Purpose
Shape Up helps clarify scope, sequence, and delivery flow. It makes work boundaries and decisions explicit and captures results as pitches, bet-table decisions, and hill charts.
Delivery Process model
Shape Up
Shapes risky product ideas into bounded pitches and executes selected bets in fixed cycles.
Shape Up separates shaping and building. A pitch contains problem, appetite, solution, rabbit holes, and no-gos. The betting table selects bets; teams receive uninterrupted time and variable scope.
Is the problem important and the shaped solution deliverable within the appetite as a responsible bet?
- Participants
- 2-4 pro Pitch
- Time
- 6 Wochen Cycle + 2 Wochen Cool-Down
Shape Up uses shaping → pitch → betting table → six-week build cycle → cool-down. Assessments remain justified and context-bound.
Shaping
Shaping
Set boundaries, rough out elements, and address risks/rabbit holes.
Pitch
Pitch
Write problem, appetite, solution, rabbit holes, and no-gos.
Betting
Betting
Decide pitch, timing, and team capacity as a bet.
Building
Building
Hand over project rather than tasks, integrate slices, and hammer scope.
Update after new evidence or a material context change and retain the previous version.
A good fit when
For autonomous product teams able to sustain fixed time and variable scope.
Ideal for
- Small to medium product teams
- Replacing continuous sprint churn
- Autonomous product work
- Clearly shaped initiatives
Not good for
- Ticket-driven support backlogs
- Highly regulated or externally fixed delivery dates
- Very small short tasks
Outputs
Shape Up pitch and bet
Shape Up pitch and bet with traceable sources, assumptions, and domain decisions.
Decision and review trail
Owners, dates, and next review for Shape Up pitch and bet.
Shape Up pitch and bet
Fictional worked example
shaping → pitch → betting table → six-week build cycle → cool-down as a precise working structure with a fictional example.
Problem/appetite
Problem/appetite information to record
Protokollsuche; sechs Wochen.
Solution
Solution information to record
Drei Facetten plus gespeicherte Suche.
Rabbit holes/no-gos
Rabbit holes/no-gos information to record
Berechtigungsfilter; keine semantische KI.
Bet/scope
Bet/scope information to record
2 Engineers + 1 Designer; Scope auf 2 Facetten reduzierbar.
The example demonstrates the domain logic of Shape Up; worksheets remain blank.
First step
Start with the core question: Is the problem important and the shaped solution deliverable within the appetite as a responsible bet?
Deep dive
How it works
The team prepares pitches with problem, appetite, solution shape, and no-gos, selects bets for the next cycle, runs a six-week cycle with autonomous teams, tracks progress with hill charts, hammers scope instead of extending time, and uses cooldown for cleanup and new pitches.
In detail
Shape Up was developed by Ryan Singer at Basecamp. Before delivery, a shaping step creates a pitch that describes the problem, appetite, solution shape, risks, and boundaries. A bet table selects which pitches enter the next six-week cycle. During the cycle, teams work autonomously and track progress with hill charts rather than hour burndowns. After the cycle, a cooldown period is used for cleanup, follow-up, and preparing future pitches.
Facilitation
Invest in shaping before every cycle so bets are realistic. Keep the cycle length firm, reduce scope instead of extending time, and protect cooldown instead of filling it with overflow work.
The method guide walks execution through 4 phases, timing, 4 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.
Open method guideYour perspective
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Sources and topics
Artifact templates
Shape Up: WorksheetPlan Shape Up around its domain steps and the concrete decision question.markdown
Shape Up: WorksheetPlan Shape Up around its domain steps and the concrete decision question.
markdownshape-up-working-template.md
Plan Shape Up around its domain steps and the concrete decision question.
Shape Up: Worksheet
Question
To be confirmed
Desired outcome
To be confirmed
Scope
Full initiative Time: Variable shaping; build usually six weeks plus cool-down
Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.
Preparation for this scope
Method setup
- Materials: Raw idea and problem evidence, appetite and team capacity, technical risk perspective, shared workspace, source links, and decision log.
- Roles: Shapers · betting table · autonomous build team
- Advance information: Collect Raw idea and problem evidence, appetite and team capacity, technical risk perspective in advance and mark open assumptions.
- Overall time needed: Variable shaping; build usually six weeks plus cool-down
- Setup: Prepare shaping → pitch → betting table → six-week build cycle → cool-down visibly and calibrate assessment terms before starting.
Prepare for the work steps
Shaping: Shaping
- Raw idea and problem evidence
- appetite and team capacity
- technical risk perspective
Pitch: Pitch
- shaped concept
- appetite and team capacity
- technical risk perspective
Betting: Betting
- pitch
- appetite and team capacity
- technical risk perspective
Building: Building
- bet
- appetite and team capacity
- technical risk perspective
Shape Up pitch and bet
Problem/appetite
Problem/appetite information to record
...
Solution
Solution information to record
...
Rabbit holes/no-gos
Rabbit holes/no-gos information to record
...
Bet/scope
Bet/scope information to record
...
Enter only real input, sources, and decisions.
Shaping: Shaping
Expected artifact: shaped concept
shaped concept · source · uncertainty · next decision
Entry:
...
- Is work rough, solved, and bounded?
Pitch: Pitch
Expected artifact: pitch
pitch · source · uncertainty · next decision
Entry:
...
- Is there room for team judgement?
Betting: Betting
Expected artifact: bet
bet · source · uncertainty · next decision
Entry:
...
- Are team and uninterrupted time available?
Building: Building
Expected artifact: deployed project
deployed project · source · uncertainty · next decision
Entry:
...
- Is Done deployed within appetite?
Open questions and next steps
...
Method guide: https://methodatlas.meierhoff-systems.de/en/methods/shape-up/run-sheet
Alternatives and neighbors
Fitting alternatives with decision guidance, followed by other related methods.
Agile
Scrum
Instead of Shape Up, choose Scrum when you need a fixed sprint structure with clear roles and events and want to deliberately run discovery and delivery in parallel.
Delivery
Communication Plan
Defines audiences, channels, frequencies, and owners so relevant information reliably gets through.
Delivery
Value Stream Mapping
Maps a service's path all the way to delivery and exposes wait times, waste, and bottlenecks.
Delivery
Cost of Delay
Moves scope, order, and delivery flow toward a concrete result through "adopt the initiative list", "clarify value types for each initiative, such as revenue, efficiency, or risk", and "derive a sorted sequence".
Delivery
Monte Carlo Forecasting
Moves scope, sequence, and delivery flow toward a concrete result through "formulate the forecast question", "choose historical flow data", and "update the forecast regularly".
Product Discovery
Dual-Track Agile
Separates discovery and delivery so that validated stories only move into implementation after learning loops.
Constraints and origin
MediumWorkshop + async6 Wochen Cycle + 2 Wochen Cool-Down
Profile
- Method form
- Process model
- Participants
- 2-4 pro Pitch
- Time
- 6 Wochen Cycle + 2 Wochen Cool-Down
- Maturity
- Established
- Origin
- Basecamp
Next up: Sprint Retrospective