Acknowledgments

Writing this book was far and away the most difficult professional challenge I’ve ever undertaken. The book would not exist without the help and support of many people in my life.

I’m grateful to my business partner at Agile For All, Bob Hartman, for believing I had something to say on this topic that was worth a book and for getting the ball rolling on it.

Bob introduced me to Chris Guzikowski at Pearson, who took a risk on a new author and showed remarkable patience when client work often got in the way of writing.

I’m thankful for my friend Paul Rayner, who stepped in for a time as co-author when the book was stalled and helped transform it to be much more interesting and useful. Even after leaving the project to focus on other things, Paul still read drafts and offered invaluable feedback.

My wife, Dawn, provided endless patience and support throughout this long project. She read drafts, talked through ideas and challenges with me, and most of all sustained me with unwavering belief that I actually could see the project through. Thank you, Dawn.

My dad, Tom Lawrence, introduced me to software development as a child. He encouraged me and helped me grow early in my career. And then he was willing to take my ideas, apply them in his work, and help me make them better. To be able to become a peer and even a coach to the man who inspired me to do this work at all is a remarkable thing, and I’m so grateful for it.

I’m thankful to the many people who were willing to read unpolished drafts and sacrifice time to contribute detailed feedback. Thank you, Ingram Monk, Kim Barnes, Colin Deady, Dan Sharp, Sean Miller, Jen Dineen, David Madouros, Josh Adams, David Watson, Seb Rose, Aslak Hellesøy, Brennan Lawrence, Donna Hungarter, Nicole Forsythe, Matt Heusser, Matt Wynne, and Leslie Brooks. (And apologies to anyone I missed in that list—so many people read bits of the book over the eight years we worked on it.)

This is a book rather than just a bunch of words sitting on my computer because of the many great people at my publisher, Pearson. Thank you to Chris Zahn, Payal Sharotri, Mark Taub, Haze Humbert, and all those behind the scenes who I’ll never interact with directly. Special thanks to my development editor Ellie Bru and copyeditor Tonya Simpson for carefully reading the book multiple times and helping me get the thoughts clear and the words just right.

My Agile For All colleagues have been encouraging, patient, and supportive. I’m thankful to work with such an amazing group of people.

I’m indebted to many in the BDD and Agile Testing communities who have shaped my thinking on these topics, including Ward Cunningham, Kent Beck, Ron Jeffries, Dan North, Liz Keogh, Matt Wynne, Aslak Hellesøy, Seb Rose, Gaspar Nagy, Lisa Crispin, Dale Emery, Elisabeth Hendrickson, Gojko Adzic, and Jerry Weinberg.

Finally, a huge thank you to my clients who have tried, challenged, and often extended my ideas. I learn from you every time we work together.

—Richard Lawrence