27 UX Workshop Activities to Use in Your Next UX Workshop

The success of a UX workshop depends on more than gathering people into a room. What truly makes an ideation session effective is how you structure it and the activities you choose.

The right activity at the right moment can unlock creativity, reveal hidden assumptions, align stakeholders, or bring clarity to an otherwise messy problem space.

This guide walks through twenty seven proven UX workshop activities you can use in discovery sessions, empathy exercises, design ideation, prioritization work, critique rounds, and workshop wrap ups.

Let’s jump in!

🔎 Discovery activities

Discovery activities help teams uncover what they already know, what they think they know, and what they still need to explore. These exercises give structure to the early stage of a project and prevent teams from jumping into solutions before understanding the problem.

They are ideal for kickoff workshops, research planning sessions, and any moment when clarity is missing.

1. Stakeholder mapping

Stakeholder mapping helps the team align on who matters most throughout the project. By listing stakeholders and sorting them by influence, interest, or involvement, teams quickly see the political and practical landscape surrounding their work.

This activity is especially valuable when working with multiple departments or when the decision chain is unclear. The clarity it brings early on can prevent miscommunication and ensure the right people are involved at the right time.

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Materials: Sticky notes, whiteboard, markers

Steps:

1. Ask participants to list all individuals and groups connected to the product.

2. Cluster entries by influence, interest, or relationship.

3. Discuss overlaps, gaps, or stakeholders who may require more engagement.

2. The four buckets exercise

This activity gives the team a structured way to conduct assumption testing. Participants categorize insights into what they know, what they assume, what is still unknown, and what they need to learn.

The exercise often uncovers hidden assumptions that would otherwise guide design choices without validation. It also produces a ready-made research plan since the “unknowns” and “need to learn” buckets naturally become candidate topics for UX research.

Time: 25 minutes

Materials: Board divided into four labeled sections

Steps:

1. Participants add sticky notes under: Known facts, Assumptions, Unknowns, Research Opportunities.

2. Review the board together and identify areas needing validation.

3. Define which unknowns must be addressed before design begins.

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3. Problem-framing

Problem framing helps prevent teams from solving the wrong problem. Participants take all available evidence and rewrite the challenge in their own words to uncover blind spots or misunderstandings.

When the group finally agrees on one problem statement, it becomes the anchor for all later decisions. This is a powerful moment in a workshop because it aligns everyone not only on what the problem is but why it matters to users.

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: Problem statement template

Steps:

1. Present existing evidence about the challenge.

2. Have participants rephrase the challenge using formats like “Users struggle because…”

3. Consolidate into a single statement that feels accurate and actionable.

4. Context mapping

Context mapping broadens the conversation beyond immediate product interactions. The team explores external factors like environment, constraints, technology, social influences, and organizational processes.

These discussions often reveal why users behave the way they do or why certain solutions may not work in real life. By mapping the world around the product, the team gains a deeper appreciation of the ecosystem their UX design must support.

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: Whiteboard or a Miro board

Steps:

1. Draw concentric circles or categories such as People, Processes, Technology, and Environment.

2. Ask participants to add insights, constraints, and forces at play.

3. Discuss patterns and tensions that may shape design decisions.

🌱 Empathy activities

Empathy activities allow teams to step into the user’s shoes and understand motivations, emotions, and everyday struggles.

They are critical when working with complex user groups, when recent research is scarce, or when stakeholders have developed tunnel vision. These exercises create a shared emotional foundation the team can reference throughout the UX design process.

5. Empathy mapping

Empathy mapping helps participants see beyond functional requirements and focus on the emotional and psychological dimensions of user behavior. Teams explore what users think, feel, say, and do in a given situation, often revealing frustrations or hidden motivations.

This activity works well before user  journey mapping, persona creation, or idea generation because it deepens the team’s sense of who they are designing for.

