Ryan Singer
Basecamp

42 / Shaping: A Different Kind of Product Work

Description
Product work is rarely (ever?) as straightforward and ordered as we’d like. It’s important for us as product leaders to embrace this fact and to plan for the interdependencies among all the moving parts. Shaping puts a name to this important work. We get clarity of direction from the guardrails Shaping provides. At the same time, we draw greater autonomy and room for learning and growth. Shaping offers product manager a different kind of work; we should do more than write tickets.
In this episode, Sean and Paul talk with Ryan Singer, Head of Product Strategy at Basecamp and author of Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters. Ryan has experience in all things software, giving him invaluable insights into what really works when designing products from start to finish. By doing the shaping work, he says, product managers enjoy a clearly defined vision for the product and create realistic constraints for the team to work within.
Is Shaping the game-changer product managers have been looking for? Maybe. It isn’t waterfall. And it’s not pure Agile. But it might have a profound impact on the clarity to your direction and the anxiety level of your team.
Be sure to listen in to catch Ryan’s unique takes on the nature of work and creating meaningful products.
[2:20] Business challenges have changed. Now, we focus on defining progress rather than reacting to clients’ changing requests.
[4:04] Product strategy. Defining the big things that differentiate your offering from others based on those who use it.
[5:46] Don’t delegate strategy. Too many leaders delegate important design and product decisions.
[8:52] Shaping provides vision without micromanagement or a lack of leadership.
[11:41] Redefine your work. Shaping gives a name to important work that isn’t coding, design, or writing tickets.
[12:59] Embrace constraints. Scarce resources create an environment that motivates us to make tradeoffs and collaborate differently.
[17:29] Reduce risk. Do prototyping and figure out interdependencies before committing to a project that might take more time than anticipated.
[21:19] Don’t be afraid to kill projects. If it were worth doing, you’d have done it. Set deadlines and constraints and stick to them.
[24:05] Output vs. outcome. Be intentional about the product rather than focusing on deploying new features that may not be important to users.
[24:20] What’s wrong? Diagnose problems from performance, shaping, betting, and building by clearly defining these processes.
[27:55] The value of learning. Create an environment where the team is able to understand the big picture and how moving parts interact.
[29:50] Take ‘management’ from the product manager, and move it to the team by creating realistic constraints.
[37:02] Swimming in unknowns. The main work of the R&D phase.
[38:02] Cleanup mode. Designate time for tying up loose ends.
[42:39] Innovation. Doing something new that’s useful.
Ryan’s Recommended Reading
Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice, by Clayton Christensen, Karen Dillon, Taddy Hall, and David S. Duncan.
Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

About Ryan