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SHAPE UP V 1.8, 2019 EDITION

Stop Running in Circles and
Ship Work that Matters

by Ryan Singer



Buy the print edition

Start reading →

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


INTRODUCTION


 * FOREWORD BY JASON FRIED


 * ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 * Chapter 1
   
   
   INTRODUCTION
   
   * Growing pains
   * Six-week cycles
   * Shaping the work
   * Making teams responsible
   * Targeting risk
   * How this book is organized


PART 1: SHAPING

 * Chapter 2
   
   
   PRINCIPLES OF SHAPING
   
   * Wireframes are too concrete
   * Words are too abstract
   * Case study: The Dot Grid Calendar
   * Property 1: It’s rough
   * Property 2: It’s solved
   * Property 3: It’s bounded
   * Who shapes
   * Two tracks
   * Steps to shaping

 * Chapter 3
   
   
   SET BOUNDARIES
   
   * Setting the appetite
   * Fixed time, variable scope
   * "Good" is relative
   * Responding to raw ideas
   * Narrow down the problem
   * Case study: Defining "calendar"
   * Watch out for grab-bags
   * Boundaries in place

 * Chapter 4
   
   
   FIND THE ELEMENTS
   
   * Move at the right speed
   * Breadboarding
   * Fat marker sketches
   * Elements are the output
   * Room for designers
   * Not deliverable yet
   * No conveyor belt

 * Chapter 5
   
   
   RISKS AND RABBIT HOLES
   
   * Different categories of risk
   * Look for rabbit holes
   * Case study: Patching a hole
   * Declare out of bounds
   * Cut back
   * Present to technical experts
   * De-risked and ready to write up

 * Chapter 6
   
   
   WRITE THE PITCH
   
   * Ingredient 1. Problem
   * Ingredient 2. Appetite
   * Ingredient 3. Solution
   * Help them see it
   * Embedded sketches
   * Annotated fat marker sketches
   * Ingredient 4. Rabbit Holes
   * Ingredient 5. No Gos
   * Examples
   * Ready to present
   * How we do it in Basecamp


PART 2: BETTING

 * Chapter 7
   
   
   BETS, NOT BACKLOGS
   
   * No backlogs
   * A few potential bets
   * Decentralized lists
   * Important ideas come back

 * Chapter 8
   
   
   THE BETTING TABLE
   
   * Six-week cycles
   * Cool-down
   * Team and project size
   * The betting table
   * The meaning of a bet
   * Uninterrupted time
   * The circuit breaker
   * What about bugs?
   * Keep the slate clean

 * Chapter 9
   
   
   PLACE YOUR BETS
   
   * Look where you are
   * Existing products
   * New products
   * R&D mode
   * Production mode
   * Cleanup mode
   * Examples
   * Questions to ask
   * Does the problem matter?
   * Is the appetite right?
   * Is the solution attractive?
   * Is this the right time?
   * Are the right people available?
   * Post the kick-off message


PART 3: BUILDING

 * Chapter 10
   
   
   HAND OVER RESPONSIBILITY
   
   * Assign projects, not tasks
   * Done means deployed
   * Getting oriented
   * Imagined vs discovered tasks

 * Chapter 11
   
   
   GET ONE PIECE DONE
   
   * Integrate one slice
   * Case study: Clients in projects
   * Programmers don’t need to wait
   * Affordances before pixel-perfect screens
   * Program just enough for the next step
   * Start in the middle

 * Chapter 12
   
   
   MAP THE SCOPES
   
   * Organize by structure, not by person
   * The scope map
   * The language of the project
   * Case study: Message drafts
   * Discovering scopes
   * How to know if the scopes are right
   * Layer cakes
   * Icebergs
   * Chowder
   * Mark nice-to-haves with ~

 * Chapter 13
   
   
   SHOW PROGRESS
   
   * The tasks that aren’t there
   * Estimates don’t show uncertainty
   * Work is like a hill
   * Scopes on the hill
   * Status without asking
   * Nobody says "I don’t know"
   * Prompts to refactor the scopes
   * Build your way uphill
   * Solve in the right sequence

 * Chapter 14
   
   
   DECIDE WHEN TO STOP
   
   * Compare to baseline
   * Limits motivate trade-offs
   * Scope grows like grass
   * Cutting scope isn’t lowering quality
   * Scope hammering
   * QA is for the edges
   * When to extend a project

