The Official 5-Day Design Sprint

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Wednesday: Decide

1. Sticky decision

We’ve spent years optimizing our sprint decisions to be as efficient as possible. We ended up with a five-step process.

We’ve structured Wednesday to one thing at a time—and do it well. We’ll evaluate solutions all at once, critique all at once, and then make a decision all at once. Kind of like this:

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Your goal for Wednesday is to decide which solutions to prototype. Our motto for these decisions is “unnatural but efficient.” Instead of meandering, your team’s conversations will follow a script. The structure is socially awkward, but logical—if you feel like Spock from Star Trek, you’re doing it right. It’s all designed to get the most out of the team’s expertise, accommodate for our human strengths and shortcomings, and make it as easy as possible to come to a great decision.

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Clear examples

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1. Heat map (individual)

The heat map exercise ensures you make the most of your first, un-informed look at the sketches. At the beginning of the day, each person follows these steps individually:

Don’t talk.

Click on a card below to look at a solution sketch, one by one.

Mark the parts you like (if any) by adding to the table under the sketch.

Put two or three dots on the most exciting ideas.

If you have a concern or question, write it down below the sketch.

Move on to the next sketch, and repeat.

The Henry Ford

Lawrence Fitzgerald

Henry Ford, up close and personal

Adam Davis

The Mind Reader

Lola Tseudonym

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All promising ideas

All promising ideas

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All sketch questions

All sketch questions

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2. Speed critique (team)

In the speed critique, you and your team will discuss each solution sketch above ☝️ and make note of standout ideas and important objections.

The

@Facilitator⁠

narrates the sketch while the creator of the sketch remains silent until the end. At the end, ask the sketcher if the group missed anything. (p. 135)

Three minutes per sketch:

Allocated time

Timer

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3. Straw poll

Set the timer for 10 minutes. Each person silently chooses a single favorite solution sketch by filling out the form below (A).

Once everyone has submitted their straw vote, expand all the responses (B) and take turns verbally sharing your vote and reading your rationale out loud. For example, “I think we should test The Henry Ford, Up Close and Personal, because I think the extensive product details will allow us to learn whether customers care deeply about product quality.”

Tips

Before you vote, you might want to review

3. Long-term goal⁠

and

4. Sprint questions⁠

Remember to err on the side of risky ideas with big potential.

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@Decider⁠

: you don’t vote in this step - wait for your supervote in the next section.

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A. Cast your vote

Your name

I think we should test...

Choose a solution sketch from the list below.

The Henry FordHenry Ford, up close and personalThe Mind Reader

....because it will answer these sprint questions.

Choose the sprint questions that your chosen solution will answer.

How can we improve our supply chain?Will customers care about quality?Will customers trust our expertise?

Rationale/Notes

Include additional notes about why we should prototype this solution. Type Cmnd (or Ctrl on Windows) + Shift + E to expand the cell.

Responses won't be saved because this doc is in play modeSubmit

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B. Straw poll responses (
`3`
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)

Once everyone has submitted their straw poll, review each of the responses as a group.

Your name

I think we should test...

....because it will answer these sprint questions.

Rationale/Notes

Adam Davis

The Henry Ford

Will customers trust our expertise?

This solution really gets at the heart of the question around trust.

Polly Rose

The Henry Ford

How can we improve our supply chain?

Will customers care about quality?

Our biggest bottleneck is our supply chain - I’d like for our solution to include that aspect.

Felix Marlin

The Mind Reader

How can we improve our supply chain?

I really like the simplicity of this solution.

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4. Supervote

The supervote is the ultimate decision. Each

@Decider⁠

will get three special votes (with a star on them!). The

@Decider⁠

can use just one supervote, or all three. When the

@Decider⁠

has placed her votes, the sketches with the supervotes on them (even just one!) are the winners. You’ll plan your prototype around those ideas and put them to the test on

Friday: Test⁠

Note: the Supervote buttons below will only be enabled for the person listed as the Decider. To change that assignment, click here →

@Decider⁠

Sticky decision winners