Sprint: how to test any business idea in just 5 days

We talk about the key ideas of the 2016 best-selling Sprint: How to Solve Jake Napp, John Zeratsky and Braden Kovitts.

If you are planning to open a business, start a startup or you have an interesting idea that you want to implement within the framework of an existing business, you always face the main difficulty - will it work? Will people like it? And what if you waste time and money?

Many risk failing stops from action, as they believe that the realization of an idea will require too many resources.
')
With the advent of Lean Startup , developed by Eric Rees, entrepreneurs got an effective tool for testing business hypotheses, began to create minimally working products and quickly test ideas, and in case of failure - to make a pivot - to radically change their direction.

But the authors of the book “Sprint” - Jake Napp and his co-authors, partners of the venture fund Google Ventures, offer an even faster program for testing ideas and business hypotheses. In their book, they describe a technique that allows you to check the idea and collect feedback from customers in just 5 days - from Monday to Friday.

How is this possible?

Idea # 1. The Sprint technique is effective because it takes into account the conditions in which people work best.

The idea of ​​Sprint was born from the observations of the main author of the book, Jake Napp, about when and in what conditions people work best.

Jake Napp noted that people work much more efficiently when they are faced with very short deadlines. He was convinced of this in practice, when with the team he implemented a project to add a new function in Gmail, which helps to automatically organize messages. Despite doubts and very tight deadlines, his team created a prototype that users liked. Lack of time makes it clear to focus on the main thing and not waste time in vain.

Another observation by Jack Napp was due to the fact that usually the result of brain storms popular in the business environment are simply abstract ideas that, precisely because of their abstractness, are not implemented in practice. Unlike brainstorming, Sprint's goal is not an idea, but the creation of a working prototype that will check the viability of an idea and collect feedback from the first consumers.

Another very important feature of the method is that it requires the participation of specialists from different areas - managers, engineers, designers, financial experts - those whose vision is different, but affects the final product.

At the core of Jake Napp's “lean” approach, the Sprint technique is a much more specific tool. The Lean Startup technique involves launching a minimally viable product — essentially, the bare functions needed only to figure out the reaction of potential consumers. In Sprint, the team is faced with the task of creating the most realistic prototype of a product in order to show it to customers, collect and analyze feedback from them.

And although as a result of Sprint you will not have a finished product, you will know for sure in the right direction you are going.

Sprint lasts five days from Monday to Friday. Briefly schedule looks like this:

1. Monday: identify the problem and focus on one important aspect.
2. Tuesday: create various sketches of solutions on paper.
3. Wednesday: turn ideas into testable hypotheses and choose the one you’ll be testing.
4. Thursday: create a realistic prototype.
5. Friday: check the reaction to the prototype on consumers.

Sprint can be used in different areas, but as the author notes, it is especially effective in startups. A startup operates in conditions of absolute uncertainty, and it is crucial for him to realistically assess the viability of an idea before the money runs out.

The basis of a successful startup, and of any business, is a great idea. But if you look at the history of successes and failures of various projects, you can come to the conclusion that businesses with the same ideas have a different fate. Successful businesses are distinguished by good governance. But management is always difficult.

Sprint's technique helps solve this problem — it literally gives you a step-by-step plan for managing a business project.

---

Idea number 2. Prepare for the sprint: select a large task and team

Before proceeding to the sprint, you need to take some time to prepare. Sprint preparation includes: choosing the right challenge / task, choosing the right team and organizing the space correctly.

The rule for all Sprint participants is that there are no distracting gadgets at work.

The first. Select task

The main principle - the greater the challenge, the better the sprint. For a sprint, it doesn’t matter how much time it takes to complete a task or make a product — days, months, or even years. Sprint is aimed simply at creating a realistic prototype, not a product. Sprint is effective in cases where a lot depends on the implementation of the project, when you have very little time and when you are just stuck and do not know what to do next.

Identify your main problem. What problem do you want to solve with the help of the sprint?
As an example, Jake Napp leads the Blue Bottle coffee shop, which wanted to create an online coffee bean store. At first they could not define their task, but after a while they came to the conclusion that it is to transfer the experience of visitors to their cozy coffee house online.

The second. Gather a diverse team

The teams in the sprint are relatively small - about seven people, but not less than five. Key people - Decider - Executive, usually the CEO - the one who takes control, makes decisions and resolves disputes. Facilitator - Coordinator - his role is very important, as he ensures that the team does not deviate from the busy schedule. He directs the team and summarizes the intermediate results of the work.

How many more people should be on the team? Experience and observation convinced Jake Napp that five is a magic number. When there are more than eight people in a team, it is too difficult to maintain discipline and keep within schedule.

