Learn to develop better products using the Design Sprint — Day 3 and 4: Prototyping
- Ana Guerrero
- Jan 1, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 26
This article is the third part of our series on how to learn to develop better products using the Design Sprint.
A Design Sprint, it's a fast-paced, collaborative approach to product development that lets you tackle complex problems in just a few days. The idea is that you'll work together as a team to create something new--and then test it out with real users!
Now that we have an idea of what the product will look like, how it will function, and the impact it will have on the world around us. How do you and your team turn that idea into something users can test? We tackle this problem on day 3 and 4 of the Design Sprint trough prototyping. On these days the participation of the decider it’s not needed because your team will be building the storyboard defined on day 2.
What are prototypes?
Prototypes are the first step in bringing your idea to life. Prototypes are a way to test your product or idea before you go all-in on it. They're like a quick, low-risk trial run, where you can see if the design is working for you and your team.
We use Figma to build the prototype of our products. Figma is an excellent tool for prototyping since it enables you to quickly, effortlessly, and with the assistance of other team members generate mockups of the concepts you already defined.
But before jumping into prototyping, we need to organize what each person will do and in what moment it’s going to be reviewed.
We have a section in our Miro’s board that look like this:
Each person on your team gets assigned a task: For example, one person creates the design and another person builds it. Finally, you set a time to check in so that everyone can see what's been done so far and what needs to be done next.
Remember, the key to creating a prototype that helps your team run an effective test is to design it with the end result in mind. Your team have to know what they’re trying to accomplish, and then make sure that prototype helps the client achieve that goal.
Here are some tips for prototyping:
Make sure your prototype is easy to understand, so that people can easily grasp what it does and how it works. This will help them understand why they should use it, and how they can benefit from using it.
Keep the design simple but in such a way that testers won't notice they're using a prototype, this way, users aren't overwhelmed by too many options or features at once—this will increase their likelihood of using your product or service!
The best way to avoid making mistakes is to ensure that you and your team stay true to the storyboard established on day 2. Every step of the process is clearly defined in this section, so you know exactly what needs to happen and when.
On the other hand… you will need testers.
While the team it’s working, it’s time for the assistants to recruit users that would be willing to test your product. People who can give you real insights and honest reviews of the product you are building.
To accomplish this, provide clear instructions to the assistant (if possible) for the recruitment of 5 people to test the prototype on day 5. These individuals, known as testers, must be as similar to the project's final users as possible. These people must not be any kind of person; rather, they must represent potential app users.
Testers can be searched from:
Client’s contacts network.
Company’s own contacts network.
Through social media.
Third partying a specialized company.
Create some kind of filter method (i.e. form) for the users in order to know if they are able to test the app and offer them rewards for testing the app.
Users are crucial to the success of the Design Sprint, because they provide feedback on how you can improve your product. These users can help you identify flaws in your current design, as well as suggest new features that will make it more useful and user-friendly.
By the end of this phase, we've reached the point where we are ready to test our design with users.
At the end of this phase, you will have completed day 4 and will be ready to test your design with real users.
In just four days, your team can create a prototype to help answer the toughest of questions. It isn't possible to predict what result your prototype will have on users, but it is certain that a prototype will give you more insight into how users react.
In conclusion:
Days 3 and 4 of a Design Sprint are dedicated to prototyping. It’s the time to transform the winning idea into a tangible experience that can be tested by real users.
Design with intention: Each team member contributes to creating screens and flows that faithfully reflect the storyboard defined the day before.
Collaborate actively: Tasks are assigned, review checkpoints are set, and the team stays aligned to move forward efficiently.
Build with the user in mind: The prototype must be clear, realistic, and functional—enough for the user to experience the solution without distractions.
Prepare for testing: At the same time, testers are recruited to represent the final user, ensuring the feedback gathered is relevant.
The next step:
Day 5 of the Design Sprint is dedicated to user testing. In this stage, users interact with the prototype while the team observes, gathers feedback, and validates key project hypotheses. This is the moment to discover whether the proposed solution truly solves the identified problem, whether the experience is clear, and whether adjustments are needed before moving into actual development.
In the next and final part of this series, we’ll explore Day 5 of the Design Sprint: user testing. You’ll learn how to validate your solution with real data and gain valuable insights to improve your product before launch. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions about how we use design sprints at Novateva or want more information on how they work, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Novateva is a software development agency. Our main focus is to combine cleverness and creativity in order to turn our clients’ needs into solutions and their ideas into technological products.
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