In short: Here a few mistakes I made that were a pain in the ass when planning a Design Sprint:

• Not having the same room for all the days

• Not booking the room outside of office hours

• Forgetting to block time for cleaning and setup

• Forgetting to block time for post-sprint tasks

• Having other appointments outside the sprint during the sprint week

Not having the same room for all the days

Not having the same room during the whole Design Sprint will create a mess, because at the end of each day you'll have to pack everything and re-set it on another room the next day. If you have the same room you can leave materials on the walls and not waste time removing and replacing them each day.

Not booking the room outside of office hours

A design sprint might run late. Some participants may want to work longer in the afternoon or evening. Having the same space available also outside the standard office hours makes it easier for them to continue working with the material at their disposal.

Forgetting to block time for cleaning and setup

Setting up and cleaning a room takes time. I block one to two hours for both setting up before and cleaning after the design sprint.

Forgetting to block time for post-sprint tasks

I block an hour for post-sprint tasks and this right after a design sprint. Because there will be small logistical and administrative tasks that need to be done, and doing them immediately is way more efficient as you'll still have the full context fresh in your mind. It's a mistake I did in the past, and my god I really hated to come back to the Design Sprint tasks weeks later, and it took me so much more energy to get back to it.

Having other appointments outside the sprint during the sprint week

As a facilitator, I keep my evenings, mornings, and lunchtimes free during the design sprint. This flexibility allows me to prepare more if needed or dive deeper into tasks without the stress of other commitments. And if there is no additional work to do, I can just relax, which is also pretty lovely.

Made with AI help
This article was is based on an audio note I recorded while walking which was transcribed and rewritten by the app Audiopen. I then reviewed it manually :)