Hill Charts
A way to show project progress as climbing a hill of unknowns (figuring out what to do) and descending into known execution (getting it done).
Also known as: Hill Chart, Basecamp Hill Charts, Uphill and Downhill Work
Category: Tools
Tags: project-management, visualization, product-management, uncertainty, metrics
Explanation
Hill Charts are a progress visualization from Shape Up, created at Basecamp. Each piece of work is a dot on a hill. The left side, going uphill, represents figuring things out: there are still unknowns and open questions. The right side, going downhill, represents execution: the approach is clear and what remains is doing it.
## Why Not Just Count Tasks?
Task counts and percentages hide the most important information: how much uncertainty remains. A project with 80% of its tasks done can still be stuck on an unsolved problem. Conversely, early tasks often reveal more tasks. Hill charts show what kind of work remains, not just how much.
## How to Use Them
- **Break work into scopes**: Meaningful, independently completable parts of the project, not to-dos.
- **Place each scope on the hill**: Uphill if there are still unknowns, at the top once the approach is validated, downhill as it's executed.
- **Push the riskiest scopes uphill first**: Solve the unknowns early, when there is still time to adjust, and leave routine work for later.
- **Watch for stuck dots**: A dot that doesn't move uphill for days signals a problem that needs attention, even if the team is busy.
## Benefits
- Managers see status without asking for it, which reduces check-in meetings.
- Teams are encouraged to reduce risk early instead of doing the easy work first.
- Progress becomes about confidence, not activity.
## Beyond Software
Hill charts work for any creative or knowledge work: writing a book, preparing a course, researching a topic. The question 'have I figured this out yet, or am I just executing?' is useful on its own.
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