Our First Design Sprint Workshop⚡
If you were not part of this workshop, you don’t know what you have missed! But don’t worry, we got you!
We will go step-by-step on how we made this happened.
The Beginning
Over the last months, we became so into Design Sprints and the way it approaches the project, turning problems into opportunities, which it made more sense for us.
We have known about DS for years, but never dove into it enough to fully understand its potential applied to real projects.
So, when did the turnover happen?
A few months ago, we were making a company’s retrospective about last year where we had excellent projects. However, there were things to be improve along the way, such as:
- No user-testing;
- Roadblocks;
- Lack of clear vision.
Year after year, we would always be like every other agency and estimate a full project based on assumptions and without a clear path.
After several months of studying Design Sprints and put them in practice, it was a time to challenge ourselves!
Preparation
For a long time that we wanted to participate in a Design Sprint Workshop (ideally from AJ&Smart with Jake Knapp). But since it wasn’t possible until now, we thought — Why don’t we make a Design Sprint Workshop ourselves?
The thought of it was scary at first, nevertheless until you push yourself to do things that you aren’t comfortable with, you will never know the outcome!
In case of doubt, just do it! And learn from your mistakes. And oh boy, if we did! 😆
Every month, we do an event for the community in our hometown — Viana Tech Meetups. But this time, we wanted to do something unusual.
An usual event from VTM goes like this:
- People arrive to the event
- Network while snacking and drinking before the talk
- Listen to the talk
- Q&A
- Dinner
We wanted to create an event with a different format than the others — since Design Sprint is a problem-solving framework with multiple exercises, we tried to create a similar experience during this workshop!
So we inserted another point during the event — an actual Design Sprint Exercise with everyone in the event! So let us tell you, the result was fantastic!
Spoiler Alert — We will consider doing more activities during our Meetups to create a stronger bond between everyone in this community.
We had several questions in mind with space, materials, and people, especially how hard it would be to facilitate several groups at once.
We have set the space with two big squared talents where we could fit 12 people per table, 4 each side. Place the Design Sprint kit in the middle, having walls dedicated to each group of four and hope for the best!
🎉 Arrivals and welcome
The early moments during a meetup are one of the most critical parts.
While the connections begin online, the real memories are made at meetups. Meetups are real-life gatherings where members and organizers get together to connect, discuss, and practice activities related to their shared interests.
It’s about connecting people with something in common. From activities you love and hobbies you want to try, to ways you identify yourself and who you want to be, a Meetup group is a community.
A community of people who come together because they care about the same thing. In our case, it was designers, developers, project managers and technology lovers!
👨💻 What are Design Sprints?
Design Sprints are a big thing when it comes to product development.
The Design Sprint, an invention of Google Ventures’ design team, is a 5-phase exercise intended to improve the chances of making something people want. Sprints are useful starting points when kicking off a new product or workflow, as well as when solving problems with an existing product.
It’s has been proven that they shorten the time it takes to develop an idea and has excellent benefits.
Additionally, this speeds up your project as now you won’t need to stop your work every time you do user testing, and they give you negative feedback. You have a clear path ahead of you, and you can move forward without interruptions!
Not sure why you should be excited about the Design Sprint’s Meetup? Here are 5 reasons for it 👇
⚡ Lightning Decision Jam
LDJ is a creative problem-solving loop. It is one of the best exercises that explain the potential of the Design Sprint. Multiple people can participate and come up with solutions to improve a specific problem.
In this particular workshop, the challenge we were facing was:
How might we make Viana Tech Meetups even better?
This exercise has 5 steps:
- Note Alone;
- Stick Em Up;
- Vote Alone;
- Prioritize;
- Decide.
To make this successful, we gathered the audience in groups of 4/5. We asked them to start writing every idea they had in post-its for 7 minutes — Use a TimeTimer for it!
Every idea is valid, not barriers during this phase.
Next, we stand-up and present the ideas — 4 minutes per person. We stick them in the wall and start to vote on each we consider being the best options.
After the voting ended, organize the post-its, from most to least voted — pyramid shape.
After some discussion among the group, the Decider will pick the idea that the group should explore.
Save the other ideas in a Pandora’s Box for future references.
The most voted suggestions that came from this exercise were:
- Getting Sponsors for the event;
- Events focused only on Networking — No talk;
- More Workshops
- Each Participant presents himself/herself.
- Partner with local organisations
- Creation of a Website
Online surveys are a fantastic tool. However, it’s hard to obtain a good conversion rate. By running an LDJ with the community right in front of us, was essential to know the path that we should take from here now.
Of course, you may want to change some of the rules, but we recommend you not to! Its a proven method by AJ&Smart on their Design Sprints. They know it better!
👇 Learn more about this technique 👇
🍔 Questions & Dinner
To wrap up the workshop, we couldn’t leave everyone without exploring their final thoughts and reflect on the things they have just experienced and learn.
After giving a bit more time to networking, we went to the restaurant where we can enjoy a good Francesinha, which is a typical Portuguese dish. This part is optional, but we recommend it! — Awesome friendships may come from it!
Conclusion
This experience was fantastic for us!
From the feedback that we received, it gave us the motivation to keep doing these events. Our goal is to build the best tech community in our hometown but also, to start teaching about Design Sprints all around the globe.
With this in mind, we want to know your opinion regarding creating a Design Sprint Workshop for 1-day! We will dive in all the techniques and tips for you to be able to run a DS on your own!
Still, don’t know what a Design Sprint is? If you are interested, reach out via DM or email!
Ricardo is the CEO of PICUS. Obsessed with becoming “Design Sprint Go-to-Guy” in Portugal. He organizes meetups at his hometown, occasional speaker, and overall a tech enthusiast. Follow him on LinkedIn or Instagram!
Want to see how we work day to day at PICUS? Follow us on Instagram for our daily story updates and feel free to ask us anything!