A team must have different specialists, regardless of the position they occupy, since different specialists are the source of different views on the solution of one task. It can be not only engineers, technical specialists, designers, but also financiers, and those who work with clients.

Third. Prepare the environment

You need to allocate in your schedule five full days for Sprint. Time - from 10 am to 5 pm - from Monday to Thursday and from 9 am to 5 pm - on Friday.


Mandatory condition - a special room / room for the Sprint with two white boards for the records. Need markers, a timer, stickers, food for snacking. Snack break at 11.30 and lunch around the hour.

Also on Friday you need to book a room for an interview with a sample of clients.

---

Idea # 3. On Monday you define long-term goals and set an ambitious but achievable task for the team.

Monday morning you start from the end and coordinate your long-term goals. First you need to be optimistic. Together with the team, think about why you are doing this project? What do you want to achieve in six months, a year or a longer period of time. Then write your long-term goal on the board.

After that, you need to become a pessimist. Think about why things can go wrong. Your doubts need to be turned into specific questions that need to be answered within a week. Write these questions on the board.

All this will lead you to Monday’s main goal - to create a roadmap for your sprint. It looks like a simple diagram - on the left is a list of customers and key persons on whom the fate of your product depends (buyers, intermediaries), on the right - a goal / objectives. Then draw a diagram between the two that illustrates how customers and key people interact with your product. Keep it simple and sketchy.

So, the map of the already mentioned Blue Bottle company was very simple: “New customer” was indicated on the left, and “Purchase” on the right. Between them, the sprint participants drew a diagram of the ways in which the client can get to their website - find out at the cafe from the baristas, learn from the press, and find them on the Internet. The next step of the client on the diagram is the selection of coffee beans, and then - the transition to the purchase.

Another Monday task is a conversation with experts. These may be employees or third-party specialists. These people will help you assess whether you have defined your tasks correctly or not and whether you have correctly drawn up your roadmap. After talking with them, if necessary, make adjustments to the roadmap and questions to Sprint.

The next important step is the HMW method - How Might We - (How We Can).

This method began to use Procter & Gamble in the 70s, and then the company IDEO.

He is very easy to use, his task is to turn problems into opportunities. The point is that each sprint participant writes his idea or ideas on the sticker / stickers, where “HMW” will be in the upper left corner - an abbreviation for How Might We - (How We Can). After a while these stickers will help you determine on which part of the map you need to focus your efforts. For example, "(How can we) transfer the experience of visiting a cafe to online?".

Then HMW-stickers need to stick on the wall and group them by topic.

After that, take a vote - everyone has the right to make two marks on the sticker / stickers they like, and the Executer has the right to make 4 marks. Select the stickers that scored the most votes, and stick them on that part of the roadmap where they best fit the topic.

At the end of the day, based on the analysis of the proposed problems, the Actor should mark one event and one client (if there are several) on the map, and determine the purpose of the Sprint, on which the future direction of the work and the team’s actions will depend.

---

Idea number 4. Tuesday - the day of the collection and presentation of ideas

Tuesday begins with a review of the proposed ideas, their combination and improvement. All members of the Sprint team are involved in this process. In the same room, but independently, they think and formulate ideas that, in their opinion, will help the company to solve the Sprint problem.

The bottom line is to collect ideas - your own and others', and make something unique on their basis. Ideas can come from anywhere - from competitors or from companies whose activities have nothing to do with yours.

For example, Savioke created a robot to serve customers in hotel rooms. And she drew inspiration for creating the image of a robot in a masterpiece of Japanese animation - the Hayao Miyazaki cartoon “My Neighbor Totoro”.

The next stage - a lightning demonstration of ideas - Lightning demo. The point is for each team member to talk about his ideas within three minutes, and then sketch out the idea on a blackboard. At the end of the demonstration, you will have 10–20 ideas that, together with HMW stickers, a roadmap and sprint issues, will become the raw material for creating a solution.

The next stage is the creation of sketches - sketches, sketches of ideas and solutions to the main problem facing the company in this sprint. Sketches are made by all team members. Creating such an outline is a four-step process.

The first . For 20 minutes, each participant walks around the room, looking at the notes on the board, taking notes.

The second . Within 20 minutes, each participant writes down raw ideas, depicts them in the form of diagrams or drawings.

Third . Crazy Eight - fold a piece of paper in half three times so that after you unfold it, you get eight frames. On each of them you need to sketch one version of the implementation of your best idea. For each sketch is given one minute.

Fourth . Each participant creates a sketch solution that other participants will evaluate. The sketch solution is conveniently presented on a vertically positioned sheet on which three pieces of paper are glued. On each sticker, the Sprint participant, drawing and making explanatory labels, represents one part of the user experience of interacting with the product. All three parts explain and combine this experience.

