| name | design-sprint |
| description | Facilitate Google Ventures Design Sprints - 5-day process for answering critical business questions through design, prototyping, and testing with customers. |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Glob, Grep, Task, WebSearch, WebFetch |
Design Sprint Facilitation
Overview
Design Sprints are a 5-day process developed at Google Ventures for answering critical business questions through design, prototyping, and testing ideas with customers. It compresses months of work into a single week.
When to Use Design Sprints
Ideal for:
- High-stakes decisions with significant risk
- Starting new products or features
- Facing a tight deadline
- Team alignment is needed
- Expensive or risky to build wrong thing
Not ideal for:
- Problems already well understood
- Incremental improvements
- When the answer is obvious
- When you can't get key stakeholders together
Sprint Team Roles
| Role | Description | Responsibility |
|---|
| Decider | Final decision maker (CEO, PM, etc.) | Makes calls when team can't agree |
| Facilitator | Runs the process | Keeps time, manages energy, neutrality |
| Designer | Visualizes ideas | Creates prototype |
| Engineer | Technical feasibility | Reality check on ideas |
| Marketing/Sales | Customer voice | Customer insights, messaging |
| Finance | Business viability | ROI, pricing considerations |
| Customer Support | User perspective | Common problems, user language |
Optimal team size: 4-7 people
The 5-Day Process
Day 1: Map (Understand)
Goal: Create shared understanding and identify the target.
Schedule (6 hours):
- 10:00 - Start at the end (long-term goal)
- 10:30 - List sprint questions
- 11:00 - Make a map
- 12:00 - Lunch
- 13:00 - Ask the Experts
- 15:00 - Target selection
- 17:00 - Wrap up
Exercises:
1. Long-Term Goal
- Where do we want to be in 2 years?
- Template: "In 2 years, we will have [outcome]"
2. Sprint Questions
- Turn risks into questions
- Format: "Can we...?" or "Will they...?"
- Example: "Will enterprise developers trust AI-generated code?"
3. Make a Map
[Actors] → [Steps in Journey] → [End Goal]
Developer → Discovers tool → Signs up → First use → Regular use → Recommends
4. Ask the Experts
- Interview stakeholders, customers, subject matter experts
- Capture insights as "How Might We" notes
- Each person writes HMWs on sticky notes
5. Target Selection
- Vote on most important moment in customer journey
- Decider picks the target
- Rest of sprint focuses on this target
Day 2: Sketch (Diverge)
Goal: Generate many possible solutions individually.
Schedule (6 hours):
- 10:00 - Lightning demos
- 11:30 - Divide or swarm
- 12:00 - Lunch
- 13:00 - Four-step sketch
- 16:00 - Solution sketches complete
- 17:00 - Wrap up
Exercises:
1. Lightning Demos (90 min)
- Each person presents 1-3 inspiring products/features
- 3 minutes per demo
- Capture big ideas for reference
2. Four-Step Sketch (3 hours)
- Notes (20 min): Review material, jot down ideas
- Ideas (20 min): Rough solutions, one per sticky
- Crazy 8s (8 min): Fold paper into 8 panels, sketch 8 variations in 8 minutes
- Solution Sketch (90 min): Detailed 3-panel storyboard of best idea
Solution Sketch Guidelines:
- Self-explanatory (no verbal explanation)
- Anonymous
- 3 panels showing key moments
- Words, wireframes, diagrams welcome
Day 3: Decide (Converge)
Goal: Choose the best solution to prototype.
