Lean Inception vs Design Sprint: Comparing Two Approaches to Accelerate Product Development and Innovation

In today's fast-paced business environment, organizations must innovate to stay ahead of the competition continuously. Two popular approaches to accelerate product development and innovation are Lean Inception and Design Sprint. Lean Inception and Design Sprint are time-boxed workshops that unite cross-functional teams to define a shared vision and validate ideas. However, they have some key differences in their approach and outcomes. This article will compare and contrast Lean Inception and Design Sprint, explore their use cases, and discuss which approach best suits specific situations.

What is Lean Inception?

Lean Inception is a collaborative and iterative workshop that helps Agile teams to define a shared vision, align stakeholders' expectations, and create a product roadmap. It was developed by Paulo Caroli, an Agile coach, and author, to reduce waste and accelerate the time to market for new products. The Lean Inception workshop typically involves a cross-functional team, including business stakeholders, developers, designers, and testers. It usually lasts between 3 to 5 days and follows a structured agenda, which includes the following steps:

1. Set the stage: Introduce the workshop objectives, participants, and expectations.
2. Understand the problem space: Identify the business problem that the product aims to solve and gather insights from stakeholders and users.
3. Explore the solution space: Brainstorm ideas for the product, and create a shared understanding of the proposed solution.
4. Define the MVP (Minimum Viable Product): Agree on the most valuable features that should be included in the MVP, and prioritize them based on user needs and business goals.
5. Create the product roadmap: Develop a high-level plan outlining the product's main milestones and delivery dates.
6. Align and commit: Review and validate the workshop's outcomes with all stakeholders, and obtain their commitment to the proposed solution.

What is Design Sprint?

Design Sprint is a 5-day workshop developed by Google Ventures (GV) that helps teams to prototype and test new ideas or features rapidly. It brings cross-functional teams together to ideate, prototype, and validate a product concept in a highly structured and time-boxed process. The Design Sprint follows a structured agenda, which includes the following steps:

1. Understand: Define the challenge and establish user needs.
2. Diverge: Brainstorm ideas and create a wide range of solutions.
3. Converge: Select the best ideas and create a storyboard.
4. Prototype: Create a low-fidelity prototype.
5. Test: Validate the prototype with users and gather feedback.

Design Sprint is a fast-paced and intensive process that aims to create a prototype and validate a product concept within five days. The focus is on quickly testing assumptions and validating ideas through user feedback.

Differences between Lean Inception and Design Sprint

Although both Lean Inception and Design Sprint have similar objectives and involve cross-functional teams, their approach, and outcomes have some key differences.

1. Timeframe: Lean Inception usually lasts 3 to 5 days, while Design Sprint is a 5-day workshop.
2. Objectives: Lean Inception defines a shared vision and product roadmap, while Design Sprint focuses on rapidly prototyping and validating a product concept.
3. Output: Lean Inception produces a high-level plan outlining the product's main milestones and delivery dates, while Design Sprint produces a low-fidelity prototype and user feedback.
4. Participants: Lean Inception involves a cross-functional team that includes business stakeholders, developers, designers, and testers, while Design Sprint involves a smaller team that typically includes a facilitator, designer, developer, and product owner.
5. Structure: Lean Inception has a more flexible structure and can be tailored to the specific needs of the team and project, while Design Sprint has a highly structured process that follows a set agenda.

Use Cases for Lean Inception and Design Sprint

Both Lean Inception and Design Sprint have their strengths and weaknesses and are best suited for different situations. Here are some use cases for each approach:

Use Cases for Lean Inception:

1. Product Development: Lean Inception is ideal for new product development or major product updates. It helps the team define a shared vision, align stakeholders, and create a product roadmap that outlines the product's main milestones and delivery dates.
2. Complex Projects: Lean Inception is also suitable for complex projects that involve multiple stakeholders and require a high level of collaboration. It helps the team to gather insights from different perspectives and create a shared understanding of the problem space and proposed solution.
3. Agile Transformation: Lean Inception can be used to kick off an Agile transformation initiative. It helps the team define the Agile principles and practices most relevant to their context and create a roadmap that outlines the transformation's main milestones and delivery dates.

Use Cases for Design Sprint:

1. Rapid Prototyping: Design Sprint is ideal for rapidly prototyping and validating a product concept or feature. It helps the team quickly test assumptions and gather user feedback, which can be used to refine the product.
2. Innovation: Design Sprint is also suitable for innovation projects that explore new opportunities and create disruptive solutions. It allows the team to generate and quickly test a wide range of ideas with users.
3. Solving Complex Problems: Design Sprint can solve complex problems requiring a creative and collaborative approach. It helps the team to break down the problem into smaller pieces and create a solution that addresses the root cause.

Real-World Examples of Lean Inception and Design Sprint

Lean Inception and Design Sprint have been used by many organizations to accelerate product development and innovation. Here are some real-world examples of their use:

Example of Lean Inception:

1. Toyota: Toyota used Lean Inception to kick off its connected car project. The project involved a cross-functional team of business stakeholders, developers, designers, and testers, who worked together to define the product vision and create a product roadmap. The Lean Inception workshop helped Toyota to align stakeholders' expectations and accelerate the time to market for the new product.
2. Skyscanner: Skyscanner used Lean Inception to develop a new hotel booking feature. The project involved a cross-functional team that included business stakeholders, developers, and designers. The Lean Inception workshop helped Skyscanner prioritize the most valuable features for the MVP and create a roadmap aligned with the business goals.

Example of Design Sprint:

1. Slack: Slack used Design Sprint to prototype and test its new voice-calling feature. The Design Sprint involved a small team of designers and developers who created a low-fidelity prototype and tested it with users. The user feedback helped Slack to refine the feature and improve the user experience.
2. Blue Bottle Coffee: Blue Bottle Coffee used Design Sprint to improve its website checkout process. The Design Sprint involved a small team that included a facilitator, designer, developer, and product owner. The team created a low-fidelity prototype and tested it with users, which helped Blue Bottle Coffee to reduce cart abandonment and increase conversions.

In summary, Lean Inception and Design Sprint are two popular approaches to accelerate product development and innovation. While they have some similarities in their approach and outcomes, they also have some key differences. Lean Inception is best suited for new product development or major product updates, while Design Sprint is ideal for rapid prototyping and innovation projects. The choice of approach depends on the specific needs of the project and the team. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, organizations can choose the one that fits their needs and goals.

Lean Inception is a great way to align stakeholders, define a shared vision, and create a product roadmap that outlines the product's main milestones and delivery dates. It works well for complex projects that require a high level of collaboration and can be used to kick off an Agile transformation initiative.

On the other hand, Design Sprint is great for rapid prototyping and validation of a product concept or feature. It works well for innovation projects that explore new opportunities and create disruptive solutions. Design Sprint can also be used to solve complex problems that require a creative and collaborative approach.

Real-world examples show that many organizations have used Lean Inception and Design Sprint to accelerate product development and innovation. Toyota used Lean Inception to kick off their connected car project, while Slack used Design Sprint to prototype and test their new voice calling feature. These examples demonstrate how each approach can achieve specific goals and outcomes.

While Lean Inception and Design Sprint have some similarities, they are two distinct approaches best suited for different situations. Choosing the right approach depends on the specific needs and goals of the project and the team. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, organizations can choose the one that best fits their needs and achieve success in their product development and innovation initiatives.

In my next article, I will show how they can work together, stay tuned.