The Remote Design Sprint Guide

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• Remote Design Sprint

• Prep work is especially important for a remote Design Sprint, so this section of our guide is especially long

• Design Sprints always seem a little weird compared to regular work, but a remote sprint? It will seem extra weird, and it can go off the rails if you aren’t ready.

• “The hardest week of a remote sprint is the week before because there is a lot more pre-work.”

• recommends practicing on smaller work sessions to build your team's muscle and confidence in remote collaboration.

• First, video conferencing

• Second, a virtual whiteboard

• And third, a team discussion board

• For the best experience, ask everyone to turn on their cameras and join via video. It’s not the same as having your team together in a physical room, but it’s so much better than audio-only.

• 👉 Our pick for virtual whiteboards:

• So we recommend that you do some of the individual sprint activities, well, individually.

• 👉 Our pick for team discussion: Basecamp

• We suggest you follow Michael Margolis’s 4-Day Research Sprint process for recruiting customers, planning your interviews, and testing your prototype.

• 👉 Our pick for recruiting customers: UserInterviews.com

• (No matter where you run ads, make sure you use a screener survey.

• 👉 Our pick for interviewing customers: Not Zoom

• “Stick to video and screen sharing tools that require minimal setup for the participant. Since you are looking for validation beyond basic usability testing, avoid unmoderated tools like UserTesting.com for design sprints.”

• Stick with what works If you already have tools that work for you and your team, don’t switch just because we said so. For example, if your company runs on G Suite, you probably want to use Google Meet for video conferencing. Or maybe your team already uses Slack instead of Basecamp—go ahead and use it for your sprint as well.

• Make sure to set up your whiteboard in advance. Create a template in Miro, or use our recommended template (linked below).

• Create a separate space for each day and each activity.