NHS service standard
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13. Use and contribute to open standards, common components and patterns
Use tried and tested components and patterns from the NHS digital service manual or, failing that, the GOV.UK Design System.
Use open standards, and propose a new open standard if there is not one that already meets your needs.
Why it's important
Using common components and patterns means you do not have to solve problems that have already been solved. By using a component or pattern that’s already been extensively tested, you can provide users with a good experience in a cost effective way.
If you develop your own components or patterns, it’s important to share them so that others can benefit from your work.
What you should do
Your team should be able to show that you:
- build on common NHS styles, patterns and components
- share details of any new components or patterns you create or adapt (for example, by contributing to the service manual)
For more on open standards, see point 17: Make your service interoperable.
Guidance
NHS service manual
GOV.UK resources
Help us improve this guidance
Share insights or feedback and take part in the discussion. We use GitHub as a collaboration space. All the information on it is open to the public.
If you've gone through a service assessment or peer review, we're especially interested to hear from you.
Read more about how to feedback or share insights.
If you have any questions, get in touch with the service manual team.
Updated: December 2019