# 37signals Way

> Build lean, opinionated products using the 37signals philosophy from "Getting Real", "Rework", and "Shape Up". Use when the user mentions "Getting Real", "Rework", "Shape Up", "37signals", "Basecamp method", "six-week cycles", "fixed time variable scope", "appetite vs estimates", "betting table", "breadboarding", "fat marker sketch", "build less", "underdo the competition", "opinionated software"…

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-wondelai-skills-37signals-way`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [wondelai](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/wondelai)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [wondelai](https://github.com/wondelai)
- **Source:** https://github.com/wondelai/skills/tree/main/37signals-way
- **Website:** https://skills.wondel.ai

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-wondelai-skills-37signals-way
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# The 37signals Product Development Framework

A system for building profitable software without bloat, bureaucracy, or burnout, distilled from three books: *Getting Real* (build less), *Rework* (say no by default), and *Shape Up* (fix time, flex scope). Use it to shape work, bet on six-week cycles, run small autonomous teams, and ship on a predictable cadence.

## Core Principle

**Build less.** The best products do fewer things exceptionally well — simplicity is the destination, not the starting point. Traditional development adds; the 37signals way subtracts: build half a product (not a half-assed product), say no by default, fix the time and flex the scope. Constraints are what make great work possible — six weeks, three people, and a shaped pitch force you to find the essential version.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** Rate product plans, feature scopes, and team processes 0-10 against these principles. Report the current score and the specific changes needed to reach 10/10.

- **9-10:** Fixed-time cycles, shaped pitches, small teams, no backlog, opinionated defaults, clear copy
- **7-8:** Mostly shaped work and small teams, but some scope creep or process overhead
- **5-6:** Some shaping happens, but backlogs persist, teams are too large, or preferences replace decisions
- **3-4:** Heavy process (standups, sprints, story points) with occasional simplicity efforts
- **0-2:** Feature factory: long-term roadmaps, large teams, estimation rituals, no shaping

### 1. Build Less, Underdo the Competition

**Core concept:** Win through deliberate omission — fewer features, fewer preferences, fewer moving parts, each done better than competitors do theirs. Build software you need yourself and solve problems you understand deeply.

**Why it works:** Every feature carries maintenance, cognitive, and opportunity costs forever, usually for a fraction of users. Building less keeps the product focused, the codebase manageable, and the team small.

**Key insights:**
- Half a product beats a half-assed product — do a few things well, not many things poorly
- Be a curator, not a hoarder: say no to good ideas so the great ones can breathe
- Make tiny decisions — big ones are hard to make and hard to reverse; small ones build momentum
- Underdo the competition: let them build the Swiss Army knife while you build the steak knife
- Focus on what won't change — speed, simplicity, reliability, ease of use

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| **Feature prioritization** | Default answer is no | Reporting dashboard requested → ship CSV export covering 90% of use cases |
| **MVP scoping** | Cut until it hurts, then cut more | Drop user accounts for v1; use email magic links |
| **Competitive strategy** | Underdo, don't outdo | Competitor has 50 integrations; ship 3 that work flawlessly |

**Ethical boundary:** Cut complexity, not accessibility or safety — "less" means focused, not neglectful.

See: [references/build-less.md](references/build-less.md)

### 2. Shaping the Work

**Core concept:** Before work reaches a team, a senior person who bridges product and technical worlds makes it rough (room to maneuver), solved (main elements figured out), and bounded (scope limited by appetite).

**Why it works:** Raw ideas waste team time; detailed specs turn teams into ticket-takers. Shaping removes the biggest unknowns while leaving design freedom, and appetite ("how much time is this worth?") replaces estimation ("how long will this take?") — bounded investment instead of open-ended commitment.

**Key insights:**
- A shaped pitch has five elements: problem, appetite, solution, rabbit holes, no-gos
- Breadboard flows as places, affordances, and connections — structure without visual design
- Fat marker sketches keep abstraction high; wireframes invite pixel-level feedback before the concept is validated
- Rabbit holes (scope-blowing risks) get addressed in the pitch, not during the build
- No-gos make boundaries visible, preventing scope creep before it starts

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| **Feature design** | Breadboard before mockup | "Invite teammate": Settings → invite form → email sent → accept link → dashboard |
| **Scope definition** | Set appetite first | "A 2-week appetite problem, not a 6-week one" shapes which solution fits |
| **Risk management** | Call out rabbit holes upfront | "Permissions could get complex — limit to owner/member for v1" |

**Ethical boundary:** Set appetites that reflect the problem's genuine value — never artificially small to pressure teams.

