Design Sprint

Test big ideas in just 5 days. Apply Google Ventures' proven methodology to go from problem to validated prototype without months of development.

When to Use This Skill

• New product concepts that need validation before building
• Big feature decisions with significant investment required
• Stuck teams needing to break through analysis paralysis
• Startup pivots when direction is uncertain
• High-risk bets where failure is expensive
• Cross-functional alignment when teams disagree on direction

Methodology Foundation

What Claude Does vs What You Decide

What This Skill Does

1. Structures a 5-day process - Monday to Friday, full schedule
2. Facilitates divergent thinking - Generate many ideas
3. Enables rapid prototyping - Realistic but fake
4. Validates with real users - Test on Friday
5. Aligns teams quickly - Shared understanding and decision
6. Reduces risk - Learn before you build

How to Use

Plan a Design Sprint

I want to run a design sprint to solve [challenge].
Help me plan the 5-day schedule and prepare materials.
Team: [who's involved]

Run a Specific Sprint Day

We're on [Day] of our design sprint.
Guide me through today's activities for [challenge].

Adapt for Remote/Compressed Sprint

I need to run a design sprint remotely [or: in 3 days instead of 5].
Help me adapt the methodology.

Instructions

Step 1: Understand the Sprint Overview

## The 5-Day Sprint

### Why 5 Days?

**Day 1 (Monday): Map**
Understand the problem and pick a target

**Day 2 (Tuesday): Sketch**
Generate solutions individually

**Day 3 (Wednesday): Decide**
Choose the best solution

**Day 4 (Thursday): Prototype**
Build a realistic facade

**Day 5 (Friday): Test**
Get real user feedback

### The Philosophy

**Before sprints:**
- Debate ideas for weeks
- Build something over months
- Launch and hope
- Discover problems late

**With sprints:**
- 1 day to understand
- 2 days to generate and decide
- 1 day to prototype
- 1 day to validate
- Learn before building

### What You Need

**Team (7 or fewer):**
- Decider (authority to make calls)
- Facilitator (runs the sprint)
- Product person
- Designer
- Engineer
- Domain expert
- Customer-facing person

**Space:**
- Dedicated room for 5 days
- Whiteboards or wall space
- Post-its, markers, dot stickers

**Prep:**
- 5 user interviews scheduled for Friday
- Sprint challenge defined
- Long-term goal agreed

Step 2: Day-by-Day Activities

## Monday: Map

### Goal
Understand the problem. Pick where to focus.

### Schedule

**10:00 - Long-term goal**
"Where do we want to be in 6 months / 2 years?"
Write on whiteboard. Get Decider agreement.

**10:30 - Sprint questions**
"What could go wrong? What do we need to learn?"
Turn fears into questions.
"Will users understand our value prop?"
"Can we convert free users to paid?"

**11:00 - Make a map**
Customer journey map:

[Actor] → [Action 1] → [Action 2] → [Goal] ↓ ↓ [Touchpoint] [Touchpoint]

Simple is better. Show how customers interact.

**1:00 - Ask the experts**
Interview team members and stakeholders.
20 minutes each. "How Might We" notes.

**How Might We (HMW):**
Turn problems into opportunities.
Problem: "Users don't understand pricing"
HMW: "How might we make pricing instantly clear?"

**3:30 - Organize HMWs**
Affinity map the HMW notes.
Dot vote on most important.

**4:30 - Pick a target**
Choose ONE part of the map to focus on.
Decider makes the call.

### Monday Output
- Long-term goal on wall
- Sprint questions on wall
- Map on wall
- Target circled on map

## Tuesday: Sketch

### Goal
Generate solutions. Everyone contributes.

### Schedule

**10:00 - Lightning demos**
Show inspiring solutions from other products/industries.
3 minutes each. Capture "Big Ideas" on post-its.

**11:30 - Divide or swarm**
If multiple targets, assign team members to each.
If one target, everyone tackles it.

**1:00 - Four-step sketch (individual work)**

**Step 1: Notes (20 min)**
Walk around room. Take notes on what's there.
Review goals, map, HMWs, demos.

**Step 2: Ideas (20 min)**
Write rough ideas. No polish.
Quantity over quality.

**Step 3: Crazy 8s (8 min)**
Fold paper into 8 sections.
1 minute per section: sketch a variation.
Forces rapid iteration.

