Walk in Their Shoes
Walk in Their Shoes has students try their user's task with one thing changed, such as thick gloves or one hand, and log what was hard, how it felt and how they got round it.
Beginner◷ 15–25 minFree · no login
Try it their way for five minutes.
How to use it + an example
How to use it
- 1Agree the task and one safe change that brings it closer to the user's experience.
- 2Try the task for a few minutes and record what was hard, how it felt and any way round.
- 3Match each difficulty to its way round to find design clues, then check them with a real person.
Example
Opening a jam jar in gardening gloves, students find they brace the jar against their body, which points to a design that holds the jar for them.
When to use it: During research, when the real user is hard to reach or the difficulty is physical (MYP Design Criterion A).
Discover: Find out what's really going on.
Your turn ↓
Try it their way.
Do your user's task yourself with one thing changed, then write down what happened.
Describe them. Do not write anyone’s name.
Ideas: thick gloves, one hand only, sitting down, a 30 second limit, the hand you do not write with.
Before you start
- Check with your teacher first. Nothing sharp, hot or moving while you do this.
- You are borrowing one difficulty for a few minutes. It is not what their life is like.
- Afterwards, ask a real person if you got it right.
Look back. What would you ask a real person now?
Try next
- Mind MapBranch ideas from a central topic to explore connections and discover patterns.Try it free →
- Assumption CheckWrite what you think you know about your user, plan how to find out, then mark each guess right or wrong.Try it free →
- Interview PlannerPlan open questions for a real person, then record what they said and what surprised you.Try it free →
For teachers: Discover stage · 15-25m. Free, no login. One of the 44 design thinking tools on StudioLoom, which also puts them inside lessons so students’ thinking is saved with their project.