Sprint: Thursday
On Wednesday, you and your team created a storyboard. On Thursday, you’ll adopt a “fake it” philosophy to turn that storyboard into a prototype. A realistic façade is all you need to test with customers, and here’s the best part: by focusing on the customer-facing surface of your product or service, you can finish your prototype in just one day. Sound crazy? It’s not, and here’s why:
- You made all the important decisions on Wednesday and captured those in your storyboard.
- Your team can “divide and conquer” by splitting up the storyboard into smaller scenes.
- You’ll make use of all your team’s skills by assigning prototyping roles like Maker, Stitcher, Writer, and Asset Collector.
On Thursday, you’ll also make sure everything is ready for Friday’s test by confirming the schedule, reviewing the prototype, and writing an interview script.
The Sprint book explains the mindset, strategy, and tools that make it possible to build a realistic façade in seven hours. We even provide a “cheat sheet” for selecting the right prototyping tools and formats. In this post, we’re excited to share the checklist for Thursday and a video where Jake and I talk about the prototype mindset, picking the right tools, and prototyping as a team.
If you have questions, check out the live chat Q&A we hosted during Sprint Week. If you don’t find answers, feel free to tweet us at @GVdesignteam.
Checklist for Thursday
Note: Schedules are approximate. Don’t worry if you run behind. Remember to take breaks every sixty to ninety minutes (or around 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day).
10 a.m.
❏ Pick the right tools. Don’t use your everyday tools. They’re optimized for quality. Instead, use tools that are rough, fast, and flexible. (Read more on page 186 in Sprint.)
❏ Divide and conquer. Assign roles: Maker, Stitcher, Writer, Asset Collector, and Interviewer. You can also break the storyboard into smaller scenes and assign each to different team members. (p. 187)
❏ Prototype!
1 p.m.
❏ Lunch
2 p.m.
❏ Prototype!
❏ Stitch it together. With the work split into parts, it’s easy to lose track of the whole. The Stitcher checks for quality and ensures all the pieces make sense together. (p. 189)
3-ish
❏ Do a trial run. Run through your prototype. Look for mistakes. Make sure the Interviewer and the Decider see it. (p. 189)
❏ Finish up the prototype.
Throughout the Day
❏ Write interview script. The Interviewer prepares for Friday’s test by writing a script. (p. 188)
❏ Remind customers to show up for Friday’s test. Email is good, phone call is better.
❏ Buy gift cards for customers. We usually use $100 gift cards.
Key Ideas
- Prototype mindset. You can prototype anything. Prototypes are disposable. Build just enough to learn, but not more. The prototype must appear real. (p. 168)
- Goldilocks quality. Create a prototype with just enough quality to evoke honest reactions from customers. (p. 170)
