Foreword

My first introduction to the importance of liftoffs was in 2010. Diana Larsen and I were designing a training course on cross-functional agile, and she wanted to include a segment on team formation. As always, we had more material than time, so including her fluffy team-formation stuff meant cutting out some of my—far more important—continuous-integration material.

But I agreed, and I’m glad I did. Diana used a simple and fast technique for starting team formation that I’ve shamelessly stolen and used ever since. The technique was to share one thing about yourself that people don’t learn until they’ve known you for a while.

More important, Diana sprinkled aspects of her and Ainsley’s liftoff expertise throughout the course. Her lectures and activities about purpose, alignment, context, and the dynamics of team formation helped set the stage for real teamwork and success in those workshops. One attendee commented, “I ended up on a development team that, in some ways, is more functional than my development team at work. Seriously, I could take this team back and start solving some real problems very, very soon.”

When Ainsley and Diana came out with their first edition of Liftoff in 2012, I eagerly snagged a copy and started using the material with my teams. I’ve seen it work over and over again. Now, with this revised and updated edition, Diana and Ainsley have set the standard for a second time. I’ve already been fortunate to use the new edition to help launch over forty teams. It’s concise, chock-full of useful examples, and most important, it works.

So much of team success is based on how well team members understand their context, their work, and one another. Every team needs a liftoff. This book shows the way.

Coauthor of The Art of Agile Development