UX workshops are a staple of the design thinking approach and for a good reason. They can help us answer important product and business questions, generate ideas and build understanding between cross functional teams quickly, and some of us find them quite fun as well!

According to the Nielsen Norman Group they support exactly what user experience is, a non siloed practice:

“To collect knowledge, generate new ideas, and ideate on design solutions, it’s best to bring people together”.

In this article, I will outline 3 tried and tested activity templates, including tips on why/when to use them, and also how to tailor them for remote collaboration.

1.The value proposition canvas

The value proposition canvas has two parts. One is created around the user: what are the benefits the users will have by using your product or service, what are the pain points and negative emotions they might encounter while trying to achieve their goals and what are the needs that they want to fulfill by using the product/service? The other one is focused on the business: what problems it solves (which could help discover the competitive advantages), what are the gains the business will have by solving these problems (financial, reputation etc) and what are the key product/service components and requirements that need to be in place to achieve them?

Template

When to use: During discovery & empathy workshops

Audience: Key stakeholders & team members involved in the project (including cross functional team members)

Why: Assess if people understand current state of play, understand business requirements, create clarity on user needs/pain points & build empathy for users, build agreement & establish common vision

Materials: Print the template in A5 paper size & have lots of pens**People:**1–15, **Time: **15–20 minutes to do, 3–5 minutes per person to share, allow 10 minutes at the end to discuss overall findings. Send the outcomes from the workshop in a nice presentation format as actions, vision statements about product/users/business or learnings.

⚡️Remote tip: Online workshop facilitation: Invite & brief attendees as usual, send them the templates ahead of the online workshop for either home printing or instruct people to recreate them on a piece of paper, ask them to take photos of them after the workshop & send them to you for post analysis if you need to.

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