How the Sticky Decision works in a sprint?

A five-step process to make sprint decisions as efficient as possible.

1. Art museum: Put the solution sketches on the wall with masking tape.
2. Heat map: Look at all the solutions in silence, and use dot stickers to mark interesting parts.
3. Speed critique: Quickly discuss the highlights of each solution, and use sticky notes to capture big ideas.
4. Straw poll: Each person chooses one solution, and votes for it with a dot sticker.
5. Supervote: The Decider makes the final decision, with — you guessed it
— more stickers.

How it works:

Art Museum

The first step is simple. We want everybody to take a good long look at
each one, so we stole an idea from the Louvre Museum in Paris: hang them on
the wall. Specifically, use masking tape to stick the sketches on a wall. Space them out in one long row, just like the paintings in a museum. This spacing allows the team to spread out and take their time examining each sketch without crowding.

It’s also a good idea to place the sketches in roughly chronological order,
following the storyboard.

Heat Map

Naturally, every person should have a fair opportunity to present his or her
solution and explain the rationale behind it.

But in the real world, the creators won’t be there to give sales pitches and clues. In the real world, the ideas will have to stand on their own.

So before the team begins looking, hand everyone a bunch of small dot stickers (twenty to thirty dots each). Then each person follows these steps:
1. Don’t talk.
2. Look at a solution sketch.
3. Put dot stickers beside the parts you like (if any).
4. Put two or three dots on the most exciting ideas.
5. If you have a concern or question, write it on a sticky note and place it below the sketch.
6. Move on to the next sketch, and repeat.

Because this process is quick, it’s possible to load all of the sketches into
short-term memory at once. And since there are unlimited stickers, you and your team won’t use up much of your decision-making energy. The heat map is both a useful way to spot standout ideas and a great way to get your brain warmed up for a decision.

Speed Critique

In the speed critique, you and your team will discuss each solution sketch and
make note of standout ideas. The conversation will follow a structure — and a time limit. The first time you do it, it might feel uncomfortable and rushed, and it might be hard to keep track of all the steps. But it won’t take long to get the hang of it. Once you do, your team will have a powerful tool for analyzing ideas, and you may find yourselves using it in other meetings.

During the speed critique, the Facilitator is going to be very busy, so someone
needs to volunteer to help by being the Scribe. As you review the sketches on the wall, the Scribe will write down standout ideas on sticky notes. The Scribe’s notes serve several purposes. The notes give everyone a common vocabulary to describe solutions. They help everyone on the team to feel heard, which speeds up the discussion. And they organize the team’s observations, making it easier to place your votes in the next step.

Here’s how the speed critique works:

• Gather around a solution sketch.
• Set a timer for three minutes.
• The Facilitator narrates the sketch.
• The Facilitator calls out standout ideas that have clusters of stickers by them.
• The team calls out standout ideas that the Facilitator missed.
• The Scribe writes standout ideas on sticky notes and sticks them above the sketch. Give each idea a simple name, like “Animated Video” or “One-Step Signup.”
• Review concerns and questions.
• The creator of the sketch remains silent until the end. (“Creator, reveal your identity and tell us what we missed!”)
• The creator explains any missed ideas that the team failed to spot, and
  answers any questions.
• Move to the next sketch and repeat.

That’s right — the proud inventor of the solution in the spotlight doesn’t get to speak up until the end of the critique.

If a sketch has a lot of good ideas, take a couple of extra minutes to capture them all. On the other hand, if a sketch has very few dots, and the creator doesn’t have a compelling explanation, do everyone a favor and move on quickly. Nothing is gained by tearing apart a sketch nobody likes.

If you’re the Facilitator, the speed critique will require you to think on your feet and keep the group moving. You’re both narrator and referee, but the process should be fun. After all, the solutions will be interesting, and since the discussion focuses on the best ideas, the tone will be positive.

Straw poll

In your sprint, the straw poll serves the same purpose. It’s a quick way
for the whole team to express their opinions. These votes aren’t binding. Instead, think of the straw poll as a way to give your Decider some advice.

It’s a straightforward exercise:

• Give everyone one vote (represented by a big dot sticker — we like pink).
• Remind everyone of the long-term goal and sprint questions.
• Remind everyone to err on the side of risky ideas with big potential.
• Set a timer for ten minutes.
• Each person privately writes down his or her choice. It could be a whole sketch, or just one idea in a sketch.
• When time is up, or when everyone is finished, place the votes on the
  sketches.
• Each person briefly explains his or her vote (only spend about one
  minute per person).

During the straw poll, those names — along with the heat map and the sticky notes from the speed critique — make it easier to compare and weigh the options.

Super Vote

The super vote is the ultimate decision. Each Decider will get three special votes (with the Decider’s initials on them!), and whatever they vote for is what your team will prototype and test.
Deciders can choose ideas that were popular in the straw poll. Or they can choose to ignore the straw poll. They can spread out their votes, or put them all in one place. Basically, the Deciders can do whatever the heck they want.

All the same, it’s a good idea to remind the Decider of the long-term goal and
the sprint questions (which should still be on one of your whiteboards!). Finally, when the Decider has placed her votes, the hardest choice of the week is complete. It’ll look something like this:

The sketches with supervotes on them (even just one!) are the winners. You’ll
plan your prototype around those ideas and put them to the test on Friday. We
like to rearrange the sketches on the wall, so that the supervote winners are all together, like this:

The sketches that didn’t get any supervotes aren’t winners, but they aren’t losers either. They’re “maybe-laters.”

After your team has organized the winning solutions, everyone will probably feel relieved — after all, the biggest decision of the sprint has been made.

Thanks for reading

Hope you all get it helpful for building a design sprint team.

Feel free to reach out :)