Shape Up Basecamp vs Rough

Jacob Duval

•

May 2, 2025

Two hilarious memes depicting the tough choice of picking between Basecamp and Rough

Introduction

When teams adopt Shape Up, they need tools that support this unique way of working. Both Basecamp and Rough offer solutions for teams using Shape Up, but they take different approaches.

Basecamp created Shape Up and built their tool as an all-in-one solution. Rough, on the other hand, focuses on specific parts of the process while working alongside your existing tools.

This comparison isn't about which tool is better—it's about understanding how each one might fit your team's needs. Let's look at what makes each tool unique and how they support different aspects of the Shape Up process.

Core Philosophy Differences

Basecamp and Rough have different ideas about how teams should work together.

Basecamp believes in keeping everything in one place. Their tool handles communication, task tracking, file sharing, and scheduling. This means your team spends less time switching between tools and more time getting work done. It's like having your entire office in one digital space.

Rough takes a different path. Instead of replacing your existing tools, Rough works alongside them. It focuses on capturing ideas, organizing them, and helping teams make decisions. Rough connects with tools like GitHub or Jira for task tracking, Slack for communication, and Google Drive for file storage.

What that means for your team:

With Basecamp, you get a complete system that works well if everyone fully commits to it. Teams that want simplicity and consistency often prefer this approach.

With Rough, you keep using the specialized tools your team already loves, while adding a layer that helps with product thinking and decision-making. Teams that have strong preferences about their development tools often prefer this approach.

How Each Tool Supports Shape Up

	Basecamp	Rough
Shaping	Shaping is designed to be private, with a few key people involved.	Shaping is designed to be public, with a focus on getting pitches shaped and reviewed by stakeholders.
Betting	Encourages a betting table with a few key stakeholders making product decisions in one meeting.	Encourages a running priority of pitches, with no expectation that decisions are made at one specific time.
Building	Provides to-do lists, hill charts, and communication tools to support the building process all within the same platform	Focuses on maintaining context between the pitch and execution, while actual development tasks typically happen in integrated tools like GitHub
Cooldown	Supports tracking small improvements and bug fixes during the cooldown period within the same environment	Helps capture insights during cooldown that can inform the next cycle's shaping work. Ticket tracking lives outside of Rough.

Shaping

Basecamp - Shaping is designed to be private, with a few key people involved.

Rough - Shaping is designed to be public, with a focus on getting pitches shaped and reviewed by stakeholders.

Betting

Basecamp - Encourages a betting table with a few key stakeholders making product decisions in one meeting.

Rough - Encourages a running priority of pitches, with no expectation that decisions are made at one specific time.

Building

Basecamp - Provides to-do lists, hill charts, and communication tools to support the building process all within the same platform

Rough - Focuses on maintaining context between the pitch and execution, while actual development tasks typically happen in integrated tools like GitHub

Cooldown

Basecamp - Supports tracking small improvements and bug fixes during the cooldown period within the same environment

Rough - Helps capture insights during cooldown that can inform the next cycle's shaping work. Ticket tracking lives outside of Rough.

AI

As of May of 2025, Basecamp does not have any AI features.

Rough is an AI-first platform, focusing on providing general purpose AI to everyone inside an organization. Rough's approach to AI is that everyone should be using it to fill in gaps in their knowledge, or to perform time consuming tasks.

We're not going to dig into these features in this article. You can check out the Rough Handbook if you want to know more about Rough's AI.

Shaping

Basecamp - Shaping is designed to be private, with a few key people involved.

Rough - Shaping is designed to be public, with a focus on getting pitches shaped and reviewed by stakeholders.

Betting

Basecamp - Encourages a betting table with a few key stakeholders making product decisions in one meeting.

Rough - Encourages a running priority of pitches, with no expectation that decisions are made at one specific time.

Building

Basecamp - Provides to-do lists, hill charts, and communication tools to support the building process all within the same platform

Rough - Focuses on maintaining context between the pitch and execution, while actual development tasks typically happen in integrated tools like GitHub

Cooldown

Basecamp - Supports tracking small improvements and bug fixes during the cooldown period within the same environment

Rough - Helps capture insights during cooldown that can inform the next cycle's shaping work. Ticket tracking lives outside of Rough.

Gathering and Using Insights

Basecamp and Rough take different approaches to how teams gather, organize, and utilize insights during the product development process.

Basecamp provides communication tools such as message boards, group chats, and comment threads where discussions and feedback can be captured. These communication channels are integrated with project management features, allowing teams to reference discussions when making decisions. Information is organized primarily by project and tool type (messages, to-dos, documents, etc.).

