Developed by Google Ventures, the Design Sprint is a unique five-day process aimed at helping businesses solve complex problems and test new ideas in just one week. Originally created by a group of thinkers, engineers, and designers at Google, this framework guides teams from ideation to prototype, culminating in user testing. The sprint enables teams to fast-forward into the future to see their finished product and customer reactions, before making any expensive commitments.
Day 1: Understand - Map out the problem and pick an area to focus. | Day 2: Diverge - Sketch competing solutions on paper. | Day 3: Decide - Make decisions and turn ideas into a testable hypothesis. | Day 4: Prototype - Build a realistic prototype. | Day 5: Test - Test the prototype with real live users.
Ensure full team participation | Prepare well by choosing the right problem and the right team | Focus on user feedback rather than opinions
Rapidly tests and validates ideas | Encourages user-centered thinking | Facilitates cross-functional collaboration
Can be resource-intensive | May not be suitable for solving every type of problem | Requires full participation from key team members
When launching a new product | When trying to solve a complex problem quickly
For well-understood problems with clear solutions | When the team cannot commit to the full sprint duration