This game is part of the custom workshop I create and facilitate for a product team when I first join the project.
The game is called Goal Rush.
The purpose of the game is to generate as many user goals as possible. The result will be a massive list of goals and outcomes that users will want to achieve on your website. You will probably end up using the results of this game to help you organise, prioritise and create next steps.
Here's how you play it.
- Time needed: 10 minutes
- Participants: 4 - 20
- Materials: Square sticky notes
- Prep work: None
Since this game requires no prep work, you, or the facilitator, should simply jump in and introduce the game by saying:
We’re going to play a game called Goal Rush. The purpose of this game is to list as many user goals as possible in a short amount of time and without talking to each other. We’re playing this game because we want to have a good overall understanding of all the potential goals a user has when they interact with our product. We’re going to use the results of this game as input for the next one. Here’s how you play.
And then start explaining the steps of the game:
- Take one sticky note and write down one thing a user might want to do on our website. For example, "Add an item to their shopping cart." Only write one thing per sticky note. Don’t be too broad, like “Use the website,” or too narrow, like “Click the Send button on the contact form.”
- Without talking, just stick the note on the whiteboard where there is space available. Don’t worry if there are duplicates.
- You will have 10 minutes to do this.
There are only two rules to this game:
- No talking throughout the game. The silence will help everyone work without interruptions.
- One idea per note. This ensures you can later reshuffle and organise them.
Now, set a timer for 10 minutes and instruct everyone to get to work.
As they write down ideas, you, or the facilitator, can have a look at the notes that are on the board and sort them. If there are duplicates, simply place them on top of each other. It doesn’t matter if they’re not 100% identical.
Goal Rush is a simple and effective way to generate lots of user flows in a short amount of time, while giving everyone on your product team a voice.