18F/18f.gsa.gov

---
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
- evangelism
- how we work
- culture change
- best practices


---
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.