At USDS the organizations we typically engage with are federal agencies but, for this guide, we use the word “organization” as a placeholder for any group you would be doing your sprint work with. As a methodology, discovery sprints are not new – they stem from best practices in Human-Centered Design.
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They will also dig into available data, look at code in production, and observe processes. The purpose of a discovery sprint is to identify root causes, issues, and opportunities, not to solve them in this time window.ĭuring a discovery sprint the team will interview stakeholders at every level of the organization as well as end-users. A small cross-functional team of engineers, designers, product managers, procurement and subject matter experts partner with an organization’s personnel to quickly explore an organizational problem or challenge. When we say “quickly” we mean that almost all of the work is completed in 2-4 weeks. They create paths toward solutions by identifying specific, actionable next steps for the people at the organization who will carry that work forward.
What is the purpose of a discovery sprint?ĭiscovery sprints are a useful method to quickly build a common understanding of the status of a complex organization, system, or service. This guide intends to explain the discovery sprint process and share best practices to help teams adapt and run their own discovery sprints. In our initial interactions with a government agency, we will often run what we call a Discovery Sprint. Since 2014, USDS has partnered with dozens of federal and state agencies to build more than 160 successful digital products.
Digital Service (USDS) works on technology improvement projects impacting people served by the United States government.