Design Sprint: accelerating innovation and getting organizations moving
CHECK-IN
In a world where innovation is often just a buzzword and decisions get stuck in a labyrinth of bureaucracy, many CEOs are faced with a pressing problem:
How do you get a sluggish organization moving?
How do you break through the tough dynamic that lets good ideas fizzle out?
The pressure to deliver results quickly is growing. But in large companies, every step forward seems to be a feat of strength that remains mired in endless meetings and coordination.
This is where the Design Sprint concept comes into play - a structured method that combines time pressure, teamwork and user feedback to achieve quick and measurable results in five days.
Jake Knapp developed this method at Google Ventures and it has since become established in many industries. In just five days, your team can go from problem definition to a validated prototype. It is a radical approach that challenges entrenched processes and forces an organization to focus on the essentials: the quick path from idea to implementation.
But how does it work in practice? And what do you need to pay attention to so that your first design sprint doesn't fail?
This article shows how you can use the Design Sprint to break down the rigid corset of your organization and achieve the fast results you need to stay ahead of the competition.
The design sprint process: Five days, five steps
The design sprint typically lasts five days, with each day dedicated to a specific focus:
Preparation: Getting to the heart of the Design Sprint Challenge
Day 1: Naming the problem and understanding it from the user's perspective
Day 2: Collecting and sketching ideas
Day 3: Select the best ideas and develop a storyboard
Day 4: Building prototypes
Day 5: Test prototype with customers and obtain feedback
Design sprint process 5 phases
Deep Dive: Design Sprint with relevant tools and concrete agenda - for direct use in your own company
There is a lot of content and videos online about the basics and the philosophy behind the Google Ventures Design Sprint - but only a few simple, clear practical tips on how to organize the individual days of the Design Sprint. We try to make up for this with this article.
Day 1: Map - Understand, identify problems, set goals
Your team starts by analyzing the problem and emphasizing the planning for the development. What is the challenge? What are the goals?
It is crucial that everyone involved develops a common understanding.
This also includes creating a "map", a schematic representation of the customer journey that illustrates the problem.
The problem is defined and analyzed
Goals are set
User journey mapping and personas are created
Typical agenda for day 1:
Tomorrow:
Welcome and introduction (30 min)
Define the problem (60 min)
Conduct expert interviews (90 min)
Create user journey map (90 min)
Afternoon:
Formulate "How Might We" questions (60 min)
Vote on focus (30 min)
Define long-term goal (45 min)
Formulate sprint questions (45 min)
End of the day and reflection (30 min)
Concrete tools that have proven their worth:
Problem Statement Canvas: A tool that helps the team to clearly formulate the problem by collecting answers to the questions "What?", "How?" and "Why?" in a structured way. This method ensures a clear definition of the problem and helps to focus the discussions.
Customer journey map: A visual representation of the steps a user goes through to achieve a goal. This map helps to identify existing weaknesses and opportunities. The team uses sticky notes to visualize different phases, actions, thoughts and emotions of the user.
Typical questions:
What is the central problem we want to solve?
This question helps to focus the discussion and ensure that all team members have a clear understanding of the problem to be solved.Who are our users and what are their needs?
This question guides the creation of personas and the analysis of the customer journey in order to understand the problem from the user's perspective.
Typical pitfalls:
Making too many assumptions:
It is easy to assume that you already fully understand the problem and the users' needs. This can lead to important aspects being overlooked.Workaround:
Rely on sound data, customer interviews and observable behaviors to accurately define the problem.Defining the problem too broadly:
Defining the problem too broadly can overwhelm the team and lead to a loss of focus.Workaround:
Focus on a specific, solvable problem. Use techniques such as the "How Might We" (HMW) to break the problem down to a precise challenge.
Design Sprint - Day 1
Day 2: Sketch - gathering inspiration, sketching ideas
Now it's time to develop ideas. Design thinking, a structured concept for creative problem solving and user-centered thinking, plays a central role here.
Everyone in the team independently creates sketches for possible solutions.
Important: It's not about perfection, but about generating many different approaches.
