THE METHODS DESCRIBED ARE BASED ON MODELS DEVELOPED DURING PILOT PROJECTS IN DENVER, COLO., CHICAGO, ILL., NEWARK, N.J., PHOENIX, ARIZ., AND PHILADELPHIA, PA. VARIOUS ASPECTS OF GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT ARE DISCUSSED, INCLUDING DETERMINING THE INFORMATION BASE FOR SENTENCING DECISIONS, DESIGNING THE CODING MANUAL SO THAT EACH SIGNIFICANT FACTOR RECEIVES THE SAME WEIGHT, DESIGNING THE CODING SHEET, TESTING THE DESIGN ON A CONSTRUCTION SAMPLE, USING STATISTICAL ANALYSIS TO SPOT FLAWS IN THE DESIGN, DEVELOPING A MODEL TO DETERMINE WHICH COMBINATION OF FACTORS BEST PREDICTS SENTENCING OUTCOMES, VALIDATION OF THE SAMPLE, PRESENTING THE GUIDELINES SYSTEM TO THE JUDICIARY, AND IMPLEMENTING THE SYSTEM. THE HUMAN FACTORS MITIGATING AGAINST CHANGE ARE ALSO EXAMINED. AN OFFENSE INFORMATION CARD, A SAMPLE VARIABLE, AND ILLUSTRATIVE MASTER LIST ITEMS ARE INCLUDED. THE BULK OF THE VOLUME CONSISTS OF APPENDED MATERIAL. EXAMPLES OF A CONSTRUCTION SAMPLE CODING MANUAL, A CONSTRUCTION SAMPLE CODING SHEET, AND ERROR STATEMENTS ARE PROVIDED. OFFENSE RANKING INSTRUCTIONS FOR JUDGES ARE INCLUDED, AS ARE EXAMPLES OF INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKLETS FOR THE CALCULATION OF GUIDELINE SENTENCES. THESE INCLUDE BOOKLETS FOR GENERAL CRIMES AS WELL AS BOOKLETS FOR VIOLENT CRIMES, PROPERTY CRIMES, AND DRUG OFFENSES. MODEL TESTING MATERIALS, INCLUDING A COMPUTER PROGRAM AND SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTIONS, ARE ALSO APPENDED, AS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A HANDBOOK FOR COMPUTER IMPLEMENTATION OF GUIDELINE DATA. ESTIMATED DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE COSTS ARE PRESENTED. SELECTED REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. ALSO SEE NCJ-47395 FOR PARTICIPANT'S HANDBOOK FOR WORKSHOP ON SENTENCING GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT.