We Pivoted Our Product Development Method to Shape Up: Here’s How It’s Going
How Does Shape Up Work?
Shape Up is a Basecamp method that to optimize workflow. It involves six weeks of project-focused work and two weeks of cool-down.
The engineers are given a minimum viability level for the feature – it has to carry out a specific function that Alex details. Other than this, it’s up to them to decide what can and can’t be added within the timeframe to ensure the features will be pushed out at the end of the cycle.
While every company is different, at Officely, we’ve split our engineers into two teams of two. Multiply this by the six weeks of the cycle, and that’s 12 engineering weeks to deliver something of value per team.
In the meantime, our UX designer, Phil, works in tandem with both engineering teams to design the feature. He then hands it over to be coded up, and we launch between weeks 6 and 8.
How Do We Decide Which Features to Work on?
For many businesses implementing Shape Up, there is a team of product managers overseeing the various aspects of the cycle.
However, as a startup, Officely looks a little different.
The goal with Shape Up is to never have a backlog of features. Every cycle, our product manager pitches a handful of new feature ideas, based on research and feedback from both customers and the team.
Traditionally, the executive team would then vote on which features get taken to cycle. However, as a team of one, Alex instead pitches the ideas to the heads of each team, plus one engineering representative, and the three most popular features are the ones we build in the cycle.
Because every cycle is brand new, unless the same feedback comes up repeatedly or circumstances have changed, there is never a backlog of features that need to be built. Those that aren’t voted for are shelved, and we start fresh at the beginning of each cycle.
It’s easy for tech startups to get caught up in the must-haves, even if, four months later, they’re no longer relevant (trust us, we know firsthand).
With six weeks of discovery, we’re no longer caught in that trap. Instead, we can focus on what’s important, filter out anything that wouldn’t work for Officely, and make sure our features are relevant to the current market.
