Async Design Sprint (Google Ventures Method)

Printable Async Design Sprint (Google Ventures Method)

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Async Design Sprint (Google Ventures Method)

Day 1: Map

  1. 1.

    What's your role this week?

    • Decider
    • Facilitator
    • Expert
    • Team member
  2. 2.

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

  3. 3.

    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?"

  4. 4.

    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.

  5. 5.

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

  6. 6.

    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?"

  7. 7.

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

Day 2: Sketch

  1. 1.

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

  2. 2.

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

  3. 3.

    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.

  4. 4.

    Give your solution sketch a short, catchy title.

Day 3: Decide

  1. 1.

    Are you the Decider for this sprint?

    • Yes
    • No
  2. 2.

    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.

  3. 3.

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

  4. 4.

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

Day 4: Prototype

  1. 1.

    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
  2. 2.

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

  3. 3.

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

Day 5: Test

  1. 1.

    How did each customer react to the prototype?

    • Customer 1
    • Customer 2
    • Customer 3
    • Customer 4
    • Customer 5

    Columns: Positive / Mixed / Negative / Didn't watch

  2. 2.

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

  3. 3.

    AI Interview

    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.

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