Acknowledgment
Over the past decade, I have met thousands of people who are passionate about finding new and exciting ways to work, people whose hearts are in their work every day, where writing software and creating great products is not only the company's lifeblood but also their own. These people work extremely hard, put in many late nights, trudge through moments of trying frustration, and yet do it all over again to bring awesome technologies to the everyday person. I am humbled to have worked in their presence, and without them this book would not be possible. A million thanks!
Chris, you are the best husband a girl could ever want. I knew so many years ago that you were my one great true love in life. Thank you for being so supportive while my head was stuck in this book for the past year.
I am so grateful to my grandparents for their infinite supply of support and love, and to my parents for teaching me to be self-reliant, and for instilling a hard-nosed, never-quit work ethic. Barbara and Tony, thank you for loving me and treating me like family. Alicia, I couldn't imagine a greater sister—thank you for your support and love. And Aunt Maureen—my other mother—to the moon and back!
I'd like to thank Ken Schwaber for teaching me true Scrum. It is something much greater than I was capable of realizing so long ago; Lee Devin for being a great friend and for helping me find my edge and coming to the realization that no, I do not want to be an actor; Maria Thelin for her intelligence, friendship, and expert orienteering instruction; Dr. Rafael Landaeta for support and great ideas; Karen Delfau for taking a chance on me; and the CST and CSC community of brilliant and scandalous folks. I owe many martinis to Steve Spearman (Agile coach extraordinaire!) and Lee (Master Dramaturge), who worked those red pens through modifiers, tapeworms, and "izzes" and challenged me to take command of my ideas. Immense thanks to Abhishek, Neeshma, Erol, and many others at Packt who brought this book to life. I'm humbled by the loyalty of my dogs, Cobi and Jax, who sat by my side through many days and nights of typing, editing, and cursing. And finally, life wouldn't be worth living if not for running on the trails, where I can clear my head and think fresh, where God undeniably exists and always leads me to find myself.