See: [references/shaping-work.md](references/shaping-work.md)

### 3. Betting and Cycles

**Core concept:** Replace backlogs and roadmaps with a betting table: senior stakeholders bet shaped pitches into six-week cycles, separated by two-week cool-downs. Unfinished work hits the circuit breaker — it does not automatically continue.

**Why it works:** Backlogs grow forever, create false progress, and dilute focus; limited cycle slots force real prioritization. The circuit breaker kills zombie projects, and cool-downs prevent the burnout of continuous sprinting.

**Key insights:**
- Abolish the backlog — if an idea is important, it will come back
- Six weeks is long enough for meaningful work, short enough to feel the deadline
- Variable scope: teams cut non-essential scope to hit the fixed deadline, never the reverse
- Plan one cycle at a time — long-term roadmaps are stale commitments
- Most pitches don't get bet on, and that's healthy

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| **Roadmap replacement** | Bet each cycle | 3-4 shaped pitches every 6 weeks instead of a 12-month roadmap |
| **Risk management** | Circuit breaker kills zombies | 70% done at week 6? It doesn't ship — re-shape and re-bet if it still matters |
| **Capacity planning** | Cool-down between cycles | Two weeks for bugs, tech debt, exploration, recovery |

**Ethical boundary:** Apply the circuit breaker honestly — to kill zombies, not politically inconvenient projects; the point is focus, not unsustainable pressure.

See: [references/betting-cycles.md](references/betting-cycles.md)

### 4. Small Teams and Execution

**Core concept:** Three-person teams (one designer, one or two programmers) work a shaped pitch autonomously — no standups, no PMs hovering. They discover their own tasks and track progress on hill charts.

**Why it works:** Three people can have a conversation; ten need a meeting. Teams that discover tasks from a shaped pitch develop real problem understanding, and hill charts tell the truth: uphill = still figuring out, downhill = executing known work.

**Key insights:**
- Scopes replace tasks — group related work into named slices that move independently on the hill
- Meetings are toxic: write it up instead
- Get real: working HTML with real data on day 2 beats a Figma mockup on day 5
- Launch now, iterate later — software in users' hands beats plans in a deck
- Design and programming integrate from day one — no handoff phases

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| **Team structure** | Three people max, no PM | One designer + two programmers per 6-week bet |
| **Progress tracking** | Hill charts, not burndowns | "Invitations" uphill (permissions unclear); "Email templates" downhill (executing) |
| **Communication** | Async-first, write it up | A written update or 5-minute video instead of a 30-minute meeting |

**Ethical boundary:** Autonomy requires genuinely manageable scope — if a team consistently works overtime to hit six weeks, fix the shaping, not the team.

See: [references/small-teams-execution.md](references/small-teams-execution.md)

### 5. Opinionated Software and Clear Communication

**Core concept:** Great software makes choices instead of burying users in preferences — every preference is a decision the team could not or would not make. The same honesty applies to copy: say what you mean, skip buzzwords, teach what you know openly.

**Why it works:** Software with 47 settings has no opinion; sensible defaults reduce cognitive load and create cohesion. Clear copy builds trust where marketing-speak erodes it, and teaching openly attracts customers who share your values.

**Key insights:**
- Pick the best default and ship it — revisit only if data shows it fails most users
- Epicycles (features patching problems earlier features created) compound complexity
- "Not now" is a valid, healthy answer to good feature requests
- Out-teach the competition; sell your by-products (books, posts, tools)
- Interface copy is your best marketing — every label and error message builds or burns trust

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| **Feature requests** | Default no, no false promises | "Thanks for the suggestion. We're not planning this right now." |
| **UI copy** | Plain language | "Your file is saved" not "Your asset has been successfully persisted to the cloud" |
| **Error messages** | Honest and helpful | "We couldn't send that email. Check the address and try again." |
| **Preferences** | Eliminate; choose defaults | Detect timezone from the browser; ship one good theme |
| **Marketing** | Honest positioning | "Basecamp is not for everyone. Here's who it's for and who it's not for." |

**Ethical boundary:** Opinionated means having a point of view, not ignoring feedback — listen carefully, then curate thoughtfully.

