In short: Use a script, storyboard or Service Blueprint to guide your role-play prototyping for better results.

The problem

For years, I struggled with using role-play or theater prototyping in my Service Design work. But recently, inspired by my mate Emmanuel Fragnière, I tried a new approach that made things easier.

Use a Blueprint as a basis

One tip that has helped me is starting with a service blueprint, customer journey, storyboard, or script. This serves as the basis for your prototype. During the theater prototype, you play out one part of this story or blueprint.

Prepare Before You Act

Before diving into the scene, have a try-out moment. Clarify who the different characters are and who says what. This preparation makes role-playing much easier for people not used to acting out in an improvised way. It provides a basic structure they can naturally improvise on.

It's a ping-pong between play and script

While you play it out, you'll automatically notice what feels weird, good or even ideas might come on the fly and you'll play them out. All of this makes you go from play to script and back. You script out an idea of how the service should be. You play it out, notice something to change. Then you update the script, and you start that loop again.

Emmanuel calls this going from 2D to 3D and back.

Made with AI help
This article was is based on an audio note I recorded while walking which was transcribed and rewritten by the app Audiopen. I then reviewed it manually :)