**Step 4: Solution sketch (30-90 min)**
Create a 3-panel storyboard.
Self-explanatory (words + pictures).
Anonymous (no names).

**Key rules:**
- Work alone (no groupthink)
- No collaboration yet
- Keep sketches anonymous
- Must be self-explanatory

### Tuesday Output
- Solution sketches from each person
- Posted on wall, face out

## Wednesday: Decide

### Goal
Choose one solution to prototype.

### Schedule

**10:00 - Art museum**
Post all sketches on wall.
Team walks around in silence (no pitching).

**10:30 - Heat map**
Dot vote silently on interesting parts.
No discussion. Cluster votes reveal consensus.

**11:00 - Speed critique**
3 minutes per sketch.
Facilitator narrates. Team discusses.
Capture standout ideas.

**11:45 - Straw poll**
Each person votes for ONE solution.
(Not binding, just gauging sentiment)

**12:00 - Supervote**
Decider gets 3 special votes.
Decider's votes decide what gets prototyped.

**Why Decider decides:**
- Faster than consensus
- One person is accountable
- Avoids design-by-committee

**1:30 - Rumble or All-in-one?**
If votes cluster on one idea: All-in-one prototype
If votes split: Can we combine? Or do we rumble (test both)?

**2:00 - Storyboard**
Draw the prototype frame-by-frame.
What does the user see at each step?

[Frame 1] [Frame 2] [Frame 3] [Frame 4] Opening Key action Result End state scene

15-20 frames typical. Detail matters.

### Wednesday Output
- Winner(s) chosen
- Detailed storyboard ready for prototype

## Thursday: Prototype

### Goal
Build something real enough to test.

### Schedule

**Full day: Build the prototype**

### The Prototype Mindset

**Not building:**
- A real product
- Code
- Anything that works

**Building:**
- A facade
- Realistic enough to get real reactions
- Goldilocks quality (just right)

### Goldilocks Quality

**Too low:** User can't engage, doesn't feel real
**Too high:** Takes too long, you get attached
**Just right:** Real enough to react to, fake enough to be fast

### Division of Labor

**Makers (2+):**
Build the screens/assets

**Stitcher (1):**
Assemble into clickable flow

**Writer (1):**
All the copy and content

**Asset collector (1):**
Stock photos, logos, icons

**Interviewer (1):**
Prep Friday's interview script

### Tools

| Prototype Type | Tools |
|----------------|-------|
| Digital product | Figma, Keynote, InVision |
| Physical product | 3D print, foam, paper |
| Service | Role-play script, fake storefront |
| Marketing | Landing page, fake ads |

### Thursday Tips

- Start with hardest screens first
- Writer writes real copy (not Lorem Ipsum)
- Error states matter
- Have something testable by 3pm
- Do a trial run at 4pm
- Fix issues before Friday

### Thursday Output
- Clickable/usable prototype
- Interview script ready
- 5 users confirmed for Friday

## Friday: Test

### Goal
Learn from real users.

### Schedule

**9:00 - Prep**
- Prototype working
- Interview room ready
- Observation room set up (team watches)

**10:00-3:00 - Five user interviews**
1 hour each. 30 minutes between.

**Interview structure:**
1. Friendly welcome (5 min)
2. Context questions (10 min)
3. Prototype walkthrough (40 min)
4. Debrief (5 min)

**3:30-5:00 - Review and learn**
- Look for patterns
- What worked?
- What didn't?
- What surprised us?

### Watching the Interviews

**Team watches from another room**
- Video feed or live stream
- No interrupting

**Note-taking:**
Each watcher takes notes on:
- Positive reactions (+)
- Negative reactions (-)
- Quotes
- Questions

**Use a grid:**

Feature A | + Easy | + Easy | - Conf | + Easy | + Easy Feature B | - Lost | - Lost | - Lost | + OK | - Lost

Patterns become obvious.

