Sprint Week: Tuesday
John Zeratsky
Supporting startups with capital and sprints! General Partner @ Character and Co-Author of Sprint
After a full day of understanding the problem and choosing a target for your sprint, on Tuesday, you get to focus on solutions. The day starts with inspiration: a review of existing ideas to remix and improve. Then, in the afternoon, each person will sketch, following a four-step process that emphasizes critical thinking over artistry. You’ll also begin planning Friday’s customer test by recruiting customers that fit your target profile.
In the Sprint book, we’ve got detailed instructions and example sketches from our sprint with Blue Bottle Coffee. Look below for the complete Tuesday checklist. And check out this video from Jake and me, where we talk about Tuesday’s sprint activities.
If you have questions, make sure to join our live chat Q&A on Tuesday, April 19 from 9–10 a.m. Pacific time. (Here’s a list of global times.)
In the meantime, here’s Tuesday’s checklist.
Checklist for Tuesday
Note: Schedules are approximate. Don’t worry if you run behind. Remember to take breaks every sixty to ninety minutes (or around 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day).
10 a.m.
? Lightning Demos. Look at great solutions from a range of companies, including yours. Three minutes per demo. Capture good ideas with a quick drawing on the whiteboard. (Read more on page 96 in Sprint.)
12:30-ish
? Divide or swarm. Decide who will sketch which part of the map. If you’re targeting a big chunk of the map in your sprint, divide it up and assign someone to each section. (p. 102)
1 p.m.
? Lunch
2 p.m.
? The Four-Step Sketch. Briefly explain the four steps. Everyone sketches. When you’re done, place the sketches in a pile and save them for tomorrow. (p. 109)
- Notes. Twenty minutes. Silently walk around the room and gather notes. (p. 110)
- Ideas. Twenty minutes. Privately jot down some rough ideas. Circle the most promising ones. (p. 111)
- Crazy 8s. Eight minutes. Fold a sheet of paper to create eight frames. Sketch a variation of one of your best ideas in each frame. Spend one minute per sketch. (p. 111)
- Solution sketch. Thirty to ninety minutes. Create a three-panel storyboard by sketching in three sticky notes on a sheet of paper. Make it self-explanatory. Keep it anonymous. Ugly is okay. Words matter. Give it a catchy title. (p. 114)
Key Ideas
- Remix and improve. Every great invention is built on existing ideas. (p. 96)
- Anyone can sketch. Most solution sketches are just rectangles and words. (p. 104)
- Concrete beats abstract. Use sketches to turn abstract ideas into concrete solutions that can be assessed by others. (p. 106)
- Work alone together. Group brainstorms don’t work. Instead, give each person time to develop solutions on his or her own. (p. 107)
Recruit Customers for Friday’s Test
? Put someone in charge of recruiting. It will take an extra one or two hours of work each day during the sprint. (p. 119)
? Recruit on Craigslist. Post a generic ad that will appeal to a wide audience. Offer compensation (we use a $100 gift card). Link to the screener survey. (p. 119)
? Write a screener survey. Ask questions that will help you identify your target customers, but don’t reveal who you’re looking for. (p. 120)
? Recruit customers through your network. If you need experts or existing customers, use your network to find customers. (p. 122)
? Follow up with email and phone calls. Throughout the week, make contact with each customer to make sure he or she shows up on Friday.
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Sprint Week Series
Previous: Monday
Next: Wednesday
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For a complete guide to running your own sprint, check out Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days. It’s got detailed hour-by-hour instructions and behind-the-scenes stories from startups like Slack, Airbnb, and Medium. Sprint is available from Amazon and a number of other retailers.