Open Access

Amro Khalifeh

• Purpose — The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of the Design Sprint process according to practitioners in the field, and investigate optimal contexts of use as well as the limitations of the process. Design/Methodology — A qualitative study based on interviews conducted with eleven practitioners from startups and large enterprises. Data from the interviews were analyzed, interpreted, and related to the existing literature in order to answer the research questions. Findings — The hypotheses regarding the effectiveness of Design Sprint and its role in enabling efficient and effective decision-making were validated by the eleven practitioners who took part in the research. Additionally, patterns regarding optimal contexts of use of Design Sprint were identified, namely kickstarting product development initiatives and creating innovative solutions, as well as limitations of Design Sprint such as its limited use for exploring the problem space of challenge. Limitations — The research is limited by the small number of eleven participants and the lack of quantitative data. Practical Implications — The study provides useful information to researchers as well as practitioners enabling them to understand the effectiveness of Design Sprint in real-world contexts. The data from this research can be used to further investigate the topic of Design Sprint in the literature while providing practitioners with insights to help them decide in which contexts it would be best to deploy Design Sprint and gain internal support for using Design Sprint. Originality/Value — This is the first qualitative research that investigates the effectiveness of Design Sprint and academically validates its claims of value. Keywords — Design Sprint, product development, innovation, process