Summary
Design Sprints have undeniable utility but have a bit of baggage in 2024. AI has its reputation at stake, as the first wave didn't quite go as expected. As Designers, we have tools, methods, culture, and urgency to consider. Attendees to this talk will walk away with helpful context on AI's past, present, and future, relevant examples of use, and pragmatic tips for practitioners.
Key Insights
-
•
Traditional one-week design sprints can cause friction and mistrust if misapplied to systemic or complex challenges.
-
•
Guided Discovery incorporates virtual personas built from cross-organizational data to simulate and gather directional user feedback.
-
•
AI tools level the playing field by enabling non-designers to participate meaningfully in concept generation with higher fidelity.
-
•
Design thinking must evolve beyond rigid frameworks to remain relevant and deliver business value in today's AI-driven environment.
-
•
Separating the packaging and stakeholder alignment phase prevents outcomes from being dismissed despite strong design work.
-
•
Using AI to generate design briefs and mood boards saves time and helps communicate direction clearly to clients early.
-
•
Virtual personas complement but do not replace user testing; they provide fast, directional feedback when recruitment is limited.
-
•
The success of innovation frameworks depends on scaling sustainably and teaching partners how to use new tools effectively.
-
•
The AI tool market changes rapidly; avoiding dogma and continuously experimenting with new tools is essential.
-
•
Leveraging AI in prototyping increases fidelity without increasing effort, accelerating convergence on solutions.
Notable Quotes
"The being provided the agency to experiment is an invitation to innovate."
"If you think of sprints as a playbook, that playbook needs improvement."
"Design sprints are a rollercoaster of emotion and pressure for everybody."
"Not everyone wants to be a designer. Not everyone is comfortable with a Sharpie and a post-it note."
"AI is table stakes now. It's on every roadmap and not going anywhere."
"We're shopping for data across the organization to create virtual personas that guide our innovation."
"Virtual personas give you directional feedback when human user testing isn't feasible."
"Using AI tools, you can diverge widely and then converge much faster."
"Packaging your work aligns stakeholders and manages objections instead of hoping the work speaks for itself."
"Avoid dogma. Keep iterating. The last tool you tried isn't as good as the next tool available."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Business leaders are super busy, data-driven, competitive, and have a finely tuned bullshit meter."
Doug PowellClosing Keynote: Design at Scale
November 8, 2018
"Kids are not little adults. You can’t just simplify the text and call it for kids."
Mila Kuznetsova Lucy DentonHow Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices
March 9, 2022
"Artifacts of the future help us envision and grasp the change that we’re hoping to have—it’s not just bullet points or vision statements."
Sarah GallimoreInspire Progress with Artifacts from the Future
November 18, 2022
"Field usability testing showed stakeholders immediately how much value UX can add by catching issues before deployment."
Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne RogondinoTheme 1: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"Our goal is to be AI fluent, not necessarily AI experts."
Alnie FigueroaThe Future of Design Operations: Transforming Our Craft
September 10, 2025
"Statistical significance tells you if a change is likely not random, but it does not tell you if the change matters to your business."
Landon BarnesAre My Research Findings Actually Meaningful?
March 10, 2022
"When you’re talking, it’s easier to learn something new, but if you’re shy and don’t talk, you don’t learn anything."
Emily EagleCan't Rewind: Radio and Retail
June 3, 2019
"Keep a pulse on your team morale because re-platforming journeys can either enrich or burn out your people."
Malini RaoLessons Learned from a 4-year Product Re-platforming Journey
June 9, 2021
"Building rapport and rituals helped our remote team foster camaraderie and trust."
Asia HoePartnering with Product: A Journey from Junior to Senior Design
November 29, 2023
