Monday

Goal

On Monday, you’ll kick off your sprint by sharing knowledge, understanding the problem, and choosing a target for the week’s efforts.

Schedule

10 a.m. Kick-Off

• Write this checklist on a whiteboard. When you’re done, check off this first item. See how easy that was? Keep checking off items throughout the day.

• Introductions. If some people don’t know one another, do a round of introductions. Point out the Facilitator and the Decider and describe their roles.

• Explain the sprint. Introduce the five-day sprint process (you can use the slide deck on thesprintbook.com). Run through this checklist and briefly describe each activity.

Tip: Ask Kick-Off Questions (start with Decider)

• What is the product we are talking about? What does it do? Who uses it?

• What is the problem our product is trying to solve?

• Who is our using our product currently and who would we like to use the product?

• If everything was solved and going perfectly what would the product look like in 2 years?

10:15-ish

• Set a long-term goal. Get optimistic. Ask: Why are we doing this project? Where do we want to be in six months, a year, or even five years from now? Write the long-term goal on a whiteboard. (Read more on page 55 in Sprint.)

Tip: Use note and vote

• 5 min for everyone to write down on post-it (“In 2 years time we will..”)

• Everyone puts their note on the wall and reads it out loud

• Everyone votes with 1 dot (not the decider)

• Decider decides on long term goal after votes

List sprint questions. Get pessimistic. Ask: How could we fail? Look at goal → what could hold us back? Turn these fears into questions you could answer this week. List them on a whiteboard. (p. 57)

Tips: Use note and vote

• Write 2-3 notes start with “can we” (biggest challenges)

• Everyone votes with 3 dots (not decider)

• Decider decides on “ultimate” sprint questions

• Write the goal and the questions on a whiteboard visible for everyone (for full sprint)

11:30-ish

• Make a map. List customers and key players on the left. Draw the ending, with your completed goal, on the right. Finally, make a flowchart in between showing how customers interact with your product. Keep it simple: five to fifteen steps. (p. 65)

Tip: Write Actors, Discover, Learn, Use, Goal as headers above the map to get a start. Start with Actors, then goal, then rest

1 p.m.

• Lunch break. Eat together if you can (it’s fun). Remind your team to choose a light lunch to maintain energy in the afternoon. There are snacks if you get hungry later.

2 p.m.

• Explain How Might We notes. Distribute whiteboard markers and sticky notes. Reframe problems as opportunities. Start with the letters “HMW” on the top left corner. Write one idea per sticky note. Make a stack as you go. (p. 73)

• Ask the Experts. Interview experts on your sprint team and guests from the outside. Aim for fifteen to thirty minutes each (set Time Timer to 20 min, extend if needed). Ask about the vision, customer research, how things work, and previous efforts. Pretend you’re a reporter. Update long-term goal, questions, and map as you go. (p. 71)

4-ish

• Organize How Might We notes. Stick all the How Might We notes onto a wall in any order. Move similar ideas next to one another. Label themes as they emerge. Don’t perfect it. Stop after about ten minutes. (p. 79)Vote on How Might We notes. Each person has two votes, can vote on his or her own notes, or even the same note twice. Move winners onto your map. (p. 80)

4:30-ish

• Pick a target. Circle your most important customer and one target moment on the map. The team can weigh in, but the Decider makes the call. (p. 87)

Key Ideas

• Start at the end. Start by imagining your end result and risks along the way. Then work backward to figure out the steps you’ll need to get there. (p. 53)

• Nobody knows everything. Not even the Decider. All the knowledge on your sprint team is locked away in each person’s brain. To solve your big problem, you’ll need to unlock that knowledge and build a shared understanding. (p. 70)

• Reframe problems as opportunities. Listen carefully for problems and use “How might we” phrasing to turn them into opportunities. (p. 74)

Facilitator Tips

• Ask for permission. Ask the group for permission to facilitate. Explain that you’ll try to keep things moving, which will make the sprint more efficient for everyone. (p. 89)

• ABC: Always be capturing. Synthesize the team’s discussion into notes on the whiteboard. Improvise when needed. Keep asking, “How should I capture that?” (p. 89)

• Ask obvious questions. Pretend to be naive. Ask “Why?” a lot. (p. 90)

• Take care of the humans. Keep your team energized. Take breaks every sixty to ninety minutes. Remind people to snack and to eat a light lunch. (p. 90)

• Decide and move on. Slow decisions sap energy and threaten the sprint timeline. If the group sinks into a long debate, ask the Decider to make a call. (p. 91)