Sprint: Monday

On Monday, you’ll kick off your sprint by sharing knowledge, understanding the problem, and choosing a target for the week’s efforts. With only five days, it might seem crazy to spend an entire day talking and writing on whiteboards. But if you don’t first slow down, share what you know, and prioritize, you could end up wasting time and effort on the wrong part of the problem.

Monday’s structured discussions create a path for the sprint week. In the morning, you’ll start at the end and agree to a long-term goal. Next, you’ll make a map of the challenge. In the afternoon, you’ll ask the experts at your company to share what they know. Finally, you’ll pick a target: an ambitious but manageable piece of the problem that you can solve in one week.

Of course, the Sprint book is the most complete guide to Monday’s exercises and the rest of the week. But we’ve included the complete Monday checklist and some tips for the facilitator below. We’ve also got a video where Jake and I explain what happens on Monday and show some examples.

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. And finally, here is that checklist we promised!

Checklist for Monday

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.

❏ Write this checklist on a whiteboard. When you’re done, check off this first item. See how easy that was? Keep checking off items throughout the day.

❏ Introductions. If some people don’t know one another, do a round of introductions. Point out the Facilitator and the Decider and describe their roles.

❏ Explain the sprint. Introduce the five-day sprint process (you can use the slide deck on thesprintbook.com). Run through this checklist and briefly describe each activity.

10:15-ish

❏ Set a long-term goal. Get optimistic. Ask: Why are we doing this project? Where do we want to be in six months, a year, or even five years from now? Write the long-term goal on a whiteboard. (Read more on page 55 in Sprint.)

❏ List sprint questions. Get pessimistic. Ask: How could we fail? Turn these fears into questions you could answer this week. List them on a whiteboard. (p. 57)

11:30-ish

❏ Make a map. List customers and key players on the left. Draw the ending, with your completed goal, on the right. Finally, make a flowchart in between showing how customers interact with your product. Keep it simple: five to fifteen steps. (p. 65)

1 p.m.

❏ Lunch break. Eat together if you can (it’s fun). Remind your team to choose a light lunch to maintain energy in the afternoon. There are snacks if you get hungry later.

2 p.m.

❏ Ask the Experts. Interview experts on your sprint team and guests from the outside. Aim for fifteen to thirty minutes each. Ask about the vision, customer research, how things work, and previous efforts. Pretend you’re a reporter. Update long-term goal, questions, and map as you go. (p. 71)

❏ Explain How Might We notes. Distribute whiteboard markers and sticky notes. Reframe problems as opportunities. Start with the letters “HMW” on the top left corner. Write one idea per sticky note. Make a stack as you go. (p. 73)

4-ish

❏ Organize How Might We notes. Stick all the How Might We notes onto a wall in any order. Move similar ideas next to one another. Label themes as they emerge. Don’t perfect it. Stop after about ten minutes. (p. 79)

❏ Vote on How Might We notes. Each person has two votes, can vote on his or her own notes, or even the same note twice. Move winners onto your map. (p. 80)

4:30-ish

❏ Pick a target. Circle your most important customer and one target moment on the map. The team can weigh in, but the Decider makes the call. (p. 87)

Key Ideas

• Start at the end. Start by imagining your end result and risks along the way. Then work backward to figure out the steps you’ll need to get there. (p. 53)
• Nobody knows everything. Not even the Decider. All the knowledge on your sprint team is locked away in each person’s brain. To solve your big problem, you’ll need to unlock that knowledge and build a shared understanding. (p. 70)
• Reframe problems as opportunities. Listen carefully for problems and use “How might we” phrasing to turn them into opportunities. (p. 74)

Facilitator Tips

• Ask for permission. Ask the group for permission to facilitate. Explain that you’ll try to keep things moving, which will make the sprint more efficient for everyone. (p. 89)
• ABC: Always be capturing. Synthesize the team’s discussion into notes on the whiteboard. Improvise when needed. Keep asking, “How should I capture that?” (p. 89)
• Ask obvious questions. Pretend to be naive. Ask “Why?” a lot. (p. 90)
• Take care of the humans. Keep your team energized. Take breaks every sixty to ninety minutes. Remind people to snack and to eat a light lunch. (p. 90)
• Decide and move on. Slow decisions sap energy and threaten the sprint timeline. If the group sinks into a long debate, ask the Decider to make a call. (p. 91)

Sprint Series
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Next: Tuesday