Design Sprint

From complex problem to tested prototype in five working days.

The Design Sprint format was developed at Google Ventures as a way to compress months of product decision-making into a single week. We have run adapted versions of this format for product teams in Milan and across Northern Italy since 2020.

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Day one: Map. We define the problem, set a long-term goal, and map the user journey to identify the critical challenge — the moment in the user experience where a successful solution would have the highest impact.

Day two: Sketch. Each team member sketches competing solutions independently. This is not a group brainstorm — groupthink is the enemy of good solutions. By the end of the day, we have a wall of competing approaches to the same problem.

Day three: Decide. We use structured decision-making to identify the strongest solution and storyboard it into a testable prototype script.

Day four: Build. We produce a realistic prototype in Figma — realistic enough that users will engage with it as they would a real product, but without writing a single line of code.

Day five: Test. We run moderated user interviews with five participants and observe them interacting with the prototype. By 5 PM on Friday, the team knows whether the concept works, what the critical failures are, and what to do next.

Deliverable: sprint report documenting all decisions, the Figma prototype, a summary of user test findings, and a prioritised recommendation for next steps.

In practice

Springa (B2B logistics) used a design sprint to validate a new self-onboarding flow concept before committing to a 3-month development project. The sprint found a critical problem with the concept on day five. The development project was redesigned in week two rather than month four.

A Milan B2C fintech used a sprint to choose between two competing monetisation models. User testing showed a clear preference that contradicted the leadership team's prior assumption. The chosen model launched and achieved target conversion in month one.

Common questions

Ideally: a decision-maker, a product manager or owner, and one or two team members who understand the technical constraints. Maximum 7 participants. We recommend treating it as an out-of-office week for the core team — no other commitments.

No. The prototype is a clickable Figma file designed to appear and behave like a real product within the tested flows. It is not a coded product. Its purpose is to test the concept with real users, not to ship.