How to design effective workshops for UX Research

Why workshops matter in UX Research

Great products aren’t designed in isolation—they’re shaped by real users, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams. Co-creation workshops bring everyone together to generate ideas, uncover user needs, and make research-driven decisions that impact the product roadmap.

We run weekly UX research sprints to help startups and product teams integrate user insights quickly. A core part of our process? Co-creation workshops—structured sessions that drive collaboration between internal teams, external users, and stakeholders.

To help you design your own co-creative sessions, we’ve created a Co-Creation Workshop Blueprint—a free, structured framework that makes it easy to plan and run impactful UX research workshops.

What is a Co-Creation Workshop?

A co-creation workshop is a structured session where teams collaborate with users, customers, or internal stakeholders to solve problems, generate ideas, and refine product 

Step 1: Define Your Workshop Goals

• What problem are we solving? (E.g. onboarding friction, usability issues, new feature validation)
• Who should be in the room? (Users, product managers, designers, developers, marketers)
• What outcomes do we need? (Insights, prototypes, or validated assumptions?)

Step 2: Select Your Participants

• Internal Teams → Product managers, designers, researchers, engineers
• External Users → Customers, beta testers, industry experts
• Stakeholders → Leadership, marketing, customer support

Tip: Keep groups small (5-10 participants) to encourage engagement & focused discussion.If a workshop is beyond 10 , hold break out rooms for discussions and activities.

Step 3: Plan Your Workshop Agenda

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Warm-up & Icebreaker (10-15 mins)

Ice breakers don’t need to be full of cringe activities, it can be an intro to the workshop and theme.An example might be asking each participant to describe a frustrating user experience they’ve had recently.

•  Set expectations and introduce participants.
•  Start with a quick, fun exercise to get creative energy flowing.

Main event activities vary in length. You can choose one longer method with a break, or pick two shorter methods to bring together. Below we have mapped out 4 different types of workshop that you will come across whilst conducting UX Research.

Problem Framing & Research Insights (20-30 mins)

• Present key UX research findings (pain points, user feedback).
•  Align the group on the challenge and what needs solving.

 Ideation & Concept Development (30-45 mins)

• Use brainstorming techniques like Crazy 8s (sketch 8 ideas in 8 minutes)
• Encourage rapid ideation without filtering ideas too early.

 Prototyping & Feedback (45-60 mins)

• Turn top ideas into low-fidelity prototypes (sketches, wireframes, sticky notes).
•  Users and stakeholders test & provide feedback.

Next Steps & Takeaways (15 mins)

• Summarize findings and key decisions.
•  Assign action items for product & UX teams.

Best Practices for Running a Co-Creation Workshop

• Facilitate, don’t dominate .Your job is to guide discussions, not lead them. Let users & stakeholders drive insights.
• Make it visual – Use sticky notes, sketches, Miro boards, and whiteboards to keep the session dynamic.
•  Document everything – Take photos, record insights, and create a shareable summary.
• Keep it fast & iterative – Prototype early, test often, and refine based on feedback.

Ready to transform your UX research? Download the Co-Creation Workshop Blueprint and start today!