The correct answer is D. Design Sprints . A Design Sprint is a structured, time-boxed innovation method used to quickly validate ideas and reduce uncertainty before committing significant development resources. The process typically takes five days and is widely used in digital innovation, product development, and service design to rapidly test whether a concept solves a real customer problem.

During a Design Sprint, cross-functional teams move through several stages including understanding the problem, sketching possible solutions, deciding on the best concept, building a realistic prototype, and conducting user testing. By the end of the sprint, the team gathers real feedback from potential users, which helps determine whether the idea should be pursued, refined, or abandoned.

Within innovation management systems, this method supports rapid experimentation, evidence-based decision making, and early risk reduction . Instead of spending months developing a product that might fail in the market, organizations can validate assumptions within a single week. This aligns with modern innovation practices such as lean experimentation, customer-centric design, and agile innovation , all of which help organizations move ideas efficiently through the Innovation Funnel toward successful implementation.