Shape Up
by Ryan Singer · first published 2019
63% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Practical guide to Basecamp's Shape Up process, reframing work as fixed time budgets rather than open-ended estimates. Recommended for product teams and engineers wanting a concrete alternative to roadmaps.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2015–2025User Story Mapping
Jeff Patton
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 85 recommend · 8 mention5 recommend · 85 recommend
2016–2022Sprint
Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Braden Kowitz
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 138 recommend · 13 mention8 recommend · 138 recommend
2016–2024The lean product playbook
Dan Olsen
Recommended by 11 · mentioned by 1211 recommend · 12 mention11 recommend · 1211 recommend
2009–2023Inspired
Marty Cagan
Recommended by 42 · mentioned by 4742 recommend · 47 mention42 recommend · 4742 recommend
2009–2026The Lean Startup
Eric Ries
Recommended by 284 · mentioned by 612284 recommend · 612 mention284 recommend · 612284 recommend
After reading Shape Up by Ryan Singer we decided to try it out. It's been incredible improvement. We are now able to focus deeply on hard problems, take guilt-free time to rest and sharpen our skills, and regularly think long…
on “Ask HN: What did you do to improve your company?” ↗A list of books I posted in another thread: * Steve Blank’s The Startup Manual or Four Step to Epiphany. * Dan Olsen, The Lean Product Playbook * Ryan Singer, Shape Up * Jake Knapp, Sprint * Jeff Patton, User Story Mapping * Stephen Wunker, Costovation * Jackie Bavaro, Cracking the PM Career Also checkout /r/productmanagement subreddit.
on “Getting started in product management? Any recommended books?” ↗I love that book. If you want those thoughts in a highly condensed manner, the author Ryan Singer has done a number of interviews discussing the high level concepts of Shape Up. I particularly like the Software Engineering Radio interview: https://www.se-radio.net/2019/11/episode-389-ryan-singer-on-...
on “Not delivering end-user value” ↗Start with Steve Blank’s The Startup Manual or Four Step to Epiphany. Other books Dan Olsen, The Lean Product Playbook Mart Cagan, Inspired Ryan Singer, Shape Up Jake Knapp, Sprint Jeff Patton, User Story Mapping Stephen Wunker, Costovation
on “Ask HN: I'll Build the Top Comment” ↗…books I posted in another thread: * Start with Steve Blank’s The Startup Manual or Four Step to Epiphany. Other books: * Dan Olsen, The Lean Product Playbook * Mart Cagan, Inspired * Ryan Singer, Shape Up * Jake Knapp, Sprint * Jeff Patton, User Story Mapping * Stephen Wunker, Costovation Also checkout /r/productmanagement subreddit.
on “Ask HN: Good resources to become a better Product Manager?” ↗I can't speak more highly of Ryan Singer's work on Shape Up. It has transformed how we approach work by inverting the question from "how long something is going to take" to "how long do we want to spend on this".
on “Shape Up – Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work That Matters” ↗In case you are interested in Shape Up and want read more about it, Ryan Singer - the inventor of the methodology - has written a really great book about how they have been, and currently are, building and shipping products and features at…
on “Product Development Processes You Might Not Have Heard of (2022)” ↗In 2019, Ryan Singer published "Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters", which details how Basecamp approaches their work. Among some of the topics are six week development cycles, shaping work before it's given to a development…
on “Ask HN: Have you tried Shape Up / Six-week Cycles?” ↗In 2019, Ryan Singer published "Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters", which details how Basecamp approaches their work. Among some of the topics are six week development cycles, shaping work before it's given to a development…
on “Ask HN: Have you tried Shape Up / Six-week Cycles?” ↗…That starts with me finding out - and then being comfortable enough with - a big overview of the project. Somehow I keep coming back at the 'work is like a hill' metaphor from Ryan Singer in his book Shape Up (from basecamp). https://basecamp.com/shapeup/3.4-chapter-13#work-is-like-a-h...
on “Computer Science from the Bottom Up” ↗…tasks. But what if the team would own the whole project, take care of their own task management, and only create tickets for tasks discovered along the way? This is what Ryan Singer proposes as part of the Shape Up Method. What do you think techies?