6 steps to design a better business process with Design Sprints
This article will help you get more out of design sprints by providing a detailed and comprehensive guide on how to optimize the process design sprint:
- It is essential to maintain a thorough understanding of the entire process under optimization.
- Strategic use of service design and process design templates can streamline process mapping in a Design Sprint.
- Active involvement of stakeholders is fundamental for the success of a Design Sprint.
- Introducing external speakers can infuse fresh perspectives and innovative ideas into a Design Sprint.
- Utilizing real-world data simulation is a critical aspect of ensuring the effectiveness and accuracy of process design during a Design Sprint.
- Effectively communicating the outcomes of a Design Sprint to stakeholders is essential for showcasing the value and success of the process.
Additionally, it draws on Frontira’s real-world experience from running 100+ design sprints, spanning diverse industries and clients across Europe. With our examples from diverse projects to illustrate the points, we’re ready to guide you through any challenges and share our learnings.
One such case involved a public sector organization in healthcare. They needed to optimize the planning process, and enhance their project portfolio, and we were there to assist. All of the following learnings applied to this recent process optimization design sprint and many others in our company history.
Now, let’s draw some distinctions between a process optimization design sprint and a standard one. Normal design sprints zoom in on prototypes like products or tangible interfaces. On the other hand, the core of a process optimization design sprint focuses on the process, making it more meta and less about tangible prototypes.
🎯 Ensuring Focus on the End-to-End Process
The effectiveness of a Design Sprint is largely dependent on a thorough, start-to-finish understanding of the process under optimization. Adopting a holistic view enables teams to spot dependencies, pinpoint areas for performance improvement, and boost overall efficiency.
Sharing sessions play a crucial role in keeping the process in focus. Regularly planned meetings ensure team members are aligned on the overarching goal and current progress. These gatherings also provide a platform to iron out any inconsistencies between the results of previous steps and the requirements of the following ones.
In the intricate world of business, cross-functional collaboration is key. Given that most processes are interconnected, a smooth transition from one phase to the next can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your Design Sprint.
🛠️ Utilizing Service Design and Process Design Templates
Leveraging service design or process design templates can be a powerful tool in process mapping. These templates create a consistent framework and ensure a shared understanding of the process design among team members. A well-structured template can effectively simplify specific tasks or modules within the design sprint process. By visually illustrating the process, team members can gain a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities. While templates offer a structured approach, it’s crucial to allow customization to suit the unique scenarios or requirements of the team. The ultimate aim is to find a balance between maintaining standardized processes and providing the flexibility to adapt to specific project conditions.
🤝 Involving Various Stakeholders in the Process
Stakeholder participation is a cornerstone of a successful Design Sprint. It paves the way for a fitting and efficient process design. Besides creating higher acceptance, stakeholder involvement also fosters a sense of ownership. However, the key to managing diverse stakeholder expectations and feedback lies in effective communication and a transparent process.
Research solidifies the benefits of stakeholder immersion. A Health Policy Systems study found that stakeholder engagement boosts the relevance of research by 94% and enhances trust and mutual learning. A well-engaged stakeholder also contributes to cultivating trustful relationships and inspires collective innovation. All this underscores the crucial role stakeholders hold in the drive towards peak innovation.
🎙️ Inviting External Speakers
Including outside speakers in a Design Sprint can be a transformative step, providing a fresh viewpoint that paves the way for out-of-the-box ideas. These new inputs drive our teams, offering them alternate perspectives and encouraging intelligent risks. This boost in creativity and quick decision-making is an unfair advantage, especially in a timed sprint environment. Nevertheless, it’s important to ensure the speaker’s insights echo your company’s way of working and objectives to maximize the benefits.
As an example, we invited speakers from two distinct industries: insurance and technology. Both of them had a similar portfolio process, yet their organizational structures were vastly different. The intent was to learn about their journey — understanding the route they traversed to reach their existing processes, and what strategies were most effective for them. This tactic significantly fueled our decision-making speed during the Design Sprint, and instilled in us a newfound confidence to pursue ideas perceived as risky at first. Knowing that these strategies were already successful in other companies was an encouraging guide.
📊 Simulating the Process with Real Data
During a Design Sprint, it’s essential to authenticate your proposed process design using real-world data. Data simulation can definitively assess your design’s effectiveness, highlight any areas of weakness, and enable agile adjustments. By addressing actual data scenarios early on, you can avoid costly and time-consuming changes later. Data-supported validation enhances trust in your proposed process, bolstering stakeholder commitment.
📈 Presenting Final Results Effectively
Effectively presenting the outcomes of a sprint to stakeholders is as crucial as the process design itself. It’s essential to maintain a balance between focusing on the significant steps or stages of the process and being prepared to delve into specifics if needed. This requires a keen understanding of the finer details and the ability to still focus on the significant steps of the process and not getting lost. A compelling presentation not only “shows” but also “tells”. It translates process maps and diagrams into success stories, explaining how the process benefits the organization and highlighting the value it brings to the stakeholders.
“Effectively showcasing the outcomes of a Design Sprint is pivotal to demonstrating the value and success of the process to stakeholders.” Joanna Bakas
Incorporating an overview of user feedback, testing results, and iterations made during the design sprint can further enhance the presentation’s effectiveness, demonstrating the iterative and customer-centric nature of the process and showcasing the team’s adaptability and problem-solving skills.
Even the most seasoned business professionals don’t realize how stretchable frameworks are and that they are as hackable as IKEA furniture. Design Sprints are the frameworks that can be applied to solve a number of business challenges such as organization design, process design and innovation, communication and more. Process design is amongst the most valuable design challenges given that many internal processes are rubbish, create chaos, misalignment and bad outputs, all in a painful and time consuming way. Design a better way.
