By name: design-sprint description: Run a structured 5-day process to prototype, test, and validate product ideas with real users. Use when the user mentions "design sprint", "validate in a week", "rapid prototype", "test with users", "de-risk before building", "GV sprint", "prototype testing", or "design workshop". Also trigger when a team needs to make a critical product decision quickly, resolve stakeholder disagreements, or test risky ideas before investing in development. Covers mapping, sketching, deciding, prototyping, and testing. For ongoing experimentation, see lean-startup. For customer job analysis, see jobs-to-be-done. license: MIT metadata: author: wondelai version: "1.1.0"
Design Sprint Framework
Core Framework
The Design Sprint compresses product development cycles into five days: Map (Monday), Sketch (Tuesday), Decide (Wednesday), Prototype (Thursday), and Test (Friday).
Prerequisites:
- Important problem worth dedicated focus
- Decision maker + 4-7 diverse team members
- Full 5 days (10am-5pm, uninterrupted)
- Dedicated workspace with whiteboards
Scoring: Rate 0-10 based on adherence to structure, time-boxing, prototyping, and user testing.
Daily Breakdown
Monday: Map
- Define 2-year goal and sprint questions
- Map customer journey (5-15 steps)
- Interview experts, capture "How Might We" opportunities
- Select target customer moment for focus
Tuesday: Sketch
- Lightning demos for inspiration
- Individual solution sketches (no group brainstorming)
- Four-step process: Notes → Ideas → Crazy 8s → Solution Sketch
- Anonymous 3-panel storyboards showing user experience
Wednesday: Decide
- Gallery critique with silent dot voting
- Decider uses supervote (3 dots override)
- Create 10-15 panel storyboard for prototype
- Combine best ideas into unified solution
Thursday: Prototype
- Assign roles: Makers, Stitcher, Writer, Collector, Interviewer
- Build realistic facade (not working code)
- Tools: Figma, Keynote, or prototyping platforms
- Trial run before Friday testing
Friday: Test
- Conduct 5 customer interviews (30 minutes each)
- Five-act structure: Welcome → Context → Introduce → Tasks → Debrief
- Team observes, records patterns
- Identify what worked, what failed, next steps
Key Principles
- Five customers reveal patterns after 3-5 interviews; diminishing returns after 5
- Prototype fidelity: Facade quality—realistic enough for honest reactions, not production-ready
- No explaining: Let users interpret and struggle; observe confusion
- Decider authority: Final call on Tuesday solutions and Wednesday decision
- Time protection: No interruptions; full commitment required
Common Mistakes to Avoid
| Error | Solution |
|---|---|
| Skip prototyping | Always build, even simply |
| Over-engineer prototype | Focus on facade only |
| Test wrong users | Screen for target customers |
| Explain to users | Let them struggle independently |
| No decision maker | Commitment required or postpone |
| Interruptions | Protect focus entirely |
Variations
- 4-Day Sprint: Compress Map + Sketch into Day 1
- Remote Sprint: Use Miro/FigJam, Zoom, same structure
- Multi-Sprint: Sequential sprints on broad → detailed → refined problems
Diagnostic Checklist
Confirm before sprinting:
- Decider committed for full week
- Problem important enough
- Prototype feasible in 1 day
- Can recruit 5 target users
- Team protected from interruptions
Source: Framework developed at Google Ventures by Jake Knapp; detailed in "Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days" by Knapp, Zeratsky, and Kowitz.