 * Chapter 15
   
   
   MOVE ON
   
   * Let the storm pass
   * Stay debt-free
   * Feedback needs to be shaped


 * CONCLUSION
   
   * Key concepts
   * Get in touch


APPENDICES


 * HOW TO IMPLEMENT SHAPE UP IN BASECAMP
   
   * A Basecamp Team for shaping
   * Basecamp Projects for cycle projects
   * To-Do Lists for scopes
   * Track scopes on the Hill Chart


 * ADJUST TO YOUR SIZE
   
   * Basic truths vs. specific practices
   * Small enough to wing it
   * Big enough to specialize


 * HOW TO BEGIN TO SHAPE UP
   
   * Option A: One six-week experiment
   * Option B: Start with shaping
   * Option C: Start with cycles
   * Fix shipping first
   * Focus on the end result


 * GLOSSARY


 * ABOUT THE AUTHOR


We built Basecamp to execute the techniques in this book. It puts all our
project communication, task management, and documentation in one place where
designers and programmers work seamlessly together. See How to Implement the
Shape Up Method in Basecamp.

Copyright ©1999-2023 37signals LLC. All rights reserved.

Back to Basecamp.com


SHAPE UP

Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters

by Ryan Singer

Buy the print edition

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PREFACE


 * FOREWORD BY JASON FRIED


 * ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 * Chapter 1
   
   
   INTRODUCTION
   
   * Growing pains
   * Six-week cycles
   * Shaping the work
   * Making teams responsible
   * Targeting risk
   * How this book is organized


PART 1: SHAPING

 * Chapter 2
   
   
   PRINCIPLES OF SHAPING
   
   * Wireframes are too concrete
   * Words are too abstract
   * Case study: The Dot Grid Calendar
   * Property 1: It’s rough
   * Property 2: It’s solved
   * Property 3: It’s bounded
   * Who shapes
   * Two tracks
   * Steps to shaping

 * Chapter 3
   
   
   SET BOUNDARIES
   
   * Setting the appetite
   * Fixed time, variable scope
   * "Good" is relative
   * Responding to raw ideas
   * Narrow down the problem
   * Case study: Defining "calendar"
   * Watch out for grab-bags
   * Boundaries in place

 * Chapter 4
   
   
   FIND THE ELEMENTS
   
   * Move at the right speed
   * Breadboarding
   * Fat marker sketches
   * Elements are the output
   * Room for designers
   * Not deliverable yet
   * No conveyor belt

 * Chapter 5
   
   
   RISKS AND RABBIT HOLES
   
   * Different categories of risk
   * Look for rabbit holes
   * Case study: Patching a hole
   * Declare out of bounds
   * Cut back
   * Present to technical experts
   * De-risked and ready to write up

 * Chapter 6
   
   
   WRITE THE PITCH
   
   * Ingredient 1. Problem
   * Ingredient 2. Appetite
   * Ingredient 3. Solution
   * Help them see it
   * Embedded sketches
   * Annotated fat marker sketches
   * Ingredient 4. Rabbit Holes
   * Ingredient 5. No Gos
   * Examples
   * Ready to present
   * How we do it in Basecamp


PART 2: BETTING

 * Chapter 7
   
   
   BETS, NOT BACKLOGS
   
   * No backlogs
   * A few potential bets
   * Decentralized lists
   * Important ideas come back

 * Chapter 8
   
   
   THE BETTING TABLE
   
   * Six-week cycles
   * Cool-down
   * Team and project size
   * The betting table
   * The meaning of a bet
   * Uninterrupted time
   * The circuit breaker
   * What about bugs?
   * Keep the slate clean

 * Chapter 9
   
   
   PLACE YOUR BETS
   
   * Look where you are
   * Existing products
   * New products
   * R&D mode
   * Production mode
   * Cleanup mode
   * Examples
   * Questions to ask
   * Does the problem matter?
   * Is the appetite right?
   * Is the solution attractive?
   * Is this the right time?
   * Are the right people available?
   * Post the kick-off message


PART 3: BUILDING

 * Chapter 10
   
   
   HAND OVER RESPONSIBILITY
   
   * Assign projects, not tasks
   * Done means deployed
   * Getting oriented
   * Imagined vs discovered tasks

 * Chapter 11
   
   
   GET ONE PIECE DONE
   
   * Integrate one slice
   * Case study: Clients in projects
   * Programmers don’t need to wait
   * Affordances before pixel-perfect screens
   * Program just enough for the next step
   * Start in the middle

 * Chapter 12
   
   
   MAP THE SCOPES
   
   * Organize by structure, not by person
   * The scope map
   * The language of the project
   * Case study: Message drafts
   * Discovering scopes
   * How to know if the scopes are right
   * Layer cakes
   * Icebergs
   * Chowder
   * Mark nice-to-haves with ~

