Use design sprints to make

smarter product decisions.

by nis frome

Nis FromeEnable Fortune 500 product teams to test and learn what users want.Product & Content at Alphahttp://nisfro.me // @nisfrome

product content

2

This Is Product Management

AlphaHQ.com/Resources

about me

The goal is to learn.

objective

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challenge

Psychological distance is the phenomenon that makes

the abstract overly desirable.

4

solution

We use designs to run experimentsto get reliable feedback.

assessment

When it comes to user-centricity,where does your organization stand?

No user insights

Rarely ever use data or user feedback to

make decisions.

Ad hoc user research

At some point in the dev

lifecycle, user research is conducted.

Continuous feedback

User research is seamlessly

baked into the product team’s

workflow.

design sprint

Most product teams are here, which is why design sprints are all the rage.

Ad hoc user research

At some point in the dev

lifecycle, user research is conducted.

gv’s approach

Get to 90% real and get feedback.

gv’s approach

Monday: start with major goal and work backwards to identify the user journey and assumptions.

gv’s approach

Tuesday: research parallel solutions, sketch high level ideas, begin recruiting customers.

gv’s approach

Wednesday: decide without succumbing to camaraderie, and storyboard the winning ideas.

gv’s approach

Thursday: have a prototype mindset to create something that’s just enough to learn.

gv’s approach

Friday: interview five customers, get at the why, and have the decider determine next steps from the data.

critiques

Taking five days off is too unrealistic, and is a barrier to doing more sprints.

critiques

Too much armchair quarterbackingand not enough data-driven decisions.

critiques

Get feedback from more than five users before making key decisions.

improvements

Don’t be too prescriptive, because if you want to get more data, your process must fit within organizational workflow.

Plan to iterate, because test results are never that cut and dry, and you want to make sure that your data is replicable.

Qualitative data is typically underrated, but that doesn’t mean quantitative data is overrated (so don’t forget about it).

your turn

Identify necessary resources and a key decision that needs to be made, and

start coordinating a design sprint with coworkers tomorrow.