Tool · Reference site

Linear Method: Practices for building

Linear Free Beginner

A crisp, opinionated set of principles for building software: work in cycles, say no to busy work, keep momentum, and let the tool nudge one good default way of working. Even if you never use the app, the written method is a usable template for a lightweight operating rhythm. Skim it for concrete rules you can adopt this week.

  • Work in short, repeatable cycles to keep a steady pace.
  • Cut ceremony that does not directly help you ship.
  • An opinionated default process reduces per decision overhead.
Open on linear.app ↗

It answers 3 questions

  1. How do product teams keep a consistent shipping rhythm as they grow?
  2. How often should I be launching, is once a quarter too much?
  3. How do I run a weekly ship cadence when I am non-technical and depend on a dev agency or freelancers?

Read with it

  1. Basecamp's battle-tested, opinionated system for shipping meaningful work in fixed cycles without endless backlogs, a primary... Basecamp / 37signals Book · free online book Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters Ryan Singer
  2. Video · ~13 min How to Plan an MVP Michael Seibel (YC)
  3. This is the canonical source of the ship-ugly-first idea, the LinkedIn co-founder's own essay behind the line about being... LinkedIn Essay · About a 6 minute read If There Aren't Any Typos In This Essay, We Launched Too Late Reid Hoffman
  4. Linear is a small, largely distributed team that ships a famously polished product, and this breaks down how they organize... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~20 min read How Linear builds product Lenny Rachitsky
  5. A short, quotable case that the cadence at which you ship defines your company, and that shipping small and often is safer than... Intercom Blog Essay · 8 min read Shipping is your company's heartbeat Darragh Curran, Intercom
  6. Michael Seibel's crisp framing of holding the problem and customer tightly while holding the solution loosely, the mindset that... Y Combinator Startup Library Video · ~15 min How to Plan an MVP Michael Seibel
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