The Zero-to-One Sprint: An Overview

Our Zero-to-One Sprint is a (typically 5-day) process for testing new ideas, validating products, and solving business problems. Based loosely around the Design Sprint formula, originally created by the team at Google Ventures (GV), our framework is designed to condense the process of defining a problem, creating solutions, and testing with users into as little as one week.

By bringing together a small team of key stakeholders for this intensive period, we democratize the problem-solving process by placing participants on an equal footing, regardless of title, standing, or office politics. Each participant has equal opportunity to champion a solution to the problem at hand and share with the group; however, the ultimate decision-making power is placed in the hands of a single person (aptly named the Decider for the duration of the Sprint). The exercises in our Zero-to-One Sprint are explicitly geared toward minimizing the often endless debate and conversation that slows down a traditional group brainstorm.

Our Zero-to-One Sprint is perfect for founders and teams who have an idea, but aren't certain how to align to the needs of customers to deliver the most value. We've executed these sprints with clients like The Solve, Vibe & Sesh, and many more.

Our Zero-to-One Sprint Process

If our engagement is limited to, or kicking off with, a Zero-to-One Sprint, then our process is broken out across three primary work streams:

1. The Zero-to-One Sprint: Over 2-3 days, the Apollo 21 team will guide you through the process of creating a shared foundational understanding of the opportunity by:
   1. Mapping the key challenge and opportunity.
   2. Interviewing internal and external stakeholders and domain experts.
   3. Finding inspiration from the existing market.
   4. Ideating solutions and selection an direction.
   5. Storyboarding the experience.
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2. Prototyping: Over the next 2-3 days, the Apollo 21 team will step away and build a clickable prototype ready to share with both internal stakeholders and potential customers.
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3. User Testing: We will then run a 1-day user testing sprint to qualify the solution with 5 example users from your target market.

The outcomes of this process include:

• Clear alignment on the problem/opportunity space.
• An array of potential solutions and the in-market experiences that inspired them.
• Feedback from real-world users who fit the target for the particular product.

In the week following the Sprint, Apollo 21 will create a recap document that captures the Sprint process (on a day-by-day basis) as well as all of the collateral and ideas generated by the participants. This will be delivered to you as reference material, and may provide the foundation for future Sprint activities. We will also be available for one or two follow-up calls to discuss next steps and help your team prepare to move forward based on the learnings from our Sprint.

Clients are free to engage us for individual sections of the Sprint, or for the entire process.

Remote vs. In-Person Sprints

Our team has extensive experience hosting both in-person and remote Sprints, and each has advantages and disadvantages. A remote Sprint accommodates remote team needs while also limiting the travel necessary to get a Sprint team together for the duration of a Sprint.

An in-person Design Sprint, on the other hand, is an excellent team-building exercise. These intensive, week-long efforts create camaraderie and cultivates a sense of “working in the trenches” alongside other key stakeholders. In addition, being together in a physical space helps spur conversation and limits participants’ abilities to “hide behind a screen.”

Both remote and in-person Sprints have merits, and neither should be discounted with regard to generating valuable outcomes.

Sprint Requirements

The Sprint Team

Your Sprint team should consist of 3-7 stakeholders across relevant teams within your organization. One of the key roles in the Sprint is the Decider — this role should be assigned to the person in the group who is most prepared to take responsibility for hard choices throughout the Sprint process.

Due to the intensive nature of the process and the manner in which each day builds on the previous day’s work, it is ideal to have the members of the Sprint team involved throughout the entire week. Participants should make every effort to clear their schedules for the duration of the Sprint.

Space Requirements (for in-person Sprints)

The Sprint team will need a space that’s available without interruption for the duration of the Sprint week. White boards are hugely beneficial throughout the Sprint process; the selected space should either include white boards or at least clear wall space to accommodate a temporary solution. In addition, for the final days during which the team is conducting user testing, a small room for conducting interviews may be helpful.

Materials Requirements

Materials needed to facilitate the Sprint process include: sharpie markers, whiteboard markers, pens, pencils, blank white paper, post-it notes (more than you’d believe!) in varying sizes, tape, large & small dot stickers, etc..

For remote Sprints, participants will need less physical materials as we’ll use a “digital whiteboard” for collaboration.

User Testing Compensation

Depending on who is asked to participate in user testing, compensation may be warranted. (If testers are expected to be existing customers/partners, this may not be necessary.) It is generally acceptable to make these payments in the form of cash, cash gift cards, or retailer gift cards (such as Amazon). It is advisable to have backup compensation available for those who show but aren’t needed.

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