boost creativity design sprintImage credit to Samplius.com

As a business owner, you have a lot of projects to manage. Doing a design sprint with your team can help you accomplish more in less time. This kind of effectiveness and efficiency is necessary, especially early in your business process. If you’re struggling to overcome a challenge or you feel like you’ve hit a wall in your creative process, a design sprint might be just what you need. As effective as design sprints are, you need to do some preparation beforehand if you want your sprint to be as beneficial as possible. Here’s how to boost the creativity of you and your team before a design sprint so you can accomplish more!

What is a design sprint?

First, we should address what a design sprint is. Design sprints were first created by a team at Google who saw a need for efficient brainstorming and production. A design sprint is a 5-day process for planning, designing, and sometimes even launching a new product, project, or event. These sprints involve a team of 3-9 people, all of which add something unique and helpful to the team. These creative days are free from distractions so the emphasis is on creation and planning. If you feel stuck in your business and really want to power forward, a design sprint is an effective way to boost creativity and productivity at once.

Why prepare for a design sprint?

While you might think it’s counterproductive to plan to be creative, it’s actually a necessary part of the process. If you don’t prepare, your team will be more likely to find distractions or run into additional roadblocks throughout the design sprint. Preparing doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need any advanced tools or services to get started with a design sprint, just motivation!

Plan a pre-brainstorming session

The first day of your design sprint is all about brainstorming. Just because you’re dedicating a day to thinking of new things doesn’t mean you can’t get your team started thinking early! Host a pre-brainstorming session with your team to promote this thought process early. Your team will bring much more to the brainstorming table during the actual sprint if they’ve already had a chance to think about their ideas as they relate to the company.

Gather your technology

While you should avoid technology during your design sprint when it gets in the way of the design process, you shouldn’t be afraid to use the best tools available to you. Have your team get together their best technology resources, from their favorite blogs to the many uses of the versatile iPhone X! These will come in handy during the actual spring as people need to quickly look things up or rely on outside resources from time to time.

Do team building exercises

One of the best parts of design sprints is the way they bring teams together. Help your team along by planning team building exercises before your design sprint. Maybe your team has worked together for a long time or maybe they’re just meeting for the first time. Either way, there’s always room to get to know each other more! You don’t have to plan an elaborate outing! It can be as simple as going out for lunch as a team or eating breakfast together in the mornings before your first shift. When a team is closer, it’s easier to share ideas back and forth openly.

Prepare for your design sprint!

It’s important to prepare for your design sprint as much as possible to make the most of the 5-day program. When done right, design sprints can make a big impact on a company. You’ll be surprised with what you and your team accomplish in just a few short days! If you follow the steps above, your design sprint should run perfectly!