Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by John Zeratsky, Braden Kowitz, Jake Knapp

Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by John Zeratsky is a great resource for entrepreneurs, product developers, or for anyone needing to solve problems quickly and effectively. In this book, Zeratsky outlines an approach to tackling “big, hard” projects and problems in only five days. Zeratsky outlines the five-day process, including preparation, understanding and scoping, rapid prototyping and testing, making decisions and feedback. He provides examples of success stories and explains how his five-day approach has been effective in a variety of companies.

The book is structured around the five-step process, each taking one day. In the preparation day, the team assemble all necessary information to get a better understanding of the problem at hand. Zeratsky encourages the use of sketches and other visual tools to help articulate ideas and get the creative juices flowing. Through brainstorming the team can develop the problem, develop a hypothesis and identify the key question or goal to test.

On the second day, the team focuses on gaining a deeper understanding of the problem. This is done by researching, interviewing, and analyzing data. Zeratsky suggests the use of “Design Sprint Workshops” to accelerate the process. These workshops involve multiple teams constructing and testing prototypes in a very short timeframe. Once the problem is well understood, the team can then move on to the third day of the process: rapid prototyping and testing.

Prototypes are then refined through rapid brainstorming exercises. These exercises involve constructing ideas, presenting them to the team, and using feedback to iterate and improve. Zeratsky provides hands-on-exercises to help with fast prototyping. He also provides tips and tricks to streamline the process and avoid common pitfalls.

On the fourth day, the team comes together to make decisions based on the insights gathered during the prototyping stages. This includes identifying key features and sketching out solution paths. Zeratsky emphasizes the importance of entering the decisions-making phase with a clear direction, using facts-based insight rather than personal opinion.

The final day in the sprint is devoted to providing feedback to the team and improving upon the concepts. This can involve redirecting the idea to better meet the original goal or to come up with a new idea entirely. Zeratsky suggests the use of online surveys and other tools to help gather user data quickly.

At the end of the five days, the team should have a well-developed prototype that has been tested and is ready to be implemented. Zeratsky’s Sprint process has been used successfully in a variety of organizations, including start-ups, larger corporations, and even government departments. It is a highly effective approach to tackling complex problems and testing new ideas. With the insights gained by following Zeratsky’s five-day Sprint process, teams can quickly reach informed decisions and rapidly implement solutions to their problems.