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Common Pitfalls When Adopting Shape Up (and How to Avoid Them)

Ryan Singer · 28 Oct 2025

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Ryan Singer did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

  1. Our reading

    Shaping a project with only product managers and non-technical designers makes it churn, because questions left unanswered blow up during build.

    Their wordsIf you try to shape with only PMs and non-technical designers, projects will churn because of the unanswered questions that blow up during build.

  2. Our reading

    A rabbit hole left unsolved during shaping is a time bomb that can churn the project.

    Their wordsAny rabbit hole that isn't solved during shaping is a time bomb that can churn the project.

  3. Our reading

    High-fidelity design done too early will blow up; a raw version that meets the functional and interaction requirements should come first, with styling last.

    Their wordsHigh fidelity design done too early will blow up. Build something raw and ugly that meets the functional and interaction requirements first, and style it last - literally in the late stages of the build cycle.

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