When facing conflicting design preferences during sprint planning, the key is to foster collaboration and focus on the shared objectives of the team. Begin by acknowledging all perspectives and facilitating an open discussion to understand the rationale behind each suggestion. Use data-driven insights, such as user feedback, metrics, or past sprint outcomes, to assess which ideas align most closely with the product’s goals. Encourage the team to focus on delivering the highest value to the user within the sprint's constraints. If disagreements persist, involve a neutral mediator or product owner to make a final decision, ensuring it’s communicated transparently to maintain trust and alignment within the team.

Let customers have a say. You can quickly call upon three to five customers to break the conflict. The best case scenario is to have a customer advisory board that you can call upon. If not, identify customers who have frequent interactions with the capability being redesigned. Or, if if is a new feature / product, customers who will benefit. I also recommend looking back over your product development approach. How is design coming to agreement when different views arise? In my teams, we had design critiques where preferences were sorted through and agreements were reached. We would do quick huddles outside of the criqs to sort through viewpoints as well.

Well… Unleash the creative chaos! Embrace diverse perspectives, fostering a vibrant clash of ideas. Let the sparks fly, igniting collaborative innovation that transcends individual preferences. Through open dialogue and mutual respect, forge a unified vision, a masterpiece crafted from the collective brilliance of your team.

To harmonize conflicting design preferences during sprint planning, I would take the following steps: 1. Start by fostering an environment where team members feel comfortable expressing their differing design preferences 2. Revisit the product goals and user needs that the design is intended to address 3. Develop a set of design principles or criteria to evaluate the different options 4. Create quick prototypes or mockups of the different design ideas 5. Look for common ground where elements from different preferences can be combined 6. As a leader, make the final decision based on what’s best for the product and user 7. Ensure that any valuable insights from the conflicting design preferences are documented for future reference

Conflict is good! Data is even better. In this scenario, I would suggest a "spike" where you go out and test a couple of different designs during an upcoming sprint. Make sure you establish clearly the user goal and expected outcome (i.e. how quickly did they execute the function). This test must be small enough where you can complete it within 2 weeks. Thus, a solid clickable mockup or high-fidelity wireframe should do the trick. Also, make sure you can record the users interaction- whether it be via video or in-person.