“Kate” puts a word in about how things really got started, and promises to come back and sort Ron out if he needs it.

After Dan Devlin, President of Oak River Software, dropped in on her at the coffee shop, Kate agreed to consider helping with the proposed new Empire project. Empire was life or death for Oak River. Without Empire, they’d go under, and Dan couldn’t afford to fund it.

Carl is concerned about small releases, and catches Kate in the coffee room. They talk about why small releases matter to Kate, and they both learn a bit.

MUCH LATER: Organizations certainly need good productivity. Sometimes they ask for improved productivity, and a way to show that we have improved. Is this always evil?

The team has fallen far short in the most recent iteration. What should they do?