Top Ten Sprint Lessons
I did three sprints in 3 weeks…here is what I learned.
As part of my graduate program with CMCI Studio at CU Boulder, I did three design sprints in three weeks. Each sprint was done in partnership with a different client and I worked with a different team every week. It was challenging and exhausting, but I was able to push myself a designer and learn some important lessons.
I love Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days and the methods outlined byJake Knapp work. That being said, they aren’t always practical or applicable to every situation. For example, one our of Sprints was only four days. We had to rethink the order of things to fit a smaller schedule. Think of it as more of an art than a science. Do what you need to do to solve the problem at hand. Be smart and adaptive.
2). Don’t allow the unknown to paralyze you.
When you get started, the amount of work will feel overwhelming. Don’t let this stop you from getting started. Read the brief and be sure you are clear what it is asking you to do. Ask questions about the user. Figure out what you do know, and more importantly, what you don’t know so you can move forward.
3). Even if you know nothing about a subject, you can design for it.
One of my sprints was about skiing and snowboarding- something I have only done one time. My entire team was in the same boat- we felt completely under qualified to solve a problem in an industry we didn’t know the first thing about. We had to spend extra time in the understanding phase: researching online, conducting interviews and asking questions to the experts we had access to, but we made it through. In the end, it didn’t matter what we knew before the sprints. Design is about people and understanding their needs, motivations and behaviors. As UX designers, empathy is our greatest tool. You don’t need to be an expert or even have experienced something first hand in order to use empathy.
4). Have an extremely refined understanding of the problem.
This means a specific and simple how might we statement. Call our your KPI’s and the type of solution you are designing. This will make it easier to stay focused. Also important? Don’t be afraid to change your how might we statement halfway through.
5). Be resourceful.
In a Sprint, you won’t have the luxury of weeks of research to use. Pick apart research you already have to find insights. Watch videos and read blogs about your subject.You can find great secondary research by reading reviews of competitive or similar products. Interview anyone you can get to donate their time: friends, family, strangers on the street.
6). Be strategic with your time.
Be prepared to spend extra time working- these won’t be your typical 8 hour days. That being said, time is limited, so be strategic with where you spend your time. You should only do an activity if the output moves you forward in solving the problem in the most efficient way. For example, a storyboard provides similar insights to a fully developed user journey, but takes less time.
When it comes to time, time boxing is everything. Having a sprint master who is in charge of keeping track of this will help keep your team moving forward. Also, don’t do more work than you need to. You don’t have to mock up everything to get an idea across.
7). Trust your intuition as a designer.
This one was big lesson for me. Throughout the process, you are going to get conflicting feedback. Feedback from one person will be completely opposite from another person. It will make you doubt yourself and question your direction. While it is important to listen to this feedback and take it seriously, you don’t always have to apply it to your work. If your team’s solution is grounded in user insights and research, continue developing it. If there is ever a question or a doubt, test it.
8). Really, test anything and everything you have unanswered questions about.
It is one of the most simple rules of UX- but it can be hard to remember when you are under the stress of a sprint. All it takes to test something is putting your work in front of people or asking a few questions. The tests don’t have to be formal or extensive- all you need is enough insight to move forward with a decision.
9). When it come to presentations, say less, but say it better.
Delivery is key- keep it short and sweet, yet impactful and thorough.Touch on the research and process you did when relevant, but focus on how and why the solution solves the problem for the user, and what the next steps fore the team should be. If you can summarize your strategy in a sentence or a few words, it is a great way to wrap things up.
10). After a sprints are over, nothing beats a Bloody Mary with your team.
I am sure I will be backed up on this one, it became a ritual at the end of each Sprint for us to go to Brunch as a cohort. Once you are done, celebrate, rest and enjoy the company of bunch of tired designers- you won’t regret it.
