9 MIN READ

Concept Sprints

Delivering and Testing Prototypes in Five Days

Gather an expert team and get a new project going at speed.

Have you ever found yourself working on a project that seemed to be going nowhere?

Perhaps the scope of the project expanded, and it became more complex than you intended. Or maybe no one really understood what the ideal outcome should be.

If any of this sounds familiar, you could use a Concept Sprint to “fast forward” a product’s creation, and to produce and test a working prototype in just five working days.

In this article, we look at what Concept Sprints are, and how to run them.

What Are Concept Sprints?

Concept Sprints, originally known as Design Sprints, were devised in 2009 by Jake Knapp of Google Ventures. Since then, other organizations – including McKinsey – have developed variations, but the basic format remains the same.

Concept Sprints are particularly suited to digital product development – few other industries are able to go from a concept, to a tested, working prototype as quickly as Concept Sprints demand.

The approach enables developers to progress with a project that might otherwise get bogged down in analysis and indecision. It also allows them to explore potentially risky areas of a project, without committing to them....