Build the strongest case — then find its cracks
Ask AI to steel-man a rough problem framing, then switch sides and expose the three objections your team cannot dismiss.
Why
Why it earns its place
Separating construction from criticism makes confirmation-seeking harder. It surfaces assumptions worth testing, but does not prove the framing is right or replace evidence from users.
How
Run it
Bring the rough framing
Write the idea, problem statement, or How-Might-We in one to three sentences. Add only evidence your team can trace; do not polish away uncertainty first.
Build its strongest version
Ask AI to make the most coherent case for the framing. Mark every new claim, assumption, or piece of “evidence” that did not come from your inputs.
Switch sides completely
Feed the steel-man back and request the three strongest objections. Keep the objections your team cannot answer, then turn them into research questions or framing changes.
Ready to paste
Prompt
I want to test this rough design framing rigorously:
[paste the idea, problem statement, or How-Might-We in 1–3 sentences]
Verified evidence we already have:
[paste short source-linked evidence, or “none yet”]
First, build the strongest coherent case for this framing. Separate claims supported by my evidence from assumptions or general knowledge. Do not invent user needs, quotes, facts, or sources. End with: strongest logic, assumptions introduced, and evidence still missing.- Switch sides. Give the three strongest objections, their logic, and why each is hard to dismiss. Do not defend it.
TipThe objection that is hardest to answer becomes a research question, not a reason to ask AI for reassurance.
The AIdea layer
The designer’s call
- Human core
- The team owns the framing, evidence, and decision to revise it; AI only helps articulate competing arguments.
- The trade
- Sharper arguments ↔ fluent invented support. Fix it by separating supplied evidence from assumptions and checking every claim.
- Skip AI when
- Skip AI when the framing contains confidential strategy or the team is using argument quality as a substitute for user research.
Check before use
Watch out
Do not paste personal or confidential research. A persuasive steel-man can make a weak framing feel proven; label unsupported claims, keep the strongest objections, and return to real evidence before deciding.
Source of truth
Evidence
The public source recommends a two-step steel-man and objection sequence; applying it to design framing is an untested AIdea adaptation with no measured outcome.
Andy Wood · How to Stress-Test Any Idea With AI