### 5 Is Enough

Why 5 users?
- 85% of issues found with 5 users
- Diminishing returns after 5
- Can recruit in a week
- One day of testing

### Friday Output
- Patterns documented
- Decisions on what to build
- Next steps clear

Step 3: After the Sprint

## What Happens Next

### Possible Outcomes

**1. Big hit (everything worked)**
- Move to build with confidence
- Scope based on prototype
- High conviction, low risk

**2. Flawed but promising**
- Know what to fix
- Might need mini-sprint on problem area
- Build core, iterate on issues

**3. Mixed results**
- Some things worked, some didn't
- Consider pivot or scope reduction
- Another sprint on specific problem?

**4. Complete miss**
- Wrong problem or wrong solution
- Better to know now than after building
- Reframe and try again

### Turn Learning into Action

**If building:**
1. Turn storyboard into spec
2. Engineers can start from prototype
3. Validated design reduces back-and-forth

**If pivoting:**
1. What did we learn?
2. What's the new hypothesis?
3. Next sprint or different approach?

### Document the Sprint

**Sprint summary:**
- The challenge we addressed
- What we tested
- What we learned
- Decisions made
- Next steps

**Keep the artifacts:**
- Photos of walls
- The prototype
- User test videos (gold!)

Examples

Example 1: Planning a Sprint

Input:

"We're a B2B SaaS company considering a major redesign of our dashboard. Should we run a design sprint?"

Output:

Sprint Assessment: Dashboard Redesign

Is This Right for a Sprint?

Sprint works well when:

• ✓ High stakes (major investment if wrong)
• ✓ Uncertainty (don't know if design will work)
• ✓ Can prototype (digital product, easy to fake)
• ✓ Users available (can recruit B2B users)

Sprint less ideal when:

• Solution is obvious (just build it)
• Can't prototype (deep technical problem)
• No user access (government contracts, etc.)

Verdict: Good sprint candidate.

Sprint Setup

Challenge: "Design a dashboard that helps users accomplish [key job] in half the time."

Long-term goal: "Users choose us over competitors because our dashboard makes them more effective."

Sprint questions:

• Will users understand the new layout?
• Can users find the data they need quickly?
• Will the new design scale to power users?
• Does this work on smaller screens?

Team Composition

Recruiting Users

Target: 5 current users who use dashboard daily

Criteria:

• Mix of power users and regular users
• Different company sizes
• Active in last 30 days

Incentive: $100 gift card for 1-hour session

Schedule: Friday 9am, 10:30am, 12pm, 2pm, 3:30pm

Materials Prep

Before Monday:

• [ ] Room booked for full week
• [ ] Whiteboard or wall space (lots)
• [ ] Post-its (4 colors), markers, dots
• [ ] Snacks and lunch plan
• [ ] Prototype tool ready (Figma account)
• [ ] User interviews confirmed
• [ ] Current analytics pulled
• [ ] Competitor dashboards screenshotted

Example 2: Running Wednesday Decide

Input:

"We're on Wednesday of our sprint. We have 6 solution sketches. Walk me through making a decision."

Output:

Wednesday Decide: Step-by-Step

Morning Setup

Materials ready:

• All 6 sketches posted on wall (face out)
• Timer
• Dot stickers (regular + 3 special for Decider)
• Whiteboard for notes

10:00 - Art Museum (20 min)

Instructions to team: "We're going to look at all solutions silently. No talking, no explaining. Walk around. Look at each sketch. Take notes on what catches your eye. The sketches should speak for themselves."

Timer: 20 minutes

If someone talks: Gently remind: "Save it for the critique."

10:30 - Heat Map (15 min)

Instructions: "Now we'll vote on interesting parts. Not whole solutions—specific elements. Each person gets lots of dots. Put dots on anything you like. One dot per interesting thing. Still no talking."

What happens: Clusters form. Some areas have lots of dots. Some have none. This shows where the energy is without anyone pitching.

11:00 - Speed Critique (3 min per sketch)

Process for each sketch:

1. Facilitator narrates (1 min): "Okay, looking at this solution. I see the user arrives at [X], then clicks [Y], and gets to [Z]. The key idea seems to be [A]."

