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Defra AI in the SDLC Playbook

This playbook is a living document that aims to provide guidance on best practices for ways of working, tooling, and context-specific use cases for the use of AI in the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) tailored to Defra's unique needs and challenges.

Defra AI SDLC Playbook

Version 1.2

This playbook shows you how to use AI tools in software development. We designed it for Defra teams and update it regularly with new practices and lessons learned.

Table of Contents

  1. Welcome
  2. Getting Started
    1. Workflow
    2. The Four Pillars
    3. Mindset
    4. Project Setup
  3. Feature Development
    1. Product Requirements
    2. Development
    3. Testing
    4. Refactoring
    5. Documentation

Overview

Defra manages environmental protection, food production and rural development across the UK. The department works through multiple sub-departments and arms-length bodies. Each has different roles and ways of working.

Defra’s size and complexity create opportunities to use AI throughout software development. This playbook helps you use these opportunities through practical methods, tools and techniques.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the Defra community. See the CONTRIBUTING file for how to contribute to this playbook.

Support links

All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated