Adding Ethics to Design Sprints

Matthew Stephens
Nov 4 · 6 min read

“You are responsible for what you put into the world. And you are responsible for the effects those things have upon the world.”

― Victor Papanek

The Current Problem

Design sprints have fundamentally transformed the way we solve problems. There is no doubt that future products will be more useful because of what Jake Knapp has provided, but there is a crucial piece missing from the conversation. We need to be asking “What could go wrong?” with each solution we consider. The tech world is plagued by addiction and abuse, in part because designers didn’t consider the unintended consequences.

Solutions

So how do we shift our thinking to include future scenarios? I believe there are a few modifications that would help complete the picture. My advice is to try out these different exercises and add the ones that you find work well for your team.

Exercise 1 — Ethical Heuristics

In a previous article, I detailed how we conduct ethical heuristic evaluations at The Zebra. Our sprint board always includes a copy of our evaluation template, available here. During design sprints, we simply read through the list of heuristics before we start solution sketching. This serves as a quick reminder of what we should aim for and what to avoid. After a solution has been chosen, it’s often worthwhile to circle back and conduct a quick evaluation to ensure this path is the right one for the user. Here’s an example of how the end result might look:

Example of a Quick Ethics Heuristic Evaluation

Fairness & Inclusion — Empower everyone, regardless of ability. Treat all users equitably, and prevent undesirable stereotypes and biases.

Privacy & Autonomy — Protect data from misuse and give users control of their information & environment.

Transparency — Create systems and outputs that are clear & understandable to all users.

Respect & Accountability- Create systems that are honest and human with a focus on building trust with users, and take responsibility for how systems impact society.

Growth — Users should be empowered to become better versions of themselves


Exercise 2 — Evil 8’s

The Design Sprint Academy put together this article discussing Evil 8’s and how they use “reverse thinking” to alleviate the pressure to perform during solution sketching. This exercise is also useful to help shift our thinking to consider worst-case scenarios.

Some Evil 8’s from a recent brainstorming session.

Instructions:


Exercise 3 — Black Mirror Episode

Cover story exercises don’t currently exist within the design sprint framework, but they can be a fun way to get the group thinking about unintended consequences. Here’s a good example from one of our last design meetings:

Example of a Black Mirror episode page with plot outlines and quotes

Here are the instructions, taken from the original article by Joshua Mauldin.

Introduction

Brainstorm

Episode Page

Here, we’ll communicate the big idea. Use the episode title as the main headline and the episode description to briefly summarize the plot. Add imagery to help provide a visual representation of the episode.

Plot Outline

Plot points are helpful in describing how this bad situation comes to pass. They’re the substance of the story. Consider these 4 as a starting point:

Quotes


Conclusion

Hopefully these exercises will provide a starting point to shift your design thinking to include not only what’s right, but also defining what could go wrong. I love the way Mike Monteiro summed up this issue: “A designer is first and foremost a human being. Before you are a designer, you are a human being. Like every other human being on the planet, you are part of the social contract. By choosing to be a designer you are choosing to impact the people who come in contact with your work, you can either help or hurt them with your actions. The effect of what you put into the fabric of society should always be a key consideration in your work.”

Further Reading

The Zebra

The Zebra is America's most trusted and most popular online resource for finding, buying, and managing your insurance.

Matthew Stephens

Written by

VP of Design at The Zebra

The Zebra

The Zebra

The Zebra is America's most trusted and most popular online resource for finding, buying, and managing your insurance.

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