Time: 30 to 40 minutes

Materials: Empathy map template

Steps:

1. Introduce a target user or persona.

2. In groups, fill in each quadrant of the empathy map.

3. Discuss emerging patterns and emotions.

6. Proto-persona creation

Proto personas blend cross-functional knowledge into early user models that the team can work with before full research is complete. Participants describe goals, motivations, behaviors, and challenges while acknowledging which parts are assumptions.

This exercise helps teams move forward with a shared understanding while highlighting what must be validated with research.

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: Templates for goals, behaviors, motivations

Steps:

1. Collect team knowledge from support, research, product, and marketing.

2. Draft personas based on behaviors and motivations rather than demographics alone.

3. Identify which assumptions need research validation.

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7. User storytelling

Storytelling invites participants to share user experiences in a narrative format rather than through isolated data points. These stories bring emotion and nuance into the conversation, which often leads to a more empathetic design review.

They also help teams better understand the context of user behavior because they emphasize the “why” behind actions rather than just the “what.”

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: Paper or whiteboard

Steps:

1. Participants share short stories of real or imagined user experiences.

2. Collect pain points, motivations, and environmental details.

3. Identify recurring themes.

8. Day in the life

This activity expands user insights over time, showing how the product fits into a larger daily routine. Participants plot out a typical day for the user, noting moments of stress, opportunity, distraction, or need.

These insights often reveal constraints that influence design decisions such as time pressure, device switching, environmental noise, or emotional states. It is a great prelude to a more detailed journey mapping session.

Time: 25 minutes

Materials: Timeline template

Steps:

1. Map a typical day highlighting moments related to the product.

2. Identify where frustrations or unmet needs occur.

3. Connect these moments to opportunity areas.

🫟 Design activities

Design activities encourage creativity, exploration, and divergent thinking. They help teams break out of habitual solutions, explore unfamiliar concepts, and move toward more refined ideas.

These exercises are ideal at the beginning of the UX design process or whenever the team needs to refresh stale thinking.

9. Crazy 8s

Crazy 8s pushes participants beyond their first, most obvious ideas. By sketching eight variations in eight minutes, teams generate a broad range of concepts that fuel deeper exploration.

The point is to generate volume, not polish. When shared with the group, these sketches surface themes worth exploring further.

Time: 10 to 12 minutes

Materials: Paper folded into eight sections

Steps:

1. Set a timer and sketch one idea per minute.

2. Encourage variation rather than refinement.

3. Share outputs and highlight unexpected concepts.

10. How might we

This activity turns problems into creative prompts. Teams take user pain points and rewrite them as opportunities for exploration.

These prompts help break down large, messy challenges into manageable pieces and set the tone for an ideation session. They can be used throughout the workshop to steer conversations back toward productive, solution-oriented thinking.

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: Sticky notes, markers

Steps:

1. Reframe pain points into “How might we” prompts.

2. Cluster and refine the most promising statements.

3. Use them as inspiration for ideation sessions.

11. User journey mapping

User journey mapping visualizes how users move through tasks and interactions with the product. As teams add touchpoints, emotions, pain points, and opportunities, patterns start to emerge that guide design decisions.

User Journey maps are especially powerful when linked to user research since they highlight gaps between expectation and reality.

Time: 45 to 60 minutes

Materials: Journey map template

Steps:

1. Identify stages, actions, emotions, and touchpoints.

2. Add friction points and unmet needs.

3. Discuss improvement opportunities.

12. UX storyboarding

Storyboarding helps participants envision the experience through illustrated narrative scenes. These sketches reveal context, user emotions, and interaction details that might not surface in conversation alone.

This activity is particularly helpful right before prototyping because it forces teams to clarify flow, intention, and emotional touchpoints.

Time: 30 to 45 minutes

Materials: Storyboard template

Steps:

1. Sketch key moments in the user experience.

2. Add context such as environment or emotional triggers.

3. Share and refine narratives.

⚖️ Prioritization activities

Prioritization activities help teams choose where to focus their efforts when resources are limited or the idea list grows too long. They move workshops from exploration into action and prevent teams from losing momentum after ideation.