See: [references/opinionated-software.md](references/opinionated-software.md), [references/ux-ui-copy.md](references/ux-ui-copy.md)

## Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Why It Fails | Fix |
|---------|-------------|-----|
| Maintaining a backlog | Grows forever; false progress; diluted focus | Abolish it; bet on shaped pitches each cycle |
| Estimating instead of setting appetite | Estimates grow to fill time and invite negotiation | Ask "how much time is this problem worth?" |
| Pixel-perfect mockups before shaping | Too concrete too early; invites bikeshedding | Breadboards and fat marker sketches first |
| Extending a six-week cycle | Zombie projects teach teams deadlines are fake | Circuit breaker: not done means not shipped |
| Adding preferences instead of deciding | Complexity for all users to serve a few | Pick the best default and ship it |
| Daily standups and status meetings | Interrupt maker flow; reporting overhead | Hill charts for visibility; async updates |
| Saying yes to good feature requests | Good features still add non-essential complexity | Default to no; bet only on what matters this cycle |
| Planning multiple cycles ahead | Stale commitments reduce responsiveness | Plan one cycle at a time |

## Quick Diagnostic

| Question | If No | Action |
|----------|-------|--------|
| Is there a fixed time constraint on this work? | Scope expands indefinitely | Set a six-week (or smaller) appetite first |
| Is the work shaped (rough, solved, bounded)? | Scope problems surface mid-build | Define problem, appetite, solution, rabbit holes, no-gos |
| Can a team of 2-3 people do this? | Too big | Break into independent six-week bets |
| Said no to at least 5 things this cycle? | Building too much | Cut ruthlessly at the betting table |
| Is the team figuring out its own tasks? | Micromanagement; team not empowered | Hand off shaped pitches, not task lists |
| Tracking progress with hill charts? | False precision masks uncertainty | Switch to uphill (figuring out) vs. downhill (executing) |
| Is there a cool-down after this cycle? | Burnout; no cleanup time | Schedule two unstructured weeks between cycles |
| Does the software have a clear opinion here? | Decisions deferred to users via preferences | Pick the best default; remove the setting |

## Reference Files

- [references/build-less.md](references/build-less.md) — Underdoing the competition, embracing constraints, curation over accumulation, the art of cutting scope
- [references/shaping-work.md](references/shaping-work.md) — Breadboarding, fat marker sketches, appetite setting, the pitch format, identifying rabbit holes
- [references/betting-cycles.md](references/betting-cycles.md) — Six-week cycles, the betting table, the circuit breaker, cool-downs, why backlogs must die
- [references/small-teams-execution.md](references/small-teams-execution.md) — Three-person teams, hill charts, async communication, getting real with HTML, launch-first thinking
- [references/opinionated-software.md](references/opinionated-software.md) — Defaults over preferences, clear copywriting, saying no to feature requests, teaching openly
- [references/ux-ui-copy.md](references/ux-ui-copy.md) — Browser-first design, visual hierarchy, clear copy rules, empty states, error messages, anti-patterns
- [references/case-studies.md](references/case-studies.md) — Three scenarios: adopting Shape Up, resisting feature creep, replacing status meetings with hill charts

## Further Reading

- [*"Getting Real"*](https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Real-Smarter-Successful-Application/dp/0578012812?tag=wondelai00-20) by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
- [*"Rework"*](https://www.amazon.com/Rework-Jason-Fried/dp/0307463745?tag=wondelai00-20) by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
- [*"Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters"*](https://www.amazon.com/Shape-Up-Circles-Ship-Work/dp/B09ZSY1MWP?tag=wondelai00-20) by Ryan Singer
- [*"It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work"*](https://www.amazon.com/Doesnt-Have-Crazy-Work/dp/0062874780?tag=wondelai00-20) by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
- [*"Remote: Office Not Required"*](https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Office-Required-Jason-Fried/dp/0804137501?tag=wondelai00-20) by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson

## About the Authors

**Jason Fried** is co-founder and CEO of 37signals (Basecamp, HEY) and a leading advocate for calm companies and product simplicity. **David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH)** is 37signals co-founder and creator of Ruby on Rails, extracted from Basecamp's codebase; together they wrote *Getting Real*, *Rework*, *Remote*, and *It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work*. **Ryan Singer** spent 15+ years shaping product at 37signals and codified the methodology in *Shape Up*.

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [wondelai](https://github.com/wondelai)
- **Source:** [wondelai/skills](https://github.com/wondelai/skills)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://skills.wondel.ai

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-wondelai-skills-37signals-way
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/wondelai
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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