Shape Up

Overview

Shape Up is a guide to how we work at Basecamp. It's also a toolbox full of techniques that you can apply in your own way to your own process. Whether you're a founder, CTO, product manager, designer, or developer, you're probably here because of some common challenges: growing teams, growing backlogs, and never enough time to do everything you want. In Shape Up, Ryan Singer details Basecamp's process for turning ideas into reality. The book covers all aspects of the process, from setting boundaries with six-week cycles and two-week cool-downs, to shaping raw ideas into concrete projects, betting on which shaped work to pursue, building with integrated teams, and shipping on time. This isn't about imposing a rigid methodology on your team. It's about learning principles and techniques you can apply in your own way.

Key Takeaways

• Six-week cycles with two-week cool-downs for flexibility
• Shaping: define the problem and solution boundaries before building
• Betting table: senior team decides what to work on
• No backlogs: let old ideas fade away if they're not important enough

Who Should Read This Book?

Why Read Shape Up?

Shape Up is widely regarded as essential reading in the agile & lean product developmentspace for product managers. Ryan Singer's insights have helped thousands of product professionals improve their craft and deliver better products.

Whether you're an aspiring product manager looking to break into the field or an experienced PM seeking to deepen your expertise in agile & lean product development, this book provides practical frameworks and real-world examples that you can apply immediately.

With 892 reviews and an average rating of 4.7 out of 5, Shape Up has proven its value to the product management community. Join the thousands of professionals who have benefited from this essential resource.