Rough is built around a central insight-gathering system. It offers structured ways to capture information from various sources including meetings, customer interactions, and team discussions. These insights can be tagged, categorized, and linked to create relationships between different pieces of information. The system is designed to make patterns and connections more visible across insights.

These different approaches affect how information flows through the product development process:

In Basecamp, information is typically organized chronologically within projects and tools, with search functionality to locate past discussions. The system emphasizes project-based organization.

In Rough, information is organized around insights that can be collected over time and across projects. The system emphasizes relationships between people and information, and their relevance to product decisions.

Shaping

Basecamp - Shaping is designed to be private, with a few key people involved.

Rough - Shaping is designed to be public, with a focus on getting pitches shaped and reviewed by stakeholders.

Betting

Basecamp - Encourages a betting table with a few key stakeholders making product decisions in one meeting.

Rough - Encourages a running priority of pitches, with no expectation that decisions are made at one specific time.

Building

Basecamp - Provides to-do lists, hill charts, and communication tools to support the building process all within the same platform

Rough - Focuses on maintaining context between the pitch and execution, while actual development tasks typically happen in integrated tools like GitHub

Cooldown

Basecamp - Supports tracking small improvements and bug fixes during the cooldown period within the same environment

Rough - Helps capture insights during cooldown that can inform the next cycle's shaping work. Ticket tracking lives outside of Rough.

Implementation and Integration

The implementation and integration capabilities of Basecamp and Rough reflect their core philosophies and influence how teams adopt these tools.

Basecamp is designed as a standalone solution. Teams typically implement Basecamp as their primary workspace, moving most of their collaboration and project management activities into the platform. It offers a consistent user experience across all features but has limited integration options with external tools. Teams that adopt Basecamp often centralize their workflows within the platform.

Rough is designed to be part of a tooling ecosystem. It provides integration capabilities with development tools like GitHub, communication platforms like Slack, and other specialized software. This approach allows teams to maintain their existing workflows in specialized tools while adding Rough's product management capabilities. Implementation typically involves connecting Rough to the team's existing tool stack.

These differences have implications for team adoption:

Adopting Basecamp often involves a more significant workflow change as teams transition multiple activities into a single platform. The benefit is a consistent environment with all information in one place.

Adopting Rough typically requires less workflow disruption as teams can continue using their specialized tools. The focus is on adding product management capabilities while maintaining existing technical workflows.

Shaping

Basecamp - Shaping is designed to be private, with a few key people involved.

Rough - Shaping is designed to be public, with a focus on getting pitches shaped and reviewed by stakeholders.

Betting

Basecamp - Encourages a betting table with a few key stakeholders making product decisions in one meeting.

Rough - Encourages a running priority of pitches, with no expectation that decisions are made at one specific time.

Building

Basecamp - Provides to-do lists, hill charts, and communication tools to support the building process all within the same platform

Rough - Focuses on maintaining context between the pitch and execution, while actual development tasks typically happen in integrated tools like GitHub

Cooldown

Basecamp - Supports tracking small improvements and bug fixes during the cooldown period within the same environment

Rough - Helps capture insights during cooldown that can inform the next cycle's shaping work. Ticket tracking lives outside of Rough.

Conclusion

Basecamp and Rough represent two valid but distinct approaches to supporting teams that use Shape Up.

Basecamp offers an integrated platform that handles the entire Shape Up process within a single environment. This approach provides consistency, simplicity, and a unified workspace where all team activities and information reside together.

Rough provides specialized product management capabilities designed to work alongside existing tools. This approach offers flexibility, integration with specialized tools, and focused support for Shape Up outside of execution.

When choosing between these tools, teams should consider their existing workflows, tool preferences, and org context. Teams that prefer a single unified platform may find Basecamp's approach more suitable. Teams that want to maintain their specialized tools while adding product management capabilities may find Rough's approach more aligned with their needs.

Both tools can effectively support the Shape Up methodology, but they do so in ways that reflect different philosophies about how product development teams should work.

Shaping

Basecamp - Shaping is designed to be private, with a few key people involved.

Rough - Shaping is designed to be public, with a focus on getting pitches shaped and reviewed by stakeholders.

Betting

Basecamp - Encourages a betting table with a few key stakeholders making product decisions in one meeting.

Rough - Encourages a running priority of pitches, with no expectation that decisions are made at one specific time.

Building

Basecamp - Provides to-do lists, hill charts, and communication tools to support the building process all within the same platform

Rough - Focuses on maintaining context between the pitch and execution, while actual development tasks typically happen in integrated tools like GitHub

Cooldown

Basecamp - Supports tracking small improvements and bug fixes during the cooldown period within the same environment

Rough - Helps capture insights during cooldown that can inform the next cycle's shaping work. Ticket tracking lives outside of Rough.