Design Sprints at Google Innovative
solutions and products in 5 days or less David M. Hogue, Ph.D. UX Design Manager Google Travel @DaveHogue

Google Design Sprint Method Documents
(and book!) Design Sprints at Google Developers developers.google.com/design-sprint Design Sprints at Google Ventures www.gv.com/sprints

Design Sprints at Scale

Google is big place... ...and
Design Sprints are part of the process. Ads+Commerce Sprint Weeks (270+ people, 30+ teams) Material Design across Google Android (OS, Apps, Play, etc.) Search and Maps YouTube Productivity tools (Gmail, Docs, Calendar, Hangouts, etc.) Enterprise tools (Ads, Analytics, etc.) and many, many start-ups and moonshots!

What are the types of
Sprints?

Sprints can be used for
many purposes Sprints are a problem-solving method that can be applied for many goals: Product strategy Design for innovation (products, features, services, systems, etc.) Design for specific problems or challenges Research Organizational and team structures Methods and processes

What do you do in
a Sprint?

Sprints involve many different activities
Sprints use a variety of activities and techniques: Team-building exercises Brainstorming and ideation Role-play Scenarios, narratives, and storytelling Rating, ranking, voting, and prioritization Sketching, wireframing, and visual Design Prototyping User research (interviews, observation, surveys, concept testing, usability…)

What comes out of a
Sprint?

Sprint outputs take a variety
of forms Sprints deliverables vary based on the goals and objectives of the sprint: Designs Prototypes Standards and specs Pitches and presentations Product or service requirements Research reports Preliminary products and/or features Business recommendations

Who can participate in a
Sprint?

Anyone can be a sprint
participant Many team member roles are involved and contribute to sprints: Designers (Visual, Interaction, Motion, Industrial) Researchers (Qualitative, Quantitative) Content Strategists / Writers Prototypers and Developers (Front-end, Back-end) Project, Product, and Program Managers Business Partners (Marketers, Sales, Analysts, Legal Counsel) Leaders (Managers, Directors, VPs, and up)

Let’s do a mock Design
Sprint or, how to pack 5 days into 40 minutes as an introduction

Before the Sprint Start early
(about 6 weeks in advance), because organization is essential. Identify and define goals and objectives with key stakeholders Write Sprint brief (Why are we here? What are we doing? What is the goal?) Reserve meetings room(s) Invite the team and get on their calendars Schedule Lightning Talks (rapid presentations to share background information) Create a Sprint plan (often a slide deck of day-to-day plans) Invite research participants and schedule them for time during the Sprint Gather Sprint supplies

Sprint Supplies Have everything you
need ready to go! Post-It notes Post-It posters and easels Paper (for sketching and notes) Dry erase markers in multiple colors and widths (for whiteboards) Adhesive tape, drafting dots, and/or pins and foam boards Scissors Voting dots (multi-colored adhesive dots) Snacks and water

TMT Remote Control Fans Innovating
air movement for more than 30 years

FAN PANEL REMOTE

We need some volunteers for
this Design Sprint Don’t worry, we can just make it all up. 5 presenters for the Lightning Talks 2 user researchers to learn about customer needs and behaviors 3 “real customers” to be interviewed Everyone here is also a designer and Sprint participant We’ll start with 5 minutes of quick customer interviews...

Preliminary Customer Research Talk to
your customers to learn what they are doing and what they need. When do you use fans and how often? Are the fans oscillating? Remote-controlled? What do you like about fans? When and how do they work well? What do you dislike about fans? When and how do they not work well enough? What has been your best experience with a fan? Why? What has been your worst experience with a fan? Why? Do you use fans for anything other than staying cool? If yes, what? (Work with your stakeholders and team to generate interview questions.)

Lightning Talks Each presenter will
have 2 minutes to talk about: Why is TMT doing a Product Design Sprint? (Dave, Interim CEO of TMT) Voice of the Customer Customer Journey and Pain Points Design Evolution / Product Audit Competitive Landscape Technological Opportunities

Lightning Talks Essential information in
just a few minutes

How might we… (HMWs) Record
ideas WHENEVER THEY ARISE. While listening to the Lightning Talks (or at any time early in the Sprint), write down any ideas for new and improved products, services, and features. Write only one idea per Post-It note. Include enough detail to help you remember the idea, but don’t try to write down every possible detail - you can add more detail later. For example, “How might we get more air movement? Put IR sensors into the fan so that it aims at people rather than just oscillating.”

1. Why is TMT doing
a Product Design Sprint? Competition and customer expectations have changed... Companies like Dyson set a higher bar for product design quality Customers expect products to be easy (easier) to use Digital technology has created new expectations for interactive products The “Internet of Things” and the “Connected Home” are becoming real Global climate change means warmer temperatures for more people We need to join the 21st century!

2. Voice of the Customer
What are customers saying about our product or service? “I have to switch between oscillating and fixed when I’m moving around the room and when I’m sitting to watch TV, and sometimes the remote is across the room.” “I lost the remote and couldn’t find a store that sells replacements.” 77% of customers think the price is good, 10% think it’s too high. 94% of customers use fans to stay cool, 6% for other purposes. and more insightful facts and quotations...

