Design Sprint
A design sprint is a time-boxed process, often five days long, in which a small cross-functional team moves from a defined problem to a prototype tested with real users.
The best-known format was developed at Google Ventures and described in the book Sprint by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz. A design sprint compresses weeks of debate into a short, focused block of time. The team maps the problem, sketches competing ideas, chooses one direction, builds a realistic prototype, and tests it with a handful of target users. A decision-maker takes part, so choices get made quickly.
Teams often adapt the format. Some run shorter versions, and others extend the sprint to include development. A design sprint is different from a sprint in Scrum, which is a repeating cycle for building working software. A common misconception is that a design sprint produces a finished product. What it produces is evidence about whether an idea is worth pursuing, and a failed test is a useful result that costs far less than a failed launch.
How it works
Map. Agree on the long-term goal, the key questions, and which part of the problem to target.
Sketch. Each person develops solution ideas on their own.
Decide. The team reviews the ideas and chooses one to prototype.
Prototype. Build a realistic version that is just complete enough to test.
Test. Watch target users try the prototype and note what works and what doesn't.
