Six-Week Work Cycles

37signals (Basecamp) uses 6-week work cycles as their core development approach. Here's how they structure and think about work cycles.

Core Philosophy

• Avoid long-term planning - focus on what you think now, not what you thought before
• Work in 6-week chunks to maintain focus and momentum
• Leave room for wandering and exploration before committing to projects
• Make decisions based on current reality rather than past plans

Project Development Process

• Initial Exploration Phase

  • Spend up to 6 months wandering around an idea
  • Allow time for inspiration and concept development
  • No pressure to commit until the idea feels right
  • Stop if interest fades or direction isn't clear

• Commitment Phase

  • Once committed, break work into 6-week cycles
  • Time-box features to avoid perfectionism
  • Focus on shipping working features rather than perfection
  • Regular evaluation points built into the process

Benefits of 6-Week Cycles

• Provides natural stopping points to evaluate progress
• Prevents endless perfectionism on single features
• Allows for regular course correction
• Maintains team motivation and momentum
• Creates urgency without artificial pressure

Decision Making

• Based on internal motivation temperature
• Driven by excitement and belief in ideas
• No artificial goals or metrics
• Focus on profitability as main success measure
• Regular evaluation of whether to continue or stop projects

Key Principles

• Leave room for exploration and creativity
• Don't force commitment to past decisions
• Be willing to abandon ideas that aren't working
• Focus on current reality rather than past plans
• Maintain flexibility in approach and execution