Preparation

To prepare the week ahead, there should be an identified service in place, ideally mapped out as As-Is user journey according to the Govstack implementation playbook. Here's an overview of this preparational phase:

Ownership	facilitator
Goals	set up the team prepare research findings prepare as-is-journey organise and plan the week ahead
Participants	Designer Manager Legal Technical consultant

Checklist to set the stage

When preparing the user journeys for the identified service, please consider using our Journey Mapping template and Service Blueprint template. Ideally, most participants are already aware of the service that's worked on.

The facilitator is responsible to book the participants early upfront in order to care for a distraction-free environment.

Same goes for the physical or digital environment that's used to work on this collaboratively.

• Generally, consider the implementation playbook and follow it’s guidance before starting to prepare

• Select a major challenge. Validate this choice by prioritising and ranking the services. Opt for sprints during high-stake situations, when time is limited, or when in a deadlock.

• Identify a Decider (or two). Decisions won't hold without a Decider. If the Decider can't be present throughout the sprint, they should assign a delegate who can.

• Designate a Facilitator. The Facilitator will oversee time management, dialogues, and the overall sprint process. Choose someone who is comfortable leading a meeting and can synthesize discussions spontaneously. It could be you!

• Assemble a sprint team. The team should have no more than seven members. It should include a mix of skills and people who are involved in the project on a daily basis. At least one technology expert, one design expert, and one policy expert should be included.

• Organize additional experts. Not all experts can participate in the sprint all week. Schedule time with civil servants or other government officials as per the sprint schedule.

• Allocate five full days. Set aside time with your sprint team from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

• Reserve a room with two whiteboards. Book a sprint room for the entire week. If it doesn’t already have two whiteboards, purchase some or find a workaround. Reserve a second room for Friday's interviews.

It takes 5 days to conduct a GovSprint, but it can be condensed to 4 days if needed if the learning takes places independently afterwards or if the prototyping is not feasible.

It's recommended to do the sprint locally if that's possible. Prepare this appropriately for a remote version, i.e. everyone should be able to participate technically. Rights and permissions and general access to the tooling must be enabled upfront to avoid workarounds or delays during the sprint.