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Foundation Sprint to Design Sprint

End-to-end 7-8 day arc that pairs a Foundation Sprint with a Design Sprint, including the narrative handoff that replaces the dropped bridge skill

Note: Both Foundation Sprint and Design Sprint are workshop methodologies (Knapp/Zeratsky/Kowitz), NOT agile / Scrum sprints. For the disambiguation, see docs/concepts/workshop-sprints-vs-agile-sprints.md. For pm-skills’ agile sprint planning workflow, see sprint-planning.md.

This is the canonical end-to-end workflow for teams running a Foundation Sprint followed by a Design Sprint as one connected arc. It chains foundation-sprint (2 days of strategic alignment) with design-sprint (5 days of prototype validation) through a brief narrative-only transition between them.

There is no bridge skill in pm-skills. Canonical Knapp/Zeratsky methodology has no formal handoff move between Foundation Sprint and Design Sprint; pm-skills does not invent one. The handoff is described narratively in this workflow, in docs/guides/using-foundation-sprint.md, and in docs/guides/using-design-sprint.md. The Founding Hypothesis (Foundation Sprint output) is consumed as input context by the Design Sprint readiness and brief skills directly; no intermediate artifact is required.

Workflow Metadata

FieldValue
WorkflowFoundation Sprint to Design Sprint (end-to-end)
Classificationtool
Familiesfoundation-sprint-skills + design-sprint-skills
Component Workflowsfoundation-sprint + design-sprint
Cross-skilltool-note-and-vote (invoked across both sprints at decision moments)
Phases CoveredStrategic alignment (FS) + Validation (DS)
Estimated Duration7 to 8 days total: 2 days FS + 1 prep day + 5 days DS, with a 1-2 week recruiting window starting at FS close
Team Size3-5 for FS expanding to 4-7 for DS (typically)
Prerequisite InputsAn initiative or strategic question; some existing customer/market knowledge
Final OutputA built v0.1 plan: Friday DS scorecard plus Decider’s build / iterate / pivot / stop call plus the next artifact owner-and-deadline

When to Use This End-to-End Arc

Use the FS-to-DS arc when:

  • The team is at the start of a significant new product, feature, or strategic initiative AND knows it wants to validate the direction through customer testing.
  • The decision is consequential enough to justify 7-8 days of focused team time plus customer-recruiting cost.
  • The Decider can commit to both sprints with continuity (the same Decider for both; minimal gap between).
  • Customer access is feasible within the recruiting window (typically 1-2 weeks).
  • The team has not yet locked a strategic direction (FS) AND wants prototype-validated evidence before committing to build (DS).

Don’t use this end-to-end arc when:

  • The strategic direction is already clear; jump to design-sprint directly.
  • The team is in deep discovery and needs problem framing first; run customer-discovery before either sprint.
  • The Decider can attend FS but not DS (or vice versa); run only the sprint that fits and use a smaller follow-up for the other half.
  • Time is constrained to less than 7 days end-to-end; pick one sprint or use a smaller experiment design.
  • The team has already prototyped and tested; the arc adds no value over post-build iteration.

End-to-End Sequence Overview

                   Week -2 to Week 0: pre-arc prep
                                  |
                                  v
   Week 1, Day 1-2: Foundation Sprint (readiness + brief + basics +
                    differentiation + approach-options + magic-lenses +
                    founding-hypothesis)
                                  |
                                  v
                   Day 2 end: Founding Hypothesis ratified
                                  |
                                  v
                   Day 3: Narrative handoff conversation (this workflow)
                          + Design Sprint readiness invocation
                          + recruiting activation
                                  |
                                  v
   Week 1 to Week 2 gap (1-2 weeks): recruiting closes; DS brief locked
                                  |
                                  v
   Week 2 or 3, Days 1-5: Design Sprint (map-and-target Mon, sketch Tue,
                          decide-and-storyboard Wed, prototype-plan +
                          craft build Thu, test-and-score Fri)
                                  |
                                  v
                   Friday end: Decider's call + next artifact
                                  |
                                  v
                   Next artifact (PRD / experiment / pivot / etc.)
graph LR
    PRE[Pre-arc prep] --> FS[Foundation Sprint<br/>2 days]
    FS --> FH[Founding Hypothesis<br/>+ assumption scorecard]
    FH --> HANDOFF[Narrative handoff<br/>day 3]
    HANDOFF --> RECR[Recruiting activates]
    RECR --> GAP[1-2 week<br/>recruiting window]
    GAP --> DS[Design Sprint<br/>5 days]
    DS --> CALL{Decider's<br/>Friday call}
    CALL -->|build| PRD[deliver-prd]
    CALL -->|iterate| EXP[measure-experiment-design]
    CALL -->|pivot| PIV[iterate-pivot-decision]

