Shape Up is a framework for lean product management developed by Basecamp, a software company that makes a web-based team organisation tool.

Resources

Full Shape Up ebook by Basecamp

Shape Up Process

Basecamp uses a 6-week cycle during which engineering is building work, and product are shaping upcoming work. After each cycle is a 2-week cooldown period during which engineering is free to fix bugs and technical debt, and product stakeholders are selecting (betting) for the next cycle.

At AskNicely we run a slightly shorter 4-week cycle and a 1-week cooldown.

Shaping

Those in charge of product strategy identify pieces of work as candidates for shaping.

First the Appetite the company has for undertaking a piece of work must be set — i.e. how much time, effort, and resources they are willing to spend:

• Large batch (a full build cycle, 4 weeks)
• Small batch (part of a build cycle, 1-2 weeks)

Once the appetite is set, a solution is Shaped that fits realistically within the prescribed appetite. Shaping is a focused collaborative exercise between a small group such as:

• The executive who proposed the work as strategically important
• A PM responsible for developing the piece of work
• A technical lead who can validate approaches or point out issues

The outcome of the shaping process is a Pitch document that:

• Articulates the problem, explains why the status quo doesn't work, or where there is a functionality gap
• Proposes a solution that can be realistically achieved with the set appetite
• Highlights any potential "rabbit holes" that have been identified so far
• Explicitly state any "no-gos" that are intentionally out of bounds and excluded

Betting

For each cycle, product strategy leaders and stakeholders come together to hold a Betting Table, where the list of shaped pitches is considered for betting on. This small group consists primarily of executive-level product strategy stakeholders.

Pitches that are considered well-shaped and strategically important enough are betted on for the next cycle. Any concerns or requirements that arise from discussion are added to the pitch documents.

It's important to understand that pitches only contain high-level concepts with no high-fidelity mockups or wireframes.

For this reason, it is critical for all betting stakeholders to review the pitch documents up for discussion in detail before hand so that the betting session can run efficiently instead of being dragged down by having to achieve basic understanding of the work being discusses.

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