X-Teams, Revised and Updated

Introduction When Bad Things Happen to Good Teams

Paul Davidson (not his real name) and his team of three engineers had just received permission to work on the second version of a software product that promised exciting things for the company. They brought in ten more engineers and set about including all the features they thought customers wanted. Paul had just finished a course in machine learning and was anxious to apply his new knowledge. After working hard to get an elegant design and prototype, the team put together an overall plan, identifying tasks and setting achievable delivery dates. The team members committed to the schedule, agreed on a clear set of goals, and moved into full-scale implementation. Excitement was high. They knew ...