Brainstorming and idea generation
Sketches and initial concepts are created
Agenda for day 2:
Tomorrow:
Gather inspiration (60 min)
Present Lightning Demos (90 min)
4-Step Sketch:
Notes (20 min)
Ideas (20 min)
Crazy 8s (8 min)
Solution Sketch (90 min)
Afternoon:
Hang up solution sketches (15 min)
Silent criticism (45 min)
Discussion and decision preparation (90 min)
Create heat map (30 min)
End of the day and reflection (30 min)
Tools:
Crazy 8s: A quick brainstorming tool in which each team member outlines eight ideas in eight minutes. This encourages quick thinking and creativity as the participants are forced to develop several possible solutions in a short space of time.
Dot Voting: After the ideas have been presented, the team uses Dot Voting to prioritize the most promising concepts. Each participant receives a certain number of points (dots), which they distribute to their favorite ideas. This helps to quickly reach a consensus decision.
Typical questions:
What solutions could address the problem?
This question should stimulate the creative process and lead the team to consider a wide range of solutions.Which existing approaches can we adopt or improve?
The aim here is to identify existing solutions and consider how they can be developed further.
Typical pitfalls:
Getting lost in details:
Sometimes teams tend to get lost in details and pursue too many ideas.Workaround:
Use methods such as "Crazy 8s" to quickly generate lots of ideas and then use dot voting to select the most promising ones.Lack of diversity in ideas:
If the ideas are too similar or only come from one perspective, innovation falls by the wayside.Workaround:
Encourage divergent thinking and bring different perspectives to the team by involving members from different departments.
Design Sprint - Day 2
Day 3: Decide - evaluate ideas, create storyboards
On day 3, the team selects the most promising ideas from previous sketches and decides which concepts should be implemented in a prototype.
These are translated into a detailed storyboard that serves as a template for the prototype.
It is important to take a pragmatic approach here: The best idea is the one that is most likely to be implemented and tested in a prototype.
Exemplary agenda:
Tomorrow:
Create decision matrix (60 min)
Vote on the best solution (45 min)
Storyboard creation part 1 (90 min)
Afternoon:
Storyboard creation part 2 (120 min)
Prototype planning (60 min)
End of the day and reflection (30 min)
Design Sprint - Day 3
Tools:
Storyboard: The design sprint team creates a storyboard with six to 15 frames that shows the user's interaction with the solution from start to finish. This gives a clear visual idea of how the prototype should be designed and which steps it must include.
Solution sketches: The design sprint team creates detailed sketches of the selected solution ideas. These sketches serve as the basis for the storyboard and enable the team to visualize the solution in detail before it is converted into a prototype.
Typical questions:
Which idea has the greatest potential?
This question helps the team to focus on the solution that is most likely to achieve the goals and meet user needs.How could the user interact with our solution?
This question is used to visualize the user experience and identify potential weaknesses at an early stage.
Typical pitfalls:
Too long discussions:
Long discussions about each idea can delay the process.Workaround:
Use dot voting and storyboarding to quickly make decisions and visualize ideas.Unclear decisions:
If the team does not clearly decide which idea to pursue, the sprint can come to a standstill.Bypass:
Use clear coordination mechanisms and ensure that decision-makers are involved.
Day 4: Prototypes
On the fourth day of the design sprint, the teams build.
This is known as 'Day 4: Prototypes', where prototypes are developed and tested to get realistic feedback from users.
The prototype does not have to be perfect, but it should look as realistic as possible. The aim is to present users with something tangible that they can test.
Agenda for day 4:
All day:
Create prototype (different activities depending on the type of prototype)
In between: Short stand-ups for voting
Parallel: Preparation of user tests for day 5
Proven tools:
InVision or Figma:These digital prototyping tools allow the team to create interactive and realistic prototypes without the need for extensive programming skills. They are ideal for simulating user interfaces and experiences.
Role allocation:The team is divided into specific roles, e.g. "Maker" (who designs the screens), "Stitcher" (who assembles the elements) and "Writer" (who creates the text). This clear division of roles ensures that the prototype is created efficiently and that everyone knows what they have to do.
Typical questions:
How can we visualize our solution quickly and effectively?
This question helps the team to focus on creating a functional but simple prototype that covers the most important functions.What does the prototype absolutely have to include?
This involves discussing which functions are essential in order to make user feedback meaningful.
