Design Sprints
Do you want to speed the development of a new product, system, or service? Do you want to learn how people — whether clients, customers, or your own internal team — respond to new ideas or proposed solutions? Sprints are designed to give you answers to complex problems in a short time frame. True to its name, a sprint is a fast-paced journey through the design thinking process. This does not come at the expense of real problem solving — it accelerates the innovation process and provides tangible outcomes in a week instead of months.
Sprint Week — The Five Day Overview
Monday
Discovery
Map out the problem and all its permutations. What exactly are we trying to solve for?
Tuesday
Ideation
Brainstorming and idea generation. This is the time for ideas big and small without self or group censorship. There are no bad ideas — today, anyway.
Wednesday
Synthesis
Did some of the “crazy” ideas from the previous day inspire some interesting pathways? Time to determine the best of the best worth pursuing.
Thursday
Rapid Prototyping
Fake it ’til you make it — or in this case, actually make it! We’ll rapid-prototype the two or three best solutions in order to show a working solution to our key demographic.
Friday
Testing
It’s testing time! All the hard work of the previous days is laid bare in front of a real, live humans. They will respond and react in ways expected and unexpected, and the information gained is invaluable.
Time Commitment
Design sprints require a significant commitment in both time and resources. It’s difficult to carve out a full week in anyone’s schedule, and it’s even harder when an organization’s key personnel are out-of-pocket for that period of time. The rewards, however, are worth it. Design sprints are a powerful way to speed the development process, often reducing the timetable from months to a single week.
Facilitation
The success of a design sprint is predicated on the engagement of the participants. It requires the deft handling of time, personalities and ideas by a skilled facilitator. Switch facilitators recognize that our role is to be a conduit to the brilliance and talent in the room, not the star of the show. We’ll bring out the best in your people so that real innovation happens.