2. Call out concerns (1 min): "Any concerns or questions the team sees? Not debates—just note them." Write concerns on post-its near the sketch.

3. Creator reveals (30 sec): "Whose sketch is this? Anything we missed?" Creator can correct misunderstandings. No selling.

4. Capture big ideas (30 sec): "Any big ideas to capture from this one?" Write on "Big Ideas" whiteboard.

Move through all 6 sketches. Keep it tight.

11:45 - Straw Poll (5 min)

Instructions: "Now you each vote for ONE solution—the one you think we should prototype. This isn't binding. It shows me where the team's thinking is. Write your vote on a sticky note. I'll collect them."

Reveal the votes: "We have 3 votes for Sketch B, 2 for Sketch D, 1 for Sketch A."

12:00 - Supervote (10 min)

Instructions to Decider: "[Decider name], you now have 3 special votes. These are the deciding votes. You can put all 3 on one sketch, or spread them. Where your votes go, we prototype."

Decider votes. Team watches.

Announce: "We're prototyping Sketch B. This is our direction."

12:15 - Rumble Check

If votes split: Consider testing two approaches. If aligned: Go all-in on winner.

Decision: "We're doing an all-in-one on Sketch B, incorporating the navigation idea from Sketch D."

1:30 - Storyboard

Setup: Large paper or whiteboard. 15-20 empty frames.

Question 1: "What's the opening scene? Where does the user start?"

Draw Frame 1 together. Facilitator draws, team directs.

Question 2: "What happens next? What do they do?"

Continue frame by frame. Include:

• Every screen
• Every click/tap
• Key copy (headlines, buttons)
• Error states if needed

Tip: "Is there anything between Frame 4 and Frame 5? Any step we're missing?"

End of Wednesday

Output:

• Winner chosen
• Storyboard complete
• Team aligned
• Ready to build tomorrow

Example 3: Remote/Compressed Sprint

Input:

"We need to run a sprint but team is remote and we only have 3 days. How do we adapt?"

Output:

Compressed Remote Sprint (3 Days)

Adaptation Principles

Remote changes:

• Video calls instead of in-person
• Digital whiteboard (Miro, Figma, Mural)
• Async pre-work to save synchronous time
• More breaks (video fatigue)

Compressed changes:

• Combine Monday AM + PM
• Combine sketching with deciding
• Prototype faster (Goldilocks, not gold)
• May test with 3 users instead of 5

Pre-Sprint Async Work (Day 0)

Before the sprint starts:

1. Expert interviews: Record async Loom videos
2. Lightning demos: Team submits inspiration in shared doc
3. HMW notes: Start collecting in Miro board
4. User recruiting: Confirm Day 3 testers

Time saved: ~3 hours of Day 1

Day 1: Map + Sketch (Full Day)

9:00-9:30 - Sprint setup

• Video call, cameras on
• Intro, ground rules
• Review pre-work

9:30-10:30 - Long-term goal + Sprint questions

• Miro board for collaborative editing
• Decider confirms goal

10:30-11:30 - Build the map

• One person shares screen and draws
• Team directs
• Pick target

11:30-12:00 - Organize HMWs

• Digital dot voting in Miro
• Affinity clustering

BREAK (1 hour)

1:00-2:30 - Lightning demo review + Notes

• Review pre-submitted demos
• Take individual notes (async)

2:30-3:00 - Crazy 8s

• Everyone works locally
• Screenshot and upload to Miro

3:00-5:00 - Solution sketch

• Work individually
• Upload final sketch to Miro by EOD

Day 2: Decide + Prototype (Full Day)

9:00-10:00 - Art museum + Heat map

• Async review of sketches in Miro (cameras off, 30 min)
• Reconvene for dot voting

10:00-11:00 - Speed critique

• 5 min per sketch (compressed)
• Facilitator shares screen, narrates

11:00-11:30 - Straw poll + Supervote

• Digital voting
• Decider decides

11:30-12:00 - Storyboard start

• Collaborative in Miro
• Sketch key frames

BREAK (1 hour)