Make pictures and explain them in detail with words, make a catchy title to your sketch-decision, but do not sign it - anonymity is important, since the status and position of the author may affect the decisions made by the team.

This stage takes from half to one and a half hours.

Later at the end of the week, the best sketch solutions will be turned into prototypes.

Another task on Tuesday is to find people to test the idea. The authors solve this problem simply - advertise on the Graiglist, offering for a fee to become a participant in the study.

How many people do you need for research? Just five. In the 90s, pioneer in the study of ease of use of sites, Jakob Nielsen conducted a study on how many interviews you need to conduct in order to understand the basic principles. As it turned out, 85 percent of the problems are identified after the first five interviews.

The author advises to involve people for interviews only from the outside - it should not be close, friends or company employees.

---

Idea # 5. On Wednesday, you select the best ideas and make a "storyboard" for the prototype.

Wednesday is dedicated to finding the best solutions. At the beginning of the day, you need to critically evaluate each idea and decide which one will best help you achieve your long-term goals. The second stage on Wednesday is to make a storyboard of the best decisions - a step-by-step plan for creating your prototype.

For the first stage you need to post all the sketch solutions on the board. Then each Sprint participant votes, placing from one to three marks near the part of the sketch solution that he likes most. Then, within three minutes, the team quickly discusses and criticizes each decision. The bottom line is to evaluate the idea and objections.

After that, each Sprint participant finally chooses one favorite idea with the help of a large mark-point. And then Decider puts three big points on the solution he likes. The final decision depends on the Executive.

The remaining solutions can be left for future implementation. If you have won two conflicting solutions, you can test both of them by creating two prototypes. The competition between the prototypes in the Sprint technique is called Rumble (Fight).

Give a name to your future prototype. In Sprint, the decision maker is made by the Executive with a Note-and-Vote vote. Its essence is brief - the participants write down variants of names on the board. Then each participant of the Sprint puts a mark in front of the name that he likes most. The final decision is made by the Executive.

The next step is to create a storyboard based on the best (best skits). In essence, a storyboard is a story of the interaction between the client and your product. The opening scene is an image of how the user finds out about your product. For example, this could be an advertising article in a newspaper or a type of application in the AppStore or a type of message in a social media feed. Imagine the user interacting with your product, and then consistently draw a storyboard of this experience to create between five and fifteen images.

---

Idea number 6. On Thursday you create a realistic prototype.

On Thursday, your team needs to build a prototype based on a storyboard. But how is it possible to create a realistic prototype in one working day?

In the sprint is responsible for this philosophy "Fake it" and "Prototype mindset". As in the movie about cowboys, cardboard fake decorations are used that seem to be real houses, but in fact only successfully convey their appearance, just as you need to create only a convincing illusion, and not a real product. If you want to create a website, you only need its Keynote presentation. But it must be of high quality, otherwise you will not get the right feedback.
To make a prototype, the team is divided into creators (2 or more), a booklet maker, a writer, a collector, and an interviewer.

The task of the creators (makers) is to make the details of the future prototype.

The stitcher creates a solid prototype from scattered details.

The asset collector (Asset Collector) helps creators with materials for making a prototype, for example, searches for images.
The writer creates a description of the prototype.

The interviewer tests the finished prototype and prepares the script of the Friday interview. It is desirable that he was not involved in the development of the prototype. This will help him evaluate the prototype with a clear user look.

---

Idea # 7. On Friday, you test a prototype, collect and analyze customer feedback.

Friday is the last day of the sprint. At the end of the day, you will know whether you should further develop your chosen idea or if you need to change direction. Treat failure as success. Failure in Sprint means only that you have saved your company from a major mistake, which could be very costly.

Friday is the day of interviews with clients. Interviews should be conducted in a separate room with a webcam. All Sprint participants at this time will view the video broadcast of the interview. The camera must be placed so that the participants could see the reaction of the buyer to the prototype.

Interviews need to start with a little conversation - to explain to the client what you are trying to learn with the help of testing. Explain that not everything in the prototype is working yet. Ask the user to share with you any thoughts about the product.

Ask clarifying open-ended questions. At the end, summarize the meeting and give the client a reward.

During the interview, the sprint participants make notes, and then rewrite them on the record board and briefly discuss.

At the end of the day, each participant reads notes in silence, notes positive, negative, neutral conclusions.

The team then reviews the long-term goals and issues of Sprint, sums up their weekly work. Write down what you managed to figure out with the help of the sprint, and how you will proceed.

About Us

We talk about the key ideas from the best books of the genre of non-fiction. There are more than a hundred bestsellers in our library , including those that have not yet been published in Russian.

Subscribe to our telegram channel to keep abreast of all the latest business literature, as well as exclusive materials from our library.