How to ramp up quickly?

The first step is to find someone on the team and ask for 30 minutes with them. In that meeting you have a simple agenda:

• For the first 25 minutes: ask them to tell you everything they think you should know. Take copious notes. Only stop them to ask about things you don’t understand. Always stop them to ask about things you don’t understand.
• For the next 3 minutes: ask about the biggest challenges the team has right now.
• In the final 2 minutes: ask who else you should talk to. Write down every name they give you.

Repeat the above process for every name you're given. Don’t stop until there are no new names.