What are we building?
- An app to use the laundromat machines
- Payment by phone, no tokens
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Illustrative example
How a Design Sprint turns an idea into a tested prototype
In five days, an idea becomes a prototype that real people have already tested, before you invest in development. Here is how it works in an example case.
This is a fictional case, created to explain the method. The company, people, amounts and results are made up. The method is what we apply in real projects.
The example case
Lava Já, a neighborhood self-service laundromat
Lava Já is a fictional laundromat with four locations. Customers waste time with tokens and change, and the owner wants shorter queues and less cash handling. The idea: an app to choose a machine, pay and collect the laundry, with no tokens.
Day 1 · Understand
Before designing, we make the challenge clear
We bring the right people together and answer four questions on sticky notes until everyone agrees.
Who is it for?
- Apartment residents without a machine at home
- People who work out of the house and do laundry at night or on weekends
What problem does it solve?
- No tokens or change on hand
- Queues and not knowing which machine is free
- Laundry forgotten in the machine
What benefits?
- Doing laundry without carrying cash
- An alert when the cycle ends
- Less cash handling for the owner
The week
Five days, each with a deliverable
The schedule is agreed based on your team's availability. Every day ends with something concrete on the table.
- Day 1
Understand and map
- Introducing the people and the challenge
- Defining problems, goals and personas
- User journey
A map of the challenge and the journey, a goal and key questions.
- Day 2
Ideas and decision
- Solution sketches in two groups
- Presenting proposals and voting
- Second round and convergence
Individual sketches and the chosen solution.
- Day 3
Define what goes in
- User story mapping
- Defining the MVP: the first version worth testing
A prioritized list: what goes in now and what waits.
- Day 4
Prototype
- Building the clickable prototype of the main screens
- Refining the story map
A realistic prototype, ready for testing.
- Day 5
Test and decide
- Testing with real people
- Reviewing the results with you
- Development proposal
What works, what changes and the plan to build.
Day 1 · People
Who will use it, and what the journey looks like today
Personas are typical people, described by their goal and pain. The journey shows each step, where it hurts and where the opportunity is.
Marina, 29
Analyst, lives in an apartment
Wants: To do laundry at night without depending on tokens or change.
Pain: She arrives at the laundromat and finds out she has no tokens.
Carlos, 58
Owner of two locations
Wants: Shorter queues, less cash in the till and customers who come back.
Pain: He spends time counting tokens and handling complaints.
Marina's journey
- 1Decides to wash
- 2Goes to the laundromat
- 3Chooses a machine
- 4Pays
- 5Waits for the cycle
- 6Collects the laundry
- 7Comes back next week?
Day 2 · Ideas
Two teams sketch, the group votes and converges
Each team sketches its idea without seeing the other's. Then we present, vote and combine the best of both.
A full app with a credit wallet, history and a loyalty program.
A QR code on the machine: the customer scans it, picks a cycle and pays, with minimal sign-up.
Convergence: QR code on the machine + quick sign-up + payment by card or instant transfer. The wallet and loyalty program wait for a second version.
The decision, in four lines
- An app to use and pay for the machines
- An alert when the cycle ends
- A generic digital wallet
- A loyalty program (for now)
- Picks the machine by QR code
- Takes payment by card or instant transfer
- Warns of the cycle end and the pickup deadline
- Laundry pickup and delivery
- Accounting integration
Day 3 · What goes in
Story map: what goes in the MVP and what waits
We lay out everything the user does, in order, and draw a line: above it, the first version (MVP). Below it, what can wait.
Sign-up
MVP
Create an account with e-mailLog in to an existing accountLater
Sign in with GoogleChoose machine
MVP
Scan the machine's QR codePick the cycle and see the priceLater
See free machines remotelyPayment
MVP
Instant transferCredit cardLater
Credits and couponsFollow up
MVP
Cycle countdownAlert when it endsLater
Wash historyPickup
MVP
Deadline to collect the laundryConfirm pickupLater
Service ratingDays 4 and 5 · Prototype
The prototype: click and see how a customer would use it
Before any coding, we build clickable screens, realistic enough to be tested. Choose a step below.
Lava Já
Create your account
Name
E-mail
Continue
I already have an account
1 / 6
Illustrative prototype. Amounts and brand are fictional.
Day 5 · Test
Testing shows what to change before you spend on development
We watch real people use the prototype, without help, and note where they get stuck. The figures below are fictional, to illustrate the format of the result.
5people tested it
4 of 5finished without help
3changes before building
What changed after the test
- The instant-transfer button was made more prominent: most people looked for it first.
- The pickup-deadline sentence was rewritten in simpler language.
- The end-of-cycle alert now shows the machine number too.
What you receive at the end
- A clickable prototype of the main screens, tested with users
- A prioritized list of what to build now and what to leave for later
- A development proposal with a clearer scope
Want to do this with your idea? Tell us about your company's challenge and we will set up a conversation.