Update (2021)

Just a quick note that in 2020 I will be publishing on Substack and Cutle.fish. Please join me there if you’re interested. Here is the note explaining the shift: In 2020, I am looking to write about cross-functional product development more regularly and intentionally. …

These notes are based off of the v 1.7, 2019 edition of Shape Up. They may introduce new versions at which point the page numbers will not line up. I wrote this after having a number of people ask me about Shape Up. It is in bullet and notes form…

Apologies for slowing down my writing output! I’ve been busy the last couple months co-writing, editing, and producing a book on the North Star Framework for Amplitude Analytics (my day job). Luckily the book heavily overlaps most of my interests, and I was even able to include some prior drawings…

How do product managers lose the trust of their team? How they communicate with their teammates plays a big role. Scenario A product manager says “I think we should stop iterating on this feature.” The designer and engineers on the team disagree. They’ve been reviewing some customer feedback, and they’re not…

So! You have arrived at this post for the definitive MVP definition. The definition to rule them all. An answer to your pent up MVP angst. The “I TOLD YOU SO!” fodder for your Slack #product-articles cannon. I am here to disappoint you. Here’s the deal. You need to have…

So you want to fix something in your company? You’re not happy, and want something to change? Here is a quick thread describing I was given once, and ignored. And paid the price. And now I give it to others. Keep in mind the sad, sad fact that folks stuck…

Common pattern… An organization has many “product teams”, but the teams lack autonomy, the work is riddled with cross-team dependencies, and the teams share team members (e.g. product, design, data science, and ops). Rewind, and you often find a well-meaning attempt to support small teams…and a manager who was having…

One of the thorny challenges when attempting to improve a system optimized for high WIP, is that it is almost never as simple as “visualize work and lower WIP!” Nor is it always about factors external to the team. Expect deep, and seemingly irrational resistance. Why? …

I frequently meet teams struggling with OKRs. When I dig deeper, I often find that the team is having to “reinvent the wheel” each and every quarter. There’s a mad rush in the final days of the quarter to fine-tune objectives, “come up with” key results, and make sure it…