How do you keep the remote Design Sprint team engaged?

The precise answer depends on the experience of the design sprint leader and the dynamics of the team.

In general, virtual facilitation and participation is hard and requires a lot of soft skills and personal energy. However, the Design Sprint is designed to take these factors into account.

The Design Sprint is a time-boxed process that follows a set of exercises, each requiring different levels of focus. The moments that require a high level of focus can last up to but no longer than one hour. The time-boxed exercises make it easy to add a break whenever it is needed.

Also, in order to minimize distractions and keep the focus high, we start the day at 9AM and finish around 5PM. This allows the team to have enough time to answer emails, do their urgent tasks, and even fulfill busy-parent responsibilities.