5 Mini Decision-Spike Activities You Can Use Any Day of the Week
Sometimes work feels slow not because the problem is big — but because the thinking is messy. These five super-quick activities borrow from the Sprike approach and help you get unstuck fast.
1. The “Say the Problem in One Sentence” Trick (5 minutes)
Most teams talk for 20 minutes without actually saying what the problem is.
How to do it:
Set a timer for 5 minutes.
Write one sentence finishing this: “The real problem is…”
Keep it under 20 words.
Share it with your team and ask: “Anyone saying it differently?”
Why it works: Clarity kills 70% of the noise instantly.
2. The Evidence Map (10 minutes)
Turns debates from “I think…” into “We actually know…”
How to do it:
Create two lists:
What We Know
What We’re Guessing
Then:
Circle the assumptions that could seriously bite you if wrong.
Turn them into tiny research tasks: check analytics, ask 3 customers, test quickly.
Why it works: Most decisions fall apart because assumptions masquerade as facts.
3. The 8-Minute Options Sprint
If you only have one option… you don’t have a decision, you have a default.
How to do it:
Set timer for 8 minutes.
Write down as many options as possible (no judging).
Circle your top 3 afterwards.
Why it works: Quantity leads to quality when you’re under time pressure.
4. The “Good Decision” Question (10 minutes)
When you’re stuck, define what “good” even means.
How to do it:
Ask everyone:
“If we made a great decision today, what would be true next month?”
Examples:
We can ship it without extra engineering.
Customers understand it instantly.
It reduces support tickets.
Turn the answers into decision criteria and score your options.
Why it works: It removes emotion from the choice — you’re choosing based on outcomes, not opinions.
5. The One-Page Sprint (15–20 minutes)
A tiny structured plan when everything feels chaotic.
How to do it:
Fill in these 5 boxes on a single page:
Problem
Goal
Constraints
Options
Next experiments
Why it works: It mimics the logic of a 2-day sprint… but takes as long as making a coffee.
If you're interested in a facilitated Decision Spike to help, you can read more about it here
