Remote Design Sprint Template
Accelerate innovation by running a Design Sprint with a distributed team.
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About the Remote Design Sprint Template
A design sprint is an intensive process of designing, iterating, and testing a prototype over a 4 or 5 day period. Design sprints are conducted to break out of stale work processes, find a fresh perspective, identify problems in a unique way, and rapidly develop solutions.
3 challenges of running a design sprint remotely
Design sprints are challenging enough, but running one remotely brings its own unique difficulties.
Communication
Getting everyone on the same page and communicating is critical to a successful design sprint, but it’s tougher when you don’t have everyone in the same room. That’s why every team member needs to make an effort to speak up when you have a problem or something to contribute.
Tools
To run a remote sprint, you need the right tools. Everyone will need the right video conferencing tools (e.g. Zoom or Google Hangouts), and team messaging apps like Slack are helpful tool. A virtual collaboration space like Miro is a great way to brainstorm, share ideas, and iterate designs.
Engagement
It’s easier to get lost in the shuffle when a design sprint is done over video conference rather than in-person. That’s why it’s important to nominate a sprint leader who will call on everyone and bring different opinions into the fold.
How to run a design sprint with a remote team in 4 steps
The template for this remote design sprint takes place across four or 5 days, with four phases:
1) Map and sketch
The first phase involves bringing the team together and brainstorming. You’ll first want to work on identifying problems with your current product or service, and then think of potential ways to solve this problem by mapping out different potential solutions.
2) Decide and storyboard
With various ideas laid out, it’s time for your team to decide on a plan of action. Then, draw up a storyboard with your plan of how you’re going to design and iterate the plan. Make sure to include any relevant resources or materials that will be necessary to carry out the plan.
3) Prototyping
Now that your plan is prepared, you need to build the prototype. The idea isn’t to build a full-fledged product that would be released to the public, but an MVP, or “Minimum Viable Product.” You want the product to function in a way that solves the specific problem that your team laid out in the first brainstorming session.
4) Test and learn
Finally, you demo your prototype with other teams and with users to see how they react. Collect data on how they use or respond to the prototype, so you can figure out how to improve it the next time.
Why should you run a design sprint?
Running a design sprint can help teams move faster, overcoming roadblocks and aligning more quickly. They're good for generating multiple ideas from a diverse group to solve a complex problem – resulting in more innovative solutions than if everyone had operated independently.
Getting early feedback from users can help you identify potential flaws earlier, and in a more cost-efficient manner. After a sprint, you should have a workable prototype that you can use to start developing your product.
Although they're commonly used in product development, design sprints are flexible and can be adapted to multiple projects and focus areas, from marketing to HR.
Get started with this template right now.
Darts Template
Works best for:
Design
It is a common mistake to assume that all ideas, tasks, or features are equally important. However, in order to achieve the best results and focus on the most critical elements, it is necessary to determine what takes priority. This approach allows you to prioritize and concentrate on what requires immediate attention while postponing the remaining aspects for later. The Darts Template is designed to limit the amount of content that can be placed in the center, forcing your team to consider priorities before taking any action.
Diary Template
Works best for:
Design
The Diary Template is an effective research tool to gain insights into individuals' internal processes as they document their encounters with a specific product, service, or matter. Unlike real-time interactions, journaling is usually conducted asynchronously over an extended period of time, enabling deliberate reflection that other methods may not facilitate. This asynchronous nature encourages individuals to express more elaborate accounts of their emotions and viewpoints, resulting in profound and stimulating responses.
Empathy Map Template
Works best for:
Market Research, User Experience, Mapping
Attracting new users, compelling them to try your product, and turning them into loyal customers—it all starts with understanding them. An empathy map is a tool that leads to that understanding, by giving you space to articulate everything you know about your customers, including their needs, expectations, and decision-making drivers. That way you’ll be able to challenge your assumptions and identify the gaps in your knowledge. Our template lets you easily create an empathy map divided into four key squares—what your customers Say, Think, Do, and Feel.
Meeting Template
Works best for:
Meetings, Team Meetings, Workshops
Everyone has been in a meeting that didn’t go as planned. Maybe it ran off course, or you ran out of time to accomplish everything you set out to do -- or maybe it just felt like a waste of time. To avoid that, it’s important to prepare to run a team meeting ahead of time. With this simple but effective template, you can prepare to run a team meeting that ticks all the boxes. By creating a streamlined way to build preparation into your workflow, you’ll ensure your meetings are efficient, enjoyable, and collaborative.
Prune the Product Tree Template
Works best for:
Design, Desk Research, Product Management
Prune the Product Tree (also known as the product tree game or the product tree prioritization framework) is a visual tool that helps product managers organize and prioritize product feature requests. The tree represents a product roadmap and helps your team think about how to grow and shape your product or service by gamifying feedback-gathering from customers and stakeholders. A typical product tree has four symbolic features: the trunk, which represents the existing product features your team is building; the branches, each of which represents a product or system function; roots, which are technical requirements or infrastructure; and leaves, which are new ideas for product features.
Feature Canvas Template
Works best for:
Design, Desk Research, Product Management
When you’re working on a new feature that solves a problem for your users, it’s easy to dive right in and start looking for solutions. However, it’s important to understand the initial user problem first. Use the Feature Canvas template to do a deep-dive into the user’s problems, the context in which they will use your feature, and the value proposition you will deliver to your users. The template enables you to spend more time exploring the problem to anticipate any potential blind spots before jumping into solutions mode.