Design Sprint

Design Sprint: smarter, better, faster

A framework to help your teams move through problems and projects in record time.

What is the Design Sprint?

The Design Sprint is a highly collaborative approach that leading organizations use to frame problems and find solutions. Coined by Google, a Design Sprint determines direction through designing, prototyping, and testing solutions to digital and non-digital challenges. The fast-paced workshop ends with a user-tested concept and the momentum to carry your solution forward.

Why use a Sprint?

When you've identified the need for a solution, it’s important to get the team aligned and off to a good start. Bad starts fail to develop buy-in, overshoot budgets and deliver underwhelming results. Sprints are about validating (or invalidating) solutions with users and should be used to kick off every new idea. Start with a Sprint to solve complex problems, build applications or to drive innovation. 

In a Sprint you will ...

PHASE 1UNDERSTAND

Unpack the entire problem or opportunity

PHASE 2Sketch

Draft, compare and discuss competing solutions

PHASE 3DECIDE

Make difficult decisions as a group

PHASE 4PROTOTYPE

Create a high-fidelity prototype

PHASE 5TEST

Validate and iterate with users

Are you ready to try a Design Sprint?

If any of these thoughts are running through your head, then you’re ready for a Design Sprint:

“Our brainstorming sessions don’t seem to get us anywhere.”

“We need our customers involved in the things we’re building for them.” 

“We're nervous about spending more money to get nowhere - again.” 

“Our last software project was a disappointment.”

“If we improved our processes, we could lower costs and be more productive.”

“We need this to work on mobile.”

“We’ve tried fixing the issue so many times, but we can’t get everyone on board”. 

“Our latest web project went way over budget.”

“We’re losing customers to our competitors.”

All the Details

Who should take part?

Different types of users, levels of management and other stakeholders need to be engaged in the creation of your solution. Their involvement provides direction and creates a commitment to the plan. 

When to start?

Design Sprints heavily emphasize problem identification, so we like to say the further upstream the better. Start before you design, before requirement gathering and definitely before you start spinning your wheels.

What is the deliverable?

In the end, you’ll have actionable items to take forward. A prototype can be a wireframe, presentation, a series of sketches, sample content or a service workflow. Present your solutions to your team or work with zu to take the next step in design or development - the possibilities are endless, but the results are concrete. 

Where does this happen?

We can come to you or, even better, let us host you in our Experience Room, an area of our building purposefully designed for workshops and problem solving. It's an inspiring space that provides an escape from your typical corporate boardrooms.

 

 

"We get stuck in decision mode all of the time and a Design Sprint allows us accelerate through our challenges.”

— Colin Brisebois,  Performance and Sales Director,  Farm Credit Canada

 

 

 

Get started.

Are you ready to reduce churn and be more productive? Collaborate and engage users like never before? Experience the benefits that user-centered design can bring in shortening your project backlog and improving your bottom line? 

Contact us today to book your next Design Sprint.

Consider a SPrint for
  • Product Design
  • Service Design
  • Process Improvement
  • Corporate Visioning
  • Web or Mobile Applications
  • Branding Identity Development
  • Innovation
Still unsure?

We understand a full Design Sprint requires a commitment of time. If you like what you see, we do offer custom-tailored Design Strategy workshops that range from a luncheon keynote to single or multi-day sessions. Whatever your challenge, we’d love to see if we can help.

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