It seems like boasting about one’s alleged lean methods and agile-driven way of work is a trend now. Basically, every company you encounter underlines they aim for quick results that add real business value to their clients. How many of those companies really mean it? My guess would be not all of them.

At Shaped Thoughts, we’re one of those where this is not just a catchy slogan; it’s really how we operate. OK, that’s probably what everybody else says, too. Let’s try a different approach, then.

I recently caught up with some of our team members to get a closer look from within at the work routine, team dynamics and efficiency at Shaped Thoughts. Stick around and see what they revealed. 

Daily Work Routine at Shaped Thoughts

What does your day-to-day work in your role look like? What are your responsibilities?

Karol, Senior Business Analyst:

My role is to understand what needs to be done and why, ensuring our work aligns with the client’s business goals. Gathering requirements and prioritising them in our backlog is a core part of that job. Instead of just focusing on the quickest tasks, I aim to deliver business value as soon as possible. This might not always mean immediate financial gains for our clients but includes getting feedback quickly and being able to adjust accordingly. 

So, my daily tasks revolve around gathering requirements by talking with clients about business needs and discussing technical details with our tech team. And since I used to be a programmer myself, I’m not afraid to dive into the code to understand how things work and identify any potential changes we might need to make or things to pay attention to. Basically, I ask a lot of ‘why’ questions to ensure I fully understand how things work and can communicate that to the team clearly.

Mateusz, Team Lead:

I would say that my key activities involve both leading and coding. As a Team Lead, I ensure the well-being of the team members, resolve conflicts, and foster the skill development of every individual on my team. I also lead meetings like planning and retrospectives, although this isn’t strictly necessary; it’s just how we operate and it works.

Arkadiusz, Business Analyst:

In my team, I’m the first person anyone turns to when they have questions about why we’re doing something. I’m the one who knows the reasons and the purpose behind it and is able to explain the broader context to them. So, my job is to ensure that everyone knows the ‘why’ behind what we’re doing. In other words, I’m responsible for understanding the client’s needs (oftentimes, helping them grasp what their actual problem is) and translating these needs into technical tasks that our team can execute effectively.

Wojciech, Tech Lead:

My role involves overseeing the technical aspects of our projects. That includes guiding the team technically and coordinating our efforts to deliver the most impactful outcomes from the client’s business perspective. I also make sure that our solutions are of the right quality. I often spark discussions about how to approach a solution or solve a problem because I believe in making decisions together—it’s much better when more people throw in their ideas.

A big part of my role is coordinating our work. Sometimes, I break problems into smaller parallel tasks allowing us to deliver solutions faster by having multiple people work on them. I also act as a filter for tasks coming from others, mainly from our BA, where I might add technical details, review the tasks, and then share them with the team for estimation. My goal is to manage the work holistically.

Michał, Tech Lead:

First and foremost, my role is to support the team by removing any obstacles they face, whether analytical, technical, or business-related.

Another focus area, which I personally find important, is the team’s growth. Although we have a highly experienced team, we can’t afford to forget about continuous development because if we’re not growing, we’re stagnant—not much of a discovery here. I have a rather unique strategy on this one: I focus on engagement. What do I mean by that? I try to engage everyone in my topics and instead of telling them how to do things, I ask the right questions, helping them find their own solutions. This promotes both individual and team growth.

My other responsibilities include supporting the product owner and technical principals with input for decisions on our work stages and upcoming implementation areas. Ensuring quality, establishing a security framework, defining good practices, and fostering a shared vision for product development—that’s on me, too.

A Tech Lead’s role also includes protecting the team from blame, even though it’s not something that happens around here. But still, it’s important for me to understand the team well enough to respond appropriately when issues arise, and to be transparent about the reasons behind any problems, addressing them with honesty rather than hiding them.

Efficiency at Its Best: Tools and Practices to Stay Productive

What do you do to ensure effectiveness in your routine?

We focus on delivering the most valuable functionalities first, even if they don’t bring immediate financial returns. This allows us to get clients’ feedback sooner and adjust our approach as needed.

Karol
Senior Business Analyst at Shaped Thoughts

Karol, Senior Business Analyst:

To streamline my daily operations and maintain overall organisational effectiveness, I rely on tools like a personal Kanban board. Specifically, I use Obsidian, which helps me organise tasks and avoid distractions. It’s crucial to prioritise tasks based on business value and maintain a structured approach to documenting requirements and user stories. 

In general, at Shaped Thoughts, we adopt agile methodologies to stay lean and responsive. We focus on delivering the most valuable functionalities first, even if they don’t bring immediate financial returns. This allows us to get clients’ feedback sooner and adjust our approach as needed.

Mateusz, Team Lead:

I’ve tried several approaches and learned that the simplest solutions are the best. I keep a handy text file where I jot down tasks, tweaking or clearing them out as I go. Proper prioritising is key as not everything on the to-do list gets done, and some items eventually get discarded if they’re not critical. 

