Summary: Both UX workshops and usability tests benefit when facilitators are focused on goals, follow a meeting guide yet are open to improvisation, encourage participants to act, and don’t talk too much.
UX designers often profess they have strengths in facilitating UX workshops , but weaknesses in conducting research . On the flipside, many UX researchers feel unprepared for facilitating UX workshops but have command over a multitude of user-research methods.
The truth is that facilitating workshops and moderating user tests are not so different: you can transfer your facilitation skills from one to the other. This article discusses 5 facilitation techniques that can be applied in both settings.
Differences Between UX Workshops and User Tests
At their core, UX workshops and user tests are quite different; a few of the major differences are summarized in the table below.