The arc is 7-8 days of facilitated team time spread across 2-3 calendar weeks. The calendar-week spread is because customer recruiting needs a 7-10 day lead from sprint Monday; FS finishes Friday of Week 1 and DS typically runs Mon-Fri of Week 2 or Week 3.

Part 1: Foundation Sprint

Run the full foundation-sprint workflow. The output is a ratified Founding Hypothesis plus an assumption scorecard plus a recommended next test (which, in this end-to-end arc, is named as a Design Sprint).

Key Foundation Sprint outputs that become Design Sprint inputs in Part 3:

  • Target customer statement (from Day 1 Basics)
  • Important problem framing (from Day 1 Basics)
  • Team advantage (from Day 1 Basics)
  • Competitors and alternatives map (from Day 1 Basics)
  • 2 chosen differentiators (from Day 1 Differentiation)
  • Mini Manifesto (from Day 1 Differentiation)
  • 3 to 5 decision principles (from Day 1 Differentiation)
  • Top bet approach (from Day 2 Magic Lenses)
  • Backup plan (from Day 2 Magic Lenses)
  • Founding Hypothesis sentence (from Day 2 end Founding Hypothesis)
  • Assumption scorecard with highest-risk assumption flagged (from Day 2 end Founding Hypothesis)

Part 2: The Narrative Handoff (Day 3)

This is the load-bearing replacement for the dropped bridge skill. It is described narratively here and operationalized in the two user guides; no SKILL.md authors it.

Handoff conversation structure (30 to 60 minutes; small group)

The Decider plus the facilitator plus the PM hold a working conversation between Foundation Sprint close (Day 2 end) and Design Sprint readiness invocation (typically Day 3 morning). Conversation covers:

  1. Re-confirm the highest-risk assumption. From the Foundation Sprint assumption scorecard, name the specific assumption the Design Sprint will test as its lead question. The Founding Hypothesis as a whole is not the test target; one specific assumption is.

  2. Confirm the assumption is prototype-testable. Can a 5-day team build a prototype that puts target customers in a situation where they would meaningfully validate or invalidate the assumption? If yes, proceed. If no, the right next test is not a Design Sprint (it might be customer research or a smaller fake-door experiment); see “Go / no-go checkpoint” below.

  3. Map Foundation Sprint outputs to Design Sprint inputs. Use the slot mapping table (next section) to identify which Founding Hypothesis components feed which Design Sprint moments. Most importantly: target customer becomes the recruiting profile; the top bet becomes the prototype direction; the highest-risk assumption becomes the lead sprint question.

  4. Identify team continuity and expansion. Foundation Sprint typically runs with 3-5 people; Design Sprint typically needs 4-7. The Decider continues; the facilitator continues; PM and design typically continue. Engineering may need to join (specifically for Thursday prototype build). Customer-expert role may shift (FS customer expert may not be the right person for DS interviews).

  5. Commit to Design Sprint timing. Run the Design Sprint within 1 to 2 weeks of Foundation Sprint close so strategic context is fresh. Longer gaps invite re-litigation of the Founding Hypothesis. Recruiting starts the day of this conversation (or the next morning).

