18F/18f.gsa.gov

---
title: "The digital services flash mob"
date: 2015-05-11
layout: post
authors:
- jhunter
tags:
- digital services movement
- events
excerpt: "Members of the growing federal digital family presented their work at the inaugural moveForward(100); event last week, which featured workshopping, lightning talks, and product demos."
description: "Members of the growing federal digital family presented their work at the inaugural moveForward(100); event last week, which featured workshopping, lightning talks, and product demos."
image: /assets/blog/moveforward/roth-selfie.jpg
---

`moveForward(100);` these 17 characters were the [first line of code
written by a sitting
president](http://www.wired.com/2014/12/obama-becomes-first-president-write-computer-program/).
President Obama wrote this code last December during Computer Science
Education Week. This code directed a virtual Elsa from the motion
picture “Frozen” across the screen. Last week, U.S. tech innovation
teams met to share how their projects are moving forward across the
federal government.

Cheers and applause erupted as members of the growing federal digital
family presented their work at the inaugural moveForward(100);
event. This awe-inspiring session was held at the General Services
Administration (GSA) headquarters.

The government-employee only event featured the entire digital services
family including members of [18F](https://18f.gsa.gov/), the
[Presidential Innovation
Fellows](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/innovationfellows) (PIF), the
[U.S. Digital
Service](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/digital/united-states-digital-service)
(USDS), the [VA Digital Service](http://www.va.gov/ds/), and the
[White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/ostp). The
afternoon event filled with workshopping, lightning talks, and product
demos was part pep rally and part brown bag.

“A sort of digital flash mob,” said [Ryan Panchadsaram, the federal
government’s deputy chief technology
officer](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/ostp/about/leadershipstaff),
as he pumped up the crowd. The objective of moveForward(100); is to
regularly demo the awesome work of federal technologists, recently
deployed or planned for release in the next 100 days.

“We’re together to revel in the stuff we shipped,” said Hillary Hartley,
deputy executive director of 18F, as she greeted the crowd in the GSA
conference center. The demonstration session was kicked off by [U.S.
Chief Technology Officer Megan
Smith](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/ostp/about/leadershipstaff/smith).
She recognized the tremendous work being done to increase efficiency and
transparency across the federal government.

“Getting the techie people connected is one of the most astonishing
things we can do to help the American people,” said Smith.

18F and PIF teams shared why certain projects were selected and the
impact of the innovative project solutions. The presentations included a
PIF project [using data and technology to improve community
policing](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/04/09/using-technology-and-data-improve-community-policing-police-data-initiative);
an 18F project resulting in an automated tool that provides better
access to Federal Elections Commission data; a tool that streamlines the
immigration application process; and a PIF [crowd-sourced mapping
effort](http://mapgive.state.gov/index.html) for the U.S. Department of
State, which streamlined aid delivery to Nepal’s earthquake-hit remote
communities.

18F visual and UX designer Erica Deahl shared how her team is helping [the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS)](https://my.uscis.gov) redesign the user experience and the content for websites related to immigration and citizenship. USCIS's website is one of the [most
visited government websites](https://analytics.usa.gov) in the United
States, second only to websites devoted to taxes and the weather. Deahl
discussed her personal motivation to transform the immigration process.

“My husband and I just finished the green card process,” Deahl said. She
elaborated on the complexity of the process and how the process can
produce fear and uncertainty. Deahl noted that “we lost our trust in the
process.” She expressed the honor to have the opportunity to improve the
immigration and visa processes for other families, as well as streamline
the workflow for USCIS employees.

{% oembed https://twitter.com/stroupaloop/status/593525508945489921 %}

Noah Manger, an 18F designer and web developer, discussed his team's [work with the
Federal Election
Commission](https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/08/21/creating-an-open-fec/).
“They’ve been publishing open data since before it was cool,” Manger
said. He explained the project and stated that the first order of
business was to build an API for the data. The API enabled the FEC team
to build applications with the needs of FEC’s users in mind. The team’s
ultimate goal is to provide a tool that allows all members of the public
— even those without deep knowledge of the election process — to quickly
and easily access relevant data.

{% oembed https://twitter.com/corizarek/status/593525117210103809 %}

Leah Bannon, an 18F product manager, and Charles Worthington of USDS
highlighted [analytics.usa.gov](https://analytics.usa.gov/) (the
public dashboard of government web traffic) as a great example of a
collaboration between multiple agencies. The dashboard, built in about
three weeks, was a collaborative process between 18F, USDS, OSTP, and
GSA’s Digital Analytics Program (DAP).

GSA’s Acting Administrator Denise Turner Roth also greeted the crowd.
She shared that a year ago, when she returned to D.C. from North
Carolina, she did so with the hope of transforming government. As she
cheered with the moveForward(100); group assembled, she said we
represent “the government of the 21st century.” Then, Roth took a selfie
with the group.

{% oembed https://twitter.com/usgsa/status/593540092871970817 %}

Former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park closed the evening, reminding the group assembled
that moveForward(100); was designed “to let everyone know that
you’re not alone,” but “a network of awesome.” He continued, “it’s
building a better government, and it’s building a better country.”

“You’re restoring the core infrastructure of our civilization,” Park
said. “As an American, I love you and salute you.”