As mentioned in how we work, we keep our teams small and embrace agile principles at scale. This approach helps us stay nimble while delivering consistent quality.
The 8-week cycle
We organize our work in 8-week cycles, typically running six cycles per year. This fixed timeframe creates a healthy sense of urgency, prevents scope creep in our projects, and provides regular intervals to reassess our priorities.
At the end of each cycle, we take time for reflection and celebration. We acknowledge achievements and contributions, hunt for new opportunities, publish our tech radar findings, and take a brief cooling period before planning the next cycle.
A day in the life
Our workdays follow a consistent rhythm that balances focused work with necessary collaboration:
- 9 AM Monday: Operations meeting brings together team leads to check status and plan the week's priorities, while Basecamp sends out the activity digest and prompts team members with "What will you be working on this week?"
- 10 AM Monday: Sprint planning meetings kick off the week for teams starting a new sprint. After planning, everyone shifts to focused work.
- 12-1 PM: Lunch break gives everyone time to recharge.
- 3 PM Friday: Teams closing a sprint hold retrospective meetings to reflect on what worked and what could improve.
- 4 PM Friday: Engineering and Design teams hold monthly meetings on the last Friday of each month.
- 5 PM: Basecamp prompts everyone with "What did you work on today?" to capture progress.
- 6 PM: We wrap up the workday.
The rhythm of the week
While Monday marks the official start of our workweek, many of us begin forming our to-do lists by Sunday evening. Sound familiar?
Monday: Planning day
Monday revolves around business planning and project meetings. These typically run from our 9 AM start until lunchtime. Your afternoon is for catching up on work and perhaps completing a few small tasks. Don't expect to tackle major items on Mondays, they're for getting oriented.
Tuesday: Discussion day
Tuesday is prime time for team discussions and client stand-ups. If you need to discuss something with colleagues or hand off tasks, don't wait, Tuesday is your window. We've learned from experience that tasks assigned later in the week (Wednesday or Thursday) often slide to the following week.
Wednesday & Thursday: Deep work days
These are your most productive days, protect them. With meetings behind you, use this uninterrupted time to focus on substantial work and clear your plate of important tasks.
Friday: Wrap-up day
Friday arrives faster than you'd expect. We use it to close loops, summarize weekly progress, and prepare for what's next. Our Project Status meeting at 1 PM gives PMs the chance to update everyone on team progress and client feedback.
Saturday: Your choice
How you spend Saturday is up to you. Most of us consider our week complete by Friday afternoon and dedicate weekend time to personal life and family. It's perfectly fine, encouraged, even, to disconnect completely.
Some Dwarves occasionally use Saturdays for hotfixes or side projects that genuinely interest them. You'll also receive our team newsletter in your inbox, summarizing the week's highlights so you don't miss anything important.
Beyond client work
While client projects are our bread and butter, we invest time in other activities that help us grow together.
Open source and internal products
We create tools and products that solve our own problems first. We use them internally, refining them through real-world testing before considering wider release. Our Open Source projects reflect this philosophy.
Ventures products
Through Dwarves Ventures, our investment arm, we exchange technical expertise for equity in promising startups. We help shape their products and elevate their technical capabilities, creating mutual value. Learn more about our venture deals and internal product incubation.
Tech radar
Staying current in software development requires continuous learning. Every two months, we conduct Tech Radar sessions where team members research technologies they find interesting or potentially valuable to our work. Outstanding research is recognized internally and published for our wider community. Read more about our tech radar process.
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