The conference room at TechCorp was tense. Rachel, the head of product, had just presented her team's new app interface to the board. The feedback was brutal.
"It's too technical," said the CEO. "Our users will never understand this," added the head of sales. "We need expert input," concluded the CFO. "Let's hire a UX consultant."
Rachel's heart sank. A consultant would cost $50,000 and delay the launch by months. As the meeting ended, she noticed Jake, the quiet junior developer, staying behind.
"I might have a solution," Jake said. "Give me 30 minutes?"
Rachel was skeptical but desperate. "Fine. But consultants charge $500 an hour for this expertise."
Jake smiled. "This one works for free."
He opened ChatGPT and began typing. But instead of asking for generic UX advice, he did something different. He assigned it a role—not just any role, but a carefully crafted expert persona.
"You are Dr. Naomie Chin, a UX researcher with 15 years experience specializing in complex B2B interfaces. You have a PhD in cognitive psychology from Stanford, and have led design teams at Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Your superpower is translating technical complexity into intuitive user experiences. You believe that the best interfaces disappear—users shouldn't think about the tool, only their task. You're reviewing our app interface with fresh eyes..."
What happened next changed everything. The AI didn't just give advice—it channeled the expertise, perspective, and insights of a world-class UX expert. It asked probing questions Rachel's team had missed. It identified cognitive load issues they hadn't considered. It suggested solutions grounded in psychological principles, and industry best practices.
By the end of the hour, they had a complete UX audit, and redesign strategy that would have cost $50,000 from a real consultant.
"How did you do that?" Rachel asked, stunned.
"The Role Method," Jake replied. "When you tell AI who to be, not just what to do, you unlock capabilities most people don't know exist."