Method guideDelivery

Shape Up

A practical method guide: clarify prerequisites and materials, understand the complete process, and look up outputs, pitfalls, and stop criteria.

ComplexityMedium

Time6 Wochen Cycle + 2 Wochen Cool-Down

Participants2-4 pro Pitch

FormatWorkshop + async

MaturityEstablished

Plan Shape Up

Prerequisite

What needs to be finished first

Complete firstBounded subject

The scope and purpose of Shape Up are stated as a concrete question.

Without scope, Shape Up pitch and bet becomes arbitrary.

Complete firstAccess to relevant perspectives

Raw idea and problem evidence, appetite and team capacity, technical risk perspective and domain decision makers are available.

Without these perspectives, central claims in Shape Up pitch and bet remain unsupported.

Preparation

What needs to be ready before start

Materials

Raw idea and problem evidence, appetite and team capacity, technical risk perspective, shared workspace, source links, and decision log.

People / roles

Shapers · betting table · autonomous build team

Pre-read

Collect Raw idea and problem evidence, appetite and team capacity, technical risk perspective in advance and mark open assumptions.

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.

Core question

The one question this method answers

Is the problem important and the shaped solution deliverable within the appetite as a responsible bet?

Flow

Phases with goal, actions, output and pitfall

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.

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.

Basecamp: Shape Up

1
Shaping
Shaping
Goal
Produce shaped concept so the core question “Is the problem important and the shaped solution deliverable within the appetite as a responsible bet?” can be answered with stronger support.
Inputs for this step
- Raw idea and problem evidence
- appetite and team capacity
- technical risk perspective
Actions
- Set boundaries, rough out elements, and address risks/rabbit holes.
- Record source, rationale, and open uncertainty directly in shaped concept.
Output
shaped concept
shaped concept · source · uncertainty · next decision
Quality check
Is work rough, solved, and bounded?
Pitfall
The pitch becomes a specification, appetite an estimate, or scope remains fixed despite fixed time. Reshape problem and boundaries, preserve fixed time, hammer scope, and make a new bet after cycle end.
Timing: 10–20 minutes
2
Pitch
Pitch
Goal
Produce pitch so the core question “Is the problem important and the shaped solution deliverable within the appetite as a responsible bet?” can be answered with stronger support.
Inputs for this step
- shaped concept
- appetite and team capacity
- technical risk perspective
Actions
- Write problem, appetite, solution, rabbit holes, and no-gos.
- Record source, rationale, and open uncertainty directly in pitch.
Output
pitch
pitch · source · uncertainty · next decision
Quality check
Is there room for team judgement?
Pitfall
The pitch becomes a specification, appetite an estimate, or scope remains fixed despite fixed time. Reshape problem and boundaries, preserve fixed time, hammer scope, and make a new bet after cycle end.
Timing: 10–20 minutes
3
Betting
Betting
Goal
Produce bet so the core question “Is the problem important and the shaped solution deliverable within the appetite as a responsible bet?” can be answered with stronger support.
Inputs for this step
- pitch
- appetite and team capacity
- technical risk perspective
Actions
- Decide pitch, timing, and team capacity as a bet.
- Record source, rationale, and open uncertainty directly in bet.
Output
bet
bet · source · uncertainty · next decision
Quality check
Are team and uninterrupted time available?
Pitfall
The pitch becomes a specification, appetite an estimate, or scope remains fixed despite fixed time. Reshape problem and boundaries, preserve fixed time, hammer scope, and make a new bet after cycle end.
Timing: 10–20 minutes
4
Building
Building
Goal
Produce deployed project so the core question “Is the problem important and the shaped solution deliverable within the appetite as a responsible bet?” can be answered with stronger support.
Inputs for this step
- bet
- appetite and team capacity
- technical risk perspective
Actions
- Hand over project rather than tasks, integrate slices, and hammer scope.
- Record source, rationale, and open uncertainty directly in deployed project.
Output
deployed project
deployed project · source · uncertainty · next decision
Quality check
Is Done deployed within appetite?
Pitfall
The pitch becomes a specification, appetite an estimate, or scope remains fixed despite fixed time. Reshape problem and boundaries, preserve fixed time, hammer scope, and make a new bet after cycle end.
Timing: 10–20 minutes

Artifact

What comes out at the end

Sketch: what the artifact looks like

Shape Up · Pitches, Bets, and CyclesPrepare problem, appetite, and solution shape, make deliberate bets, and deliver autonomously within fixed cycles

Form

Versioned Shape Up pitch and bet with date, sources, owners, and next review.

Versioning / ownership

Retain date, source, assumption state, and decision for every version of Shape Up pitch and bet.

Tool alternatives

Shape Up pitch and bet as board or document
Source and evidence register
Decision and action log

shape-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.

Basecamp: Shape Up

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

Example output

Concrete filled scenario, fictional example

Fictional example for orientation. Counts and timings describe this case and are not universal requirements.

shape-up-beispiel.md

Concrete filled scenario, fictional example

Problem: users search through minutes. Appetite: six weeks. Solution: facets for project, owner, and status plus saved search. Rabbit hole: permission filtering in cross-organisation projects. No-go: semantic full-text AI. Bet with two engineers and one designer; scope may reduce to two facets.

Pitfalls

Recognize symptoms and steer against them

Quick overview, the full text is in the matching phase in the flow

ShapingThe pitch becomes a specification, appetite an estimate, or scope remains fixed despite fixed time.View in phase
PitchThe pitch becomes a specification, appetite an estimate, or scope remains fixed despite fixed time.View in phase
BettingThe pitch becomes a specification, appetite an estimate, or scope remains fixed despite fixed time.View in phase
BuildingThe pitch becomes a specification, appetite an estimate, or scope remains fixed despite fixed time.View in phase

Stop criteria

When to pause, resolve prerequisites, or choose another approach

Shape Up pitch and bet answers the core question with traceable evidence or explicitly marked uncertainty.

Owners, next actions, and review dates are named for open points.

Where to go next?

The Scrum Team inspects people, interactions, processes, tools, and the Definition of Done, then agrees on a few testable improvements.

Agile

Sprint Retrospective

Checks after the cycle whether the bet showed impact and what to learn.

Agile

Working Agreements

Captures collaboration rules proven during the cycle as a team agreement.

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