Summary of "Shaping in a Nutshell"
The video discusses the importance of product development and the reasons why people become interested in changing their work processes.
- Three main cases are presented: when a company is growing and needs to make progress on multiple fronts, when a company is struggling to ship products and there is a disconnect between product and engineering teams, and when an individual contributor is looking for a better way of working.
- The video introduces the concept of "shape up," a new way of working developed by the core team at Basecamp over 17 years.
- "shape up" involves planning projects in time boxes of around six weeks to allow for flexibility and meaningful progress.
- The video emphasizes the importance of defining an appetite instead of estimates for project planning, allowing for strategic decision-making based on value and urgency.
- Shaping involves making trade-offs and finding different possibilities for what can be built within a set time frame.
- The shaping phase includes defining scope (what is in and out) and determining the level of detail needed upfront for the team to work effectively.
- The video highlights the importance of team autonomy, assigning projects as a whole, and having dedicated capacity for planned strategic work versus unplanned reactive work.
- The video concludes by discussing how to adapt the "shape up" methodology for different company structures and provides information about a course called "Shaping in Real Life" for more in-depth guidance.
Researchers/Sources
- Basecamp team
- "shape up" book published in 2019
Category
Science and Nature