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):

1. Friendly welcome (5 min): Build rapport
2. Context questions (10 min): Learn about their life
3. Introduce prototype (3 min): Set up scenario
4. Tasks + think aloud (30 min): Watch them use it
5. Quick debrief (5 min): Summarize reactions
6. 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

1. Gather all stakeholder context and goals
2. Generate long-term goal options
3. Create sprint questions from risks
4. Draft customer journey map
5. Synthesize "expert" insights from available data

Day 2 Simulation

1. Research lightning demo candidates
2. Generate solution sketches as descriptions
3. Create multiple concept variations
4. Document as structured storyboards

Day 3 Simulation

1. Evaluate solutions against criteria
2. Identify trade-offs and risks
3. Recommend winning solution(s)
4. Create detailed storyboard

Day 4 Simulation

1. Specify prototype requirements
2. Create wireframe descriptions
3. Write prototype copy/content
4. Define test scenarios

Day 5 Simulation

1. Create interview guide
2. Define success criteria
3. Plan pattern analysis
4. Prepare decision framework

Preparation Checklist

2 Weeks Before

• Pick the big challenge
• Assemble team (4-7 people)
• Schedule 5 consecutive days
• Recruit 5 test users for Friday
• Book sprint room

1 Week Before

• Gather background materials
• Schedule expert interviews
• Prepare supplies
• Send calendar blocks

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 hypothesis
• assumption-testing skill: Test results → Validated/invalidated assumptions
• Engineering team: Prototype → Technical specifications

References

For additional Design Sprint resources, see: