/Developer Program

Agency Checklist

To start

• Have you gathered a list of the public APIs that your agency (and sub-agencies) currently publish?
  • Do each of your APIs have an html homepage that provides access to all relevant resources for the APIs?
  • If your agency has not yet made an API, get started by building your first.
• Have you created a developer hub?
  • Do the URLs agency.gov/developer, agency.gov/developers, and agency.gov/api each direct visitors to this hub?
  • Does the hub provide a path to the homepages for each of your agency’s APIs?
  • Does the hub convey to visitors that they can expect to find your agency’s future APIs linked from this hub as well?
  • Does the hub offer a front-facing feedback mechanism?
  • Does the hub offer a link to your GitHub account?
  • Does the hub offer a link to your agency’s data hub, maps hub, or other relevant sections?
  • Do those sections offer a link to the developer hub?
  • Does the hub offer a link to other agency developer hubs?
  • For departments, does the hub offer links to your agencys’ developer hubs? For sub-cabinet agencies, does the hub offer a link to your department’s developer hub?
  • Does the hub offer a link to all government GitHub accounts?
  • Does the hub offer access to basic ‘What is an API?’ information?
  • Does your hub provide a means of sharing announcements with developers?
• Does your agency have a public GitHub account?
  • Has your agency made public a project in its GitHub account?
  • Is your agency’s GitHub account available to the different units of your agency?
  • Is your agency’s GitHub account registered with the Social Media Registry?

Next

• For your agency’s individual APIs:
  • Have you made available sample code?
  • Have you provided interactive documentation?
  • Have you made available SDKs?
  • If you employ API keys, have you ensured that the developer can receive a key on demand and without delay?
• For your agency’s developer hub:
  • Have you unified the Terms of Service for your APIs?
  • Have you made available an FAQ section along with a means for the public to request new questions?
  • Have you made available an apps gallery to showcase mashups and applications that utilize your APIs?
  • Have you made available a status dashboard for your APIs?
• Have you created a public data hub?
• Have you identified a data/API point person within your agency?
• Have you identified a data/API working group that covers the organization?
• For sub-cabinet agencies, have you ensured that your APIs are being shared on your department’s developer hub?
• Have you registered your API at third-party API catalogs, such as ProgrammableWeb.com and APIhub.com?
• Have you reviewed your agency’s most popular data and services for consideration as your next APIs?
• Have you reached out to projects currently in development in order to request that they integrate API production into their requirements?

Advanced

• Have you enabled an API for your website content?
• Have you developed an API-first strategy for upcoming projects?
• Have you developed a plan for systematically API-enabling your current systems and data?
• Have you assembled relevant stakeholders to collaborate on normalizing API documentation and design?
• If you have multiple API key solutions, have you set about normalizing them?
• Have you published a roadmap for your future API plans?
• Have you instituted a means of version control for your APIs?
• Have you created a means for your developers to engage with each other?
• Have you set up a means of allowing agency stakeholders to access the usage metrics of your APIs?
• Have you begun encouraging the different units of your agency to produce their first API if they haven’t already.
• Have you begun encouraging the different units of your agency to consume your agency’s own APIs if they haven’t already.
• Have you looked for opportunities to consume other agencies’ APIs to avoid maintaining duplicative services?
• Have you made sure that each API is reflected in the agency’s public data listing?