{"id":5678,"date":"2026-04-15T07:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/?p=5678"},"modified":"2026-04-15T07:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:20:09","slug":"the-rise-of-the-micro-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2026\/04\/15\/the-rise-of-the-micro-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rise of the Micro-Squad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We need to talk about process fatigue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve spent any time in modern corporate software or product development, you know the feeling. The endless sprint planning sessions. The two-week agile cycles that feel like a relentless treadmill. The daily stand-ups where a dozen people justify their existence to a Jira board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We often view this bureaucratic friction as an annoying &#8220;bug&#8221; of scaling a company. But what if it\u2019s an emotional signal? That feeling of drowning in meetings and coordination isn&#8217;t a sign that you need a better Scrum Master. <strong>It is a signal that your teams are too big, your boundaries are too weak, and you are trying to manage uncertainty through surveillance rather than trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Shape Up<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What if the approach developed by the team at Basecamp, and detailed by Ryan Singer in the book <a href=\"https:\/\/basecamp.com\/shapeup\">\u200b<em>Shape Up<\/em>\u200b<\/a>, is the exact answer we need? While traditional Agile often relies on large, multidisciplinary teams (Product Managers, Scrum Masters, UX, UI, Front-end, Back-end, QA) passing tickets back and forth, <em>Shape Up<\/em> advocates for a radically autonomous, micro-squad: <strong>one designer and one or two engineers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Relevance in the Age of AI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is this incredibly relevant right now? Because we have entered the era of AI. With AI coding agents handling more and more software development tasks, a two-person squad today has the output capacity of a larger team from five years ago. Bloated multidisciplinary teams don&#8217;t make you faster anymore; they just multiply your communication tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Reframe: Fixing the Time, Freeing the Humans<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditional frameworks try to eliminate the anxiety of the unknown by breaking work into tiny pieces and asking: <em>\u201cHow long will this take?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Shape Up<\/em> flips the script. You don&#8217;t ask for an estimate; you declare an <strong>appetite<\/strong> (e.g., &#8220;We are willing to spend six weeks on this problem, no more&#8221;).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By fixing the time constraint, you liberate the small team to creatively negotiate the scope. You give them a safe, strict container, and then you get out of their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The <\/strong><em><strong>Shape Up<\/strong><\/em><strong> Playbook: A Leadership Guide<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn&#8217;t about blindly installing a new framework; it&#8217;s about drawing inspiration to fundamentally rethink how your organization delivers software. Here is the interconnected language of <em>Shape Up<\/em>, decoded for your context:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Preparing the Work (The Act of Shaping)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shaped versus unshaped work:<\/strong> You cannot hand a micro-team a vague, unshaped idea (&#8220;fix onboarding&#8221;) and expect success. You must define the boundaries, the problem, and the guardrails before you delegate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designing at the right level of abstraction:<\/strong> When shaping, you don&#8217;t provide pixel-perfect wireframes\u2014that stifles the team&#8217;s autonomy. You provide constraints.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concepting with breadboards and fat marker sketches:<\/strong> You sketch the <em>flow<\/em> and the <em>logic<\/em> of the solution using thick markers (to prevent getting bogged down in UI details) or text-based &#8220;breadboards.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Setting appetites instead of estimates:<\/strong> You declare what the problem is worth to the business in time (usually 2 or 6 weeks), rather than asking the team to predict the future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. The Commitment (The Contract)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Choosing the right cycle length:<\/strong> Basecamp uses a <strong>six-week cycle<\/strong>. It\u2019s long enough to build something meaningful from start to finish, but short enough that the end is always looming, forcing tough decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Making bets with a capped downside:<\/strong> You don&#8217;t &#8220;plan&#8221; a project; you make a bet on a 6-week appetite. The &#8220;capped downside&#8221; is the <strong>circuit breaker<\/strong>: if the project isn&#8217;t done in six weeks, it dies. No extensions. It forces the team to ship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Honoring uninterrupted time:<\/strong> Once the bet is made, leadership steps back. No daily stand-ups. No checking in. You give the team total focus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/basecamp.com\/assets\/images\/books\/shapeup\/3.4\/hill_concept.png?ssl=1\" alt=\"A Hill Chart diagram. It looks like a wide bell curve, with a vertical dotted line down the middle. The far left edge is labeled: Start, and the far right edge labeled: Finish. The left slope going up is labeled: Figuring out what to do. The right slope going down is labeld: Getting it done. A dot is drawn about two-thirds of the way up the left side of the hill. Light-colored arrows suggest the dot originated at the left side, moved up to its current position, and later moves over the hill and down the right to the finish.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Uphill and Dowhill work (illustration from the book)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Executing the Work (The Team&#8217;s Ownership)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Breaking projects apart into scopes:<\/strong> Instead of organizing work by technical layers (e.g., &#8220;build the database&#8221;), the team organizes work by user flows or &#8220;scopes&#8221; that can be built, clicked through, and evaluated independently.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Downhill versus uphill work:<\/strong> This is brilliant emotional vocabulary. &#8220;Uphill&#8221; work is full of unknowns, it&#8217;s the anxiety of figuring out <em>how<\/em> to solve the problem. &#8220;Downhill&#8221; work is just execution. Teams use this language to communicate their confidence levels to leadership without needing a status meeting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Scope hammering:<\/strong> To hit the immovable 6-week circuit breaker, the team must ruthlessly separate the &#8220;must-haves&#8221; from the &#8220;nice-to-haves.&#8221; They hammer the scope down to fit the time box.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4. The Reset<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A cool-down period:<\/strong> After a 6-week cycle, you mandate a two-week cool-down. No scheduled projects. The team fixes bugs, explores new tech, and breathes. You cannot run human beings at 100% capacity indefinitely.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Practical Takeaway<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AI has given us the tools to keep teams incredibly lean, but lean teams require high trust and clear boundaries. Stop feeding people unshaped work and demanding estimates. Give a small team a shaped problem, a fixed time appetite, and the autonomy to hammer the scope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(And remember, this is just a primer. There is a wealth of tactical depth to learn in the actual book, I highly recommend reading it in full to rethink how your team builds.