Teams working on a project can use sprints to solve problems and answer essential questions about customer needs. But, the sprint’s quality and success depend on the team’s participation and trust in each other.

Top design sprint facilitators schedule conversations so that participants can come up with their best ideas. In addition, being creative is essential to running a triumphant sprint to build trust and encourage active participation.

If you want to run the best design sprint, here are five best practices to improve your productivity. 

1. Start with the game. There is nothing like playing a game to warm up your brain. Give an assignment that does not have a clear framework, for example, the task of “drawing a toast”. Someone will draw glasses, and someone will pull bread. Finally, ask one of the participants to tell the story that connects all of these pictures. This approach will turn routine tasks into an exciting game, taking into account the personal interpretations of each participant.
2. Don’t use hybrid methods. Be clear about whether it will be an office sprint or a remote one. If there are multiple people in the office, they will have the edge over a team that works remotely. So the chances of each group or individual participant will be equal.
3. Lose the team. Give your team time; let it turn off the camera, think, and present all the ideas. This will help you get more engagement, especially from introverts. Intellectual work is always tedious, so take your time.
4. Use templates. There is nothing wrong with looking for an idea from someone. Need a foundation to sprint? Please select it from the available libraries. Take an online whiteboard and design it with templates to fit your sprint. This will be a hint and guide for all participants in the process.
5. Conduct one-to-one meetings before sprints. By talking in advance, you can spur the employee’s creativity. This can be especially helpful if senior leaders cannot participate in the five-day sprint because they have a voice that can then be shared with the rest of the team.

Such systems can be used not only for design sprints. All stages are easily adaptable to any team and allow you to discover the new potential of each employee.