1.
October 21, 2020
How do you know if you’re
ready for a Design Sprint?

2.
How we’ve planned this webinar
● Who is Highland? Who is the AMA?
● Innovation through Sprints
● Research Sprints & Design Sprints
● Are you ready for a Design Sprint?
● Elephants in the room
● Questions?
● Mingling/Networking

3.
Housekeeping notes
● Thereʼs a lot to get through today!
Donʼt worry, youʼll get the slides and recording after.
● Share your questions throughout in the Q&A!
● Stick around after the presentation to video-chat
with attendees & panelists!

4.
Who is Highland?
At Highland, we research, design, and
build digital products and experiences
for mission-driven organizations and
customer-centric companies.
Over 20 years, our team of researchers,
designers, and developers has helped
organizations launch over 260 digital
products, turning their biggest uncertainties
into opportunities for growth.

5.
Who is AMA?
The American Marketing Association
strives to be the most relevant force and
voice shaping marketing around the world,
an essential community for marketers.
We offer training, certification, events,
local chapters, and membership focused
on professional development and
skill-building.

6.
David Whited
Director, CX Practice
Highland
Amrita Kulkarni
Lead Experience Designer
Highland
With you today:
Jennifer Severns
Chief Experience Officer
AMA
Jen OʼBrien
Senior Manager, Innovation
AMA

7.
Innovating
with Sprints
Getting Started

8.
HMW find unmet
or unexpressed
needs that we
can serve into?
HMW design
something feasible
& viable that solves
for these needs?
HMW confirm
& enhance the
value we create
for users?
The Innovation Environment
How people live
their daily lives
How people want to
make progress in life
How people experience
the solution

9.
In existing markets,
when you already have a
relationship with users
In new markets, when
you donʼt yet have a
relationship with users
How users live
their daily lives
How users experience
the solution
How users desire to
make progress in life
The Innovation Environment

10.
In existing markets,
when you already have a
relationship with users
In new markets, when
you donʼt yet have a
relationship with users
How users live
their daily lives
How users experience
the solution
How users desire to
make progress in life
The Innovation Environment

11.
In existing markets,
when you already have a
relationship with users
In new markets, when
you donʼt yet have a
relationship with users
How users live
their daily lives
How users experience
the solution
How users desire to
make progress in life
An Innovator’s Path
Target User
Research
Analogous /Extreme
User Research Synthesis
& Principles
Strategy
Modeling
Ideation, Design
& Prototyping
MVP Definition
& G2M Plan
Pilot, Metrics,
Iteration
Organizational
Goal/ Product Idea
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Project
Definition

12.
In existing markets,
when you already have a
relationship with users
In new markets, when
you donʼt yet have a
relationship with users
How users live
their daily lives
How users experience
the solution
How users desire to
make progress in life
Organizational Realities: ‘Stuck’
Target User
Research
Analogous /Extreme
User Research Synthesis
& Principles
Strategy
Modeling
Ideation, Design
& Prototyping
MVP Definition
& G2M Plan
Pilot, Metrics,
Iteration
Project
Definition Organizational
Goal/ Product Idea
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

13.
Variety of Challenges
Stakeholders
are skeptical
Unsure of
process/methods
Team is siloed
& scattered
Conflicting priorities;
users not heard
Opportunity
space too large
Intimidated by
“research”
Operational Organizational
Need to test
without $$$$

14.
Sprints get cross-functional
teams together to quickly
align on a common goal,
start making, & get ‘unstuck’.

15.
Questions to begin with
In existing markets,
when you already have a
relationship with users
In new markets, when
you donʼt yet have a
relationship with users
How users live
their daily lives
How users experience
the solution
How users want to
make progress in life
1
Do we really
understand our
users’ behaviors
& motivations?
2
Does our extended
team rally around user
needs, uniting to design
compelling solutions?

16.
Types of Sprints
In existing markets,
when you already have a
relationship with users
In new markets, when
you donʼt yet have a
relationship with users
How users live
their daily lives
How users experience
the solution
How users want to
make progress in life
Research Sprint
Territory
Design Sprint
Territory

17.
Types of Sprints
In existing markets,
when you already have a
relationship with users
In new markets, when
you donʼt yet have a
relationship with users
How users live
their daily lives
How users experience
the solution
How users want to
make progress in life
Research Sprints
Gain game-changing
user insight that propels
toward innovation & build
efficiency in design process.
Design Sprints
Get the team unstuck,
break down the task at
hand, and put something
real in usersʼ context.

