Generations

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Synthesize diverse age-based user requirements into a single set of cross-cutting ideas for a shared project.

Use it when: Use when planning public amenities, community facilities, organizational policies, or products that must accommodate people across different life stages.

Skip it when: Skip when the initiative explicitly targets one narrow demographic, or when participants lack basic context about user needs at different life stages.

Group arrangement: Parallel small teams of 3 to 5 participants. In Round 1, participants cluster by letter (same assigned age group). In Round 2, they regroup by number (mixed-age teams). Any spare participant joins an adjacent group.

Timing: Thiagi GameMag suggests a 30 to 60 minute range with a 45-minute step schedule. UWT sets standard timing at 45 minutes.

Materials and tools

• One pre-coded index card per participant with an alphanumeric code from the allocation table
• Blank scratch paper for note-taking
• Pens or pencils (one per person)
• Up to 6 flip chart pads with easel stands or wall space
• 6 felt-tipped markers
• Painter tape for posting sheets
• One countdown timer or chime
• Shared collaborative digital whiteboard or slide deck (for remote or hybrid delivery)

Before participants arrive

1. Count confirmed attendees and prepare matching Team Allocation Cards using the grid in participant materials.
2. Post the age brackets visibly on the room board: Team A (57 years old), Team B (47 years old), Team C (37 years old), Team D (27 years old), Team E (17 years old).
3. Set up 3 to 6 separate breakout tables, each equipped with scratch paper, markers, and a flip chart sheet.

Say this to open

Welcome. Today we are designing solutions that need to work across every stage of life. Each of you has a card with a letter and a number. In round one, your letter places you on a team representing a specific age group. You will brainstorm what that age group needs most. In round two, your number places you on a new mixed team where you will combine those views into a shared list.

How to run it

1. Group by assigned age 5 minutes

   Hand one allocation card to each participant. Direct everyone to gather with people sharing their letter at the matching table. Point out the age demographic assigned to each letter. Ask each team to name a volunteer scribe to record brainstormed ideas on scratch paper.

2. Brainstorm demographic priorities 10 minutes

   Announce the central challenge prompt (for example: 'What amenities should our new community park offer?'). Ask each group to take the perspective of their assigned age and brainstorm needed features or rules. Direct teams to discuss their items and narrow the list down to their 10 best ideas on scratch paper.

3. Re-sort into mixed synthesis teams 5 minutes

   Sound a chime to conclude Round 1. Instruct participants to leave their current tables and regroup with everyone holding the same card number (all 1s at Table 1, all 2s at Table 2). If an uneven count leaves a numbered group with fewer than 3 people, merge those individuals into adjacent numbered groups.

4. Synthesize multi-generational priorities 10 minutes

   Direct each mixed team to have members share the scratch paper proposals from their Round 1 age perspectives. Challenge the group to negotiate a new combined list that balances these competing needs. Once agreed, direct the team to copy their final 10 synthesized items from scratch paper onto a clean flip chart sheet.

5. Review posters and harvest shared themes 15 minutes

   Have teams tape their flip chart posters to the wall. Give the room 5 minutes to walk around and read posters quietly. Reconvene the full group for 10 minutes to highlight ideas that appear across multiple lists, recording a single deduplicated master list on the room board.

Debrief questions

• Which age-specific needs conflicted directly during round two, and how did your group resolve that tension?
• Which ideas surfaced repeatedly across almost all team posters?
• Where did adopting an assigned age group feel difficult or reveal blind spots in our regular planning?

Finished output: A consolidated master list of synthesized project ideas that address requirements across multiple age demographics.

Remote

Pre-assign letter and number codes in a shared roster spreadsheet. In Round 1, open letter breakout rooms where teams draft ideas on private scratch documents and choose their top 10. In Round 2, move participants into number breakout rooms to synthesize their proposals directly onto a designated slide in a shared slide deck. Return to the main room for gallery review by scrolling through the deck together.

Hybrid

Place remote participants into dedicated remote breakout rooms for Round 1 rather than splitting single remotes across physical tables. For Round 2, assign mixed breakout rooms online for remote participants while in-person participants regroup at room tables. Both physical and online teams post their final 10 ideas to a shared digital whiteboard so all participants can read every poster during the review.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may step back from vocal advocacy by serving as the team scribe or timekeeper.
• Adopting an age perspective is analytical rather than dramatic; participants can list practical constraints instead of acting out a character.
• Walking the room during the poster review is optional; participants may read seated using photos of the posters or digital whiteboard slides.

If the session gets stuck

Uneven attendance leaves a numbered group with only 1 or 2 participants during Round 2.

Disband any numbered group with fewer than 3 people. Reassign those individuals to adjacent numbered tables to represent their Round 1 age perspectives.

Last-minute dropouts leave a Round 1 age letter completely unrepresented in a Round 2 group.

Ask that Round 2 team to designate one member to champion the missing age group using the posted Round 1 scratch notes from that letter.

Participants rely on shallow stereotypes or caricature when representing an age bracket.

Intervene briefly to reframe the conversation around concrete physical accessibility, schedule, safety, or financial constraints.

Terms used here

• Framegame: A reusable activity structure whose subject matter can change while preserving the core dynamic and rules.
• Match and Mix: A two-round grouping structure where people first gather with matching peers, then redistribute so every team contains mixed perspectives.