Design Sprint

A structured process, popularized by Google Ventures, that compresses idea, prototype, and user test into a few focused days to answer a big product question fast.

Why it matters

A design sprint replaces weeks of debate with days of concrete testing, cheap validation before committing to build. It is a fast way to de-risk a major direction with real user reactions.

For example

Facing a big redesign decision, the team runs a five-day design sprint: sketch, prototype, and test with real users, instead of arguing for weeks.

Go deeper

The Design Sprint GV (Google Ventures) · article GV's method for building a realistic facade and testing it with five target customers in a single week, which is the interview flavoured cousin of the fake door. Their fake it philosophy, a convincing front is all you need to learn, is the same principle as a landing page test applied face to face. Use it when you want qualitative reactions to a prototype alongside the quantitative click data. Open gv.com →

Related terms

Also in Starting Up

See how founders actually handle this on Building the product, part of the Starting Up hub.

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