SET THE STAGE Choose a big challenge. Use sprints when the stakes are high, when there’s not enough time, or when you’re just plain stuck. (here) Get a Decider (or two). Without a Decider, decisions won’t stick. If your Decider can’t join the entire sprint, have her appoint a delegate who can. (here) Recruit a sprint team. Seven people or fewer. Ge

On Monday, you’ll map out the problem and pick an important place to focus. On Tuesday, you’ll sketch competing solutions on paper. On Wednesday, you’ll make difficult decisions and turn your ideas into a testable hypothesis. On Thursday, you’ll hammer out a realistic prototype. And on Friday, you’ll test it with real live humans.