Shape Up debuted 5 years ago on July 10, 2019. I remember it because I read the book from cover to virtual cover the day it came out.
I was leading product at a small startup. We were using a version of Shape Up that I'd stitched together from blog posts and podcasts. We had left 2-week sprints and backlog grooming behind and product development was working pretty well.
There were a lot of unknowns, though. The sketch was clear, but the details were fuzzy.
The book was a revelation. We read it as a team and went all in. It filled in gaps, especially around how a team takes a pitch and turns it into shipped software. Just having shared language and concepts helped significantly. Thousands of teams have used the principles in the book to improve how they understand problems, shape solutions, choose what to build, and ship great work.
When I had questions or ran into resistance, Jason and Ryan were kind enough to help. Sometimes, it was just good to hear that making things is hard, shaping sometimes hits a dead end, and projects don't always go smoothly.
A few years later, I joined 37signals. Working with the team and seeing Shape Up firsthand is an education of its own. There's a lot of nuance in how the ideas in the book play out in practice. I have a better understanding of what makes this particular team perform at such a high level and where other companies sometimes run into friction.
Also, we're always evolving the way we work. If there's an opportunity to simplify or optimize, we take it. We've learned a lot building two new products with more on the way. Basecamp itself, which is integral to everything we do, has improved in fundamental ways.
On this 5-year milestone, I'd love to hear from you. If you've adopted Shape Up, what's working well and where has there been struggle? What was the biggest hurdle to getting started? Is anything still unclear for you?
I'm especially curious to hear how you've made Shape Up your own. What have you added or optimized to work best for your team?
Of course, if you're just starting to read Shape Up or prepping for your first cycle, send your first impressions and questions, too.
We have a lot to share and I'd love to help. As Jason put it, not to tell you what to do, just to tell you what we've done.
I was leading product at a small startup. We were using a version of Shape Up that I'd stitched together from blog posts and podcasts. We had left 2-week sprints and backlog grooming behind and product development was working pretty well.
There were a lot of unknowns, though. The sketch was clear, but the details were fuzzy.
The book was a revelation. We read it as a team and went all in. It filled in gaps, especially around how a team takes a pitch and turns it into shipped software. Just having shared language and concepts helped significantly. Thousands of teams have used the principles in the book to improve how they understand problems, shape solutions, choose what to build, and ship great work.
When I had questions or ran into resistance, Jason and Ryan were kind enough to help. Sometimes, it was just good to hear that making things is hard, shaping sometimes hits a dead end, and projects don't always go smoothly.
A few years later, I joined 37signals. Working with the team and seeing Shape Up firsthand is an education of its own. There's a lot of nuance in how the ideas in the book play out in practice. I have a better understanding of what makes this particular team perform at such a high level and where other companies sometimes run into friction.
Also, we're always evolving the way we work. If there's an opportunity to simplify or optimize, we take it. We've learned a lot building two new products with more on the way. Basecamp itself, which is integral to everything we do, has improved in fundamental ways.
On this 5-year milestone, I'd love to hear from you. If you've adopted Shape Up, what's working well and where has there been struggle? What was the biggest hurdle to getting started? Is anything still unclear for you?
I'm especially curious to hear how you've made Shape Up your own. What have you added or optimized to work best for your team?
Of course, if you're just starting to read Shape Up or prepping for your first cycle, send your first impressions and questions, too.
We have a lot to share and I'd love to help. As Jason put it, not to tell you what to do, just to tell you what we've done.
We can’t tell you what to do. We don’t know what you should do. We barely know what we should do! And most of the time we don’t.
What we can tell you, however, is what we’ve done. In our own unique situation, our own context. From there you can form your own opinion about how it applies to your situation.