1:00-5:00 - Prototype build

• Team splits: Makers, Stitcher, Writer
• Slack channel for coordination
• Check-in at 3pm
• Trial run at 4:30pm

Day 3: Test (Half Day)

9:00-12:00 - User tests

• 3 users (compressed from 5)
• 45 min each
• Video recorded
• Team watches via Zoom

1:00-2:00 - Pattern review

• Debrief call
• What worked? What didn't?
• Decisions captured

2:00-3:00 - Next steps

• Document learnings
• Plan post-sprint action

Remote Sprint Tips

Video fatigue:

• Cameras optional during solo work
• 10-min breaks every 90 min
• Lunch is a real break

Digital whiteboard:

• Assign one person to "drive" shared board
• Use templates to save setup time
• Practice tool before sprint

Time zones:

• Core hours when everyone overlaps
• Async pre-work for offset zones

Prototype tools:

• Figma (collaborative)
• Can share prototype link for testing

Checklists & Templates

Sprint Prep Checklist

## 2 Weeks Before

### People
□ Decider confirmed and calendar blocked
□ Sprint team identified (5-7 people)
□ Facilitator assigned
□ External experts identified for Monday

### Logistics
□ Room booked (or video call setup)
□ User recruitment started

### Challenge
□ Sprint challenge drafted
□ Long-term goal discussed with Decider

## 1 Week Before

### Users
□ 5 users confirmed for Friday
□ Screener criteria applied
□ Calendar invites sent
□ Incentives arranged

### Materials
□ Whiteboards/wall space ready
□ Post-its, markers, dots ordered
□ Prototype tool tested
□ Recording setup for Friday

### Content
□ Lightning demo examples collected
□ Current data/analytics pulled
□ Competitor research gathered

## Day Before

□ Room setup complete
□ Agenda posted
□ Materials laid out
□ Friday interview schedule confirmed
□ Trial run of video/recording

Interview Script Template

## Friday User Test Script

### Welcome (5 min)
"Thanks for coming in! I'm [name], and I'll be walking you
through some ideas we're exploring. This is NOT a test of you—
we're testing our ideas.

Please think out loud. Tell me what you're seeing, what you're
thinking, even if it's 'this is confusing.'

Your honest feedback helps us make this better.
There are no wrong answers. Ready?"

### Context Questions (10 min)
"Before I show you anything..."

- "Tell me about your role. What do you do day to day?"
- "How do you currently handle [problem area]?"
- "What's most challenging about that?"
- "What tools do you use?"

### Prototype Walkthrough (40 min)
"I'm going to show you something we're working on.
It's just a prototype—not everything works.
Talk me through what you see and what you'd do."

[Show prototype]

**As they explore:**
- "What are you thinking?"
- "What would you do next?"
- "What did you expect to happen?"
- "Is this what you expected to see?"

**When they struggle:**
- "What's confusing?"
- "What would make this clearer?"
- Don't rescue them. Let them figure it out.

### Debrief (5 min)
"Thanks for walking through that."

- "If you could change one thing, what would it be?"
- "How does this compare to how you do things today?"
- "Anything else I should know?"

### Close
"Thank you so much! Your feedback is incredibly valuable."

Skill Boundaries

What This Skill Does Well

• Structuring video production workflows
• Creating storyboard frameworks
• Suggesting technical approaches
• Providing creative direction templates

What This Skill Cannot Do

• Replace professional videography
• Edit video files directly
• Make final creative judgments
• Guarantee audience engagement

References

• Knapp, Jake. "Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days" (2016)
• Google Ventures Sprint methodology
• AJ&Smart sprint facilitation resources
• IDEO design thinking background

Related Skills

• product-discovery - Ongoing discovery
• shape-up - Building methodology
• lean-canvas - Business model validation
• mom-test - Interview techniques

Skill Metadata

• Mode: cyborg

name: design-sprint
category: product
subcategory: methodology
version: 1.0
author: MKTG Skills
source_expert: Jake Knapp
source_work: Sprint
difficulty: intermediate
estimated_value: $20,000+ facilitation engagement
tags: [design sprint, GV, Google Ventures, prototyping, validation, 5 days, innovation]
created: 2026-01-25
updated: 2026-01-25