Why design sprints work by Daniel Walsh, nuCognitive

Why Design Sprints Work
& How Might We Make Them Better
1@danielwalsh
Daniel Walsh
Austin 2018
Copyright © 2018 nuCognitive LLC. All rights reserved. SOTA|Walsh;Jan2018

Shared Purpose
Help you understand why certain methods work (or don’t) in different contexts
Learn how to use Cynefin to take a situational-based approach
Apply complexity heuristics to improve Design Sprints
2

Design Sprint Overview
A Design Sprint* is a time-constrained, five-
phase process that uses design thinking to
reduce the risk when bringing a new product,
service or a feature to the market
• Map: Discover the business opportunity, the
audience, the competition, the value
proposition, and define success
• Sketch: Explore, develop, and iterate creative
ways of solving the problem
• Decide: Identify ideas and explore them in
further detail through storyboarding before
deciding on what to try
• Prototype: Develop prototype(s) that can be
tested
• Test: Conduct user testing with five people
from the product's primary target audience
3 Copyright © 2018 nuCognitive LLC. All rights reserved. SOTA|Walsh;Jan2018
*Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_sprint
Reference: Knapp, Zeratsky, Kowitz. Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days. 2016.

Three Fundamental Systems

What is a System?
A system is a collection of independent but related components that comprise a coherent whole
A system has a boundary, and exists within a surrounding universe
Some systems are embedded in ecosystems, which are a subset of the universe
An agent is anything that acts within a system
Components
& agents
Boundaries & constraintsUniverse
Relationships
& coupling
System
Ecosystem
Parts – Whole – Greater Whole*
*Reference: Eoyang & Holladay. Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization. 2013.

Unstable
Random
Transient state for living systems
Statistical properties when
dealing with large numbers
CHAOTIC
Three Fundamental Systems
Semi-stable
Evolving
Emergent patterns
Dispositional not causal
Whole is not sum of parts
Emergent properties
COMPLEX ORDERED
Stable
Predictable
Decomposition & Aggregation
Whole is sum of parts
Resultant properties

Cynefin
kuh-nev-in
Habitat or place
The place of your multiple belongings

Situational Awareness
Contextually Appropriate Action

The nature of the system determines
the way we can know things, how
we make decisions, and how we act.
-David Snowden
Cynefin Framework
kuh-nev-in
@danielwalsh

?Disorder?
Chaotic Complex ObviousComplicated
@danielwalsh

Disorder
Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
foldorcliff
@danielwalsh

The Cynefin Framework
Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
DisorderDisorder
The Cynefin Framework by Cognitive Edge..
Constraints
Cause and Effect
Relationship
Decision-making
How to respond
@danielwalsh

The Obvious Domain
Direct Cause-Effect Relationship
The Cynefin Framework by D Snowden - Cognitive Edge. Used with permission.
Disorder
best practice
Obvious
Rigid constraints
sense-categorize-respond
@danielwalsh

The Complicated Domain
Indirect Cause-Effect Relationship
best practice
Obvious
Complicated
good practice
Rigid constraints
Governing constraints
sense-analyze-respond
@danielwalsh

The Complex Domain
Interconnected Cause-Effect Relationship
15
best practice
Obvious
Complicated
good practice
Complex
emergent practice
Rigid constraints
Governing constraintsEnabling constraints
probe-sense-respond sense-analyze-respond
@danielwalsh

The Chaotic Domain
Unknowable Cause-Effect Relationship
Disorder
best practice
Obvious
Complicated
good practice
Complex
emergent practice
Chaotic
novel practice
Rigid constraints
No constraints
act-sense-respond
@danielwalsh

The Disordered Domain
Indeterminate Cause-Effect Relationship
Disorder
best practice
Obvious
Complicated
good practice
Complex
emergent practice
Chaotic
novel practice
Rigid constraints
No constraints
act-sense-respond
probe –
sense –
respond
exploratory
practice
@danielwalsh

Cynefin Framework | Older Version*
*Reference: Complex Acts of Knowing by Dave Snowden
Disorder
Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
Known
Knowns
Known
Unknown
Unknown
Unknowns
Unknowable
@danielwalsh

Nature is adroit in
creating objects whose
only excuse for being
seems to be to thwart
someone’s effort to put
them into a category.
-Billy Vaughn Koen
*Reference: Koen, Billy Vaughn. Discussion of the Method. 2003.
@danielwalshCC BY-SA 3.0 Platypus by TwoWings

20 @danielwalsh
Complex
Disorder
Complicated

21 @danielwalsh
“…a jumbo jet is complicated but a mayonnaise is complex.”
– Paul Cilliers
Reference: https://www.theoryculturesociety.org/oliver-human-on-paul-cilliers/
CC BY-SA 2.0 by jules:stonesoup
CC BY-SA 3.0 by Alex Beltyukov
Disorder

