Taking the first step in a complicated journey is always challenging. Whether you start a master’s program, cook a three-course meal, or design a financial app, the first step indicates the direction of the pathway you are about to take.
Therefore, the first day of a design sprint is likely the most important. It allows us to become pioneers and carve a path for the rest of the week. On this day, we define our long-term goals, identify obstacles that may hinder us from achieving them, map user journeys, and consult with experts. Later, we draw inspiration for solutions, evaluate ideas, refine, and enhance them.
But where do we start? What are the essential components of the first mile of the sprint? Let’s dive into some critical components for the first sprint day.
Start at the end
“Starting at the end is like being handed the keys to a time machine.”
Jake Knapp, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days.
This first-day strategy is unique. We are encouraged to begin the Design Sprint by thinking way ahead. Instead of diving straight into ideas or problems, the team first defines a clear long-term goal. “Why are we doing this project? Where do we want to be six months, a year, or even five years from now?”
It may sound strange, as a sprint lasts only five days, but beginning with the end in mind provides us with clear direction and purpose. This approach ensures that the sprint produces not just something impressive but something meaningful.
“An important part of this exercise is rephrasing assumptions and obstacles into questions.”
Jake Knapp, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days.
Once the long-term goal is set, our team works backward. They ask a simple but powerful question: “If we fail at this goal, what would have gone wrong?”
This is a classic Sprint Question: What risks, assumptions, or unknowns could block our team from reaching its goal? In the design Sprint, identifying these early allows the team to focus the sprint on solving what matters most.
Mapping our challenge
“You’ll use the map to narrow your broad challenge into a specific target for the sprint. Later in the week, the map will provide structure for your solution sketches and prototype. It helps you to keep track of how everything fits together”.
Jake Knapp, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days.
Another first-day component allows the team to transform a large, complicated challenge into something structured and solvable by creating a simple map — a visual outline of the user’s journey. The goal here isn’t to create a perfect diagram. This step is to build a shared understanding of how users navigate through our product, service, or experience. We’re zooming out to see the big picture so that we can zoom in later on the most crucial part.
Flatiron Health’s Clinical trial enrollment map, Jake Knapp, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days.
The map enhances clarity. It cuts through assumptions and ensures that everyone views the problem similarly. It also establishes a sharp focus for the sprint: we’re not trying to fix everything, just one critical moment that truly matters. By the end of this exercise, the team no longer feels overwhelmed. They’ve transformed a vague problem into a focused challenge — and they’re ready to start solving it.
Asking the experts
Once our team maps out the user journey, it’s time to fill in the gaps — and that’s what “Ask the Experts” is all about. The team invests time listening and learning from people who know the most about the problem. These could be internal teammates like engineers, marketers, customer support, or even external voices like actual users or partners. The goal is to gather critical insights from those closest to the work.
During these interviews, the whole team listens carefully and takes notes, but not just regular notes. They write down opportunities through “How Might We” (HMW) questions. For example, if a support manager says, “Users are always confused by this step,” someone might write: “How might we make this step easier to understand?”
These HMW notes are then collected and sorted to reveal the most promising opportunities. The team sticks them on the wall and clusters similar ideas together. It’s a great way to turn challenges into creative starting points.
Flatiron Health’s “How Might We” notes, Jake Knapp, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days.
No one has all the answers, which makes expert interviews vital. This step grounds the team in reality instead of assumptions, uncovering insights that guide sketching and solution-making during the sprint. It also fosters empathy and enhances the team’s understanding of user experiences. By the end of this design sprint session, the team is more innovative, aligned, and ready to explore new directions—thanks to asking the right questions of the right people.
The Main Focus
After mapping the user journey and gathering expert insights, our team probably has a wall full of ideas, sticky notes, and “How Might We” questions. It’s exciting—but also a bit overwhelming. Now we need to narrow everything down to a single focus. This is the moment in the sprint when the team decides: “What’s the most important part of this journey to solve?”
Our team revisits the map and notes before having a structured discussion to determine which aspect of the user experience is most critical, risky, or full of opportunities. This could be the moment when users drop off, feel confused, or fail to complete something important. To make the final decision, the Decider (a key stakeholder with authority) chooses the target — the one spot on the map that the team will focus on solving during the sprint.
This step provides clarity and focus. It prevents our team from getting distracted and ensures that the prototype we will build later in the sprint effectively addresses the problem that matters most.
Look right and look left
Our team has chosen a target on the map and collected valuable ideas from experts; now it’s time to find inspiration. In this step, our team seeks inspiration from existing products, services, or concepts—even if they come from entirely different industries. This phase is referred to as the “Lightning Demos.”
Each member of our team brings 2–3 examples of clever, innovative, or effective things they’ve encountered. These can include features from apps, websites, physical products, or even clever processes. Afterward, everyone shares their examples in quick, 3-minute demos while a facilitator sketches the best ideas on the whiteboard.
The purpose isn’t to copy — it’s to remix. We take good ideas that already exist and adapt them to your specific problem. This builds a library of great thinking that our team can draw on when designing their solutions. During this session, creativity is jump-started. Instead of staring at a blank page or waiting for a genius idea to strike, our team builds on what already works. It also levels the playing field — even non-designers can contribute ideas by sharing things they’ve seen and liked.
By the end of this session, our team will have a wall full of bright patterns and inspiring ideas, all tailored to the problem we are trying to solve.
Sketch:
“We’re asking you to sketch because we’re convinced it’s the fastest and easiest way to transform abstract ideas into concrete solutions.”
Jake Knapp, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days.
Now that our team has identified the challenge, selected a target, and gathered inspiration, it’s time to stop talking and start creating. That’s what the “Sketch” step is all about — turning ideas into tangible solutions.
But here’s the twist: it’s not a group brainstorming session. There’s no shouting, no whiteboard scribbles, and no chaos. Instead, each person works alone in a quiet, focused manner to sketch their idea.
This process enables everyone, including non-designers, to visually express their ideas. It involves four steps:
- Notes: Review all we have learned: the map, the expert interviews, the target, and the best ideas from lightning demos.
- Ideas: Sketch preliminary ideas to stimulate your creativity.
- Crazy 8s: Let’s take one idea and generate eight different variations in 8 minutes. It’s quick, messy, and encourages creative thinking.
- Solution Sketch: Choose our best concept and turn it into a clear, 3-panel storyboard. This sketch should be easy to understand on its own — no explanation needed.
Sketching quietly and independently helps avoid “groupthink” and ensures that every voice is heard, not just the loudest one in the room. By forcing ideas into a visual format, it aids the team in moving from vague concepts to concrete solutions that can be tested. We don’t need to be artists — just individuals who can think clearly and translate ideas onto paper.
By the end of this session, our team member will have developed a thorough, detailed solution, and the team will be prepared to determine which ideas are worth turning into a prototype.
Conclusion:
During this first day of the design sprint, we laid a powerful foundation. We haven’t solved the problem yet, but we have aligned as a team, focused our energy, and filled the room with possibility. We’re not guessing anymore— we’re working with purpose.
What’s next? More exciting steps, such as choosing which ideas we will build and test. Thanks to the structure of the first day, we will be deciding from a place of clarity, not chaos.
