Ryan Singer: Debugging the Product Development Process

“We’re not shipping as fast as we used to.” “We’re starting to miss deadlines and have quality issues.” They’re familiar problems.

In the transition from Basecamp world to the wider world, Ryan discovered that the Shape Up methodology he describes in his book, required adaptation to work in a wider variety of real-world companies. While the principles still applied, the specific tactics needed to be customised to work in other companies that were in different stages of growth, maturity and business model. In the case of Autobooks, they struggled to follow the method to the letter, until they realised that they didn’t have to. There isn’t the one way to build great product. However, there are some consistently true principles and some parameters that you can think about that as you build that will help deliver projects that impact the business on time.

Ryan will share his perspective on debugging delivery problems to get at the true causes of delays and quality issues in delivering successful product development. You will realise you may not be giving your builders the right information they need to succeed in a limited time and what to do about it.

Check out our upcoming events

2-4 October USA (Raleigh, NC) | 25-26 March Europe (Cambridge, UK)


Ryan Singer

Principal, Felt Presence

Ryan has worked on all levels of the software stack, from UI design to back-end programming to strategy and now spends his time building products and inventing processes for design and development.

Over 17 years at Basecamp he designed features used by millions while developing the processes used to design, develop and ship the right things. In 2019, he wrote Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters. Shape Up changed the way many software teams talk about shaping projects, making bets, and targeting unknowns.

He likes working with people when they’re struggling to prioritize too many options or when they aren’t sure how to frame a problem they’re facing.

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Check out our upcoming events

2-4 October USA (Raleigh, NC) | 25-26 March Europe (Cambridge, UK)