Running a Successful User Journey Workshop with Your Team

In previous roles I have conducted numerous user research workshops to build a service-wide user experience journey. Here, I share my personal experience and insights from these workshops, which vary depending on the users, projects, and teams involved.

Discovery and Previous Research

To begin, it is essential to conduct discovery research focusing on your users. This can include interviews, surveys, ethnographic research, and analyzing existing analytics and usability studies. Reviewing previous research conducted within the last 12 months by other teams is also valuable. In one previous project, I combined all discovery research to create several user personas, covering all potential users and ensuring inclusivity and diversity.

Selecting the Location

Choosing the right location for the workshop can significantly impact engagement - unless you choose to host a remote workshop. While office meeting rooms are convenient, external collaborative spaces can provide a refreshing change of environment. For example, booking a space with amenities like free refreshments i've found can enhance participant engagement.

Regardless of the location, ensure it is:

• Fully inclusive and accessible
• Equipped with enough wall and floor space
• Furnished with rounded tables for group activities
• Supplied with flipchart paper, post-it notes, and a large TV screen

Workshop preparation

• 1. Define the goal: Clearly define the high-level goal of the workshop, focusing on the desired outcomes. For example, "The goal of this workshop is to create a draft high-level user journey that outlines the end-to-end experience for our users, including all forms of communication such as email, post, and telephone."
• 2. Plan the structure: Decide on the workshop duration and create a structured agenda with timings. I typically run workshops for 3-4 hours with 1-2 breaks to maintain focus. Full-day workshops can lead to loss of concentration, so I prefer half-day sessions.
• 3. Invite the right people: Invite key team members and user representatives based on the workshop goal. This can include product owners, user researchers, designers, content designers, marketing teams, and business analysts. I aim to keep the group size to 10-12 people, including a mix of disciplines and user representatives for diverse perspectives.

Create Inclusive User Journeys

To ensure accessibility and diversity in user journeys, invite diverse end users to participate in workshops. If this is not possible, ensure that at least half of your personas represent accessibility and diversity. For instance, a persona who is unsure about using your service and is also a wheelchair user can prompt discussions about creating an accessible service.

Facilitating the workshops

Effective facilitation is key to a successful workshop. Create a relaxed atmosphere, encourage participation, and ensure all voices are heard, especially quieter participants. Appointing a timekeeper can help manage the schedule efficiently.

Conclusion and Follow-Up

Conclude the workshop with a presentation of findings and a discussion. This helps in understanding different perspectives and refining the user journey.

After the workshop:

• Create a draft online version of the user journey using tools like Visio or Sketch
• Share the draft with internal teams and participants for feedback
• Send out an anonymous survey to gather feedback and improve future workshops

By adhering to these best practices, your user journey workshops can foster collaboration, inclusivity, and yield valuable insights for your projects, ultimately leading to a more user-centric service design.