Remote Design Sprints? Yes!
Remote Design Sprints? Yes, remote teams can now innovate without traveling to the same location. .Remote+Design Sprint=Intimidating! …Or Does It?
Running a remote Design Sprint can be very daunting. If you’ve facilitated Design Sprints, you know how important it is to read the room, feel the energy, and adjust the schedule based on the participants’ vibe. Remotely, it is a tad difficult to do the things that make facilitator’s good facilitators, and make Sprints worthwhile Sprints. But, with these tips, and the right technology, remote Sprints can be as effective, if not more effective, than in-person Sprints!
The Checklist:
To start off, make sure you have a good camera, a good microphone, a quiet place, a good internet connection, a table area to use for the sketching portions, a conferencing tool like zoom, , a virtual board (MIRO or MURAL) and natural light. Having a solid WiFi connection, a well-functioning webcam, and clear microphone are necessary for participating in a remote Sprint. These ensure that each participant can hear, see, and fully participate in the Sprint. Having a table area, or workspace, is important to be able to sketch and fully flesh out your ideas. Most of the exercises that are in the “note and vote” techniques can be done in Mural or Miro, and, lLastly, natural light is very helpful in keeping energy high, especially when you are sitting in front of a computer all day.
Plan, Plan, Plan!
Before beginning a remote Sprint, you should focus heavily on the planning portion. You should take into account any time differences, and how to create the best schedule for each participant. Perhaps begin by splitting up the exercises that have to be done together and the ones that can be done separately. You should also plan to include shorter breaks throughout the day, but still give people the option to get some fresh air and stop staring at a computer screen. These shorter breaks actually benefit the Sprint by keeping the participants from drifting away from the problem and avoiding internal discussion, which usually occurs during in-person Sprints. Lastly, during the planning phase, you want to test out all the different technology and inform each participant on what to expect during the Sprint. Each participant should be somewhat familiar with the Design Sprint process and the technology going to be used in order to avoid wasting time during the Sprint explaining every little exercise.
WooHoo! Celebrate Everything!
During the remote Sprint, it is more difficult to keep each participant engaged and feeling good because it is harder to reward people. You can’t offer a short break with cookies and high energy snacks because you aren’t physically together. However, you can emphasise the results of each of the Sprint steps verbally and visually. Each time the team produces something, you should show it off and celebrate everything the participants contribute to the project, regardless of quantity or quality.
Avoid a Snooze Fest:
Additionally, it is difficult to maintain the participant’s attention and realize when they are beginning to drift off. One technique is to try and recognize this based on their contributions, both talking and looking at the screen. Honestly, it is hard to sit at a computer for hours working toward an outcome you may be skeptical about, so the facilitator should work hard at being entertaining and incorporating different methods, like comedy, to keep everyone awake and focused.
Here We Go Again:
Before starting each day, you should do a warm up activity. Being remote, this is very helpful in getting everybody’s juices flowing. You can do something simple like sharing a fun fact, or something a little sillier like describing your Starbucks selection process. Furthermore, each participant should do a mic check before starting the Sprint each day. It only takes a couple of seconds and avoids audio issues that a participant might not think are worth pointing out. During the actual exercises, you should play music whenever possible. This really helps to keep the energy high. Lastly, without the physical queues, it is possible that people talk over each other, and the facilitator will need to manage that.
Now, The Part You’ve All Been Waiting For… Technology!
Technology is the key to having a fluid remote Sprint. Whichever technology you choose to use, you want to be sure that you and the other participants are all comfortable using it. There are a lot of good options out there, but these are the ones we recommend: Mural — for ideas, deciding and voting, Figma — for prototyping in the cloud, PingPong — for recruitment and user testing, Zoom — to video conference. Or, Google Hangout — for anything that involves screen sharing or discussion, Google Drive — for storing and sharing of documents, MURAL — for collaboration, and Slack — for link sharing, chat and anything else (don’t forget to set up a Slack channel in advance so everyone can join).
Pro’s and Con’s:
Although there are challenges to running a remote Sprint, such as the need for effective communication, some technology limitations, working over different time zones, and the possibility of low engagement, there are also many benefits to working remotely. You get to work with the best people, regardless of their location, the cost of the Sprint is potentially lower without office space and travel costs, and there are fewer constraints to enable scaling up. More-so, during Sprint exercises, like voting, there is not really any opening for campaigning for or explaining ideas, so it is a more pure voting experience. Now, good luck to you and the other Sprint participants, wherever in the world you might be!
