Design Sprint
Photo by Firmbee.com on Unsplash
By Løpe AS
Design sprints provide a structured framework that enables teams to collaborate more efficiently, think more strategically, and work more effectively toward solving complex challenges. By fostering a dynamic and focused group environment, design sprints encourage innovation, streamline decision-making, and accelerate the development of new concepts.
This collaborative exercise demonstrates how to structure and implement a design sprint within your team. Whether you are exploring fresh opportunities or refining existing initiatives, this method empowers teams to align their efforts, leverage diverse perspectives, and drive meaningful results.
- Duration:
Approx. 90 minutes
- Focus:
How to structure a design sprint
- Activity:
Group
- Keywords:
Design Sprint, group, workshop
About the exercise
This article provides a comprehensive, hands-on approach to structuring and implementing a typical design sprint within your team. It offers a clear, step-by-step framework for brainstorming, and refining new proposals, products, or ideas in a structured and time-efficient manner. By following this guided process, teams can break down complex challenges, align on a shared vision, and rapidly test innovative ideas.
The exercise begins with a warm-up session designed to foster creativity, encourage open collaboration, and set the stage for productive discussions. It then transitions into a structured workshop divided into seven distinct phases, each carefully crafted to guide the team through the sprint. These phases ensure a logical progression from problem identification to solution development, helping teams prioritizing correctly, explore different perspectives, and make well-informed decisions.
Through this structured approach, participants gain practical experience in participating and contributing in a design sprint, equipping them with the tools and techniques needed to drive innovation and efficiency in their own projects.
Warm up
Check in: How are we doing?
1 minute exercise: Draw the person to your left without looking at the paper.
Workshop
Materials:
- Post it notes
- Markers
Problem statement
The first thing the team should do, is to define the problem statement. By doing this, the team defines the challenge they aim to solve. This step is crucial for aligning perspectives, ensuring a clear focus, and setting the foundation for creative problem-solving. By framing a well-defined problem, participants can explore meaningful solutions that address real needs.
An example of a problem statement from a design sprint workshop with a study program at NTNU:
How can we introduce more “real-life” or needs-centered problem scenarios into our courses, requiring students to spend time understanding and experimenting to find solutions?
Trial and error
Connected to societal challenges / sustainability goals?
Problem scenarios beyond the domain / scope of the study programme?
7 phases
Phase 1: Thinking alone
10 Minutes: Write Down Ideas – One Idea per Post-it
This phase is all about generating as many ideas as possible, without judgment or limitations. Each participant writes down one idea per Post-it note, ensuring clarity and organization.
“Green Phase!” – At this stage, all ideas are welcome, whether they seem brilliant, unconventional, or even unrealistic. Bad ideas can be just as valuable as good ones, as they might spark creative discussions or evolve into innovative solutions. The key is to focus on quantity over quality, encouraging free thinking and diverse perspectives.
Phase 2: Review ideas
Now that all ideas are on the table, it’s time to review them individually and build upon them. This step encourages reflection, refinement, and collaboration to enhance the initial suggestions.
Spread out all the Post-it notes on the table so that everyone can see them.
Take time to review each idea individually, considering its potential and feasibility.
If an idea can be improved or made more practical, add suggestions or modifications to strengthen it.
“Yes, and…” – Instead of dismissing ideas, adopt a mindset of building on them. This positive approach fosters creativity and collaboration, helping to refine ideas into actionable solutions.
Phase 3: Heatmap voting
In this phase, the team collectively identifies the most promising ideas by using a simple dot-voting system. This helps prioritize concepts and focus on those with the most potential.
Time: 5 minutes
Each participant gets five dots (stickers, markers, or drawn dots) to distribute among the ideas they find most valuable or interesting.
You can spread your dots across multiple ideas or place multiple dots on a single idea if you strongly support it.
This visual “heatmap” highlights the most popular ideas, making it easier for the team to move forward with the most promising directions.
Phase 4: Filtering and clustering
Now that the voting is complete, it’s time to refine the selection by focusing on the most promising ideas. This phase helps streamline the brainstorming results and identify strong, actionable concepts.
Remove or set aside ideas that received little to no votes, as they are less likely to be prioritized.
Look for similar ideas that can be grouped together or combined into a more comprehensive solution.
Identify connections between ideas that complement each other or address different aspects of the same challenge.
By narrowing down and clustering related ideas, the team can create a more structured foundation for the next steps of the sprint.
Phase 5: Map ideas
With the most promising ideas selected, the next step is to assess their potential impact and ease of implementation. This helps prioritize which ideas to pursue further.
Place the ideas on a simple impact-feasibility matrix:
High impact, easy to implement → Quick wins to prioritize.
High impact, difficult to implement → Worth considering but may require more resources.
Low impact, easy to implement → Could be useful but may not create significant change.
Low impact, difficult to implement → Likely not worth pursuing.
This structured evaluation helps the team focus on ideas that offer the best balance of effectiveness and practicality, ensuring that efforts are directed toward meaningful and achievable solutions.
Phase 6: Personal vote
Now that the ideas have been mapped based on impact and feasibility, it’s time for each participant to cast their final votes on the top ideas they believe should move forward.
Each person gets two votes to allocate to their favorite ideas.
To vote, write your initials next to the selected ideas.
You can distribute your votes across two different ideas or place both votes on the same idea if you feel strongly about it.
This step ensures that everyone has a say in the final selection, helping the team reach a consensus on which ideas to develop further.
Phase 7: Create an implementation plan
With the most promising idea(s) selected, the final step is to develop a concrete plan for execution. Since time and resources are often limited, the focus should be on simplifying the idea into a testable prototype that can be implemented and evaluated efficiently.
Select the best idea(s) that the team will move forward with.
Simplify the concept into a version that can be tested quickly, rather than attempting a full-scale implementation from the start.
For example, in a design sprint for an NTNU study program, a prototype could involve small-scale experiments rather than fully integrating changes into an academic year.
To develop the prototype, consider the following:
How can we test the idea? What is the simplest way to validate its potential?
What do we need to implement it? Are there specific tools, materials, or knowledge required?
External partners: Should we collaborate with industry professionals, other disciplines, or external organizations?
Resources: What budget, time, or personnel are necessary for execution?
Modifications to existing structures: Should we adjust current exercises, teaching methods, or workflows?
Need for external input? Would feedback from groups such as Engage or other innovation networks help refine the approach?
By addressing these key points, the team can move from an abstract idea to a concrete, actionable plan, setting the stage for real-world testing and iteration.
Key takeaways
- This exercise provides a structured and collaborative approach to problem-solving, guiding teams from ideation to actionable solutions in a short timeframe.
- By progressing through key phases—brainstorming, reviewing, prioritizing, refining, and planning—teams can generate diverse ideas, identify the most promising ones, and develop a clear roadmap for implementation.
- The process encourages open-minded creativity, constructive feedback, and strategic decision-making, ensuring that even ambitious ideas are refined into testable prototypes.
- By focusing on feasibility and impact, teams can move forward with confidence, equipped with a validated direction and a concrete plan for execution.
