Purpose in Play is a fully distributed company and we’ve been remote since we started. Our team works from all over the world, across continents. We don’t care where team members choose to live and work, just that they’re here to do great work on exceptional products, alongside a world-class team.
We work in 12-week cycles at Purpose in Play. This fixed cadence serves to give us an internal sense of urgency, to keep projects from ballooning, and to provide us with a regular interval to make decisions about what we’re working on.
Our cycle structure is particularly important for the product teams, since they approach feature and product development with scope and budget in mind up front.
All teams operate on the same cadence.
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Our way of working is inspired by the Shape Up methodology, which emphasizes thoughtful planning around scope and budget during feature and product development. All team members are encouraged to read “**https://basecamp.com/shapeup”** to better understand our approach.
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Between each cycle, we dedicate one week to a cooldown period. This time allows product teams to address bugs, for everyone to document what they’ve accomplished, and for teams to determine what to tackle next. Occasionally, larger projects may extend into the cooldown, but we aim to keep this period free for reflection and preparation.
As a fully asynchronous and remote team, it’s crucial to keep information flowing transparently about what we’re working on. To achieve this, we rely on four key mechanisms.
Every workday at 16:30, team members should answer what they worked on that day. This ritual is about loose accountability and strong reflection. Writing down what you accomplished each day helps you reflect on how you spent your time and provides insight into your daily progress.
Every Friday at 16:30, team members should summarize what they will work on the following week, focusing on the general theme and big picture. This gives everyone a clear sense of what will be happening across the company, while setting you up mentally for the work ahead.
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Everyone is welcome to view updates from fellow team members via the ‣ and ‣ pages.
👉 Learn more about our check-ins at Async Check-Ins.
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Every team submits a ‣ for the upcoming cycle, following the schedule outlined in the ‣ . These plans provide a concise overview of each team’s upcoming commitments and how they align with the broader company strategy.