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Coaching Prompt<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Bring these questions to your next planning session or your own weekly review:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Am I tossing &#8220;unshaped&#8221; work over the fence?<\/strong><em>(Where am I causing team anxiety by delegating vague ideas instead of bounded problems?)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Where are we suffering from communication tax?<\/strong><em>(Could a specific initiative be handled faster by isolating 1 designer and 1 engineer and leaving them alone for 6 weeks?)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Are we managing risk through surveillance or boundaries?<\/strong><em>(Do we rely on daily stand-ups to feel safe, or do we rely on a strict &#8220;circuit breaker&#8221; that caps our downside risk?)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>What is currently &#8220;uphill&#8221; work for my team?<\/strong><em>(Where are they carrying the emotional weight of unknowns, and how can I help them push it over the hill into execution?)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We need to talk about process fatigue. If you\u2019ve spent any time in modern corporate software or product development, you know the feeling. The endless sprint planning sessions. The two-week agile cycles that feel like a relentless treadmill. The daily stand-ups where a dozen people justify their existence to a Jira board. We often view [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/unsplash-community-x71Hr39C-T0-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paNjQG-1tA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3716,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2021\/02\/20\/hand-signals-for-virtual-meeting\/","url_meta":{"origin":5678,"position":0},"title":"Hand Signals for Virtual Meeting","author":"Alexis","date":"February 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"One person asks a question, not even a rhetorical one, followed by an awkward silence.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"a person meditating","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-6787406-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-6787406-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-6787406-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-6787406-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-6787406-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5668,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2026\/03\/16\/stop-trying-to-outrun-your-shadow-the-first-lie-we-were-told-about-leadership\/","url_meta":{"origin":5678,"position":1},"title":"Stop Trying to Outrun Your Shadow: The First Lie We Were Told About Leadership","author":"Alexis","date":"March 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019ve all heard it. Maybe it was on the playground after a scraped knee, or at the dinner table after a frustrating day at school: \"Don\u2019t cry.\" \"Be a big girl\/boy.\" \"Don't get angry. It\u2019s not a big deal.\" From the time we can walk, we are taught that \"strength\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/martino-pietropoli-pirWeToS2mA-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/martino-pietropoli-pirWeToS2mA-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/martino-pietropoli-pirWeToS2mA-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/martino-pietropoli-pirWeToS2mA-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/martino-pietropoli-pirWeToS2mA-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5661,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2026\/02\/17\/the-most-dangerous-four-word-sentence-in-your-office-is-what-do-we-do-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":5678,"position":2},"title":"The most dangerous four-word sentence in your office is: &#8220;What do we do now?&#8221;","author":"Alexis","date":"February 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I watched a new TV show last weekend, and there it was again. The line that, once you notice it, ruins almost every script it touches. \"What do we do now?\" I want you to watch this short clip of Reese Witherspoon explaining exactly why this four-word sentence is so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/image.jpeg?fit=480%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5497,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2026\/01\/08\/anger-is-not-the-problem\/","url_meta":{"origin":5678,"position":3},"title":"Anger is not the problem","author":"Alexis","date":"January 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Anger is one of those emotions we\u2019re taught to see as bad, unproductive, or destructive. We learn to calm down, to let it go, to avoid it. But what if that instinctive rejection of anger is actually making us less effective as leaders, as coaches, and as human beings? This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/curated-lifestyle-VKC0CMAhDtc-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C824&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/curated-lifestyle-VKC0CMAhDtc-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C824&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/curated-lifestyle-VKC0CMAhDtc-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C824&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/curated-lifestyle-VKC0CMAhDtc-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C824&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/curated-lifestyle-VKC0CMAhDtc-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C824&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5393,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2025\/01\/21\/psychological-safety-the-key-to-collaboration-and-innovation\/","url_meta":{"origin":5678,"position":4},"title":"Psychological Safety: The Key to Collaboration and Innovation","author":"Alexis","date":"January 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This month, we focus on a cornerstone of high-performing teams and transformative leadership:\u00a0psychological safety. In a world where uncertainty and complexity are the norm, creating environments where individuals feel safe to speak up, take risks, and be themselves is no longer a luxury\u2014it\u2019s a necessity. Psychological safety, as defined by\u00a0Amy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/nick-fancher-9Akkxm-Ht4M-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/nick-fancher-9Akkxm-Ht4M-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/nick-fancher-9Akkxm-Ht4M-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2004,"url":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/2015\/01\/29\/evalue-moi-si-tu-peux\/","url_meta":{"origin":5678,"position":5},"title":"Assess Me If You Can","author":"Alexis","date":"January 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A friend asked some help with an HR assessment spreadsheet he had to fill in. This spreadsheet was intended to prepare the budget for next year raises and bonuses. In one of the columns, he must write if the person was underachieving (C), on average (B), or above average (A).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/09\/201501Steel_ruler_closeup.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/09\/201501Steel_ruler_closeup.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/09\/201501Steel_ruler_closeup.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/09\/201501Steel_ruler_closeup.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/09\/201501Steel_ruler_closeup.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5680,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678\/revisions\/5680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-alexis.monville.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}