Role playing

What is it?

Role-playing means physically acting out what happens when users interact with products, services or environments.

What is it useful for?

Taking the role of the user and acting out their interactions can prompt more intuitive responses and help you to refine your design. Role-playing is particularly useful for prototyping interactions between people, for example in a service context.

How can I do it?

Define a character or characters who will use or deliver the end product, service or environment you are designing. Isolate key moments where these users interact with it, and then act them out – with or without props.

Use your intuitive responses prompted by the enactment of the scenario to refine your design. You can also use role-play as a method to test physical prototypes.