13. Dot voting

Dot voting simplifies decision making by revealing collective preferences. Participants distribute a limited number of dots across ideas they believe deserve attention, which surfaces shared priorities. This is a quick way to filter a long idea list before deeper evaluation.

Time: 10 minutes

Materials: Dots or an online voting tool

Steps:

1. Present the list of ideas.

2. Give participants a set number of votes.

3. Highlight the top options and discuss.

14. Impact-effort matrix

The impact-effort matrix helps teams balance value against feasibility.

Placing ideas in one of four quadrants quickly reveals which items offer quick wins and which require major investment. This activity encourages rational decision making by grounding discussion in both user value and implementation realities.

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Materials: A two-axis matrix

Steps:

1. Plot initiatives by impact and effort.

2. Identify quick wins and long-term strategies.

3. Remove items that offer little return.

15. MoSCoW method

MoSCoW prioritization organizes items into must haves, should haves, could haves, and won’t haves. This classification helps teams avoid overcommitting and clarifies what is essential versus what is nice to have. It’s ideal for UX roadmap planning or early prototyping cycles.

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: Categories on a board

Steps:

1. Place initiatives into the four categories.

2. Debate placement where needed.

3. Finalize essential vs optional work.

16. Value vs risk analysis

Value vs risk analysis exposes uncertain opportunities and highlights where research is needed.

Teams evaluate ideas based on both potential impact and the risk associated with assumptions. This is an excellent tool for deciding which areas deserve product discovery research before committing resources.

Time: 25 minutes

Materials: Matrix or quadrant diagram

Steps:

1. Place ideas according to potential value and level of uncertainty.

2. Highlight areas requiring research before commitment.

3. Identify opportunities with strong payoff.

💬 Critique activities

Critique activities aim to help teams improve ideas, reduce bias, and build shared standards around UX quality. These techniques encourage structured feedback rather than subjective opinions.

17. Design critique

This workshop activity helps teams assess concepts through the lens of usability, accessibility, and alignment with user needs.

Here, presenters share their work without defending it, and participants offer structured feedback. This method strengthens UX maturity and improves collaboration.

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Materials: Screens or sketches

Steps:

1. Present designs without justification.

2. Invite critiques framed around user goals and heuristics.

3. Capture action oriented feedback.

18. Feedback ladder

The feedback ladder introduces a structured flow, moving from clarifying questions to positive observations, concerns, and suggestions.

Following this sequence ensures that feedback remains balanced, constructive, and actionable, especially in multidisciplinary groups.

Time: 15 minutes

Materials: Ladder framework

Steps:

1. Start with clarification, then value, then concerns.

2. End with actionable suggestions.

3. Avoid personal preferences and keep focus on UX design goals.

19. Silent critique

This activity encourages impartial evaluation by having participants review sketches or screens individually before sharing insights as a group. The format gives quieter participants equal influence and reduces anchoring bias.

Time: 10 to 15 minutes
Materials: Sketches or prototypes

Steps:

1. Participants add written feedback individually.

2. Review as a group and identify themes.

3. Decide on next iterations.

20. Role-play feedback

Role play feedback asks participants to evaluate designs from different user or stakeholder perspectives. By stepping into roles such as first time user or customer support agent, teams uncover nuanced reactions that inform later iterations.

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: Scenario cards

Steps:

1. Assign roles such as new user, admin, or support agent.

2. Review design decisions from that lens.

3. Capture insights that would otherwise be overlooked.

🫂 Ice-breakers

Ice breakers help set the tone for the workshop, create psychological safety, and warm up the group before diving into deeper UX activities. The following exercises are simple, fast, and effective for teams of any size.

21. One word check-in

This activity invites participants to choose a single word that reflects how they are arriving today.

It helps the facilitator read the room and gives insight into overall energy and mindset. It also encourages everyone to speak early in the session, which often leads to greater participation later.