Cynefin Metaphors | Games
Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
Disorder
Coin Toss
BlackjackTexas Hold’em
Poker
Food Fight
Calvinball*
Reference: http://calvinandhobbes.wikia.com/wiki/Calvinball
@danielwalsh

Cynefin Metaphors | Movement
Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
Disorder
Police Roadblock
Traffic LightRoundabout
Brownian
Motion
@danielwalsh

Characteristics of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)
No common definition for complexity, but there are some
common characteristics…
• Large number of interacting agents or components with
feedback
• Very sensitive to initial conditions and conditions
• Non-linear behavior (may respond in different ways to the
same input depending on their state or context)
• Emergent properties (properties that are not apparent
from their components in isolation but which result from
interactions)
Complex

Mathematics of Dots*
*Source: The Mathematics of Dots by Max Boisot
Events as Dots
Effect
Patterns
Connecting Dots
Cause
Links
@danielwalsh
Hindsight Does Not Lead To Foresight
# of Dots # of Links # of Possible Patterns
4 6 64
10 45 ~35,000,000,000
n L=n(n-1)/2 P=2L

Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
Disorder
Cynefin Dynamics
The Cynefin Framework is © Cognitive Edge. Used with permission.

Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Disorder
The Cynefin Framework is © Cognitive Edge. Used with permission.
Manage Constraints To Move Between Cynefin Domains
Swarming



Chaotic

CAS Heuristics and Design Sprints
Probes are small safe-to-fail interventions use to better
understand and nudge a complex adaptive system
• A Design Sprint is a good example of a probe
• Prototypes used throughout the process can also be
thought of as probes (e.g. sketches and storyboards)
• Don’t invest much time to predict outcomes and
establish targets - define vectors or a desired direction
instead
• Make sure demos are safe-to-fail
• When in doubt, keep investments small
• Strive to conduct multiple probes in parallel
Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
Disorder
best practice
good practiceemergent practice
novel practice
act-sense-respond

Work with small, finely-grained objects
• Decrease granularity as needed
• CAS cannot be architected and planned fully in
advance
• CAS are grown from smaller systems and evolved
• Design Sprint methods use many small ideas and
concepts (e.g. Crazy 8s, sketches, story boards)
• Concepts are combined and recombined in novel ways
(e.g. lightning demos)
Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
Disorder




Disintermediation is the removal of the intermediate
layers between decision makers and on-the-ground reality
• CAS are constantly evolving and changing – they don’t
stand still
• Decision makers need to stay in touch with the way
things actually are in the present
• E.g. Undercover Boss
• E.g. Lean practitioners seek to “Get out of the
building” and “Go to the gemba”
• Design Sprint demo places decision makers in touch
with customer feedback
• Everyone on team experiences demo and get feedback
first hand

Distributed cognition is the process of enabling agents
in a complex adaptive system to think for themselves
• CAS have so many moving parts and different
perspectives that no-one can “know” everything
• Need to take advantage of the cognitive capacity of
everyone on the team
• E.g. Heat Maps, dot voting
• E.g. Everyone evaluates the demo
• CAS need roundabouts not traffic lights
• Individual work balanced with group synthesis
Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
Disorder
Police Roadblock
Traffic LightRoundabout
Brownian
Motion

CAS Heuristics Help Explain Why Sprints Work
Requisite diversity
• A diversity of agents and perspectives is important for
complex adaptive systems involving humans
• Requisite diversity is about understanding the differences
make a difference and ensuring that there is sufficient
diversity
• Design Sprints have mechanisms that help ensure diversity
• E.g. Design Sprint roles (decider, finance, marketing
expert, customer expert, technology and logistics
expert, design expert)
• E.g. multiple diverse perspectives for evaluating demo
Complex

Other Design Sprint concepts that seem to fit with CAS
heuristics
• High-fidelity prototypes provide more context
• Re-purposing existing functionality for a reason other
than what was originally intended (i.e. exaptation)
during ideation or rapid prototyping
• Seeking opinions and advice from outside experts in a
related field (i.e. naive perspective)
• Manage constraints to move between domains
• e.g. decider makes decision that constrains team
and shifts situation from Chaotic toward Complex
domain
• e.g. converge <-> diverge Sprint mechanics
Obvious
ComplicatedComplex
Chaotic
Disorder


Decider

How might we…
1. … ensure that our teams is not converging too fast? (delay decisions until last responsible moment or
develop multiple options in parallel)
2. … monitor our Design Sprints to more proactively manage constraints
3. … run more probes in parallel? (repeat same sprint demos run with different contexts)
4. … use human identity to inform design and customer recruiting
5. … use ritual to help situate customers within context and get a more authentic behavioral response
Let’s discuss

Q&A
Why Design Sprints Work
& How Might We Make Them Better
36@danielwalsh
daniel.walsh@nuCognitive.com
Let’s connect on
http://bit.ly/walshslides

Why design sprints work by Daniel Walsh, nuCognitive

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