Introduction to Product Design Sprints

"Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it's this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, 'Make it look good!' That's not what we think design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." - Steve Jobs

A Product Design Sprint (opens new window) is a technique to quickly design, prototype, and test the viability of an idea, product, or feature, an invention of Google Ventures' design team (opens new window), consists of 5 phases (typically days), exercises intended to improve the chances of making something people want. We want to turn false confidence into validated confidence before beginning an expensive build. Or, we want to dodge bullets by learning we shouldn't begin the expensive build at all.

Sprints are useful starting points when kicking off a new product or workflow, as well as solving problems with an existing product. They typically last 5 days but we have done them in less time. We get as many stakeholders and expertises in the room as we can.

Product design sprints are test-driven design, starting with design thinking and ending with a user-tested prototype.