#409 Shape-Up Cycle 3 Redux

This week, we wrapped up a “cool down” period following our third-ever Shape-Up Cycle and planned our fourth.

At the beginning of the year, we decided to rethink the way product development happens at Parabol, shifting from a Scrum-like culture to one based on Shape-Up. The development cycles are longer (six weeks instead of two), with less overhead, and they encourage us to make clearer, more meaningful bets (“work that matters”).

Even though the Shape-Up guide doesn’t specifically call for it, we still run a retrospective at the end of each cycle (using Parabol, of course). This has provided us with a space to reflect on our process and make improvements. During our retro, we confirmed that we prefer Shape-Up to Scrum. In this cycle, we found that we need to dedicate explicit time to demoing work for each other (and the company) to provide feedback, support one another, and keep pace. We also realized that it would be helpful to communicate more proactively with people outside of the product team about where we are in the Shape-Up calendar, so they know when to advocate for having work added for consideration at the “betting table” to possibly be included in the next cycle.

Regardless of the improvements we can make to our process, we accomplished a lot in this last cycle:

Our team is currently in Shape-Up’s “cool down” phase. Some team members are taking a holiday, others are working on prototypes or reducing tech debt, and some are getting a jump on the next cycle.

We are towards the end of the “summer slump” we typically see each year. As people return from summer holidays and settle into their autumn schedules, we anticipate these metrics to trend back up in the coming weeks.

…groomed the backlog and concluded Shape-Up Cycle 3.

…planned Shape-Up Cycle 4. Cycle 4 kicks off September 2nd, and concludes October 11th.

…engaged in financing-related activity. We’re always interacting with our current and prospective investors, but this week was especially busy!

…host a retreat for our Growth team in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You betcha we’re going to the Minnesota State Fair, don’t cha know!