Catalog
method#Product#Delivery#Governance#Software Engineering

Barecamp

Barecamp is a lightweight workshop method for cross-functional teams to quickly prioritize, generate ideas, and build minimal prototypes with minimal preparation.

Barecamp is a lightweight, in-person workshop method for cross-functional teams to align on product priorities, generate ideas, and prototype minimal solutions quickly.
Emerging
Medium

Classification

  • Medium
  • Organizational
  • Organizational
  • Intermediate

Technical context

Product backlog tools (e.g., Jira)Prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Miro)Communication platforms (e.g., Slack, Teams)

Principles & goals

Low preparation reduces barriers to participationRotating facilitation distributes ownershipShort feedback cycles accelerate learning
Discovery
Domain, Team

Use cases & scenarios

Compromises

  • Superficial solutions without follow-up
  • Dominance of individuals if facilitation is lacking
  • Unclear responsibilities after the workshop
  • Use a clear, narrowly focused question
  • Enforce strict timeboxing
  • Define follow-up actions immediately

I/O & resources

  • Clear goal or problem statement
  • Relevant stakeholders and domain experts
  • Minimal materials and facilitation effort (timebox)
  • Prioritized idea list and quick prototypes
  • Clear next steps and responsibilities
  • Documented assumptions and tests

Description

Barecamp is a lightweight, in-person workshop method for cross-functional teams to align on product priorities, generate ideas, and prototype minimal solutions quickly. It emphasizes low-prep sessions, rotating facilitation, and immediate feedback to accelerate decision-making and learning. Useful in early discovery and sprint planning.

✔

  • Fast decision making and prioritization
  • Low organizational cost and preparation
  • Strengthens cross-functional collaboration and alignment

✖

  • Limited depth for complex technical architecture decisions
  • Success depends on active participation
  • Not ideal for fully remote teams without suitable tools

  • Number of ideas generated

    Counts initial ideas to measure creativity and output.

  • Time to decision for next action

    Measures time from workshop end to a concrete next task.

  • Participant satisfaction

    Captures feedback on usefulness and facilitation of the workshop.

Product discovery at a SaaS startup

A small team used Barecamp to define metrics and MVP features in a half-day workshop.

Internal platform prioritization

Platform and product teams aligned requirements and identified technical dependencies.

Rapid usability prototyping

Design and engineering teams built simple click prototypes and tested them with stakeholders.

1

Define goal and participant list

2

Prepare agenda with short timeboxes

3

Assign rotating facilitation roles

4

Document results and assign responsibilities

⚠️ Technical debt & bottlenecks

  • Unchecked assumptions are not systematically tested
  • Results remain in personal notes instead of tickets
  • No technical proof-of-concept after quick prototypes
Facilitation capacityParticipant availabilityFollow-up discipline
  • Using Barecamp for deep architecture decisions without prep
  • Too large participant group preventing focus
  • Remote session without proper tools and facilitation
  • Unclear goals lead to scattered outcomes
  • Overloading the agenda with too many topics
  • Lack of documentation hinders implementation
Facilitation and visualization skillsAbility to prioritize quicklyBasic prototyping and testing knowledge
Need for rapid hypothesis validationCross-disciplinary alignment on product goalsLimited resources for long workshops
  • • Limited timebox (typically 2–4 hours)
  • • Prefer physical space or suitable remote tools
  • • Requires clear goal to maintain focus