# Design Sprint Thursday Planning Artifact: [Initiative or Challenge name]

<!-- Thursday morning planning artifact. Drives the day's parallel build work. The prototype itself is built by the team across Thursday; this artifact plans the work. -->

## Prototype Role Plan

| Role | Owner | Day allocation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maker | [Name] | [Hours; typically 09:30-16:00] | [What surfaces they own] |
| Stitcher | [Name; may equal Maker on small teams] | [Hours; typically 13:00-16:30] | [Integration work] |
| Writer | [Name] | [Hours; typically 09:30-12:30] | [Copy ownership; reviewed by Interviewer for script consistency] |
| Asset Collector | [Name; may double up] | [Hours; flexible] | [Asset sources; rights/licensing posture] |
| Interviewer | [Name] | [Hours; 09:30-12:30 script draft + 14:00-15:00 mock-run + 15:30-17:00 trial run] | [Script ownership and trial-run lead] |

**Doubling-up notes:** [If team is 4-person, which roles merge.]

## Prototype Brief

**What to build:** [Storyboard panels in scope; reference the panel numbers from the Wednesday storyboard.]

**Fidelity bar:** [What "real enough" means for the chosen medium. One paragraph. Examples: for clickable Figma, "every storyboard panel has a frame and inter-frame interactions; copy is final-ish; visual design is on-brand but not pixel-perfect"; for slideware, "every storyboard panel is a slide; transitions are linear; participant cannot navigate freely."]

**Time allocation per role:** [See role plan above; this section captures any constraint not in the plan, e.g., "Writer finishes copy by 12:30 PT so Stitcher has final copy for inter-frame links."]

**Explicitly NOT being built:** [3-5 bullets. What the team agreed in Wednesday's storyboard to defer (visual polish, animation timing, additional flow branches, additional surface details).]

## Interview Script (Five-Act)

### Act 1: Welcome (5 min)

[Canonical wording with team-name swap. Typical script: "Hi [name], thanks for joining today. I'm [interviewer], and I work on Brainshelf. The next 60 minutes will be a conversation, not a test - there are no wrong answers, and the prototype you'll see is early, so some things won't work the way you'd expect. I'll ask you about your current habits, then show you something we're working on, then ask what you think. Sound good?"]

### Act 2: Context (5-10 min)

[Canonical questions adapted to the challenge. Typical questions:]
1. [Tell me about your typical week with [challenge domain, e.g., books]; what's that like for you?]
2. [What do you do when [the challenge moment happens, e.g., you encounter a book you want to remember]?]
3. [What's worked well or frustrated you about your current approach?]
4. [If you could change one thing about [the challenge moment], what would it be?]

### Act 3: Intro (5 min)

[Canonical wording. Typical script: "Okay, now I'm going to show you something we're working on. It's an early prototype, so some things won't work, and some screens may look unfinished. I'd love it if you'd think out loud as you go through it - just describe what you're seeing, what you'd expect, and what you're trying to do. Don't worry about being polite about the design; honest reactions are exactly what we need."]

### Act 4: Tasks (20-30 min)

[Team-supplied wording derived from storyboard. Open-ended; not over-scripted. Typical 3 tasks for a 30-min Tasks act:]
1. [Task 1: open-ended primary task; e.g., "You just picked up [book name] at a bookstore. Try to add it to Brainshelf and find it later in your library."]
2. [Task 2: secondary task that tests a non-primary storyboard panel; e.g., "It's three weeks later. You're thinking about a book you read recently about [topic]. Try to find it."]
3. [Task 3: optional probe task; e.g., "Imagine you've used this for 6 months and have 50 books in your library. Show me what you'd do to find a book you barely remember."]

**Interviewer probing notes:** [Wording the interviewer can use to probe without leading. Examples: "Walk me through what you're thinking now." / "What did you expect to happen?" / "If this wasn't here, what would you try instead?"]

### Act 5: Debrief (5-10 min)

[Canonical structure adapted for pricing/recall/etc. Typical questions:]
1. [What was your overall reaction to the prototype?]
2. [What worked well? What didn't?]
3. [If you could change one thing about [the prototype's primary moment], what would it be?]
4. [If this product were real, what would you expect to pay for it, and how often?]
5. [Anything else you want to share?]

[Close: "Thank you so much for your time. The honorarium will arrive via [method] within [days]. Have a great rest of your day."]

## Trial-Run Checklist

[Run with a fake customer (a teammate playing a target-profile customer) Thursday 16:00-17:00. Each gate is yes/no.]

- [ ] Prototype reaches every storyboard panel without dead links or missing assets
- [ ] All inter-panel interactions trigger as expected (Figma click targets, Keynote transitions, role-play cues)
- [ ] Final copy is in place; no lorem ipsum, no "TODO", no placeholder text
- [ ] Asset Collector confirms all sample data (book titles, names, dates) is fake-but-believable; no real-customer data leaked
- [ ] Interviewer can complete the full Five-Act script in 55-65 minutes (target 60 minutes including buffer)
- [ ] Tasks act produces observable, probe-able behavior from the fake customer (not just script-following)
- [ ] Recording setup (Zoom recording on; Otter or equivalent transcription armed; consent form sent)
- [ ] Observer-room setup confirmed (breakout room or separate Zoom; sticky-note tool open)
- [ ] Participant calendar invites confirmed for all 5 + 1 buffer slots; Zoom links sent

## Participant Confirmation Tracker (Thursday Morning)

| Slot | Customer (anonymized) | Status as of Thursday 09:30 | Recruiter action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 09:00 | [Customer ID] | [Confirmed / Reminder sent / At risk] | [None / Send reminder / Activate buffer] |
| Fri 10:30 | [Customer ID] | [Status] | [Action] |
| Fri 12:00 | [Customer ID] | [Status] | [Action] |
| Fri 14:00 | [Customer ID] | [Status] | [Action] |
| Fri 15:30 | [Customer ID] | [Status] | [Action] |
| Fri 17:00 (buffer) | [Customer ID or "open"] | [Status] | [Action] |

**Risk assessment for Friday:** [Low / Medium / High; cohort confidence; cancellation cascade risk]

## Decider Checkpoint

**Decider sign-off required before parallel build work begins (canonically by 10:00 PT Thursday).**

- [ ] Decider approves the role plan and confirms no role is unassigned.
- [ ] Decider approves the fidelity bar; team will NOT polish past this bar.
- [ ] Decider approves the Five-Act interview script's Tasks act wording (the team-supplied portion).
- [ ] Decider approves the trial-run gate criteria; trial run MUST pass before Friday begins.
- [ ] Decider acknowledges participant tracker status; if at-risk slots exist, recruiter actions are authorized.
- [ ] Decider confirms attendance for Friday PM 14:00-18:00 PT Decider window (observe interview slots 4-5 + Decider review concludes by 17:30 PT).

**Signed:** [Decider name, role], [ISO date and local time]