Time: 5 minutes

Steps:

1. Ask each participant to think of one word that reflects how they are arriving today.

2. Go around the room and invite everyone to share their word aloud.

3. Acknowledge any noticeable themes such as high energy or stress.

4. Adjust the workshop tone or pacing accordingly if multiple participants express similar feelings.

22. Two truths and a lie (UX edition)

This lighthearted warm-up helps people relax, get to know each other, and build trust before working through more structured UX activities. Also, adding a UX twist makes it both fun and relevant.

Time: 8 minutes

Steps:

1. Ask each participant to prepare two true statements and one false statement related to their UX experience.

2. Invite one participant at a time to read their three statements out loud.

3. Have the group guess which statement is the lie.

4. Reveal the answer and move to the next person.

23. Your UX superpower

This exercise highlights each participant’s strongest UX skills and encourages appreciation of diverse strengths within the team.

Time: 5 minutes

Steps:

1. Ask participants to identify the UX skill they consider their “superpower.”

2. Invite them to share it with the group in one short sentence.

3. Capture these strengths on a board or virtual canvas so the team can reference them during group work.

24. Usability heuristics bingo

This playful exercise introduces usability heuristics in a fun, interactive way. It encourages participants to think critically about UX issues from the start.

Time: 10 minutes

Steps:

1. Prepare bingo sheets with common usability heuristics or UX issues.

2. Show participants real product screenshots, interface snippets, or short clips from usability tests.

3. Ask them to mark off heuristics as they spot them in the examples.

4. The first person to complete a row or column wins.

5. Use our usability heuristics guide as inspiration when creating bingo items.

👋 Wrap-up activities

Wrap-up activities help teams synthesize what they discovered, translate insights into action, and end the session on a positive, collaborative note.

These exercises are short but essential because they reinforce learning and ensure that the workshop leads to meaningful follow-through.

25. What so what now what

This structured reflection activity helps participants make sense of what happened during the workshop and turn insights into actionable next steps. It brings the group back together and ensures everyone leaves with the same understanding of outcomes.

Time: 10 to 15 minutes

Steps:

1. Ask participants to briefly describe what happened in the workshop, such as activities completed and insights gathered.

2. Invite them to explain so what, focusing on why these insights matter for the project or the users.

3. Have the group identify now what by outlining decisions, next steps, or actions that need to happen after the workshop.

4. Capture these responses on a shared board so responsibilities and priorities are clearly visible.

26. Commitment wall

The commitment wall exercise helps turn discussion into action by having participants declare what they will personally follow through on. It builds accountability and prevents ideas from fading once the session ends.

Time: 10 minutes

Steps:

1. Ask each participant to write down one or two commitments they will take ownership of based on workshop outcomes.

2. Have participants place their commitments on a wall, board, or digital canvas.

3. Review the commitments together to identify dependencies or overlaps.

4. Assign owners or teams where necessary and confirm timelines for follow-up.

27. Appreciation round

Ending on a positive note boosts morale and strengthens collaboration. The appreciation round reinforces the value of each participant’s contribution and helps close the workshop with a sense of team unity.

Time: 5 minutes

Steps:

1. Invite participants to think of one thing they appreciated about someone else’s contribution during the workshop.

2. Go around the room and let each person share their appreciation out loud.

3. Encourage specificity rather than general praise so the feedback feels genuine and meaningful.

4. Close the session by acknowledging the collective effort and the importance of continued collaboration.

Wrapping up

The activities you ultimately choose shape the impact of your UX workshop. Discovery exercises lay the foundation for understanding. Empathy methods deepen awareness of user needs. Ideation creates possibilities. Prioritization turns ideas into direction. Critique helps refine quality. Wrap-up activities ensure clarity and commitment.

Whichever mix you choose, support your session with tools that keep the work grounded in real user data. UXtweak helps you run fast surveys, card sorting, prototype tests, and usability studies that make your UX workshop outputs more meaningful and evidence based.

Try it for free today and bring more structure and accuracy into your next workshop. 🐝

Conduct UX Research with UXtweak!

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