“Sprint” by Jake Knapp is a book that provides a step-by-step guide for conducting sprints, a five-day process for solving problems and creating new products. The book is interesting for product managers and entrepreneurs because it offers a structured approach to solving complex problems and creating new products. It also provides techniques for rapidly prototyping and testing ideas, which can help product managers and entrepreneurs make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes. Additionally, the book offers practical advice for running sprints within an organization, which can be useful for product managers and entrepreneurs who are looking to implement this process within their own teams. Overall, “Sprint” provides a valuable framework for creating successful products, and is an interesting read for anyone working in product management or entrepreneurship.
The 5 days process of Sprint
The book “Sprint” describes a five-day process for conducting sprints, which includes the following steps:
- Understand: This step involves gathering information about the problem or opportunity at hand, as well as identifying the key stakeholders and users.
Example: A product manager at a company that sells outdoor gear wants to create a new camping tent. To understand the problem, she conducts user research to gather information about what types of tents are currently available on the market, as well as what features are most important to campers.
- Diverge: In this step, the team generates as many ideas as possible to solve the problem or take advantage of the opportunity.
Example: An entrepreneur wants to create a new meal delivery service for busy families. To generate ideas, she conducts brainstorming sessions with her team, and also looks at what other meal delivery services are currently available to get inspiration.
- Decide: This step involves selecting the most promising ideas from the previous step, and then creating a plan to test them.
Example: A product manager at a software company wants to create a new project management tool. After generating ideas and discussing them with the team, they decide to focus on creating a tool that allows team members to assign and track tasks in real-time.
- Prototype: This step involves creating a simple, realistic representation of the product or solution.
Example: An entrepreneur wants to create a new mobile app that helps people find local events. To prototype the app, she creates a series of wireframes that show how the app will look and function, and then shares them with a small group of users to get feedback.
- Test: This step involves getting feedback from users on the prototype, and then using that feedback to improve the product or solution.
Example: A product manager at a retail company wants to create a new online shopping experience. After creating a prototype of the website, she conducts user testing to get feedback on the design and functionality, and then uses that feedback to make improvements before launching the site.
The book also goes into depth on how to make a better prototype, running the sprint and what to do after the sprint is over.
10 important recommandations
Here are ten important recommendations from the book “Sprint” that can help ensure the success of the sprint process:
- Have a clear goal for the sprint: Before starting the sprint, make sure you have a clear understanding of what problem or opportunity you are trying to solve, and what success looks like.
- Gather a diverse team: Assemble a team with a mix of perspectives, skills, and expertise to ensure that all angles of the problem or opportunity are considered.
- Set a clear agenda: Have a schedule for each day of the sprint, including designated times for each step of the process, to ensure that the team stays on track.
- Encourage free-thinking: Create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas and thoughts, no matter how unconventional they may seem.
- Make it a “no-talk day”: During the Diverge step, have a “no-talk day” where team members are encouraged to sketch and write down their ideas instead of discussing them with the group.
- Keep it simple: When creating a prototype, focus on the most important features and functionality, and avoid adding unnecessary elements.
- Test with real users: When testing the prototype, it’s important to get feedback from real users, as they will be the ones using the product or solution.
- Be open to change: Be prepared to pivot or change direction based on the feedback you receive during the test phase.
- Have a decision maker: Have a designated decision maker who can make final decisions about which ideas to pursue or which changes to make.
- Follow-up: After the sprint is over, it’s important to follow up on the decisions and actions that were made during the sprint to ensure that they are implemented and the results are tracked.
These are some key recommendations from the book, but it’s important to keep in mind that the book goes into more depth on each step, and provides more detailed instructions and examples on how to run a successful sprint.
Jake Knapp
Jake Knapp is an American designer and author, best known as the creator of the design sprint process and the author of the book “Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days.” He is currently the design partner at Google Ventures, a venture capital firm that helps startups build and scale successful companies. He has worked on many projects with startups and big companies, helping them to solve complex problems and create new products. Jake has been running design sprints since 2010, while working as a designer and design leader at Google, where he helped create Google Hangouts, Google Calendar, and the first version of Google Glass. He has also been featured in several publications, such as the New York Times, Fast Company, and the Harvard Business Review.
