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Shape Up
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Basecamp's product development method: six-week cycles, shaped work, no backlog.
The Core Ideas
- Shaped work. Before a team builds, someone shapes the problem: scope, rough solution, known rabbit holes. Not a spec — a sketch.
- Six-week cycles. Teams commit to finishing shaped work in one cycle. No rolling sprints.
- Cool-down. Two weeks between cycles for fixes, exploration, and planning.
- Hill charts. Track whether work is going uphill (figuring it out) or downhill (executing).
- Appetite, not estimates. Decide how much a problem is worth, then design within that budget.
- No backlog. Unshaped ideas live in documents, not a queue.
Why It Matters
- Fixed time, variable scope — the opposite of most shops.
- Shaping before building prevents teams thrashing on undefined problems.
- Cycles long enough to finish something, short enough to stay accountable.
When It Fits
- Small, senior teams.
- Products with a strong product-owner voice.
- Companies willing to kill ideas rather than queue them.
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