This article is a compilation of our articles and videos on topics related to designing and facilitating UX workshops. Resources cover:

  • Structuring and planning UX workshops
  • Activities and methods for UX workshops
  • Facilitation and participant management
  • Guides for specific types of UX Workshops
  • Remote UX workshop tips and tools

Within each category, the resources are shown in recommended reading order. 

UX Workshops: An Overview

Workshops are an indispensable component of any UX practitioner’s toolbox of methods, useful for uncovering diverse perspectives, promoting mutual understanding of ideas and plans, and fostering inclusive decision making.

These types of collaborative sessions — intentionally planned and appropriately applied — can supercharge momentum and drive progress on projects in ways that standard meetings aren’t able to do. That’s because meetings are best suited for information sharing, whereas well-designed workshops enable hands-on problem solving.

Meetings are best suited for information sharing, whereas workshops enable hands-on problem solving.

If you believe a UX workshop could help you reach your project goals, but you’re not sure how to plan, design, or lead one, these resources will get you started.

Structuring and Planning UX Workshops

Effective workshops are a result of good planning. Before jumping into a workshop, use the following resources to learn how to:

  • Understand when a workshop is an appropriate format
  • Plan and structure UX workshops
  • Create effective UX–workshop agendas

Number

 Link

Format

Description

1

UX Workshops vs. Meetings: What’s the Difference?

Article

Definition of a UX workshop and  differences in purpose, scope, length, structure, and preparation time between workshops and meetings

2

UX Workshops vs. Meetings: What’s the Difference?

Video

3

Planning Effective UX Workshop Agendas

Article

A 6-step process for systematically planning and formalizing UX workshop agendas

4

How to Create a UX Workshop Agenda

Video

5

A 4 Minute UX Workshop Facilitator's Guide

Video

Understanding the high-level components of facilitation (prep work, agendas, facilitation, and outputs)

6

The Diverge and Converge Technique for UX Workshops 

Article

How to apply the diverge-then-converge method to workshop activities

7

First Diverge, Then Converge During UX Workshops

Video

8

Planning Will Save Your UX Workshop

Video

An NN/g panelist sharing the importance of advance planning to handle unexpected workshop scenarios

9

A Model for Conducting UX Workshops and Exercises

Article

A 3-step process to introduce, conduct, and reflect on UX-workshop activities

Activities and Methods for UX Workshops

Selecting the right activities to drive engagement, encourage contributions, and help participants create valuable artifacts and outputs is a critical part of workshop planning. Use these resources to:

  • Learn a set of foundational workshop activities
  • Understand how and when to use core activities
  • Learn tips for facilitating activity-driven segments of workshops

Number

 Link

Format

Description

1

Foundational UX Workshop Activities

Article

Tips for using and adapting 7 fundamental workshop activities

2

7 Fundamental Activities for UX Workshops

Video

3

UX Workshop Energizers and Icebreakers

Video

3 quick game-like activities you can use with participants in a UX workshop to get the team energized

4

Affinity Diagramming for Collaboratively Sorting UX Findings and Design Ideas

Article

How and when to use affinity diagramming (a collaborative sorting method)

5

Affinity Diagramming: Collaborate, Sort and Prioritize UX Ideas

Video

6

Dot Voting: A Simple Decision-Making and Prioritizing Technique in UX

Article

How and when to use dot voting (a collaborative forced-ranking method)

7

Dot Voting in the UX Design Process

Video

8

Using Prioritization Matrices to Inform UX Decisions

Article

Using prioritization matrices to facilitate objective discussion of ideas

9

How to Prioritize Ideas from UX Brainstorming Sessions

Video

An introduction to 2 workshop techniques for helping teams discuss and rank ideas

10

Parking Lots in UX Meetings and Workshops

Article

Tips and recommendations for using the parking-lot technique during UX workshops

11

The "Parking Lot" in UX Workshops: Friend or Foe?

Video

Facilitation and Participant Management

One of the most challenging parts of facilitating UX workshops is managing the various personalities and perspectives in the room: encouraging full participation, helping naturally reserved people contribute, and redirecting overly dominant participants towards shared goals. This list of resources covers:

  • Facilitation tips and guidance
  • How to handle specific personality types during group discussions and activities
  • Facilitating with stakeholders in the room

Number

 Link

Format

Description

1

Workshop Facilitation 101

Article

A set of simple facilitation principles to increase confidence as a workshop facilitator

2

Facilitation 101

Video

3

How to Handle Dominating Participants in UX Workshops: 3 Tactics

Article

3 intervention tactics to try with participants who monopolize activities and limit diversity of perspectives

4

Facilitating UX Workshops with Stakeholders in the Room

Video

How to maximize positive contribution of stakeholders while minimizing disruptive or negative impact

5

The Science of Silence: Intentional Silence as a Moderation Technique

Article

Using deliberate periods of silence to elicit participant contributions and build trust with workshop participants

6

How to Get Stakeholders to Sketch: A Magic Formula

Article

4 variables to use in workshops to make group sketching productive and effective

7

How to Get Stakeholders to Sketch: A Magic Formula

Video

Guides for Specific Types of UX Workshops

Some workshops follow a basic structure of activities and do not need to be reinvented each time. Use these resources to learn about some specific types of UX workshops and get guidance for designing and running your own, including:

  • Journey-mapping workshops
  • Design-studio workshops
  • Service-blueprinting workshops
  • UX-roadmapping workshops

Number

 Link

Format

Description

1

5 UX Workshops and When to Use Them: A Cheat Sheet

Article

An overview of 5 common UX workshops and when to use them in the overall design timeline

2

How to Run a Journey-Mapping Workshop: A Step-by-Step Case Study

Article

A step-by-step guide to running a journey-mapping workshop with stakeholders and users

3

Facilitating an Effective Design Studio Workshop

Article

How to lead workshop participants through the 4 phases of a design-studio workshop with sample activities

4

A Guide to Service-Blueprinting Workshops

Article

A step-by-step guide for planning, conducting, and synthesizing outputs from a service-blueprinting workshop

5

UX-Roadmapping Workshops: Agenda + Activities

Article

A step-by-step guide for planning, conducting, and synthesizing outputs from a UX-roadmapping workshop

Tips and Tools for Remote UX Workshops

Remote workshops offer many benefits that in-person workshops do not, including increased convenience, flexibility, and inclusiveness. However, facilitating in a virtual environment comes with its own set of challenges, too. These resources cover:

  • Tools for remote collaboration and ideation
  • Tips for virtual facilitation
  • Guidance for planning remote workshops

Number

 Link

Format

Description

1

Tools for Remote UX Workshops

Article

How to select the most useful and appropriate tools for various types of remote workshop activities

2

Tools for Running Remote UX Workshops

Video

3

When Remote Workshops Fail

Article

Helpful dos and don’t’s for planning remote workshops

4

Remote UX Workshop Challenges

Video

Virtual UX Conference participants sharing tips for running UX workshops remotely

5

Remote Ideation: Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

Article

The benefits and challenges of using both synchronous and asynchronous ideation techniques for remote collaboration

6

4 Ways to Share Sketches in Remote Ideation

Video

4 practical methods for remote teams who want to share sketches during design and critique workshops

7

Remote UX Work: Guidelines and Resources

Article

Overall guidelines for remote UX work, workshops, and collaboration

Courses

NN/g offers the following hands-on, in-depth courses that cover facilitation and workshop-based methods: