Context: Conducting a Grounded Theory study is rigorous, demanding, and challenging. Misperceptions exist within the software engineering community. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to describe one extended participant observation Grounded Theory study for aiding new empirical researchers wanting to run similar research studies. Method: Following Constructivist Grounded Theory, we conducted a two-year five-month participant-observation of eight software development projects at Pivotal, a software development organization; interviewed 33 software engineers, interaction designers, and product managers; and analyzed one year of retrospection topics. We iterated between analysis and theoretical sampling until achieving theoretical saturation, publishing papers on team code ownership, sustainable software development through overlapping code ownership, and software development waste. Results: This paper describes the missteps, challenges, and unique insights that occurred while conducting a Grounded Theory study. Limitations: While the results are highly relevant to the researcher, the outcomes might not apply to other researchers. Conclusion: Conducting my own Grounded Theory research study, attending Glaser’s Seminar, and reading and rereading Charmaz’s and Glaser’s books helped the researcher overcome misperceptions about Grounded Theory research.