.usa.gov](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/19/how-we-built-analytics-usa-gov/) -- [A new look at the Freedom of Information Act](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/09/04/a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act/) -- [Creating an OpenFEC](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/08/21/creating-an-open-fec/) -- [A few notes on NotAlone.gov](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/05/09/a-few-notes-on-notalone-gov/) +- [Taking the pulse of the federal government’s web presence]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/06/02/taking-the-pulse-of-the-federal-governments-web-presence/) +- [Announcing the CALC tool: making pricing research easier in federal procurement]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/05/12/announcing-the-calc-tool/) +- [Flexibility when releasing a new product: Peace Corps’ new donations platform]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/04/09/flexibility-when-releasing-a-new-product-peace-corps-new-donation-platform/) +- [18F by the numbers]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/03/19/18f-by-the-numbers/) +- [How we built analytics.usa.gov]({{ site.baseurl }}/2015/03/19/how-we-built-analytics-usa-gov/) +- [A new look at the Freedom of Information Act]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/09/04/a-new-look-at-the-freedom-of-information-act/) +- [Creating an OpenFEC]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/08/21/creating-an-open-fec/) +- [A few notes on NotAlone.gov]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/05/09/a-few-notes-on-notalone-gov/) diff --git a/pages/developer.md b/pages/developer.md index 5f80f7999..18a5be31a 100644 --- a/pages/developer.md +++ b/pages/developer.md @@ -9,29 +9,29 @@ permalink: /developer/ We hope that developers everywhere make use of the APIs we build for our projects. Over time, you'll find a growing number of APIs listed here, along with resources and documentation to assist with their use.

-## 18F APIs +## 18F APIs ### api.data.gov API The [api.data.gov API](https://api.data.gov/developer/) provides a means for agencies that use the [api.data.gov](https://api.data.gov/) service to administer it through a web service. -### Discovery +### Discovery -The [Discovery API](https://discovery.gsa.gov/docs/) drives the [Discovery Market Research Tool](https://discovery.gsa.gov/). It contains information on the vendors that are part of the OASIS and OASIS Small Business contracting vehicles, such as their contracting history, their elligibility for contract awards, and their small business designations. +The [Discovery API](https://discovery.gsa.gov/docs/) drives the [Discovery Market Research Tool](https://discovery.gsa.gov/). It contains information on the vendors that are part of the OASIS and OASIS Small Business contracting vehicles, such as their contracting history, their elligibility for contract awards, and their small business designations. ### FBOpen -The [FBOpen API](https://18f.github.io/fbopen/) is a search index of opportunities to work with the U.S. Government. Learn more from the [launch announcement](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/03/31/announcing-fbopen-government-opportunities-made-easier/) and the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/18f/fbopen). You can also view the live front-end interface built on the API at [fbopen.gsa.gov](https://fbopen.gsa.gov). +The [FBOpen API](https://18f.github.io/fbopen/) is a search index of opportunities to work with the U.S. Government. Learn more from the [launch announcement]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/03/31/announcing-fbopen-government-opportunities-made-easier/) and the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/18f/fbopen). You can also view the live front-end interface built on the API at [fbopen.gsa.gov](https://fbopen.gsa.gov). -### FOIA +### FOIA The [FOIA Modernization API](http://foia-hub.readthedocs.org/en/latest/api.html) lists all agencies for whom a FOIA request can be submitted. It also includes components within those agencies that are large enough (and well known enough) to have their own FOIA system. ### Hub -The [Hub API](https://18f.gsa.gov/hub/api/) provides web services for the [18F Hub](https://18f.gsa.gov/hub/), a repository of team and project information ([more details here](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/12/23/hub/)). +The [Hub API](https://18f.gsa.gov/hub/api/) provides web services for the [18F Hub](https://18f.gsa.gov/hub/), a repository of team and project information ([more details here]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/12/23/hub/)). -### Midas +### Midas The [Midas API](https://pages.18f.gov/midas/developer/) provides reading, creating, and updating access to tasks, user profiles, and projects on GSA's [Open Opportunities](https://openopps.digitalgov.gov) service. @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ The [18F Team API](https://team-api.18f.gov/public/api/) exposes organization in ### /Developer Program -The [/Developer Program](http://18f.github.io/API-All-the-X/) is a suite of tools and resources to assist in the production and management of government APIs. The information is available to all and can be readily repurposed to the needs of individual agencies. Furthermore, the program includes various options for direct support which are available to any federal agency. Learn more from the [blog post announcing the program](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/05/29/announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for/). +The [/Developer Program](http://18f.github.io/API-All-the-X/) is a suite of tools and resources to assist in the production and management of government APIs. The information is available to all and can be readily repurposed to the needs of individual agencies. Furthermore, the program includes various options for direct support which are available to any federal agency. Learn more from the [blog post announcing the program]({{ site.baseurl }}/2014/05/29/announcing-the-developer-program-a-new-hub-for/). ### api.data.gov diff --git a/pages/developers.md b/pages/developers.md index 0f573b216..8a7cae61c 100644 --- a/pages/developers.md +++ b/pages/developers.md @@ -3,6 +3,6 @@ layout: bare permalink: /developers/ --- - + -This page is redirecting to the [18F Developer Hub]. If the page doesn't not redirect you automatically, please click here. +This page is redirecting to the [18F Developer Hub]. If the page doesn't not redirect you automatically, please click here. diff --git a/pages/humans.txt b/pages/humans.txt index 84a5d1234..4a8e80923 100644 --- a/pages/humans.txt +++ b/pages/humans.txt @@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ permalink: /humans.txt --- /* TEAM */ {% for member in site.data.team %} -Name: {{ member[1].full_name }} -Handle: {{ member[0] }} +Name: {{ member.full_name }} +Handle: {{ member.name }} {% if member[1].working_groups %}Working groups: {{ member[1].working_groups | array_to_sentence_string }} {% endif %}{% if member[1].location %}Location: {{ member[1].location }} {% endif %}{% if member[1].projects %}Projects: {{ member[1].projects | array_to_sentence_string }} diff --git a/pages/index.html b/pages/index.html index fd1b49f4e..0f34bd0d7 100644 --- a/pages/index.html +++ b/pages/index.html @@ -4,23 +4,23 @@ ---