Rolestorming
Brainstorm from the perspective of different personas or characters.
Explanation
Rolestorming involves taking on different perspectives or personas during idea generation. By thinking as someone else—a customer, competitor, expert, or even fictional character—participants can break free from their own assumptions and biases. This technique is particularly powerful for overcoming groupthink and generating diverse viewpoints on the same challenge.
Real-World Example
Designing workplace collaboration tool: As stressed manager: 'I need quick status updates without meetings.' As remote worker: 'I need to feel connected to the team.' As Steve Jobs: 'This should be beautifully simple.' As busy executive: 'One dashboard showing everything.' Each perspective generates different feature ideas.
How to Apply
Choose 3-5 different personas relevant to your challenge. These can be user types, famous people, competitors, or archetypes. Spend 10-15 minutes brainstorming as each persona. Really get into character—how would they think, what would they prioritize? Document ideas separately for each persona, then combine and look for patterns or conflicts between perspectives.