Google Venture ‘Design Sprint’ for Bloom Box

Michelle Broczek
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

On an intensive course there’s no time to waste so this week, being our very first week on campus, we delved right into a Google Venture ‘Design Sprint’. It went something like this:

Day 1: Map

  1. Research: explore, immerse, observe, interview.
  2. Long-term goal: What is the overall objective of the company/product?
  3. Assumptions: Consider user assumptions.
  4. Questions: Turn assumptions into questions. Select main Sprint question/s.
  5. Map: map the current user flow of the website/app.
  6. HMW (How might we?): Individually write hmw questions, sort them as a group, vote.
  7. Target : Choose a customer and step on the map to focus on.

Day 2: Sketch

  1. Lightning Demos: Individually find inspiring websites/apps that are similar (though not competing) and share the main ideas to your team in 3 minutes. At the same time, some one is sketching the ideas on the board as you present.
  2. The Four Steps (Individually)
  • Notes: Spend 20 minutes reviewing all notes, materials, and goals from the past 24 hours.
  • Ideas: Doodle rough solutions/mind map in 20 minutes.
  • Crazy 8: Draw eight pictures based from the ‘ideas’. Each picture is limited to one minute.
  • Sketch: From ‘Crazy 8’, sketch a three-panel story board (3 post-its on A4 paper).

Day 3: Decide

  1. Art Museum: Post the sketches from the previous day around the room. Silently, team members go around and look at them. Each member has approximately 20 stickers to place on elements or whole sketches that they like. They leave any questions on post-it notes under the sketches.
  2. Heat Map: After everyone has finished viewing all the sketches, stand back as a group and see the ‘hot spots’ — which sketches clearly got the most interest. Do not eliminate any at this stage.
  3. Speed Critique: A neutral person describes the sketches (3min per A4 sketch). The team discuss any questions and thoughts. The designer stays silent until the end when they are given 1min to clarify their design if needed.
  4. Straw poll: Each member is given one (or two) stickers (make sure they are different from the heat map stickers). Vote using the new stickers. The design that wins from this round will be used for the prototype.
  5. Super Vote: If there is a tie, the ‘decider’ makes the final decision of which design/s to use.
  6. Storyboard:
  • Assign an “artist”
  • Set up the grid
  • Choose an opening scene
  • Fill in the storyboard

Some tips for the storyboard -

  • Work with what you have
  • Don’t write together
  • Include just enough detail
  • When in doubt, take risk
  • Keep in the history fifteen min or less
  • Your storyboard should reflect an experience that you’ll hope to simulate during our test

Day 4: Prototype

Divide roles:

Maker (2) — create individual components; labour intensive

Stitcher — collects everything and ‘stitches’ it all together; ensures consistency between elements

Writer — content writer.

Asset Collector (2) — finds photos and icons online to use.

Interviewer — prepares questions and script on Thursday; interviews Friday.

Day 5: Interview

Act I: Friendly welcome

Act II: A series of general, open-ended context questions about the customer

Act III: Introduction to prototype

Act IV: Detailed tasks to get customer reacting and responding to the website

Act V: A quick debrief to capture the customers overarching thoughts and impressions

  • Five is optimal number of users to interview

Interview tips —

  • Set tone: establish rapport; comfortable = honesty = good data = good insights
  • Set agenda: give expectations and always allow tester to back out
  • Ask for permission: Ask if you can use their quotes; thank them for accepting the recording
  • Promote discovery: tell them where you want them to end up; don’t navigate
  • Ask what and why: “What do you expect that to do?”; pair actions with thoughts
  • Ask open-ended questions: don’t present choices
  • Be an objective observer: leave assumptions, expectations, decisions at the door.
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