Guidance
Government technology standards and guidance
This is collated guidance from government websites and independent bodies to help you follow the technology code of practice.
The technology code of practice is a set of criteria to help government design, build and buy technology.
Accessibility
- Making your service accessible: an introduction
- Testing for accessibility
- Designing for different web browsers and devices
- Equality Act 2010
- How to publish on GOV.UK
- Government approach to assisted digital
- Make your public sector website or app accessible
APIs
- API technical and data standards
- API design guidance
- Setting API service levels
- Writing API reference documentation
- How to document APIs
- API documentation for GOV.UK Pay
Application development
- Application development guidance: introduction (NCSC)
- Native or hybrid apps
- Mobile device guidance (NCSC)
- Apple iOS application development guidance (NCSC)
Buying technology
- Choosing technology: an introduction
- CCS aggregation
- Cabinet Office spend controls guidance version 4.0
- Crown Commercial Service (CCS) agreements search
- Commercial operating standards for government
- Common areas of spend: data definitions
- Commercial capability: contract management standards
- Government supplier assurance framework
- How to buy Digital Marketplace services fairly
- How to set your evaluation criteria when buying Digital Outcomes and Specialist services
- Lean sourcing: guidance for public sector buyers
- Public procurement policy
- Public sector discounts for software
- Talking to suppliers before you buy Digital Marketplace services
- Technology service principles
Cloud strategy
- Cloud first policy
- How to assess a hosting business case
- IaaS - Managing your responsibilities (NCSC)
Data protection
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Data provisioning and usage
Design and build government services
Design principles
Digital inclusion
- Digital inclusion evaluation toolkit
- Digital skills and inclusion policy
- Government digital inclusion strategy
Digital Marketplace
- Digital Marketplace buyers and suppliers information
- Digital Marketplace buyers’ guide
- Digital Marketplace suppliers’ guide
- Digital outcomes and specialist buyers’ guide
- Digital outcomes and specialists templates and legal documents
- eMarketplace: a guide for public sector buyers
- G7 fundamental elements for cyber security
- How Digital Marketplace suppliers have been evaluated
- How to award a contract when you buy services through the Digital Marketplace
- How to manage your digital outcomes and specialists contract
- How to shortlist digital outcomes and specialists suppliers
- How to talk about being a supplier on the Digital Marketplace
- Terms and conditions of Digital Marketplace frameworks
G-Cloud
Digital outcomes and specialists framework
- UK Digital Strategy
- Digital Outcomes and Specialists templates and legal documents
- Digital outcomes and specialists audit trail guidance
- Digital outcomes and specialists suppliers’ guide
- Digital outcomes and specialists: digital specialist roles
- How to answer supplier questions about your outcomes and specialist requirements
- How to evaluate digital outcomes and specialist suppliers
- How to make changes to your published digital outcomes and specialists requirements
- How to score digital outcomes and specialist suppliers
- How to sell your digital outcomes and specialist services
- How to write your requirements for digital outcomes and specialist services
- Ways to assess digital outcomes and specialists suppliers
Digital Service Standard
Digital transformation
- Digital Economy Act 2017
- Organisational design for digital delivery
- Government transformation strategy
- UK Digital Strategy
- Make video conferencing tools work across government
Emerging technologies
- Growing the artificial intelligence industry in the UK (DCMS & BEIS)
- AI in the UK: ready, willing and able? (House of Lords)
- Distributed ledger technology: Blackett review (Government Office for Science)
- Quantum technologies: Blackett review (Government Office for Science)
End user devices
GOV.UK Notify
GOV.UK Pay
GOV.UK Proposition
GOV.UK Platform as a Service (PaaS)
GovWifi
- Connect to GovWifi
- Connect to GovWifi using a Mac, iMac or Macbook
- Connect to GovWifi using a Windows device
- Connect to GovWifi using an iPhone or iPad
- Create a new GovWifi installation
- Terms and conditions for connecting to GovWifi
Green technology
- A Guide to financing energy efficiency in the Public Sector
- Energy Performance Contract (EPC)
- Greening Government Commitments 2016 to 2020
- The greening government: sustainable technology strategy 2020
- Greening government: ICT and digital services strategy 2020-2025
Hosting your service
- Deciding how to host your service
- Get a service domain name
- Managing service domains
- The Crown Hosting data centres framework on the Digital Marketplace
Identity assurance
- Introduction to identity and access management (NCSC)
- Multi-factor authentication for online services (NCSC)
- Biometric recognition and authentication systems (NCSC)
- Setting up two-factor authentication (2FA) (NCSC)
Job roles
Legacy
- Managing legacy technology
- Obsolete platforms security guidance (NCSC)
- Moving away from legacy systems
Managing government websites
- GOV.UK proposition
- Content design: planning, writing and managing content
- Naming and registering government websites
- Open central government websites
- Request an exemption from GOV.UK
Microsoft 365 Guidance
Networking
- 10 steps: network security (NCSC)
