Facilitating UX Workshops: Study Guide

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Courses

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

• Facilitating UX Workshops
• Effective Ideation Techniques for UX Design
• Journey Mapping to Understand User Needs
• Service Blueprinting
• Generating Big Ideas with Design Thinking