Technology is always the easiest part of any problem.

This was true of Google in 2005, when Mike Bland joined the Testing Grouplet’s effort to drive adoption of automated testing throughout a highly successful company as its organization and systems increased in complexity at an alarming and unstoppable rate. This was true in late 2013, when the Healthcare.gov crisis led to a stunningly successful recovery after private industry experts were given clearance to fix the technical issues. It is also true of the U.S federal government today, as Mike has joined 18F as part of the effort to modernize how software is developed and procured, and to steer the culture towards maximum transparency, autonomy and collaboration.

This talk will outline Mike’s experiences at Google that shaped his outlook and honed his organizational skills, and describe his efforts to capitalize on the opportunity produced by the Healthcare.gov recovery to effect broad cultural change throughout the federal government.