Also, I set up individual or shared documents for each team member to store meeting notes and feedback. This helps us stay on track and revisit key discussions as needed, fostering trust and reliability among us. It’s a simple but effective way to ensure we’re all accountable and our work flows smoothly.

Arkadiusz, Business Analyst:

To best bridge our development team with the business side, I adapt methods to fit specific business needs and ensure clarity for all stakeholders. Whether it’s creating state diagrams or front-end mockups for complex applications, I prioritise visual aids like diagrams, UML, BPMN, or screen wireframes. The goal is to make these artefacts accessible and understandable to both business stakeholders and our development team, fostering effective collaboration and clear communication throughout the project lifecycle. 

Flexibility is key—I focus on producing practical and clear artefacts rather than adhering strictly to standards that may not resonate with all stakeholders involved in the process.

Wojciech, Tech Lead:

I’m a big fan of the asynchronous work model that we do here at Shaped Thoughts. By leveraging tools like Slack for discussions and documentation, we ensure transparency and enable team members to contribute effectively at their own pace. This approach allows us to handle discussions and problem-solving efficiently. I also use tools such as Jira that further streamline task coordination, ensuring our focus remains on achieving impactful outcomes aligned with team goals. 

What I also find super valuable for our business process effectiveness is that after each sprint session, our team lead analyses metrics like how long tasks typically take to complete and which ones spend the most time in certain stages. This helps us reflect on our processes and optimise our workflow effectively.

Michał, Tech Lead:

In terms of working efficiently and effectively, what I experience and continuously learn is the ability to manage multiple calendars at once. Being available to everyone is crucial in this role—if someone reaches out for help, I need to be there for them.

And when it comes to general communication in asynchronous work, we use a concept called “epic owner“. This means that for any business opportunity we provide, there’s a person in the team who takes care of it from start to finish. They facilitate the discussion, conduct the analysis, talk to all relevant parties, and then present the results of these findings to the team.

We’ve officially started using AI because we can’t fall behind and pretend that AI isn’t helpful. It is. In the heavily regulated insurance industry, AI works great for gathering information, identifying potential issues and available solutions without feeding it our data. AI also helps us build backlogs, create interface prototypes, and document architectural decisions. This significantly boosts our productivity.

We also use GitHub Copilot, which makes handling repetitive tasks easier and quickly generates useful test sets tailored to our edge cases. This way, we get things done a lot faster.

What also contributes a great deal to our performance efficiency is Tuple. It’s a tool we use for remote pairing. With a simple Slack command, we can start a meeting, share screens, and code together. Tuple makes it easy to pair when needed, leading to fewer errors and more focused development. It won’t be an overstatement when I say it was our discovery of the year—we’ve tested various tools, and this one simply works best for us.

Yet another way we kick up productivity is through our “T-shaped” approach. This means our team members have deep core skills plus a broad range of additional skills. This setup helps us avoid bottlenecks because developers handle everything from start to finish, including quality checks. For example, on our latest insurance project, we went live with the first version within days, allowing us to continuously learn and deploy updates. We always monitor system performance closely, catching issues before our clients do. This proactive approach ensures we stay on top of things and can quickly adapt based on client feedback.

Generally, we operate in an iterative, incremental, and progressive mode. What does it mean? When we are unsure about a solution, we quickly propose one and release it to show the client. If they don’t like it, we discard it completely; if they do, we make incremental improvements.

Work Environment and Team Dynamics

How would you describe your team dynamics and the environment you work in? What do you value the most in your team?

It’s a really mature team, and what I really like is that we operate a bit like the Musketeers—”one for all, all for one”. It’s really great to know each of us has the others’ backs.

Wojciech
Tech Lead at Shaped Thoughts

Karol, Senior Business Analyst:

One of the things that I appreciate the most at our company is that we have a truly senior-level team. And it shows in our communication skills. No one sweeps things under the rug; if someone notices something doesn’t sit right, they speak up about it. Everyone is open to feedback and suggestions, which fosters a collaborative environment.

Mateusz, Team Lead:

Our team dynamics are quite unique compared to my past experiences. Typically, teams are structured with a mix—junior, regular, and senior roles, creating a sort of hierarchy. Here, it’s more like an inverted pyramid—we’re all seniors with just one regular team member. 

This setup makes for an interesting dynamic because there’s less mentorship in the traditional sense. Everyone comes in with their own experiences and perspectives, which could sometimes lead to challenges, because when you’re dealing with seasoned professionals, it’s not easy to sway opinions, and everyone tends to pull in their preferred direction. Not here, though. Here, flexibility and maturity stand out. Having lived through various professional challenges, we each bring unique perspectives to the table. 