3. Customer Journeys and Pain
Points How do customers use the product and where do they struggle? Most common rooms: (1) Bedroom, (2) Living room, (3) Garage Most customers set the speed and mode when the fan is first turned on, then they infrequently or rarely change it before turning it off. The most common speed is medium, and most customers use oscillation. 61% of customers have lost the remote. 79% of customers are unsure what “Breeze mode” is. and more fascinating details about customer behavior...

4. Design Evolution / Product
Audit How has the product changed over time? What is the product’s current state? Oscillation is considered a standard feature by manufacturers. Timers were introduced in 1988. Remote controls were introduced in 1993. Breeze mode was introduced in 2001. Product updates in the last 15 years have focused on reducing manufacturing costs, reducing noise, and improving energy efficiency. Physical fan designs are largely unchanged in the past 30 years. but we have opportunities to improve and be more competitive...

5. Competitive Landscape Competition has
increased on multiple fronts. Dyson has introduced new form factors that are more effective, easier to use, and more energy efficient. Copycat designs are increasing. There are more fan manufacturers today than when we started. Customers have been buying more products with “retro” designs. Customers are less interested in plastic products. Customers prefer products that blend into their home decor and architecture. Customers are less loyal to specific manufacturers. and more areas where others are beating us in the market...

6. Technological Opportunities Changes in
technology, materials, and manufacturing can improve our fans. There are mobile apps for just about everything. The “Internet of Things” and “Connected Homes” are on the horizon. Recycled materials are more readily available. Energy efficiency of electric appliances has improved. Solar and battery technology have improved. Customers have higher expectations of product and interface design. and other amazing new possibilities...

The Design Sprint 2-5 intense
days (and hopefully some beer and ice cream)

High-Level Sprint Process

During the Sprint “Sprint Masters”
are responsible for keeping things organized and moving. Setup checklist (to make sure you don’t forget anything or anyone…) Identify and clarify customer needs (to define our goals) Establish design principles Ideation methods (and use a timer) Daily check lists (day-by-day goals and objectives + methods) Provide research templates and tips for non-researchers Surprise the team with a few breaks for fun and snacks and take them to dinner Daily email summary to the Sprint team

Identify and define goals Get
everyone pointed in the same direction. Stakeholder maps (“Who are ALL of the players in the system?”) Customer journeys / Journey maps Golden path / Happy path (and “supporting threads”) Gap analysis / Competitive analysis Future press release Future-mapping (“Where will we be in 1, 2, 5, 10 years?”) “I like ___ , I want ___ , I need ___ .” (Helps establish priorities.) “When I (situation), I want to (need), so that I can (goal).”

Design Principles Principles guide how
we generate, evaluate, prioritize, and select ideas. Easy Don’t make people think about how to control their fan. Convenient Allow people to effortlessly control their fans from anywhere. Informative People should understand what their fan can do and is doing. Effective People should feel cool and comfortable all the time. Considerate The fan should not interrupt, bother, or disturb people.

Generating Ideas (to Diverge) There
are many effective techniques for exploring possibilities. “How might we…” during the Lightning Talks and early in the Sprint Crazy 8s (5 min + 2 min + 1 min) Crazy 1 (5 min) 6 in 6 min Storyboarding Use your favorite methods and techniques for generating ideas.

Let’s improve this thing! Generate
ideas for the next generation of remote-controlled fans: Crazy 8s - fold a blank piece of paper to create eight drawing areas Quickly sketch ideas to improve or replace the: ● oscillating fan body ● control panel ● remote control unit

FAN PANEL REMOTE

Review Ideas (to Decide) Collaborate,
consolidate, and extend the ideas then choose the best. Post and review the ideas Form clusters based on similarity and sequence Combine related ideas Supplement and extend the ideas Dot voting by the team to select the best Ideas lead to questions and more ideas, so repeat this process as needed.

Assess Feasibility and Viability The
Five Hats method helps identify the most feasible and viable ideas: Technical feasibility How might this be done? User advocate Is this good for users? Idea generator Are there more ideas? Add and extend! Optimist Encourage the team and add a sense of possibility. True pessimist Be a constructive critic (not critically destructive) Ideas lead to questions and more ideas, so repeat this process as needed.

Design and Prototype Take the
best ideas and validate them with real customers. Prototypes have varying levels of fidelity: Sketches Wireframes / mocks / comps Paper prototypes Click-throughs Partial or full code-based Improve and iterate the ideas based on user feedback and performance.

High-Level Sprint Process

Communicating Outcomes Share the solutions
and get them into production

After the Sprint The ideas
and solutions must be shared, and product plans must be made. Send plan and schedule for communicating results to all Sprint participants Share concepts, designs, prototypes, and research results with stakeholders Create a Sprint Outcomes deck that can be easily shared by stakeholders Survey Sprint participants to assess satisfaction and efficacy Archive the Sprint ideas and outcomes for future reference Plan follow-up Sprint(s) to pursue additional ideas and opportunities? Track and measure performance of new products, features, and/or services

Q&A Questions about running your
own Design Sprints?

Thanks! Let me know how
Design Sprints work for you. David M. Hogue, Ph.D. davehogue.com @DaveHogue