Typical pitfalls:
Too high a demand for perfection:
A prototype should not be perfect, but should deliver testable results quickly.Workaround:
Focus on the core functions and on completing the prototype within one day.Overloading the prototype:
Packing too many functions into the prototype can make the tests confusing and dilute the findings.Workaround:
Concentrate on the most important "signature moments" and only include the bare essentials.
Day 5: Test: Test prototype, collect feedback
On the last day, the prototype is presented to real users. Their feedback is crucial in order to understand whether the solution works or not. The team draws concrete conclusions for further development.
Design Sprint - Day 5
Daily routine:
Tomorrow:
Final preparations for tests (60 min)
Implementation of 3-4 user tests (60 min each)
Afternoon:
Carrying out another 2-3 user tests (60 min each)
Evaluation of the test results (90 min)
Derivation of next steps (60 min)
Sprint conclusion and reflection (30 min)
Approaches:
User interviews:
Five users from the target group are invited to test the prototype. Their reactions and feedback are systematically recorded. The team conducts interviews to gain a deep understanding of the user experience. The aim is to identify problems in use and ideas for improving the products and services.Affinity mapping:
After the interviews, the collected data is structured by the teams and summarized in an affinity map. Similar observations and feedback are grouped together in order to identify patterns and common problems that can be incorporated into further development.
Typical questions:
How do users react to the prototype?
This question aims to understand user feedback and assess how well the prototype meets needs.Which assumptions were confirmed or refuted?
This question is crucial for determining which parts of the prototype should be pursued further and which should be discarded.
Typical pitfalls:
Users are guided too much:
If the testers are given too much guidance or the questions are too distracting, the feedback can be distorted.Workaround:
Ask open, non-suggestive questions and allow users to explore the prototype on their own.Lack of follow-up:
Without a thorough analysis of the feedback and clear next steps, the results of the sprint will fizzle out.Workaround:
Summarize the test results, identify clear areas for improvement and create a plan for further development.
What you need to look out for in practice: The finer points of the Design Sprint Challenge
A design sprint is not a sure-fire success. Here are a few points that you should definitely bear in mind:
Preparation is everything: a clearly formulated problem and the right composition of the team are crucial. The product owner and the decision-maker must be closely involved to ensure effective problem solving.
Five days, Monday to Friday, daily from 10 am to 5 pm. The team must be released from all other obligations, meetings etc. for this time slot
Team size: five to seven
Users: finally, five customers or users are shown the prototype and structured feedback is collected
Fixed room with whiteboards, sufficient post-its - in general, similar to lean management with the Kanban board, the strong use of visualization is crucial
Discipline: The time frame is tight. It is important that all participants are engaged in the process and that distractions are avoided.
Open communication: Encourage your team to express unusual ideas. Diversity of perspectives is the key to success.
Realistic expectations: A prototype is not a finished product. The aim is to gain initial insights, not to present the perfect solution.
Typical mistakes and how to avoid them
Problem too broad: If the problem is too unspecific, the team will get bogged down. Define the playing field clearly and narrowly.
Lack of preparation: Without thorough preparation, valuable time is lost. Invest sufficient time in the preparatory work.
Wrong team composition: The team should consist of people with different skills. Avoid involving only experts from one discipline.
Prototypes demand too much perfection: A prototype is a rough sketch, not a finished solution. Focus on speed and testability, not perfection.
No real user feedback: Testing with real users is the key to success. Make sure that the test subjects really belong to the target group.
CHECK-OUT:
When it comes to developing a new product or digital solution, you often come up against one of the biggest obstacles: the implementation of ideas. But this is exactly where the design sprint comes into play - it is the engine that catapults your organization to the next level of digital transformation.
In just one intensive week, a design sprint brings the entire team together to identify challenges, create solutions and test them immediately - a real turbo boost for any product development. The roles and responsibilities are clearly distributed so that everyone can contribute their skills in the best possible way. This is where old ways of thinking are broken down and collective creativity is unleashed.
This approach not only promotes innovation, but also efficiency - by identifying and eliminating weak points at an early stage, costly errors in later development are avoided. Sure, the product is not final after the sprint - but the foundation for complete success has been laid. In short, the design sprint is the key to mastering the digital challenges of today and achieving the defined goals of tomorrow.
Operationally, we continue with service level management in e-commerce fulfillment.