18F Blog

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.

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.

When asked what it is we do, one quick answer is, "we’re hacking bureaucracy." While it may sound provocative, it isn’t.

An API is a product just like a car, a website or a ballpoint pen. It’s designed to help someone do something. Products are either designed well—they meet expectations and deliver value—or they are designed poorly and create frustration and confusion. Inevitably, bad products are abandoned without a thought, like an old T-shirt with holes in it.