The Design Sprint is a process for generating innovative ideas and solving major problems in just a few days. It helps to clearly define objectives and issues, and to create a high-level prototype that is tested with real users. The Sprint breaks down the work into smaller problems and helps the team focus on one goal at a time. The classic version of the method (referencing Knapp’s “Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days” – 2016) involves 5 phases over 5 days of work, whereas this project uses the faster version of the method, called Design Sprint 2.0. This version optimizes time and makes the process more effective by adapting it to the operational capacities of the participating social enterprises and the hybrid mode of delivery, allowing greater accessibility and participation for young designers from outside the Lombardy region.

What are Design Sprints 2.0?

The Design Sprint method was created by Jake Knapp and was initially used by Google Ventures to support startup growth and facilitate the development of digital experiences. This approach was designed to accelerate product launches by saving time and resources.

The Design Sprint is typically used to address an internal challenge within a company. It involves a fixed 5-day process aimed at creating a testable prototype for a product or service, starting from an idea. The process includes the following stages:

Map – Mapping the process, analyzing context and goals.
Sketch – Designing proposed solutions.
Decide – Choosing a single solution.
Prototype – Building a “realistic facade” of the solution.
Test – Testing the prototype with customers.

The method heavily relies on the creativity of the participants, encourages critical thinking, and focuses on decision-making rather than idea generation. This is achieved through multiple sessions dedicated to individual reflection on a key question, often with decisions being made through voting.

The typical team consists of 5-8 people with diverse backgrounds, including project stakeholders and staff responsible for idea development. Experts in specific fields may also be invited when needed.

A key aspect of the method is prototyping: rather than merely conceptualizing ideas, the team creates a physical prototype. This allows for rapid prototyping, gathering immediate feedback from users, and exploring ideas that might otherwise be discarded. It also reduces the cost of failure.

The Design Sprint method is widely used internationally by top companies such as Lego, Slack, Nest, Airbnb, N26, and IBM, among others.

The project Design Sprint 4ETS adopts the Design Sprint 2.0 version, which optimizes the original method, shortening it to 4 days instead of 5. Design Sprint 2.0 is designed for organizations that cannot dedicate an entire week to the process, allowing clients and teams to be involved for just half the duration (2 out of 4 days). This version also allows for full or partial implementation in a digital space with remote, distributed teams.

The Design Sprint format of the project DS 4ETS

Maintaining the spirit, phases, and goals of intensive co-production of ideas and prototypes typical of Sprints, the Design Sprint 2.0 method in the project DS 4ETS was adapted and applied within the involved social enterprises, according to their different goals and operational possibilities. These included the need to create new product/service solutions (not necessarily digital), the ability to assign and dedicate social staff to the design challenge topics, the capacity of participants to access and use collaborative tools for remote work in a digital environment, the desire of participants with socio-educational-health backgrounds to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, and to adapt to the hybrid delivery mode of the workshops (designed to enable broader participation from young designers, including those from other regions). The availability of adequately equipped spaces capable of hosting large groups was also an important factor. Unlike the original method, the work team was reduced to 5-7 people, increasing the number of external experts (primarily designers), and followed by the staff members dedicated to the project. Some project stakeholders also participated at the end of the process, in the jury. The phases of the process of the Design Sprint, in the DS 4ETS version were restructured into 4 work phases, with the preparation of preliminary research material and a suitable toolkit to support hybrid participation, which included both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration.

Map & Target – Mapping the process, analyzing context and objectives, in an online synchronous mode.
Sketch – Designing proposed solutions and Decide – Choosing a single solution, in asynchronous online mode.
Prototype – Building a physical prototype of the proposed solution, in person.
Test – Testing the prototype with real users and collecting feedback, in person.

Participants were engaged for a total of 32 hours, spread over the course of one week, following the above format.