18.
Let’s dig deeper into
Research Sprints
User clarity ahead

19.
How do you know you need a Research Sprint?
You need a Research Sprint when:
● You have a design idea in mind but have
never spoken to users in their context.
● Youʼre planning for a Design Sprint,
and answering the question
ʻWhat do we need to learn in order to
accomplish this goal?ʼ reveals major
assumptions and unanswered
questions about users.
● You believe multiple design ideas can
replace the need for user understanding.
● You canʼt differentiate between
wants and needs of users.

20.
Research Sprint Process
Step 1 Steps 2 & 3 Step 4 Step 5
Project Definition
& Research
Planning
Contextual User Observations
(Target users, Extreme users, or Analogous
users based on research planning)
Synthesis,
Jobs, & Guiding
Principles
Defining
Action Steps
(Customized by goal)
Align on Research
Sprint goals and
upcoming user
research activities
Employ a wide variety of ethnographic
tools to observe user behavior and discover
motivations and unmet needs. Learn
from workarounds, hacks, and behaviors
in other realms.
Cluster observations
by needs to enable
answering the ʻwhyʼ;
forge a direction
forward
Build a Business
Model Canvas,
articulate value
propositions to test
in Design Sprints, or
define hiring criteria

21.
Research Sprint Outcomes
At the end of a Research Sprint,
you can confidently say:
● The team is aligned around a
breakthrough opportunity
inspired by user behavior & insight
● Project goal and value are clear
● Project is grounded in real user
circumstances and feels authentic
● Stakeholders believe in the mission
and opportunity
● There is energy & enthusiasm across
extended team to move into design

22.
AMA Research Sprints
● Prior to our first Design Sprint with
Highland, we used existing
research to identify key clusters of
“jobs to be done,” and shared these
with the team on day one
● Team participation in tests during
first Design Sprints was incredibly
powerful for getting aligned on
what counts as evidence
● Weʼve since done Research Sprints
with one our of major customer
segments, Higher Ed marketers,
still using a “jobs to be done”
framework
● Other Research Sprints include
usability tests of our membership
purchase experience prior to a
Design Sprint on redesigning that
online experience

23.
Highland Research Sprint Case
● As we approached a series of
Design Sprints our team realized
there were several really important
gaps in our understanding:
● How were people currently using
wearables with regard to their
health and wellness?
● What were the key “Jobs to Be
Done” for people who used
wearables?
● What apps did they use frequently?
● Why/how did they use those
particular apps?
● Was this group of users a
monolith? Or were there different
types of users that might emerge
with different unmet needs?

24.
Research Sprints
mitigate risk by ruthlessly
revealing what we don’t
know about our users.

25.
Moving forward to
Design Sprints
Onward to design adventures

26.
Why Design Sprints?
Design Sprints give teams a
“shortcut to learning” without
building and launching a
complete product.
Iterative loops of prototypes
refine the design before
development.

27.
Design Sprint Process
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5
Project
Definition & User
Understanding
Ideation &
Inspiration from
Analogous Contexts
Building
Quick
Prototypes
Test
Prototypes
with Users
Align on Design
Sprint goals and gain
user understanding,
insight, and jobs
Ideate through big
thinking and ideas,
learn from successes
in analogous realms
Build quick
prototypes that
communicate idea
effectively; focus
on desirability,
not usability
Bring prototypes
into user context
for overall response
and fit with known
jobs context. Chart
next steps!
Prioritization &
Storyboarding
Cluster and prioritize
ideas based on
feasibility & viability;
storyboard
shortlisted ideas

28.
Design Sprint Outcomes
At the end of a Design Sprint,
you can confidently say:
● The team feels unified around the
learnings from a tested solution
● The Sprint made it real by putting
prototypes in front of real users
● The ability to iterate quickly and test
(and even fail!) is game-changing
● The rapidity of progress energizes
the team
● The team has an emerging, shared
vocabulary around innovation
● There is a clear sense of accomplishment,
learning, and bonding as a team

29.
AMA + Highland Design Sprint
● Great to have Highland come in
for first round of sprints—their
authority helped get buy in from
leadership and sprint participants,
and their expertise and coaching
helped the innovation team get
started right with new approach
● The week is exhausting, but
incredibly rewarding and
productive - youʼll have actually
tested a new idea
● Very effective at getting staff
across the organization involved
and feeling ownership of the
innovation work
● We find ourselves using many
of the activities in the Design
Sprint for other shorter projects
(e.g. note and vote rather than
endless discussion)

