Mastering Shape Up - Detailed Guide to the Shaping, Betting, and Building Stages
The Shape Up framework, developed by Basecamp, offers a clear and structured approach to product development. You may check my first article about the shape up framework for basics.
This page covers shaping, betting, and construction. Teams can better define, prioritize, and execute projects by understanding each stage’s processes. This guide helps both Shape Up beginners and deepeners master the framework.
The shaping stage is the first phase in the Shape Up framework, where the groundwork for a project is laid out before any actual development begins. This stage is crucial as it sets the direction and scope of the project, ensuring that the team understands what needs to be built and why.
The Shaping Process
- Defining the Problem: Defining the Problem: The team identifies and clarifies the addressed issue. It involves evaluating the user needs, business objectives, and any obstacles.
- Sketching Solutions: Once the problem has been identified, the team looks for potential solutions. This includes generating rough concepts and potential features to address the issue efficiently.
- Addressing Risks and Rabbit Holes: Identifying and reducing potential risks and difficulties (sometimes known as “rabbit holes”). The team develops ways to reduce risk or decides to eliminate some difficult components that could jeopardize the project’s schedule.
- Writing the Pitch: The shaping process generates a pitch document that discusses the problem, the proposed solution, the scope of the task, and the reasoning behind the decisions made. This document is vital to communicate the project’s vision to the rest of the team and stakeholders.
Goals of the Shaping Stage
- Clarity: Describe what is to be built properly and removes ambiguity and leads the team.
- Feasibility: Ensure that the proposed solution is technically and operationally feasible within the given timeframe and resources.
- Alignment: Align the project’s goals with the broader business objectives and user needs. This ensures that the project, once completed, will deliver real value.
- Scope Management: Define a fixed time budget for the project and shape the work to fit within this budget. This helps in managing scope creep and ensures that the team only works on what is essential for the project’s success.
- Risk Mitigation: Identify significant risks and plan how to address them. This proactive approach prevents potential problems during the building phase, saving time and resources.
The shaping stage is a critical phase that requires deep thinking, strategic planning, and close collaboration among product managers, designers, and technical leads. The decisions made during this stage influence the entire project lifecycle, emphasizing the importance of getting it right before moving to the betting and building stages.
The Betting Table Process
- Presentation of Shaped Work: Product leaders present the shaped projects, including problem definitions, proposed solutions, and expected outcomes.
- Discussion and Evaluation: The betting table participants discuss the shaped projects, evaluating them based on business value, feasibility, user impact, and alignment with strategic goals.
- Decision-Making: The participants place “bets” on the projects they believe should be prioritized for the next development cycle. This collaborative decision-making process ensures that the most valuable and feasible projects are selected.
Goals of the Betting Stage
- Strategic Alignment: Ensure that the selected projects align with the company’s strategic objectives and deliver the most value.
- Feasibility: Confirm that the projects can be realistically completed within the six-week cycle.
- Prioritization: Prioritize projects based on their potential impact, business value, and feasibility.
By involving key stakeholders from different disciplines, the betting stage ensures a well-rounded evaluation and strategic prioritization of projects, setting the stage for successful execution in the building phase.
Building Stage Process
- Kickoff Meeting: The team holds a kickoff meeting to align on goals, understand the shaped project, and define roles and responsibilities.
- Development: The team works in focused intervals to develop the project, collaborating closely and conducting regular check-ins to monitor progress.
- Testing: Continuous integration and testing are performed to ensure that the product increment meets quality standards and functions as expected.
- Feedback and Adjustments: Designers and product managers provide ongoing feedback, and iterative adjustments are made to ensure the project stays on track.
- Delivery: At the end of the six-week cycle, the project is completed, tested, and ready for deployment.
Goals of the Building Stage
- Focused Execution: Complete the project within the six-week deadline.
- Quality Assurance: Ensure that the increment meets the quality and functionality standards.
- Collaboration: Ensure open lines of communication and encourage teamwork to effectively address challenges and adapt as needed.
- Completion: Successfully accomplish and implement the project, prepared for the next cycle or future iteration.
Basically, the increments are intended to deliver real value to users. The building stage is where refined ideas and plans are transformed into product increments within the designated development cycle.
I hope you found this article useful. If you have any questions or additional points to add on the topic, please feel free to leave a comment.