 * Chapter 13
   
   
   SHOW PROGRESS
   
   * The tasks that aren’t there
   * Estimates don’t show uncertainty
   * Work is like a hill
   * Scopes on the hill
   * Status without asking
   * Nobody says "I don’t know"
   * Prompts to refactor the scopes
   * Build your way uphill
   * Solve in the right sequence

 * Chapter 14
   
   
   DECIDE WHEN TO STOP
   
   * Compare to baseline
   * Limits motivate trade-offs
   * Scope grows like grass
   * Cutting scope isn’t lowering quality
   * Scope hammering
   * QA is for the edges
   * When to extend a project

 * Chapter 15
   
   
   MOVE ON
   
   * Let the storm pass
   * Stay debt-free
   * Feedback needs to be shaped


 * CONCLUSION
   
   * Key concepts
   * Get in touch


APPENDICES


 * HOW TO IMPLEMENT SHAPE UP IN BASECAMP
   
   * A Basecamp Team for shaping
   * Basecamp Projects for cycle projects
   * To-Do Lists for scopes
   * Track scopes on the Hill Chart


 * ADJUST TO YOUR SIZE
   
   * Basic truths vs. specific practices
   * Small enough to wing it
   * Big enough to specialize


 * HOW TO BEGIN TO SHAPE UP
   
   * Option A: One six-week experiment
   * Option B: Start with shaping
   * Option C: Start with cycles
   * Fix shipping first
   * Focus on the end result


 * GLOSSARY


 * ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Appetite The amount of time we want to spend on a project, as opposed to an
estimate. Baseline What customers are doing without the thing we’re currently
building. Bet The decision to commit a team to a project for one cycle with no
interruptions and an expectation to finish. Betting table A meeting during
cool-down when stakeholders decide which pitches to bet on in the next cycle.
Big batch One project that occupies a team for a whole cycle and ships at the
end. Breadboard A UI concept that defines affordances and their connections
without visual styling. Circuit breaker A risk management technique: Cancel
projects that don’t ship in one cycle by default instead of extending them by
default. Cleanup mode The last phase of building a new product, where we don’t
shape or bet on any particular projects but instead allocate unstructured time
to fix whatever is needed before launch. Cool-down A two-week break between
cycles to do ad-hoc tasks, fix bugs, and hold a betting table. Cycle A six week
period of time where teams work uninterruptedly on shaped projects. De-risk
Improve the odds of shipping within one cycle by shaping and removing rabbit
holes. Discovered tasks Tasks the team discovers they need to do after they
start getting involved in the real work. Downhill The phase of a task, scope or
project where all unknowns are solved and only execution is left. Fat marker
sketch A sketch of a UI concept at very low fidelity drawn with a thick line.
Hill chart A diagram showing the status of work on a spectrum from unknown to
known to done. Iceberg A scope of work where the back-end work is much more
complex than the UI or vice versa. Imagined tasks Work the teams decide they
need to do after just thinking about the project. See discovered tasks. Layer
cake A scope of work you can estimate by looking at the surface area of the UI.
Level of abstraction The amount of detail we leave in or out when describing a
problem or solution. Must-haves Tasks that must be completed for a scope to be
considered done. Nice-to-haves Task left for the end of the cycle. If there
isn’t time to do them, they get cut. Marked with a '~' at the beginning. Pitch A
document that presents a shaped project idea for consideration at the betting
table. Production mode A phase of building a new product where the core
architecture is settled and we apply the standard Shape Up process. Rabbit hole
Part of a project that is too unknown, complex, or open-ended to bet on. R&D
mode A phase of building a new product where a senior team spikes the core
features to define the core architecture. Raw ideas Requests or feature ideas
that are expressed in words and haven’t been shaped. Scopes Parts of a project
that can be built, integrated, and finished independently of the rest of the
project. Scope hammering Forcefully questioning a design, implementation, or use
case to cut scope and finish inside the fixed time box. Shape Make an abstract
project idea more concrete by defining key elements of the solution before
betting on it. Six weeks The length of our cycles. Six weeks is long enough to
finish something meaningful and short enough to feel the deadline from the
beginning. Small batch A set of 1-2 week projects that a single team ships by
the end of a six week cycle. Time horizon The longest period of time where we
can feel a deadline pushing on us from the beginning. Six weeks. Uphill The
phase of a task, scope or project where there are still unkowns or unsolved
problems. See downhill.