Dice Breakers

Conversation Dice to Connect

Timeline

Role

Team

Skills

Nov - Dec 2025

UX Researcher & Designer

3 people

UX Research, Figma

Overview

I conducted user research, physically prototyped conversation die, and organized a 5-hour testing session with 28 total participants

User Research

  • Conducted 1 hour-long observation and 6 interviews, forming 4 general personas

  • Researched 10+ existing design solutions

Design/Product

  • Ideated through 30+ solutions

  • Designed ergonomic die to fit in the palm of hand

  • 3D-modeled and printed die

Testing/Feedback

  • Organized a casual testing session with 28 participants

  • Gathered feedback through Google Forms and in-person interviews

Problem

There is a lack of meaningful connections at Stanford’s Coupa Cafe

I observed that Coupa Cafe functions as a “shared solitude” space, where people are together but mainly focused on their own tasks. The environment feels designed to encourage focus/familiarity, which is why a lot of people already feel comfortable at Coupa Cafe. However, there isn't a low friction activity to bring people together.

How might we create low-pressure opportunities within Coupa Cafe that leverage its casual and central location to encourage thoughtful conversations among Stanford students?

User Research

I conducted 6 30-minute-long empathy interviews on both Coupa frequents and infrequents, forming 4 general personas

By starting with softball questions, I built rapport and then gradually learned about various opinions when people began to open up about their perspectives on Coupa.

Persona #1 - Maya

Energetic first-year who sees Coupa as one of campus's social hubs, but feels frustrated that the space works against connection


Needs:

  • Ways to signal openness in conversation

  • Activities to engage with others

  • Better table layouts

Persona #2 - Sarah

Quiet first-year who people-watches at Coupa but rarely initiates a new conversation


Needs:

  • Clear signals of who is open to talking

  • Concrete conversation starters

  • fdsfnjsd

Persona #3 - Jordan

First-year who is open to meeting people but only with a good reason


Needs:

  • visible conversation hooks

  • optional ways to engage in socializing

  • ways to see same people multiple times

Persona #4 - Alex

Junior who only gets coffee and sees Coupa as a purely functional Cafe


Needs:

  • space to stay low-pressure

  • no forced social instances/elements

  • fdnsjknfkjds

Ideation

I brainstormed ___

Product

The product should feel natural

I made a user flow

Testing

A 5-hour casual drop-in testing session was run with 28 total participants

At first, we observed from a distance. We also incentivized participation by providing a raffle opportunity for a Coupa Cafe gift card.

Collage of images from the testing session where people are trying out Dice Breakers

Feedback

I implemented both verbal 1-on-1 casual interviews and a feedback form, gaining 28 responses

Created a short Google Form with quantified questions and anonymous responses

  • Printed out a QR code for easy (and optional) scanning to remove any pressure of giving feedback

  • Incentivized participation by doing a raffle for $10 Coupa Gift Cards

40%

increase in people feeling closer to their conversation partner

100%

of users want to see this permanently at Coupa Cafe

What needs to be improved?

“I think that {this question} would be too awkward to ask if it were landed on during the first roll.” — Participant #26

Takeaways

To implement Dice Breakers at Stanford's Coupa Cafe

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