The sprint is a five-day process for answering critical business questions through design, prototyping, and testing ideas with customers.
Developed at Google Ventures (GV), it’s a “greatest hits” of business strategy, innovation, behavior science, design thinking, and more—packaged into a battle-tested process that any team can use.
Source: Google Ventures
With a few projects using this methodology coming up in 2018, here's a brief summary of the process, some bullets for use in proposals etc., and some general resources / further reading. (dwyl#80)
Here is a very topline overview of the process, used in a recent proposal:
Google Design Sprint: a design method developed and battle-tested by Google Ventures, fast-forwarding through design, prototyping, and customer-testing in only five days:
- Monday - articulate a long-term goal, workshop it with the team, and pick a target for the week
- Tuesday - review existing ideas, sketch rough ‘n’ ready solutions; recruit target customers ready for Friday’s user tests
- Wednesday - decide which solution to take forward, turn sketches into a full storyboard
- Thursday - develop (the facade of) the prototype, just realistic enough to start user tests; decide on a testing process and identify key aspects for customer feedback
- Friday - interview testers, observe them reacting to the product. Pat ourselves on the back - an entire design cycle in five days!
Here is an image that we liked which neatly illustrates the process:
Source: Benjamin Richy on Medium
(While reading this, do bear in mind that dwyl would tweak the process below based on the nature of the client/objective/timings/etc. - this is the canonical process as described at Google Ventures)
It's a whirlwind of a week so preparation is key.
This starts with the workshop facilitator identifying people from across the team/company with different job roles - business, marketing, technology, product and design, etc.
Then make sure the sprint team are engaged beforehand (for example, sending them an introductory note to build up anticipation and explain the sprint concept).
You'll also need to make sure the group has access to a suitable collaborative space for the week, and stock up on the usual workshop materials - postit notes, felt pens, and so on.
See setting the stage for much more detail (Google Ventures Library)
Monday’s structured discussions create a path for the sprint week.
In the morning, you’ll start at the end and agree to a long-term goal.
Next, you’ll make a map of the challenge.
In the afternoon, you’ll ask the experts at your company to share what they know.
Finally, you’ll pick a target: an ambitious but manageable piece of the problem that you can solve in one week.
See Monday) for much more detail (Google Ventures Library)
After a full day of understanding the problem and choosing a target for your sprint, on Tuesday, you get to focus on solutions.
The day starts with inspiration: a review of existing ideas to remix and improve.
Then, in the afternoon, each person will sketch, following a four-step process that emphasizes critical thinking over artistry.
You’ll also begin planning Friday’s customer test by recruiting customers that fit your target profile.
See Tuesday for much more detail (Google Ventures Library)
By Wednesday morning, you and your team will have a stack of solutions. That’s great, but it’s also a problem. You can’t prototype and test them all — you need one solid plan.
In the morning, you’ll critique each solution, and decide which ones have the best chance of achieving your long-term goal.
Then, in the afternoon, you’ll take the winning scenes from your sketches and weave them into a storyboard: a step-by-step plan for your prototype.
See Wednesday for much more detail (Google Ventures Library)
On Wednesday, you and your team created a storyboard. On Thursday, you’ll adopt a “fake it” philosophy to turn that storyboard into a prototype.
A realistic façade is all you need to test with customers, and here’s the best part: by focusing on the customer-facing surface of your product or service, you can finish your prototype in just one day.
On Thursday, you’ll also make sure everything is ready for Friday’s test by confirming the schedule, reviewing the prototype, and writing an interview script.
See Thursday for much more detail (Google Ventures Library)
Your sprint began with a big challenge, an excellent team—and not much else. By Friday, you’ve created promising solutions, chosen the best, and built a realistic prototype. That alone would make for an impressively productive week.
But you’ll take it one step further as you interview customers and learn by watching them react to your prototype. This test makes the entire sprint worthwhile.
At the end of the day, you’ll know how far you have to go, and you’ll know just what to do next.
See Friday for much more detail (Google Ventures Library)