30.
The reason you hear
so much about Design
Sprints is because they
actually work!

31.
Design Sprints unite large
teams around a solution
that feels real & tangible;
it’s a true step forward.

32.
So: how do you know
if you’re ready?
Start Sprint-ing!

33.
Signs that you’re ready for a Design Sprint
● There is enough clarity on user
needs, jobs, and value propositions
● You have a big organizational
goal or challenge
● Your user research points you to a
big, ambiguous opportunity space
● Youʼve secured enough leadership
buy-in to ramp up a low-risk Design
Thinking experiment in-house
● Youʼre tired of going so slow… desire
for speed in testing new and
disruptive ideas
● Recognition and alignment
within your organization for
human-centered innovation

34.
Catalyzing change in your organization
● Sprints are more about participating
teams than end users, even though
the focus is on user experience
● Exposed to the power of learning
from user context and insight,
participants become ambassadors
● The end of a Sprint is when the hard
work begins; outcomes from the
Research and Design Sprints serve
as core strategy for future steps
● It is important to share stories of
the value and transformation
Sprints can bring to a project

35.
Sprints are an effective start
to human-centeredness but
don’t directly replace a deeper
Design Thinking process.

36.
Research:
Sprints vs Deep Dives
Benefits of Sprints
● Singular focus; alignment on task
● Exposes the full team to raw user need
● Closeness of research + synthesis is valuable
● Momentum is motivating and energizing
● Powerful as a shared experience
Benefits of Deep Dives
● Breadth of participants makes patterns clearer
● Longitudinal/deeper studies unlock new insights
● Comprehensive synthesis & thought maturity
● Greater curiosity & attention to outliers
● Clear interpretive frameworks emerge

37.
Benefits of Sprints
● The team is ʻforcedʼ to make a real thing.
Itʼs a commitment to an idea.
● Low-risk, smaller investment upfront
● Brings everyoneʼs ideas to the table
● Generates quick insights on prototypes
● Easy to pivot through lightweight learning
● Bonds teams, empowers contribution
Benefits of Deep Dives
● Ability to explore a range of fidelity in prototypes
● Allows multiple cycles of iteration
● Integrates easily with other design streams
● Allows more time for divergence in ideas
● Cross-functional teams pick up new skills
from each other
Design:
Sprints vs Deep Dives

38.
Some Elephants
in the Room
Let’s not gloss over these!

39.
But how do I do this virtually?!
● Access Jake Knappʼs
Remote Sprint Guide!
● Work in 90-minute increments
● Carve out alone-together work time
● Avoid unnecessarily large groups
● Empower the quiet ones to speak up
● Use a virtual whiteboard tool as a
point of focus for everyone
(Mural has a great Design Sprint template)
● Inject humor to inspire an
easy atmosphere
● Strengthen facilitation skills
to keep participants on task

40.
I’m nervous. What does facilitation entail?
● Facilitation is a real skill. Itʼs about
hearing the unsaid, tuning into the
energy of the room, making quick
pivots, & guiding with a calm confidence
● It is important to frame & distinguish
times when the team is in a divergent
versus a convergent headspace
● All interactions with users must avoid
leading questions; stay open & curious
● Inspiring a low barrier to making and
building is critical. Everyone can make!
● Experiencing a Sprint is not just about
constantly winning; itʼs as much about
the tough moments and decisions

41.
How do I get buy-in from leaders?
● Demystify Design Thinking
as a philosophy, breaking it
down to a simple mission
● Bring in experts who have
experience and command on the
subject, inspiring authority
● Share a tangible plan for next
steps beyond the Sprint
● Paint a picture of immediate and
long-term outcomes of inspiring an
iterative, de-siloed approach
● Acknowledge enormity of ask
while sharing examples of
exponential outcomes

42.
What are common pitfalls & mistakes to avoid?
● Ensure that a Sprint is really the
best tool for the challenge at hand
● Acknowledge that your wanting
everything to go well may be
hindering necessary difficulties
● Make sure you are clear on the
challenge, and leadership
is aligned on the goal
● Help the Decider understand their
role and why itʼs so important
● Shorten the Sprint with caution—
it will compromise your results
● Outline the process upfront and
use signposts along the way

43.
Wrapping Up
A few housekeeping items

44.
Get the skills
to make an
impact with
the AMA:

45.
Check out
Highland’s
podcast
series:

46.
Trying to launch a new digital product? Webinar attendees are
eligible for a free 45-minute consultation from Highland.
Email David with the subject line:
Digital Innovatorsʼ Guide Webinar
Let’s Talk
Want to keep talking?

47.
David Whited
Director, CX Practice,
Highland
dwhited@highlandsolutions.com
Amrita Kulkarni
Lead Experience Designer,
Highland
akulkarni@highlandsolutions.com
We’d love to talk more!
Jennifer Severns
Chief Experience Officer,
AMA
jseverns@ama.org
Jen OʼBrien
Senior Manager, Innovation,
AMA
jobrien@ama.org