Design Sprint
A five-day structured process for solving critical business questions through design, prototyping, and testing with real users.
What is a Design Sprint?
Created by Jake Knapp at Google Ventures, the Design Sprint compresses months of debate into one focused week. Monday: map the problem. Tuesday: sketch solutions. Wednesday: decide on the best idea. Thursday: build a realistic prototype. Friday: test with real users. The sprint forces teams to move from opinions to evidence quickly. It works best for high-stakes decisions (new product direction, major redesign) where traditional meetings would drag on. The structure prevents endless iteration: you get one shot at the prototype, so quality matters. After Friday's user tests, you have data, not gut feelings, guiding the next move.
Examples
A team unsure whether to redesign their onboarding flow runs a five day sprint: Monday maps the problem, Tuesday sketches solutions, Wednesday picks one, Thursday builds a clickable prototype, and Friday tests it with five real users, ending the week with evidence instead of another round of debate.