Async Design Sprint (Google Ventures Method)

Welcome to the sprint. This week we'll go from a big problem to a tested prototype, one step a day, on your own time. Today we agree on the goal and map the problem. Answering takes about fifteen minutes; take longer on the map if you need it.

What's your role this week?

• Decider
• Facilitator
• Expert
• Team member

Long-term goal: imagine it's two years from now and this project was a big success. What happened? Be optimistic.

Sprint questions: what could stop us from getting there? Turn each worry into a question that starts with "Can we…?", for example "Can we get people to trust us with their data?"

Ask the experts: if you know this problem well (customers, sales, support, the technology), record up to three minutes on what the rest of the team should know.

Map: list the steps a customer takes, from first hearing about us to reaching the goal. One step per line.

How might we…? Write each opportunity you see as a note starting with "How might we", for example "How might we show the price before sign-up?"

Target: which customer, and which step on the map, should this sprint focus on?

That's day 1 done. Tomorrow you'll sketch solutions on paper, so keep a pen and a few sheets handy.

Today everyone sketches alone, on paper. It doesn't need to be pretty: words and boxes are fine. Sketching takes about forty minutes; answering here takes about five. Your solution sketch is shown to the team without your name; only the facilitator sees who drew it.

Lightning demos: name a product (any industry) that solves a similar problem well, and the one idea worth borrowing from it.

Crazy 8s: fold a sheet into eight panels and sketch eight variations of your best idea, one minute each. Upload a photo.

Solution sketch: on one sheet, draw three panels showing what the customer sees and does, step by step. It should explain itself without you there. Upload a photo.

Give your solution sketch a short, catchy title.

Thanks! Tomorrow you'll see everyone's sketches and vote.

Today we pick the solution to prototype. Look at every sketch, drop dots on the parts you like, leave a note on anything unclear, then pick your favorite. About fifteen minutes.

Are you the Decider for this sprint?

• Yes
• No

Heat map and straw poll: tap to drop a dot on every part of a sketch you like, add a note where something is unclear, then pick the one sketch you'd prototype.

Decider only: pick the sketch we'll prototype tomorrow. Everyone else, skip this one.

Storyboard: in six to ten steps, what will the customer see and do in the prototype, starting from where they'd first meet it?

Decision made. Tomorrow we build a prototype that's just real enough to test.

Today we build a realistic-looking prototype of the storyboard. It only needs to work for the test. Answering takes about 5 minutes.

Which part of the prototype are you taking on?

• Maker: builds the screens or pages
• Stitcher: joins the pieces together
• Writer: writes the real text
• Asset collector: finds images, icons and content
• Interviewer: prepares and runs the customer interviews

Link to the prototype or your part of it (Figma, Keynote, a web page), if you have one.

Interviewers: write the questions you'll ask, one for each sprint question from day 1.

Thanks! Tomorrow five customers try the prototype. Book them with a usability test or interview survey and share the link with the team.

Today five customers try the prototype. Watch the sessions, then record what you saw. About 10 minutes after the last session.

How did each customer react to the prototype?

Patterns: what did three or more customers do or say?

Each person gets follow-up questions written from their own answers.

Interview goal: Start from the sprint questions this respondent wrote on day 1, if you have them; otherwise ask which sprint question the customer sessions answered most clearly. For each, ask what the sessions showed: yes, no, or not clear yet, with a specific moment from a session as evidence. Anchor on the respondent's grid answers; if they rated a customer Negative, ask what that customer did right before things went wrong. End by asking what the team should do next week.

That's the sprint. Your answers go into the sprint brief: the goal, the winning sketch, and what the customers showed for each sprint question.