Foundation Sprint to Design Sprint slot mapping

Foundation Sprint outputBecomes Design Sprint inputWhere in DS arc
Target customerCustomer recruiting profileDS Brief (Step 1)
Important problem framingChallenge statement plus why-now contextDS Brief (Step 1) and DS Map and Target Day 1 long-term goal
Team advantageExpert interview prioritization plus “why us, why now” framingDS Map and Target Day 1 (expert interview selection)
Competitors and alternatives mapLong-term goal context plus prototype differentiation framingDS Map and Target Day 1 plus DS Decide and Storyboard Day 3
2 chosen differentiatorsSketch input (Tuesday) plus storyboard moments of differentiation (Wednesday)DS Sketch Day 2 plus DS Decide and Storyboard Day 3
Mini ManifestoDay 1 sanity-check during Map and Target; Day 3 storyboard alignment checkDS Map and Target Day 1 plus DS Decide and Storyboard Day 3
3 to 5 decision principlesWednesday voting criteria plus storyboard guardrailsDS Decide and Storyboard Day 3
Top bet (approach)Prototype directionDS Decide and Storyboard Day 3 (storyboard) and DS Prototype Plan Day 4
Backup planPivot option if Friday signal is weakDS Test and Score Day 5 (Decider summary)
Founding Hypothesis sentenceBrief why-now context plus Friday Decider review referenceDS Brief Step 1 plus DS Test and Score Step 7
Assumption scorecardSource for sprint questionsDS Brief Step 1 plus DS Map and Target Day 1 (refinement)
Highest-risk assumptionLEAD sprint questionDS Brief Step 1 (Q1) plus DS Test and Score Step 7 (lead scorecard row)

Go / no-go checkpoint between sprints

The Decider answers three questions at the end of the handoff conversation. All three must be Yes for the Design Sprint to launch:

  1. Is the highest-risk assumption testable through a single-week prototype with target customers? If no, the right next test is not a Design Sprint. Options: customer research, fake-door experiment, concierge MVP, or a different specific test. Use measure-experiment-design to design the alternative.

  2. Is customer access feasible within the 1-2 week recruiting window? If no, recruiting needs to start earlier (this is sometimes a reason to postpone DS by a week) or the target profile needs to be loosened (sometimes acceptable, sometimes a signal that the FS target was too narrow).

  3. Can the team clear 5 consecutive days plus a Decider who attends the load-bearing moments? If no, the DS itself is not feasible right now; postpone or use a smaller follow-on test.

If any answer is No, the team uses tool-design-sprint-readiness to formalize a Wait verdict, document the gating issue, and either close the gap or pivot to a different next test. The Founding Hypothesis remains valid regardless; only the testing modality changes.

Part 3: Design Sprint

Once the handoff conversation completes with Go on all three checkpoint questions, invoke tool-design-sprint-readiness as the formal Design Sprint readiness assessment. Then run the full design-sprint workflow.

The Design Sprint’s readiness, brief, and Monday Map-and-Target steps consume the Foundation Sprint outputs as input context (via the slot mapping above). The team does not re-derive the target customer or restate the strategic direction; those are inherited from Foundation Sprint and locked at FS close.

What changes between standalone DS and FS-to-DS:

  • DS Readiness: consumes the Founding Hypothesis as optional input context (FS-to-DS arc); EXAMPLE.md in the readiness skill demonstrates the Brainshelf arc continuing from FS.
  • DS Brief: The lead sprint question (Q1) is the FS highest-risk assumption verbatim.
  • DS Map and Target Monday: The long-term goal is informed by the FS important-problem framing; the customer or system map is informed by the FS competitors-and-alternatives map.
  • DS Decide and Storyboard Wednesday: The Mini Manifesto serves as the alignment check; the decision principles serve as guardrails for the supervote.
  • DS Test and Score Friday: The Decider summary references the Founding Hypothesis directly; if Friday invalidates the lead assumption, the pivot is to the FS backup plan (not a re-litigation of strategic direction).

Canonical Sources

  • Knapp, J., and Zeratsky, J. Click: How to Make What People Want (Foundation Sprint method).
  • Knapp, J., Zeratsky, J., and Kowitz, B. Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days. Simon and Schuster, 2016 (Design Sprint method).
  • GV Design Sprint Guide. https://www.gv.com/sprint/
  • Character Capital. “Foundation Sprint guide” + “Design Sprint guide.” https://www.character.vc

See also docs/concepts/foundation-sprint.md and docs/concepts/design-sprint.md for the conceptual explainers, and docs/guides/using-foundation-sprint.md plus docs/guides/using-design-sprint.md for the operational guides (ships in v2.15.0).

  • foundation-sprint: the Foundation Sprint half of this arc, runnable standalone when the team only needs strategic alignment.
  • design-sprint: the Design Sprint half of this arc, runnable standalone when the team already has a hypothesis and only needs prototype validation.
  • Customer Discovery: upstream when the team needs problem framing or customer research before either sprint.
  • Feature Kickoff: downstream when the Friday Decider call is Build and the team moves to PRD then delivery.
  • Post-Launch Learning: downstream of Build when v0.1 ships and the team needs to measure outcomes.