A Catalyst for Process Innovation
Consider a common workplace scenario: there’s a task you perform often, usually under a time crunch, and somewhere in the process is a step that’s cumbersome. You work around it every time, suspect there’s a better way, and then move on to the next pressing task because you’re too busy to fix it. You repeat the process tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that; the irritation accumulates, as do the wasted minutes.
What’s the cost of a small cumbersome task over the course of a week? A month? A year? Multiplied by, say, 500 team members? At that scale, it’s probably an issue worth solving.
Problem Seeking: Identifying Opportunities for Process Improvement
LS3P’s Raleigh office set a goal to “act on new and innovative ideas” for 2025, and the first step was to uncover these new and innovative ideas. The team spearheading this initiative created a platform for idea generation called the “Innovators’ Forum” and issued an all-call. Raleigh team members submitted dozens of potential areas for innovation including parametric design, AI integration, team structure, and timesheet management.
The committee vetted ideas for impact and feasibility, and settled on one question familiar to anyone involved in design and construction administration: how can teams better coordinate markup sessions using Bluebeam software? The committee knew that a) this markup process is ripe for innovation, and b) that the question was narrow enough in scope to allow for refinement, iteration, and measurable results.
Small Investment, Big Opportunities
If identifying an area for innovation was the first hurdle, designing a process for problem solving was the second. LS3P’s Innovation Leader Espy Harper, collaborating with the New and Innovative Ideas committee, used a design sprint approach to dive deeper.
Why a design sprint? Consider the alternative: a task force gathers for a meeting every few weeks to discuss the problem, suggest some actions, implement a solution, and measure results. Each meeting requires time spent re-orienting to the task; time spent recapping progress to date; time spent adjusting next steps; and time spent on administrative tasks like communicating, calendar coordination, and agenda setting. Progress on a goal takes months instead of hours. Teams can get sidetracked with more pressing issues and lose momentum while fixable issues remain unsolved. Busy professionals already navigate packed calendars, and more meetings only increase mental clutter and hinder long-term productivity. Sometimes an effort is large and complex enough to justify a prolonged process, but for a targeted innovation, there’s a better way
A sprint gathers the right people to solve a problem (preferably in person) for a focused intervention of limited duration. Solutions can be tested and refined before being implemented at scale.
Putting Our Heads Together
For this Bluebeam markup innovation exploration, the process was designed to last a day and a half to explore the problem and propose solutions. In addition to Harper, attendees included Practice Professional Bren Towle, the author of the question at the heart of the sprint; Architect Ethan Atherton and other digital practice specialists; Construction Administrator Christy Zeidler; decision maker (and Raleigh Operations and Finance Manager) Sarah Mobraten; committee architect Melissa Rubenstein; Practice Research
Strategist Katherine Ball, and Interior Designer Hunter Cutting. These participants agreed to clear their calendars, turn off their notifications, and focus entirely on one topic – and it worked.
On Day 1 of the sprint, the team spent time unpacking the problem, then asked “how might we…?” questions to dive deeper into possible interventions. Using Miro as well as good old analog tools like pencil and paper, the team voted on achievable goals like “reduce mental clutter so that people can focus more on design,” and “collaboration over complexity.” The team also spent time digging into relevant innovations from other industries for inspiration, unearthed more suggestions than expected through a rapid doodling exercise, and began to sort and map out strategies.
I was incredibly inspired by the enthusiasm for the topic that everyone had... I have tried to organize systems for teams in the past and I have never felt as enthusiastic and optimistic for a positive outcome as I do after having such a dedicated and focused period of exploration. Many of the ideas that arose were some that I could never have thought of and engaging in that discussion and experience helped to push a lot of ideas out very quickly.
Bren Towle Practice Professional
By the end of the sprint, the team had a refined tool kit of strategies developed for beta testing, including suggestions for color-coding, progress tracking, tool consistency, and easy communication. The solutions will be implemented on an upcoming project for any necessary tweaks before being rolled out to a wider audience.
While the interventions are small, the potential payoff is huge: a clear, consistent markup process that minimizes confusion, reduces the need for sidebar clarifications, and streamlines communication across teams of designers, construction administrators, consultants, and clients.
For one project a year, this payoff is great; for a thousand projects a year, that’s a significant productivity boost. Time saved on each small step is time that accumulates, and time that can be better invested elsewhere.
The design sprint was a great way to consolidate ideas on a specific subject in a timely manner...The specific problem we are addressing of QA review comments came very clear as I was joining a project in progress and picking up detail comments. The clarity of the comments will make more efficient use of everyone’s time and give more standardization to teams. It will also encourage the conversations to be more about the project itself and not the interpretation of a markup
Melissa Rubinstein Committee Architect
Sprinting Towards Success
The effectiveness of a sprint isn’t limited to process innovation; this framework can be used to uncover opportunities for research and innovation at the beginning of a project, or to generate design iterations for a particular component midstream. The ideal sprint topic is something that is small enough to for a team to get their arms around, specific enough to allow for thorough analysis, and concrete enough to be measurable. Investing up-front time for intense focus requires commitment and coordination, but can save valuable time in the long term and generate solutions may have real sticking power.
Meet Espy
With over 20 years of experience, Espy has earned the respect of colleagues, clients, and the industry through her visionary leadership and transformative contributions.
As Innovation Leader, Espy’s role centers on cultivating a culture of inquiry and exploration. She is adept at identifying, strategizing, developing, and driving initiatives that challenge conventional thinking and unlock new possibilities. Her work champions innovative approaches across business operations and project delivery, ensuring that creativity and impact go hand in hand.
Espy is known for her energetic and collaborative engagement, consistently fostering environments where diverse perspectives thrive. She leverages the unique strengths of each team member, building consensus and momentum through inclusive innovation. Her expansive vision spans technology, process, and design, and she is committed to creating mechanisms that support continuous learning and experimentation.
Espy’s innovative spirit and strategic mindset brings fresh perspectives to our work, enabling us to tackle challenges head-on and seize new opportunities with confidence and clarity.