Design sprints at Google are used to develop innovative solutions and products in 5 days or less. They involve brainstorming, prototyping, user research and other activities. The outputs vary but can include designs, prototypes, requirements and preliminary products. Anyone can participate in a sprint including designers, researchers, managers and more. A mock sprint was demonstrated covering key aspects like defining goals, generating ideas, selecting the best concepts, prototyping, and communicating outcomes.

1. Design Sprints at Google
Innovative solutions and products in 5 days or less
David M. Hogue, Ph.D.
UX Design Manager
Google Travel
@DaveHogue

2. Google Design Sprint Method Documents (and book!)
Design Sprints
at Google Developers
developers.google.com/design-sprint
Design Sprints
at Google Ventures
www.gv.com/sprints

3. Design Sprints at Scale

4. Google is big place...
...and Design Sprints are part of the process.
Ads+Commerce Sprint Weeks (270+ people, 30+ teams)
Material Design across Google
Android (OS, Apps, Play, etc.)
Search and Maps
YouTube
Productivity tools (Gmail, Docs, Calendar, Hangouts, etc.)
Enterprise tools (Ads, Analytics, etc.)
and many, many start-ups and moonshots!

5. What are the types of Sprints?

6. Sprints can be used for many purposes
Sprints are a problem-solving method that can be applied for many goals:
Product strategy
Design for innovation (products, features, services, systems, etc.)
Design for specific problems or challenges
Research
Organizational and team structures
Methods and processes

7. What do you do in a Sprint?

8. Sprints involve many different activities
Sprints use a variety of activities and techniques:
Team-building exercises
Brainstorming and ideation
Role-play
Scenarios, narratives, and storytelling
Rating, ranking, voting, and prioritization
Sketching, wireframing, and visual Design
Prototyping
User research (interviews, observation, surveys, concept testing, usability…)

9. What comes out of a Sprint?

10. Sprint outputs take a variety of forms
Sprints deliverables vary based on the goals and objectives of the sprint:
Designs
Prototypes
Standards and specs
Pitches and presentations
Product or service requirements
Research reports
Preliminary products and/or features
Business recommendations

11. Who can participate in a Sprint?

12. Anyone can be a sprint participant
Many team member roles are involved and contribute to sprints:
Designers (Visual, Interaction, Motion, Industrial)
Researchers (Qualitative, Quantitative)
Content Strategists / Writers
Prototypers and Developers (Front-end, Back-end)
Project, Product, and Program Managers
Business Partners (Marketers, Sales, Analysts, Legal Counsel)
Leaders (Managers, Directors, VPs, and up)

13. Let’s do a mock Design Sprint
or, how to pack 5 days into 40 minutes as an introduction

14. Before the Sprint
Start early (about 6 weeks in advance), because organization is essential.
Identify and define goals and objectives with key stakeholders
Write Sprint brief (Why are we here? What are we doing? What is the goal?)
Reserve meetings room(s)
Invite the team and get on their calendars
Schedule Lightning Talks (rapid presentations to share background information)
Create a Sprint plan (often a slide deck of day-to-day plans)
Invite research participants and schedule them for time during the Sprint
Gather Sprint supplies

15. Sprint Supplies
Have everything you need ready to go!
Post-It notes
Post-It posters and easels
Paper (for sketching and notes)
Dry erase markers in multiple colors and widths (for whiteboards)
Adhesive tape, drafting dots, and/or pins and foam boards
Scissors
Voting dots (multi-colored adhesive dots)
Snacks and water

16. TMT Remote Control Fans
Innovating air movement for more than 30 years

17. FAN PANEL REMOTE

18. We need some volunteers for this Design Sprint
Don’t worry, we can just make it all up.
5 presenters for the Lightning Talks
2 user researchers to learn about customer needs and behaviors
3 “real customers” to be interviewed
Everyone here is also a designer and Sprint participant
We’ll start with 5 minutes of quick customer interviews...

19. Preliminary Customer Research
Talk to your customers to learn what they are doing and what they need.
When do you use fans and how often?
Are the fans oscillating? Remote-controlled?
What do you like about fans? When and how do they work well?
What do you dislike about fans? When and how do they not work well enough?
What has been your best experience with a fan? Why?
What has been your worst experience with a fan? Why?
Do you use fans for anything other than staying cool? If yes, what?
(Work with your stakeholders and team to generate interview questions.)

20. Lightning Talks
Each presenter will have 2 minutes to talk about:
Why is TMT doing a Product Design Sprint? (Dave, Interim CEO of TMT)
Voice of the Customer
Customer Journey and Pain Points
Design Evolution / Product Audit
Competitive Landscape
Technological Opportunities

21. Lightning Talks
Essential information in just a few minutes

22. How might we… (HMWs)
Record ideas WHENEVER THEY ARISE.
While listening to the Lightning Talks (or at any time early in the Sprint), write
down any ideas for new and improved products, services, and features.
Write only one idea per Post-It note.
Include enough detail to help you remember the idea, but don’t try to write down
every possible detail - you can add more detail later.
For example, “How might we get more air movement? Put IR sensors into the
fan so that it aims at people rather than just oscillating.”

23. 1. Why is TMT doing a Product Design Sprint?
Competition and customer expectations have changed...
Companies like Dyson set a higher bar for product design quality
Customers expect products to be easy (easier) to use
Digital technology has created new expectations for interactive products
The “Internet of Things” and the “Connected Home” are becoming real
Global climate change means warmer temperatures for more people
We need to join the 21st century!

