My first sprint
[🇧🇷 This article is also available in portuguese.]
I, personally, am not really a fan of methodologies. I believe that how they are presented often contributes to wrong interpretations. The fact that you have a step-by-step guide to follow won’t necessarily guarantee a good outcome, what matters, in my opinion, is the diversity of ideas and shared values. However, I believe that — if used correctly — not as a cake recipe, but as a guiding star throughout the process — methodologies can surely help a lot.
I’m a part of Verve Works, a design and innovation consultancy present in Recife and São Paulo, Brazil. We were hired to facilitate a design sprint in an educational group, and I’m going to share in this post some lessons from this experience. For contractual reasons, I’m not going into project details, and also since I think the greater benefit is in providing some insight into how and in what situations this toolkit can be applied.
Design Sprint is a methodology developed by Jake Knapp, with improvements by other members of Google Ventures, that aims to iterate and validate ideas more rapidly. I believe that UX’s traditional process by nature isn’t agile, but in a sprint, the intensity is increased, and the stages are surpassed faster. The idea is that, for 5 days, stakeholders, specialists in the relevant field and designers are gathered in a room. There is already an uncountable number of articles and videos thoroughly explaining the methodology, so I won’t go into details, but you can learn more about it in these links:
- An article by Jake Knapp for Fast Company, where he explains the fundamentals behind design sprint’s and the routine involved;
- A page from Google that presents the methodology and offers some resources for those who’d like to apply it;
- Book about the method written by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky and Braden Kowitz, the Bible of Design Sprint’s, so to speak (not too long people, it’s good to read).
I’ll just say that it’s ideal to solve well-defined problems, so real research with people should have been conducted previously and the challenge already well delimited before beginning. During the 4 or 5 days (depending on which version you’re using), your mind is overloaded, everything is timed, and multiple goals are outlined for each day of the week.
A lot of well-known companies have run sprints. Medium itself, where you are reading this article right now, has used the tool. Being created by Google Ventures has certainly contributed to the success of the methodology, but its popularity can’t be attributed to mere fame by association. It’s more than a method with a cool name, and you can check out the result of multiple experiences on this page. TL’DR: it really works.
The designer’s role in the co-creation process is to bring out the best from the people involved, using our body of knowledge and synthesis skills, together with a set of techniques, to catalyze the process. The involvement of a senior designer as facilitator is essential, since he can, with mastery, lead the process and deal with eventual roadblocks that may come up.
I would like to go into a few topics, particularities of the process that I believe are interesting to comment upon. Starting with…
1. Every problem is fair game.
Even though the methodology is most commonly used for digital products, it can prove useful for solving any problem. It’s a great way to “see the future,” experience the proposed solution before making any costly obligations. Try using it to design a service or, who knows, maybe even designing your organization’s own internal process…
2. Don’t forget to invite the boss.
Having the CEO or someone in comparable positions participating in the process is very important. His feeling of ownership legitimizes the process and helps the solution’s future success. Sure, his time is precious, but be clear about how important it is for him to participate. The process stops being a black box, and the solution is seen differently when he observes the level of attention and care that was employed.
3. Breaks are important.
It’s easy to neglect some questions due to the accelerated rhythm of the activities, and it’s for this reason that breaks are of the utmost importance. As designers, we must always be looking closely at a specific problem (zooming in) and taking a moment to reflect upon the general vision (zooming out). During a lunch, for instance, worries and deviations can become more apparent, and corrections in the process are made accordingly.
4. Design is never done.
The prototyping stage is one that challenges me a lot. In a sprint, it just isn’t possible to keep polishing that icon. It’s necessary to focus on what impacts validation the most, such as the language adopted, for example. Designing a prototype in a few hours is difficult for any perfectionist, but very important since something needs to be validated on the next day. Take in the saying “Design is never done” from the famous Luke Wroblewski and move on.
5. Making mistakes is normal, interviews are hard.
This is something many of you may be tired of knowing, but interviews with users are not easy. No matter how much experience and planning are involved, conversations may not always happen as expected. Sometimes, disarming the person proves necessary, so he or she can begin sharing what you are after. Remember to schedule more interviews than necessary, since the firsts serve as warm-ups. Learn with them, and adjust the conduct so that you can gather the most faithful perceptions possible. Remember also to save some time for the precious coding that happens after an interview, a brief pause to register momentary perceptions and avoid losing insights.
6. Nothing needs to be locked.
As I’ve mentioned before, no methodology should be followed to the letter. For example, Brazilians love to talk, and sprints usually involve little discussion, but if you think that in a certain moment it is important, there’s no problem in allowing it. Bringing additional tools to complement the process in the event of a roadblock is also permitted. Try to adapt the process to the context, but be mindful so as to verify if the essence of the methodology is not getting lost.
7. Different people, innovative solutions.
Another item that I find important to reinforce is the diversity of cultures. Listening to different accents on a table is proof that you’re doing it right. Look for people who live in different environments, with different experiences in life and opinions. This is the key to avoid biased thoughts and raise the chances of success. Big companies, such as Google or Apple, are not insisting on this topic for no reason. I could personally witness the difference that it has on the process.
This is what I have for you guys today. I would like to thank Dui Aguiar and Mateus Mendes, who were with me bringing their always relevant opinions to the table. And also, Jake Knapp, who created the Design Sprint 2.0 while in AJ&Smart, the version we used as a basis for the process which I participated in.
As always, any suggestions or stories, don’t forget to comment. Claps are very much appreciated. Thank you.
