Design Sprint - Sweden Water Research

Design Sprint

A design sprint is a method for quickly solving significant challenges, sketching ideas, or building and testing a prototype. In the ISWIM project, it is used to develop a new technology for stormwater treatment.

The goal of a design sprint is to efficiently solve major challenges and test new ideas. It is a time-limited process aimed at answering business-critical questions, defining goals, testing ideas, and validating hypotheses before committing resources to build something new.

A design sprint typically lasts five days in its original form and consists of well-defined steps. A team with diverse expertise gathers to focus on solving a specific challenge. The composition of the team and the experts called in at certain points are crucial for finding a solution to the identified challenge.

In ISWIM, the preparatory work before the sprint week is crucial for transparently, efficiently, and creatively mapping, sketching, discussing, and prioritizing the treatment solutions considered most relevant to test in Värpinge. The project does not strictly follow the traditional steps of a design sprint but adapts and evolves the sprint according to the project’s needs.

Design Sprint for Värpinge

Using the design sprint method, the project aims to develop prototypes based on:

  • Technical emission requirements
  • Practical application
  • Economics
  • Space limitations
  • Public acceptance

The design sprint method was originally developed by Jake Knapp at Google Ventures.