Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Brad Kowitz · First published March 8th 2016

From three design partners at Google Ventures, a unique five-day process for solving tough problems using design, prototyping, and testing ideas with customers.

The startups that Google Ventures invest in face big questions every day: Where’s the most important place to focus your effort, and how do you start? What will your ideas look like in real life? How many meetings and discussions does it take before you can be sure you have the right solution to a problem? Business owners and investors want their companies and the people who lead them to be equipped to answer these questions—and quickly. And now there’s a sure-fire way to solve their problems and test solutions: the sprint.

While working at Google, designer Jake Knapp created a unique problem-solving method that he coined a “design sprint”—a five-day process to help companies answer crucial questions. His ‘sprints’ were used on everything from Google Search to Chrome to Google X. When he moved to Google Ventures, he joined Braden Kowitz and John Zeratsky, both designers and partners there who worked on products like YouTube and Gmail. Together Knapp, Zeratsky, and Kowitz have run over 100 sprints with their portfolio companies. They’ve seen firsthand how sprints can overcome challenges in all kinds of companies: healthcare, fitness, finance, retailers, and more.

A practical guide to answering business questions, Sprint is a book for groups of any size, from small startups to Fortune 100s, from teachers to non-profits. It’s for anyone with a big opportunity, problem, or idea who needs to get answers today.

“Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days” by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz is a guide to help individuals, teams, and organizations tackle complex problems and bring their ideas to life in just five days. The book provides a step-by-step process to turn a vague idea into a tested, working prototype in just one week.

1. Sprint is a structured process to quickly solve complex problems and turn ideas into reality.
2. The five-day sprint process includes: map, sketch, decide, prototype, and test.
3. The prototype phase is crucial as it enables you to test and validate your ideas with real customers.
4. Create a cross-functional team that can bring together a diversity of perspectives and skill sets.
5. Time-boxing the sprint process keeps everyone focused and helps avoid the temptation to get bogged down in details.
6. Customer interviews and observations are essential to understanding the problem and discovering solutions.
7. Start with a simple prototype that can be quickly and easily created in a short amount of time.
8. A clear and concise decision-making process is critical to the success of the sprint.
9. Engaging stakeholders early and often helps to ensure that everyone is aligned on the goal and the process.
10. The sprint process can be applied to a wide range of challenges and can be customized to fit the needs of your organization.