Imagine establishing a new company without setting any rules for your employees or yourself regarding company culture and expectations. 

Sounds like an immediate HR issue…huh? 

That’s the same issue for Design Sprints. 

It is crucial that, before starting any sprint or assigning any of the roles in your sprint, your Design Sprint Team takes some time to establish some team agreements to be able to execute your sprint from phase 1 to testing your prototype. Team agreements can make or break not only team moral but the success of your product,good or service as a whole. Coworkers who trust each other and feel trusted by each other, are a cornerstone of high-performing teams. 

And that’s exactly what my team has done. Below, I have included our team agreements and why we felt they were needed in order to complete our design sprint. 

This is our section on our Miro board that we keep at the forefront of every phase and meeting we have as a team.

While we had a lot of sticky notes, there were a few overarching themes throughout all of the rules. Doing this can help teams develop a shared sense of responsibility, make it easier to identify and discuss both positive and negative behavior, empower the leader to keep the team accountable, and enhance the team’s productivity.

1. Time Management: We agreed on the same due date for all work we do together. We agreed on the same meeting time and day (this may vary depending on how your sprint is split time-wise) This allows us to have clear time frames for the sprint and allow work to progress in a timely manner. 
2. Presence: This is a crucial team agreement in today’s digital age, where we are constantly surrounded by screens and distractions. We agreed on no phones/keeping phones and notifications on silent. This allows for dedicated attention to our work and each phase of the sprint. 
3. Respect: This team agreement is broad but very important. We agreed to welcome all ideas with an open mind and react with kindness first and foremost. While there may be moments of conflict throughout the sprint, it’s important to remain respectful while navigating through those moments. This also ties into the physical Miro board. We agreed to be respectful and not delete anyone’s entries unless permitted to do so. 
4. Prep: We agreed to come to each meeting after reading and watching each video that correlates with the phase we are approaching. We then later updated this agreement to come prepared to all meetings with any work possible to be done individually done ahead of time, so we can short-track directly to voting and be the most efficient with our time.

Once you establish team agreements, you will be able to move effectively through the Design Sprint Process while making sure each member of the team has a voice and a say in the culture and process of the sprint. 

Sources: 

Koponen, Ari-Pekka. “The Essential Guide to Agile Team Working Agreements.” Swarmiacom RSS, Swarmia, 7 May 2025, www.swarmia.com/blog/agile-team-working-agreements/ 

Milstein, Sarah. “How Team Agreements Promote High Performance.” LeadDev, 23 Mar. 2023, leaddev.com/culture/how-team-agreements-promote-high-performance