This diversity of thought fosters meaningful discussions where we weigh different viewpoints before arriving at conclusions. Our discussions are on a high level, and communication is clear and open, which is crucial for our dynamic.

So, I would say that I value the professionalism of every single person on the team, which is visible in many aspects of our work, especially in how we communicate and implement solutions.

Arkadiusz, Business Analyst:

There are 3 things I value the most in my team: communication, openness, and trust. If something goes wrong, we focus on solving the problem collectively rather than pointing fingers. This openness ensures we can address issues swiftly and deliver high-quality results. Plus, never before I’d worked with a technical team so interested in why we do things. There are a lot of questions coming to me about why, what for, and whether it makes sense—all from a strictly business perspective. It’s really cool.

Wojciech, Tech Lead:

Commitment. It’s what I value the most in my team. Despite the remote-first work setup, which in theory might open up possibilities for shortcuts and slacking off, there’s never a question about the work ethic of our team members here.

And we have, I would call it, a blameless culture and a strong emphasis on ownership. So, none of us will ever hear “You’re the one who messed this up, so you fix it”. It’s a really mature team, and what I really like is that we operate a bit like the Musketeers—”one for all, all for one.” It’s great to know each of us has the others’ backs.

Seniority and experience play a role, but what also sets us apart is our dedication to cultural fit during recruitment. Soft skills are highly valued here, not just technical prowess, and we carefully consider whether someone fits into the team. This ensures that everyone not only contributes technically but also aligns with our values and collaborative spirit.

Michał, Tech Lead:

Professionalism and autonomy, for sure. Everyone I work with is an expert in their field. The culture of collaboration and communication is very high here. We’re confident in making decisions, even in those we’re not 100% sure. There’s room for mistakes here, and we embrace experimentation, building trust that everything is done in good faith. 

Besides being technical experts, every single one of us is a true professional in their work. They know why they are here, understand our goals, and recognise that we are working together to achieve them. We openly discuss challenges and opportunities, making sure we all move forward together.

Value for Our Clients

Honestly, there is so much about Shaped Thoughts, their skills and how they operate that is impressive. (…) They did exactly what they said by the date they committed to do it.

Rick Wilton
Head of Product—Payments and Finance at Policy Expert

What would you say our clients value in the way we deliver and us as a company?

Karol, Senior Business Analyst:

That would be transparency and open communication. Through consistent delivery and open dialogue, we’ve built trust with our clients. We provide quick feedback and don’t hide issues under the rug. If something’s not right, we inform the client right away. But we don’t just point out what’s not working; we also discuss how we can fix it and improve it. We always come up with suggestions and plans for changing our approach or refining things. 

In my past experiences, clients asking questions like “Why is this taking so long?” was not uncommon. And here? I’ve never heard such a thing from our clients. Again, this is thanks to our open communication and commitment to delivering quality work promptly. And our clients see that and appreciate it. We provide them with regular updates and forecasts, ensuring transparency about project progress and timelines.

There’s a clear understanding and acceptance of the process and timelines, which allows our clients to make informed decisions without feeling the need to push our team to hurry or cut corners. They know full well that the better we do our work, the more confident they can feel because everything runs smoother. After all, they want to be seen as InsurTech companies that are truly tech-savvy in the insurance industry, which aligns with their values.

Arkadiusz, Business Analyst:

One of our key strengths that our clients notice is our ability to blend speed with quality. It really stands out here, and it shows. The feedback we often get from our clients is about our quick delivery and the high quality of our solutions. We don’t create additional problems along the way or make excuses about processes or limitations. If something needs to be delivered, we try to find ways to deliver ASAP. We don’t just build what’s asked; we dive deep to understand the underlying problems and provide the best possible solutions. This is something our clients really appreciate.

Michał, Tech Lead:

Our clients appreciate the way we discuss requirements. At the inception of a project, I led a session called event storming. It involved collecting requirements directly from the client by organising a joint session where we modelled both current and future processes, identifying scenarios the system should support, among other things. 

The feedback I received from our client was nothing but positive—they were thrilled with how we discussed their requirements. They discovered valuable insights they weren’t aware of, so they started seeing the process in greater detail. Our client appreciated that we could adapt to their language, discuss business matters effectively, and even provide advice, identifying gaps in their process.

Summary

At Shaped Thoughts, we’ve found that a lean, agile approach combined with a focus on business value really drives our success in the InsurTech space. By always delivering on our promises and keeping communication open, we’ve earned our clients’ trust. We continuously prioritise tasks and stay dedicated to quality to ensure that each project not only meets our clients’ expectations but also adapts swiftly to any changes.

Every team member plays a vital role in our success. We are proud of our collaborative culture and our ability to deliver exceptional results efficiently. I know it’s just our words—either you buy it or not. But there’s a way for you to know for sure—lean on us as your reliable technology partner and see for yourself how we deliver. All you need to do is contact us. Why don’t you give it a shot?