Principle Creation Sprint

The Principle Creation Sprint is a focused, collaborative session to transform insights from earlier exercises into clear, actionable design principles. Here's how to run this exercise effectively:

Purpose:

• Transform insights and themes into concise design principles

• Create principles that are both inspiring and actionable

• Ensure principles reflect team consensus and shared values

• Develop a set of principles that will guide design decisions

Materials Needed:

• Synthesis of themes from previous workshops

• Examples of effective design principles from other organizations

• Wall space or digital board for sharing ideas

• Voting dots or digital equivalent

• Templates for principle formation

Process:

01 Theme Review (20 minutes)

• Present synthesis of key themes from previous exercises

• Review insights from values mapping, design archaeology, etc.

• Discuss patterns and priorities that emerged

• Agree on 4-6 key themes to focus on for principle development

02 Principle Examples Analysis (15 minutes)

• Share examples of effective principles from admired organizations

• Analyze what makes these principles effective:

  • Clear and memorable language

  • Balance of inspiration and practicality

  • Specificity to the organization's context

  • Actionable guidance for decision-making

03 Individual Principle Drafting (20 minutes)

• Have each participant draft 1-2 principle statements for each theme

• Provide a simple format to follow:

  • Principle: A concise, memorable statement

  • Description: 1-2 sentences explaining the principle

  • Example: How this would guide a specific design decision

04 Small Group Collaboration (30 minutes)

• Break into small groups of 3-4 people

• Each group takes 1-2 themes

• Groups review individual drafts

• Collaborate to refine into 2-3 strong principle candidates per theme

• Create clear statement, description, and example for each

05 Gallery Walk Presentation (30 minutes)

• Each group posts their principle candidates

• Groups briefly present their principles (2 minutes per group)

• All participants review the principles

• Mark questions, suggestions, or concerns

06 Convergence and Selection (45 minutes)

• Facilitate discussion of each principle candidate

• Address questions and concerns

• Make real-time edits to improve language and clarity

• Vote to select the strongest principles (aim for 5-9 total)

• Ensure principles work together as a cohesive set

07 Principle Refinement (30 minutes)

• Polish the language of selected principles

• Ensure each principle is:

  • Actionable and guides decisions

  • Memorable and concise

  • Distinctive to your organization

  • Balanced with other principles

• Develop final description and example for each

08 Testing and Commitment (20 minutes)

• Test principles against recent design decisions

• Discuss how they would guide future work

• Check for gaps or overlaps

• Get verbal commitment from the team to apply these principles

Benefits:

• Creates principles with broad team input and buy-in

• Produces principles that reflect actual team values and practices

• Ensures principles are both inspiring and practical

• Develops a shared understanding of what each principle means

Tips for Effective Principle Creation:

• Limit to 5-9 principles for memorability and usability

• Ensure principles are specific enough to be actionable but not overly restrictive

• Create principles that would lead to different decisions than their opposites

• Use distinctive language that reflects your organization's voice

• Focus on quality over quantity - fewer, stronger principles are better

This sprint works best after you've gathered insights about your design values and practices but before you develop detailed guidelines. The principles created will serve as the bridge between your high-level manifesto and your specific design guidelines.