TEMPLATES

Whimsical Picks

At Whimsical, we love using templates! Here is a selection of some that our teams use regularly to help document and plan various work, and facilitate meetings asynchronously. In our remote-first company structure, we rely heavily on written communication and collaboration, and these templates help us to achieve that.

Templates We Love at Whimsical

Asynchronous Meeting Template

Asynchronous Meeting Template

From
  • An asynchronous (async) meeting is a meeting that is organized but doesn’t happen in real time.
  • Discussion topics and decisions in this meeting do not require an immediate response, and typically communication will happen at different times.
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Simple Release Plan

Simple Release Plan

From
  • A release plan is a tactical document designed to capture the key details planned for an upcoming release across the different teams involved.  
  • It helps your cross-functional teams stay aligned and coordinated across the many moving parts of a release.
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Product Pitch Template

Product Pitch Template

From
  • The purpose of a pitch is to present all the relevant information needed to decide whether to prioritize the work.
  • This includes the problem, how much time you want to spend on solving it, and the core elements of the solution.
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Team Heartbeat Template

Team Heartbeat Template

From
  • A team heartbeat summarizes all the work the team did over the last cycle.
  • It's an asynchronous way to celebrate progress, recognize contributions and detail the work a team gets done in a relatively short period of time.
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Cycle Planning Template

Cycle Planning Template

From
  • Cycle planning helps you to break down your prioritized work into smaller tasks and manage how it will be delivered, by assigning tasks to different team members.
  • This gives you a quick visual on how much work is in progress across the team and priorities for the cycle.
Use This Template

Frequently Asked Questions

What is asynchronous communication?

Asynchronous (async) communication is communication that doesn't happen in real time. It may be in the form of writing a text message, an email, or a recorded video that doesn't require an immediate response. It enables more thoughtful discussion across many voices in a more efficient manner when it best suits the people involved. Async communication doesn't need scheduling, but clear timeframes for any discussion or decisions are helpful.

What is Shape Up?

The Shape Up Method describes the specific processes used by product development teams to shape, bet, and build meaningful products. It is based on Basecamp's internal approach to product development, which they shared publicly in this book, with techniques that any team can apply to their own process. The method aims to better define and prioritize projects before handing them off to teams to build and ship.

What is the purpose of a team heartbeat?

A team heartbeat is a great way for everyone in your company to get to know what's happening across every team on a regular basis, without needing to have a lot of meetings! Heartbeats become an excellent tool for onboarding new teammates as well. They give a sense of what your teams do, how they work, who's doing what, and how you recognize each other's efforts.