Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

by Jake Knapp

Pick a target The Decider needs to choose one target customer and one target event on the map. Whatever she chooses will become the focus of the rest of the sprint—the sketches, prototype, and test all flow from this decision. Ask the Decider to make the call It’s easiest if the Decider just makes the decision without a lot of discussion and process. After all, you’ve been discussing and processing all day. By Monday afternoon, most Deciders will be able to make the decision as easily as Amy did. But sometimes, the Decider wants input before she chooses. If that’s the case, conduct a quick, silent “straw poll” to collect opinions from the team. Straw poll (if the Decider wants help) Ask everyone on the team to choose the customer and the event each of them believes are most important and to write down those choices on a piece of paper. Once everyone has privately made a selection, register the votes on the map with a whiteboard marker. After the votes have been tallied, discuss any big differences of opinion. That should be enough input for the Decider. Turn it back over to her for the final decision. Once you’ve selected a target, take a look back at your sprint questions. You usually can’t answer all those questions in one sprint, but one or more should line up with the target.