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It was CGI Federal (the US version of CGI) and QSSI (eventually bought by Optum part of UnitedHealth Group). CGI was the lead contractor and got it by low balling on the website. When CGI immediately got behind on project deliverables (2 years before launch) they started forcing all the people to work 7 days a week which immediately caused every good developer to leave. All that was left were the most inept H1B developers I've ever seen (some literally couldn't touch type). I joined 2 weeks before launch as a product consultant. There were basically no senior people working there at all. It was a bunch of middle managers and either inept H1Bs or fresh college students brought on as subcontractors. There is no way it could've succeeded in any alternative universe. Basically no one cared about the product at all, everyone only cared about their slice of the pie, and by everyone I mean the tens of different subcontracting companies and middlemen that were involved. The only reason CGI even lost the contract is because it was such bad publicity HHS had no choice. CGI ended up suing and I'm pretty sure they were given alternative contracts anyways. There was never any accountability for anyone involved. When I quit I made sure the next job I had wouldn't get close to government contracting.

CGI was the lead. Proudly Canadian exporters of dysfunction.

I saw Mikey Dickerson give a great talk about his experience leading the completion of healthcare.gov, and it sounds like you only saw a slice of it.

This is the talk I attended:

https://youtu.be/7Vc8sxhy2I4