Very inspired by Google Design Sprints documentation.

In the Sketch phase, the product team generates and shares a broad range of ideas as individuals. You will start by looking for inspiration, such as solutions in alternative spaces. Then, each product participant will individually generate ideas for consideration. From there, the designer will narrow the group's ideas to a single, well-articulated Solution Sketch.

All Sketch Methods

The Warm Up: Comparable Problem and Lightning Demos

The Comparable Problem method is an excellent warm-up for the Sketch phase of the Design Sprint. Sometimes the best ideas already exist—they simply need to be repurposed, presented in a new context, or combined with other ideas. Ask team members to research other related products and to review similar problems and their solutions. This can be assigned as homework at the end of the Understand phase or completed during the Sprint.

An example exercise: If your product is Mail, look at how other products have described or categorized their Mail interfaces.

Directions

5 mins per person, Group Activity, Everybody does it.

Look for ideas from other industries or fields that relate to your business problem.

Each person will then have 3 minutes to share their examples with the group.

Boot Up Note Taking

Boot Up Note Taking is a Sketching method that prepares the team for Crazy 8’s or other sketch generating methodology. Boot Up Note Taking is the process of reviewing what’s been generated, collecting thoughts, and preparing to sketch ideas based on the knowledge and opportunities shared in the Understand phase:

Review the Project Outcome.

Review the User Story Map.

Review our User Pains.

Review our current Designs.

Review our Users Feedback.

By giving the team a moment to regroup, they won’t feel rushed and will be able to translate their ideas into visual form in the next steps.

Directions

10 mins, Individual Activity, Everybody does it.

Take some time to review the goals, whiteboards, and everyone’s Pains.

Write a list of ideas that you find compelling and want to explore.

Crazy 4's

Crazy 4’s is a core Design Sprint method. It is a fast sketching exercise that challenges people to sketch four distinct ideas in twenty minutes. The goal is to push beyond your first idea, frequently the least innovative, and to generate a wide variety of solutions to your challenge.

Some team members without a design background may find this method intimidating at first, so it is helpful to reassure everyone that these are rough sketches. They do not need to be perfect or beautiful—sketches just need to communicate the idea. If necessary, you could even hold a quick “how to sketch” tutorial session before starting this exercise.

It’s also important to remember that the ideas do not have to be great. This exercise is about quieting the inner critic and giving our creative impulses space to flourish. Weird, impossible, and impractical ideas often give way to truly inspired ones. It’s called Crazy 4’s for a reason.

Directions

8 mins, Individual Activity, Everybody does it.

Each team member open excalidraw an create 4 frames.

Set the timer for 20 minutes.

Individually, each team member sketches one idea in each rectangle, trying their best until all sections are filled.

When the timer goes off, copy the 4 frames and share them on the Project's Document.

Crazy 4's Sharing and Voting

After everyone has finished the Crazy 4’s exercise, it’s time for each team member to share the ideas they have generated and discuss with the group. Paste the four excalidraw frames into the Project's Document, describe each of them and answer any questions other teammates may have.

After the entire team has published their sketches, hold a round of voting. You’re not choosing the idea you’re moving forward with yet. Instead, you’re weeding out any sketches that aren’t feasible and/or won’t help the user.

Directions

30 mins, Group Activity, Everybody does it.

Put up each sprinter’s sketches on the Project's Document so everyone can see them clearly.

Each person describes through the ideas they generated and answer any questions other teammates may have.

Give each team member three votes.

The team will indicate the three most compelling ideas by voting on the specific sketches (not the entire paper).

It is ok to vote for your own sketch or to put all three dots on one idea if you think it is truly the most valuable to pursue.

Solution Sketch

The Solution Sketch is a Design Sprint method used to expand upon one solution idea. In this exercise, the participants spend more time articulating the best ideas from the team, regardless of the most popular ideas identified from the Crazy 8’s sketches. It is okay to sketch a new idea or a combination of ideas,.

The goal is to create a few fully fleshed out idea for the solution that is thought to be the best. Each Solution Sketch should include three frames or states of the concept to help illustrate how it works, as well as a clear title to help people remember it.

Directions

60 mins per Solution Sketch, Designer Sprint.

Select the idea from your own or others you think is the best.

Flesh out the idea in a detailed sketch.

Use multiple frames, pictures, and words in your sketch. This will help you communicate your thoughts to the team.