- Government network policy changes
- Provisioning and securing security certificates (NCSC)
- How to install network infrastructure in shared buildings
- Sharing workplace wireless networks
Open source
- Open government
- Open Source Initiative
- Making new source code open by default
- When code should be open or closed
- Security considerations when coding in the open
Open standards
- Open Data Charter
- Open formats implementation plan
- Open standards for government data and technology
- Open standards principles
- Procurement policy note 07/15: open standards for technology
- Working with open standards
Performance platform
Public Service Network (PSN)
PSN certification
- Access or provide PSN services and connectivity
- Apply for a GCN connectivity service compliance certificate
- Apply for a PSN connection compliance certificate
- Apply for a PSN connectivity service compliance certificate
- Apply for a PSN service provision compliance certificate
Connect and configure PSN systems
- Connect and configure your systems to PSN
- Connect and configure your systems to the Public Services Network
- IT Health Check (ITHC): supporting guidance
PSN compliance
- Find out about PSN compliance
- PSN Code of Connection (CoCo)
- PSN Code of Interconnection (CoICo)
- PSN Code of Practice (CoP)
- PSN Compliant services
- PSN Connectivity services
- PSN governance obligations for all connectivity services
PSN forms
PSN allocation and management
- PSN incidents and problems
- PSN IP address allocation
- PSN IP address management
- PSN management information requirements
- PSN management information requirements for GCNSPs
- PSN network architecture
- PSN obligations
- PSN Quality of Service (QoS) specification
- PSN Quality of Service (QoS) testing and reporting
- PSN service management good practice
- PSN service management obligations for GCN services
- PSN standard terms and conditions
- PSN Virtual Points of Connection (VPoCs)
- Public Services Network (PSN): Deed of Undertakings (DoU)
Registers
- Becoming a custodian
- Creating a register
- Introducing registers
- Registers guidance
- Using registers to build a service
Risk management
- Risk management guidance (NCSC)
- Management of risk in government: summary
- System administration architecture (NCSC)
Smarter working
Security
Standards and regulations
- Minimum Cyber Security Standard
- NCSC NIS guidance
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
- General Data Protection Regulation
- ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management
- Cyber Essentials Scheme
Cloud security
- Introduction: understanding cloud security (NCSC)
- Implementing the cloud security principles (NCSC)
- Using cloud tools securely
- Managing the risk of cloud-enabled products (NCSC)
- Securing your cloud environment
Cyber security
- 10 steps to cyber security (NCSC)
- 10 steps: incident management (NCSC)
- 10 steps: malware prevention (NCSC)
- 10 steps: managing user privileges (NCSC)
- 10 steps: monitoring (NCSC)
- 10 steps: removable media controls (NCSC)
- 10 steps: user education and awareness (NCSC)
- Cyber security guidance for business
- Cyber security regulation and incentives review
- Cyber security supplier to government scheme
- Internet edge device security (NCSC)
- Investigatory Powers Act
- Security governance, enabling sensible risk management decisions & communication (NCSC)
- Transaction monitoring for HMG online service providers
- Working with cookies and similar technologies
- Introduction to logging for security purposes
Addressing cyber attacks and fraud
- Common cyber attacks: reducing the impact (NCSC)
- Data sharing for the prevention of fraud: code of practice
- Defence cyber protection partnership: an overview
- Denial of service (DOS) guidance (NCSC)
- Digital service security (NCSC)
- The phishing threat following data breaches (NCSC)
- Protecting your organisation from ransomware (NCSC)
- Protecting your service against fraud
- Ransomware: latest NCSC guidance (NCSC)
Securing data and consent
- ‘OFFICIAL SENSITIVE’ data and IT
- Key features and benefits of secure electronic transfer
- Government security classifications
- Data ethics framework
- Protecting bulk personal data - collection (NCSC)
- Securing your information
- Using Transport Layer Security (TLS) to protect data
- Pattern: Safely Importing Data
Digital service security
- Digital service security: designing a secure digital service (NCSC)
- Digital service security: building a secure digital service (NCSC)
- Digital service security: operating a secure digital service (NCSC)
- Securing SaaS tools for your organisation
- SaaS security principles
- SaaS security collection
- Email security standards
- How to ask users for their email address
- How to email your users
- New computerised transit system (NCTS) email: service availability and issues
- Set up government email services securely
- Securing government email
- Use of private emails
Passwords
- Password guidance summary: How to protect against password-guessing attacks (NCSC)
- Password guidance: simplifying your approach (NCSC)
- Multi-factor authentication for online services
Phishing
Talent acquisition
- Talent action plan: guide for civil servants
- The right people in the right place with the right skills
- Civil service competency framework
Telecommunications
User research
Updates to this page
Published 2 August 2016Last updated 5 October 2023 + show all updates
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Added a new section and link for Microsoft 365 Guidance
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First published.