The Official 5-Day Design Sprint
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The Official 5-Day Design Sprint
Wednesday: Decide

3. Storyboard

Now it's time to take the winning sketches and string them together into a storyboard.
By Wednesday afternoon, you’ll be able to feel
Friday: Test
⁠
with customers looming ahead. Because of the short timeline, it’s tempting to jump into prototyping as soon as you’ve selected your winning ideas. But if you start prototyping without a plan, you’ll get bogged down by the small, unanswered questions. Pieces won’t fit together, and your prototype could fall apart.
⁠
Image 2021-09-15 at 3.33.55 PM.jpg
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⁠
On Wednesday afternoon, you’ll answer those small questions and make a plan. Specifically, you’ll take the winning sketches and string them together into a storyboard. This will be similar to the three-panel storyboards you sketched on
Tuesday: Sketch
⁠
, but it will be longer: about ten to fifteen panels, all tightly connected into one cohesive story.
⁠
Image 2021-09-15 at 3.34.15 PM.jpg
⁠
⁠
Pro tips
Use
AJ&Smart’s Design Sprint 2.0 Storyboarding Hack
⁠
. It makes a lot more sense than what we recommend in
the book
⁠
😒.
Don’t drain the battery. Each decision takes energy. When tough decisions appear, defer to the
@Decider
⁠
. For small decisions, defer until tomorrow. Don’t let new abstract ideas sneak in. Work with what you have. (p. 159)
⁠
Storyboard
Set the timer and follow the steps below to create your storyboard.
⁠
Clear examples
⁠
⁠
Search
Exercise
Allocated time
Timer
Time Left
Exercise
Allocated time
Timer
Time Left
1
Write privately
000
10
Start
-
2
Share & vote
000
5
Start
-
3
Decide
000
10
Start
-
4
Storyboard
000
120
Start
-
There are no rows in this table
145
Sum
⁠


A. Write privately
Each person writes the 4-6 actions the user will take to go from starting point → goal. Remember to mark which winning sketch from
1. Sticky decision
⁠
you are storyboarding.
Tips: start with the first action step (see
5. Map
⁠
) and the goal at the end (see
4. Sprint questions
⁠
). Then, fill in the blanks in the middle.
⁠
Add step
⁠
⁠
Search
User action
Author
Sketch
User action
Author
Sketch
No results from filter
⁠


B. Share and vote
Each person takes 30 seconds to walk through their steps. As you listen, ❤️ your favorite steps.
Search
Sketch
Author
User action
Upvote
Sketch
Author
User action
Upvote
The Henry Ford
14
Polly Rose
User sees FB post and clicks on link
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
2
User watches video and clicks on link to sign up
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
1
User inputs email and clicks sign up
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
1
User receives an email from service
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
User searches for coffee bean type
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
User starts shopping
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
User buys coffee beans
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
Felix Marlin
User reads FB ad and clicks through
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
4
User reads article and clicks on “sign up” button
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
3
User reads testimonials on home page
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
2
User inputs email and clicks “sign up”
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
1
User receives confirmation email and clicks “verify”
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
1
User is taken to home page
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
User browses coffee beans and clicks into item they like
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
⁠


C. Decide
Who is the
@Decider
⁠
? She should make the final call on which steps to include in the final storyboard. She can choose to respect the votes or not.
Search
Sketch
Author
User action
Upvote
Decider's pick
Sketch
Author
User action
Upvote
Decider's pick
The Henry Ford
14
Felix Marlin
7
User reads FB ad and clicks through
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
4
User reads article and clicks on “sign up” button
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
3
User reads testimonials on home page
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
2
User inputs email and clicks “sign up”
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
1
User receives confirmation email and clicks “verify”
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
1
User is taken to home page
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
User browses coffee beans and clicks into item they like
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
Polly Rose
7
User sees FB post and clicks on link
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
2
User watches video and clicks on link to sign up
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
1
User inputs email and clicks sign up
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
1
User receives an email from service
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
User searches for coffee bean type
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
User starts shopping
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
User buys coffee beans
filled-like reaction, you have not reacted
⁠


D. Storyboard
Now draw out your story, one frame at a time, just like a comic book. Digital whiteboard tools like
Miro
⁠
,
Figma
⁠
, or
MURAL
⁠
work great for the sketches.
Search
The Henry Ford
09.16.21 - John Zeratsky_ Design Sprint - Frame 1.jpg
User reads FB ad and clicks through
09.16.21 - John Zeratsky_ Design Sprint - Frame 2.jpg
User watches video and clicks on link to sign up
09.16.21 - John Zeratsky_ Design Sprint - Frame 3.jpg
User inputs email and clicks “sign up”
09.16.21 - John Zeratsky_ Design Sprint - Frame 4.jpg
User receives confirmation email and clicks “verify”
09.16.21 - John Zeratsky_ Design Sprint - Frame 5.jpg
User is taken to home page
09.16.21 - John Zeratsky_ Design Sprint - Frame 6.jpg
User browses coffee beans and clicks into item they like
⁠

Once you’ve incorporated all the winning
sketches
⁠
, the storyboard will be complete. And you’ve finished with the hardest part of the sprint. The decisions are made, the plan for your prototype is ready, and
Wednesday: Decide
⁠
is a wrap.

⁠
You’re done for the day! Tomorrow head to:
Thursday: Prototype
⁠
⁠
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