Timing: 1 hour

Ingredients:

  • Online access

Players (5..8 recommended):

  • Product Manager / Product Owner
  • Development Team

Directions:

The goal of this game is to strategically analyze the desires and needs of those integral to your company, such as customers and partners. The exercise reveals gaps in what is known about your stakeholder and will allow you to recognize ways to improve your product or service.

Clicking on this image will start an “instant play” game at innovationgames.com. You will see the image as the “game board” and three different facial expressions at the upper left corner of the board. The icons represent:

  • Smiley face: what would make your persona happy
  • Grim face: what would make your persona concerned
  • Frown face: what would make your persona unhappy

The game board is divided into five regions, portraying what your persona sees, thinks/feels, hears, gains, and is challenged by. As you project yourself into the character, determine what would make your target happy, concerned, or unhappy. Throughout the game, players name and describe a facial expression and drag it to the affected category on the board. For example, a happy face named “Better customer service” would be dragged to the “Thinking and Feeling” region of the board, as it is important to the customer and plays a factor in determining how they think about the company. By altering your perspective, you can understand real sensory experiences of your stakeholders.

Key Points:

  • This productive game provides insight into key players who are necessary for your company’s success. By understanding their point of view, you can understand what they want from your company, and what you can do to enhance your product or service.