Design Sprints Aren’t Just for Designers
Douglas Ferguson
President @ Voltage Control | Facilitation Academy | Author | Educator
This article was originally published on?voltagecontrol.com
While design sprints were first championed by designers, design sprints aren’t just for designers. The truth is that being a designer isn’t necessary at all to implementing?design sprint s.
Though many people associate design thinking with the role of the designer, experience in design isn’t a prerequisite. Anyone can use design methodology to host transformative design sprints.
In this article, we’ll discuss the following topics:
Design Thinking Benefits Everyone
Design thinking is at the core of any design sprint and centers around prioritizing the needs of the end-user. Just as design sprints aren’t solely for designers, design thinking is one methodology that benefits everyone.
71% of companies report that design thinking improved their working culture while 69% share that the methodology accelerated their innovation processes.
Ultimately, design thinking is a framework, not a form of design. Whether you’re an actual designer or you’re a member of the c-suite, applying design thinking in the workplace will have incredible benefits for your business. Everyone can learn design thinking and apply this approach by running a design sprint.
What Are Design Sprints?
Design sprints are a five-day process designed to answer critical questions through design, ideation, prototyping, and testing. In a design sprint, facilitators aim to merge business strategy, behavior science, innovation, and design thinking into one innovative process.
The design sprint originated in 2010 as Jake Knapp’s brainchild. Knapp was Inspired by Google’s product development culture, IDEO design thinking workshops, and similar innovative ideas from industry leaders. In 2012, he brought the?design sprint process ?to Google Ventures and the team continues to refine the process further.
Who Runs Design Sprints?
While design sprints quickly gained popularity with startups and tech companies, businesses of any industry and size?run design sprints ?as well. Design sprints are an excellent solution for brands searching to develop a digital product or looking to solve complex problems.
Jake Knapp shares, “When we talk to startups about sprints, we encourage them to go after their most important problem. Running a sprint requires a lot of energy and focus. Don’t go for the small win, or the nice-to-have project, because people won’t bring their best efforts. They probably won’t even clear their schedules in the first place.”
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Design sprints are ideal for companies with a desire to reduce their invested resources and accelerate learning as they generate and explore new ideas and concepts. These sprints help improve design and development as they jumpstart an innovative and fast-paced environment where results are guaranteed.
What Do Design Sprint Facilitators Do?
A design sprint facilitator must guide their team through the sprint’s 5-phase process as they manage the dynamics of the group. Facilitators of the most effective design sprints are experts in design thinking and understand what it takes to lead their team to success.
It takes a confident and highly motivated facilitator to navigate the complex process of a design sprint. The most?effective design sprint facilitators ?have the necessary knowledge and the capacity to share their expertise with others in the intense and fast-paced environment of a sprint.
Most design sprint facilitators aren’t designers. Ideal design sprint facilitators often have the following roles:
Expert facilitation starts with the desire to champion design thinking and spearhead the innovative process of the sprint. Interested in improving your facilitation skills? With a facilitator certification, anyone can hone their facilitation skills and run game-changing design sprints on their own.
The Power of Expert Facilitation
The power of the design sprint lies in the expertise of the facilitator. In a fast-paced environment like a design sprint, it’s crucial to have a facilitator that can pull the best results out of their team, keep the group on track, and generate the intended deliverables in the available time frame.
Good design sprint facilitation boils down to three essentials:
When preparing to lead a design sprint, facilitators should strive to: