Here’s how we take rough ideas, refine them into actionable pitches, and prioritize what to work on:
We use Shape Up by Basecamp as a lightweight framework for managing our product organization. This approach helps us stay focused, reduce over-planning, and deliver impactful work efficiently.
If you’re curious to learn more, you can read the full book for free here: Shape Up by Basecamp.
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ChatGPT summary of the book:
Shape Up is a product development approach from Basecamp that focuses on working in six-week cycles with clearly defined and “shaped” projects. The process emphasizes solving meaningful problems while reducing overplanning and scope creep. Before development begins, a project is “shaped” by defining the problem, outlining key solutions, and setting fixed boundaries. Teams then take full ownership during the cycle, without interruptions or micromanagement, and deliver a functional outcome by the end. This method balances creative freedom with structure, ensuring high-impact work without unnecessary overhead.
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We run a slightly modified version of Shape Up with 5-week cycles followed by 1 week of downtime. This adjustment helps align our workflow with Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and ensures our planning integrates more smoothly with the rest of the organization
We categorize our bets into two types:
Small Bet
A small bet typically has an appetite of less than 20 total workdays. While this isn’t a hard rule, it serves as a useful guideline. For example, if one engineer works full-time for four weeks (20 days), it might technically fit the definition, but the level of focus and attention required often makes it feel like a big bet. On the other hand, if an engineer and a designer team up for two weeks to ship something that solves a specific problem, it’s generally considered a small bet.
Big Bet
A big bet takes up the full cycle or a significant portion of it. There’s no rigid threshold, but as a rule of thumb, if a pitch requires 2 engineers and 1 designer working together for 3 weeks out of a 5-week cycle, it’s considered a major investment and qualifies as a big bet.