6: Tools and Technologies
Deliver Better Digital Services Using Modern Tools and Technologies Other Information:
Using modern tools and technologies such as responsive web design and search engine optimization is critical if the government
is to adapt to an ever-changing digital landscape and deliver services to any device, anytime, anywhere. Similarly, optimizing
content for modern platforms, rather than just translating content from paper-based documents to the Web, will help ensure
the American people and employees can access content regardless of platform. Agencies will need to keep current with the latest
design concepts and refresh content delivery mechanisms to ensure the highest performance. To help achieve these objectives,
the Digital Services Advisory Group (see section 3) will work with the Federal Web Managers Council to recommend guidelines
for improving digital services and the customer experience that will set a new default for how digital services are developed
and delivered. These guidelines will include: ••Approaches for consolidating duplicative websites and coordinating information
delivery across agencies; ••Best practices for identifying and optimizing top tasks34, content, and transactions, including
use of plain language; optimizing for usability, search, and accessibility; and implementing content lifecycle management;
••Best practices for standards-compliant, next-generation web development, including use of content delivery networks; content
management systems; common code libraries, frameworks, and tools; and responsive web design (e.g. using HTML5 and CSS3 to
provide a mobile-tailored experience); ••Standards for structuring and tagging content and data to be machine-readable; ••Approaches
for using customer feedback to make improvements; and ••Considerations to support the adoption of an information-centric security
model. The dot gov domain guidance and procedures will be updated to help ensure all new digital services meet these improvement
guidelines. Under the principle of “no new domains”, criteria for approving new second-level domains will be strengthened
and new domains will only be granted on an exception basis. For example, an agency may be granted a new single domain to host
consolidated content previously spread across multiple domains, thus streamlining the customer experience and reducing redundant
infrastructure. Domains will be approved or renewed only if they to comply with web-related federal standards, guidance, and
regulations (e.g. adoption of the aforementioned guidelines, IPv6, DNSSEC, continuous monitoring, and externally-issued credentials).
In addition, the dot gov domain registration process will reinforce existing policies prohibiting the use of non-.gov (e.g.
.org, .com) top-level domains. Through the Digital Services Innovation Center (see section 3), GSA will provide tools, guidelines,
and training to help agencies comply with these new policies and continue efforts to consolidate websites along topical lines.
Indicator(s):
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