24. 2. Voice of the Customer
What are customers saying about our product or service?
“I have to switch between oscillating and fixed when I’m moving around the
room and when I’m sitting to watch TV, and sometimes the remote is across
the room.”
“I lost the remote and couldn’t find a store that sells replacements.”
77% of customers think the price is good, 10% think it’s too high.
94% of customers use fans to stay cool, 6% for other purposes.
and more insightful facts and quotations...

25. 3. Customer Journeys and Pain Points
How do customers use the product and where do they struggle?
Most common rooms: (1) Bedroom, (2) Living room, (3) Garage
Most customers set the speed and mode when the fan is first turned on, then
they infrequently or rarely change it before turning it off.
The most common speed is medium, and most customers use oscillation.
61% of customers have lost the remote.
79% of customers are unsure what “Breeze mode” is.
and more fascinating details about customer behavior...

26. 4. Design Evolution / Product Audit
How has the product changed over time? What is the product’s current state?
Oscillation is considered a standard feature by manufacturers.
Timers were introduced in 1988.
Remote controls were introduced in 1993.
Breeze mode was introduced in 2001.
Product updates in the last 15 years have focused on reducing manufacturing
costs, reducing noise, and improving energy efficiency.
Physical fan designs are largely unchanged in the past 30 years.
but we have opportunities to improve and be more competitive...

27. 5. Competitive Landscape
Competition has increased on multiple fronts.
Dyson has introduced new form factors that are more effective, easier to use,
and more energy efficient. Copycat designs are increasing.
There are more fan manufacturers today than when we started.
Customers have been buying more products with “retro” designs.
Customers are less interested in plastic products.
Customers prefer products that blend into their home decor and architecture.
Customers are less loyal to specific manufacturers.
and more areas where others are beating us in the market...

28. 6. Technological Opportunities
Changes in technology, materials, and manufacturing can improve our fans.
There are mobile apps for just about everything.
The “Internet of Things” and “Connected Homes” are on the horizon.
Recycled materials are more readily available.
Energy efficiency of electric appliances has improved.
Solar and battery technology have improved.
Customers have higher expectations of product and interface design.
and other amazing new possibilities...

29. The Design Sprint
2-5 intense days (and hopefully some beer and ice cream)

30. High-Level Sprint Process

31. During the Sprint
“Sprint Masters” are responsible for keeping things organized and moving.
Setup checklist (to make sure you don’t forget anything or anyone…)
Identify and clarify customer needs (to define our goals)
Establish design principles
Ideation methods (and use a timer)
Daily check lists (day-by-day goals and objectives + methods)
Provide research templates and tips for non-researchers
Surprise the team with a few breaks for fun and snacks and take them to dinner
Daily email summary to the Sprint team

32. Identify and define goals
Get everyone pointed in the same direction.
Stakeholder maps (“Who are ALL of the players in the system?”)
Customer journeys / Journey maps
Golden path / Happy path (and “supporting threads”)
Gap analysis / Competitive analysis
Future press release
Future-mapping (“Where will we be in 1, 2, 5, 10 years?”)
“I like ___ , I want ___ , I need ___ .” (Helps establish priorities.)
“When I (situation), I want to (need), so that I can (goal).”

33. Design Principles
Principles guide how we generate, evaluate, prioritize, and select ideas.
Easy Don’t make people think about how to control their fan.
Convenient Allow people to effortlessly control their fans from anywhere.
Informative People should understand what their fan can do and is doing.
Effective People should feel cool and comfortable all the time.
Considerate The fan should not interrupt, bother, or disturb people.

34. Generating Ideas (to Diverge)
There are many effective techniques for exploring possibilities.
“How might we…” during the Lightning Talks and early in the Sprint
Crazy 8s (5 min + 2 min + 1 min)
Crazy 1 (5 min)
6 in 6 min
Storyboarding
Use your favorite methods and techniques for generating ideas.

35. Let’s improve this thing!
Generate ideas for the next generation of remote-controlled fans:
Crazy 8s - fold a blank piece of paper to create eight drawing areas
Quickly sketch ideas to improve or replace the:
● oscillating fan body
● control panel
● remote control unit

36. FAN PANEL REMOTE

37. Review Ideas (to Decide)
Collaborate, consolidate, and extend the ideas then choose the best.
Post and review the ideas
Form clusters based on similarity and sequence
Combine related ideas
Supplement and extend the ideas
Dot voting by the team to select the best
Ideas lead to questions and more ideas, so repeat this process as needed.

38. Assess Feasibility and Viability
The Five Hats method helps identify the most feasible and viable ideas:
Technical feasibility How might this be done?
User advocate Is this good for users?
Idea generator Are there more ideas? Add and extend!
Optimist Encourage the team and add a sense of possibility.
True pessimist Be a constructive critic (not critically destructive)
Ideas lead to questions and more ideas, so repeat this process as needed.

39. Design and Prototype
Take the best ideas and validate them with real customers.
Prototypes have varying levels of fidelity:
Sketches
Wireframes / mocks / comps
Paper prototypes
Click-throughs
Partial or full code-based
Improve and iterate the ideas based on user feedback and performance.

40. High-Level Sprint Process

41. Communicating Outcomes
Share the solutions and get them into production

42. After the Sprint
The ideas and solutions must be shared, and product plans must be made.
Send plan and schedule for communicating results to all Sprint participants
Share concepts, designs, prototypes, and research results with stakeholders
Create a Sprint Outcomes deck that can be easily shared by stakeholders
Survey Sprint participants to assess satisfaction and efficacy
Archive the Sprint ideas and outcomes for future reference
Plan follow-up Sprint(s) to pursue additional ideas and opportunities?
Track and measure performance of new products, features, and/or services

43. Q&A
Questions about running your own Design Sprints?

44. Thanks!
Let me know how Design Sprints work for you.
David M. Hogue, Ph.D.
davehogue.com
@DaveHogue