Schedule (6 hours):
- 10:00 - Art museum
- 11:00 - Heat map voting
- 11:15 - Speed critique
- 12:00 - Lunch
- 13:00 - Straw poll
- 13:30 - Supervote (Decider)
- 14:00 - Rumble or all-in-one
- 15:00 - Storyboard
- 17:00 - Wrap up
Exercises:
1. Art Museum
- Put all solution sketches on wall
- Walk around silently, study each
2. Heat Map
- Each person gets dots (20+)
- Vote on interesting parts of any sketch
- Cluster votes reveal popular concepts
3. Speed Critique
- 3 minutes per sketch
- Facilitator narrates
- Team calls out standouts
- Sketcher reveals intent
- Scribe captures big ideas
4. Supervote
- Decider gets 3 special votes
- Places votes on solutions to prototype
- These choices are final
5. Storyboard
- Create 10-15 panel storyboard for prototype
- Include opening scene (how user discovers)
- Step-by-step interaction
- Closing scene (success moment)
Day 4: Prototype (Build)
Goal: Build a realistic prototype in one day.
Schedule (6 hours):
- 10:00 - Pick tools
- 10:30 - Divide and conquer
- 12:00 - Lunch
- 13:00 - Stitch together
- 15:00 - Trial run
- 16:00 - Finalize
- 17:00 - Wrap up
Prototype Mindset:
- Fake it: Goldilocks quality - realistic enough to evoke honest reactions
- Facade prototype: Real-looking front, nothing behind it
- Just enough: Only what you need to test
Prototype Types:
- Digital products → Figma, Keynote, InVision
- Physical products → 3D print, foam, cardboard
- Services → Brochure, landing page, video
Team Roles:
- Makers (2+): Build the prototype
- Stitcher (1): Ensure consistency, connect pieces
- Writer (1): Write realistic text
- Asset Collector (1): Find images, icons, data
- Interviewer (1): Prepare test script
Day 5: Test (Validate)
Goal: Learn from real users in 5 interviews.
Schedule (6 hours):
- 09:00 - Room setup
- 10:00 - Interview 1
- 11:00 - Interview 2
- 12:00 - Lunch + debrief
- 13:00 - Interview 3
- 14:00 - Interview 4
- 15:00 - Interview 5
- 16:00 - Pattern finding
- 17:00 - Wrap up + next steps
Interview Structure (60 min each):
- Friendly welcome (5 min): Build rapport
- Context questions (10 min): Learn about their life
- Introduce prototype (3 min): Set up scenario
- Tasks + think aloud (30 min): Watch them use it
- Quick debrief (5 min): Summarize reactions
- Thank and wrap (5 min): Next steps, incentive
Note-Taking Grid:
| Interview 1 | Interview 2 | Interview 3 | Interview 4 | Interview 5 |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| Positive | Positive | Positive | Positive | Positive |
| Negative | Negative | Negative | Negative | Negative |
| Question | Question | Question | Question | Question |
Pattern Finding:
- 3+ users with same reaction = pattern
- Positive patterns = validated
- Negative patterns = needs iteration
AI-Facilitated Sprint
When running a Design Sprint asynchronously with AI:
Day 1 Simulation
- Gather all stakeholder context and goals
- Generate long-term goal options
- Create sprint questions from risks
- Draft customer journey map
- Synthesize "expert" insights from available data
Day 2 Simulation
- Research lightning demo candidates
- Generate solution sketches as descriptions
- Create multiple concept variations
- Document as structured storyboards
Day 3 Simulation
- Evaluate solutions against criteria
- Identify trade-offs and risks
- Recommend winning solution(s)
- Create detailed storyboard
Day 4 Simulation
- Specify prototype requirements
- Create wireframe descriptions
- Write prototype copy/content
- Define test scenarios
Day 5 Simulation
- Create interview guide
- Define success criteria
- Plan pattern analysis
- Prepare decision framework
Preparation Checklist
2 Weeks Before
1 Week Before
Sprint Supplies
- Whiteboards or large paper
- Sticky notes (various colors)
- Sharpies (thick markers)
- Dot stickers for voting
- Timer
- Healthy snacks
Integration Points
Inputs from:
- User research and customer data
- Stakeholder interviews
- Competitive analysis
- Previous sprint learnings
Outputs to:
lean-startup skill: Prototype → MVP hypothesisassumption-testing skill: Test results → Validated/invalidated assumptions- Engineering team: Prototype → Technical specifications
References
For additional Design Sprint resources, see:
