Building an organizational culture of design thinking

Before diving into the Design Sprint, Highland recommended that the AMA first do Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) Research to gain fresh insights on their customers. Highland provided guidance to the AMA on how to conduct JTBD interviews, and then used the information the AMA team collected throughout the Design Sprint.

One of the insights from the JTBD research was that potential AMA members might want to invest in “unbundled” AMA member benefits. Young marketing professionals wanted to advance their professional skills but didn’t seek out annual memberships in the way past generations had. These younger members and potential members liked the idea of obtaining online certifications that would show their dedication to ongoing professional growth without having to invest in a lengthy in-person training.

We decided to do one full design sprint followed by a subsequent 3-day sprint to allow for additional testing. Both sprints were focused on the same goal of developing a more engaging member experience.

The first design sprint followed the traditional Google Ventures 5-day approach:

• Day 1: Make a Map and Choose and Target
• Day 2: Sketch Competing Solutions
• Day 3: Decide on the Best Solution
• Day 4: Build a Realistic Prototype
• Day 5: Test with Target Customers

Because of the JTBD research, the idea of digital microcertifications - short online classes targeted to teach specific skills - emerged quickly as a sketch through the lightning demos during Day 2 of the sprint. This idea was chosen as the strongest solution that would address the larger sprint goal of engaging members.

Scott remarked that he was especially grateful to have Highland there for the testing and customer research on the last day of the design sprint. “The customer interviews are really hard,” he said.

David Whited, Highland's Director of CX, agreed:

“There’s a real skill involved in taking the raw learning goals and turning those into questions that will get what you are hoping to get. If you don’t craft your questions and the series of actions you’re inviting people to take so that you get the learning that you need, it’s just a mess. At Highland, we have really reliable ways to uncover the kind of customer understanding we need when it comes to understanding these prototypes. ”

Here's some of Scott’s advice for people looking to bring design sprints into their own organizations:

1. Try it. It’s only a week. "Asking for a week of people’s time is a lot, but it’s much faster and more productive than having endless meetings. Add up how much time you spend in meetings where you leave without having any clear idea of what to do, and you’ll probably end up spending a similar amount of time and money on a design sprint."
   
2. Get ready to create something concrete and learn from it. "Where the design sprint shines is getting a vague concept into something you can put in front of a customer, an executive, or a board. Even if your solution doesn’t work, you know exactly where you need to pivot."
   
3. Ask for help. "Hiring an outside facilitator is essential for people doing design sprints for the first time or two. There’s a lot of guidance online, but you really need somebody who has done it before. This is a very intense period. You’re going to be trying to follow the book, but you’ll probably be missing some of the key elements, especially when you get to the prototyping and customer feedback interviews."
   
4. Don't forget to have fun! "Design sprints are a great team-building activity."