This is a post-mortem or retrospective meeting where the sprint team gets to reflect on their design sprint experience and define areas of improvement.
In this retro workshop, the team shares their honest feedback on what went well, what were some barriers, and what could be done better next time.
The group discussion is focused on three main topics:
✓ Design Sprint Format & Schedule
✓ Team Collaboration
✓ Design Sprint Results
With our template, Design Sprint Facilitators are able to efficiently highlight opportunities for improving the process, their facilitation skills and how teams work together.
No matter how successful a Design Sprint, there is always room for improvement.
As Design Sprint Facilitators ourselves we embrace a growth mindset and constantly look to improve and stop repeating the same mistakes. This is why we recommend running this retro workshop a few days after completing a Design Sprint.
When planning your retro workshop, include all Design Sprint team members. Even if a role was only partially dedicated to your team (e.g prototyper, Decider), it should still be included as the corresponding team members can provide valuable feedback.
Read more about how to run a design sprint retrospective workshop here.
First, share with your team the desired outcomes for the retro session as well as the Design Sprint Replay Report to recap the sprint results.
Secondly, set the ground rules:
✓ Don’t play the blame game.
✓ Keep an open mind.
✓ Focus on solutions.
Help your team take a walk down the memory lane with the help of the Design Sprint Map embedded in the template.
Next, focus your team on the positives. Ask your team members to think about what went well during the sprint week, what were their highs, or what are the things that should be reinforced next time.
Once everyone captured their positive thoughts on sticky notes, shift the attention towards what could be improved next time. Invite everyone to think of challenges, barriers, or things that didn't work well.
Finally, it's time to think of possible solutions. Invite the team to suggest improvements or pain relievers for each of the three areas of interest:
▸ Design Sprint Format & Schedule
▸ Team Collaboration
▸ Design Sprint Results