SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Fixed 6-week cycles, a fixed price and a defined scope. Working software in production at the end of every cycle, with no endless sprints or growing backlog.
Shape Up is a software development methodology created by Basecamp. It replaces the endless backlog and two-week sprints of Scrum with fixed 6-week cycles. Every cycle ends with working software in production, not a list of pending tasks.
At DevLunch we use Shape Up to build web applications, mobile apps, ecommerce platforms and automations for companies in the Dominican Republic and the United States. Time and price for each cycle are fixed before work starts, and scope is what flexes.
DEVELOPMENT CYCLE
Pick a start date and walk through the cycle. See what happens in each phase, what you get, and the exact day your software goes to production.
Week 1 / 11
2 weeks
We define the problem, the appetite (how much time the project is worth) and a high-level outline of the solution. We call out risks and what is out of scope.
What you get
1 week
We review the shaped pitches and decide what gets built next cycle. Only shaped, low-risk work is approved. There is no backlog.
What you get
6 weeks
A small team designs, codes, tests and ships in 6 weeks. Design and development work together from day one, and progress shows on hill charts.
What you get
2 weeks
We fix bugs, make technical improvements, measure what shipped and shape the pitches for the next cycle.
What you get
Drag across the timeline or press play. Dates are calculated from your start date. Then the cycle repeats.
FIXED TIME, VARIABLE SCOPE
Pick a type of software, check its features and compare. In Shape Up the date never moves: nice-to-haves (~) get trimmed so the essentials ship in week 6. In Scrum, scope rules and the date slides.
Ships to production in week 6
The essentials ship in week 6 at a fixed price. What got trimmed waits its turn.
Trimmed (scope hammering): Becomes a future pitch, if it is still worth it.
Switch the software type, turn features on or off and compare Shape Up with Scrum.
THE BETTING TABLE
At the end of shaping, we choose which pitches go into the next cycle. The team has 6 weeks. Bet on the pitches that matter most and close the table.
Tap a pitch to bet on it. The bar shows how much of the cycle it takes.
HILL CHARTS
Each part of the project climbs the hill while unknowns get solved and goes down once all that is left is execution. You see what is stuck long before the deadline.
Week 0 / 6
Drag each dot along the hill or simulate the 6 weeks of the cycle.
DEVLUNCH
TYPICAL AGENCY
Every cycle has a fixed deadline. You know when working software will be in production.
The price of each 6-week cycle is agreed before development starts.
Each cycle ends with features in production, not story points.
Hill charts show the real progress of each feature during the cycle.
SHAPE UP GLOSSARY
FAQ
Shape Up is a software development methodology created by Basecamp that works in fixed 6-week cycles. Before each cycle the problem and the appetite are defined, and at the end of the cycle the software is in production.
Yes, it shares the agile principle of shipping working software often, but it replaces Scrum's 2-week sprints, backlog and daily ceremonies with 6-week cycles of shaped work.
Most projects reach production in one or two 6-week cycles. A large project is split into several cycles, and each one ships something that already works.
Each cycle has a fixed price agreed at the end of shaping, before any code is written. It depends on the team size and the project appetite.
Nice-to-have scope is trimmed so the essentials ship on time. If it still does not ship, the circuit breaker stops the project and it gets reshaped instead of being extended without control.
The team decides how to solve the problem within the appetite and can trim nice-to-haves. New ideas become pitches for the next cycle.
With hill charts and weekly demos. You see which parts are solved and which still have unknowns, not just a percentage.
Yes. We use it with startups launching their first product and with companies modernizing their systems, in the Dominican Republic and the United States.
Get a fixed-price proposal for your first 6-week cycle.
Get a quote