1 hr 51 min See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Doing UX Research alongside AI workshop- part 5

This workshop builds on the Miniclass Rethinking User Research with AI (Free with Open Circle membership). In this workshop, "Doing UX Research alongside AI," we will conduct user research using AI throughout the UX Research (UXR) process. We'll test workflows and tools together in a hands-on format.

Why AI in User Research?

Incorporating AI in UX research can potentially drive research productivity. Experimenting with new tools and methodologies keeps UX researchers (and those wanting to or doing user research) at the forefront of the field, enabling you to explore new possibilities and stay competitive. Embracing AI-assisted tools is crucial for staying relevant.

Figure this out, or somebody else will for you (like your Product team).

This workshop aims to provide practical skills and an understanding of using AI tools to gather and interpret user data. This includes understanding user needs, preferences, and pain points with greater precision. These insights can inform design decisions, leading to more efficient data analysis and stakeholder decision support.

About the workshop

This workshop provides a playground to explore AI-augmented User Research. You learn how AI can enhance user research, from automating data collection to analyzing user behavior patterns. This integration can streamline the research process, making it more efficient and accurate.

Yes, but knowing how and when to bring in AI is critical. In this workshop, we will get hands-on experience with tools. Frank Spillers will facilitate your discovery, helping you fold AI into your research process without losing core UX best practices.

We will discuss the ethical use of AI in user research, expose AI-assisted weaknesses, and identify how to manage AI to avoid mistakes. Overall, the workshop will equip you with a cutting-edge exploration into emerging AI-assisted UX research workflows. The goal is to make you more proficient in blending AI with UX research for better outcomes.

Topics we will cover:

Current UX Research AI tools: pros and cons
Playing with tools (hands-on effort)
Shortcuts with AI: good and bad for UXR
Governance model for AI-assisted User Research
Managing stakeholders: "Democratizing User Research with AI"

6 hours total over 3 sessions Cost: $199 (non-member); $150 Open Circle member; Free for UXIC members

About UX Inner Circle Workshops:

These workshops are live events facilitated by Frank Spillers, a leading UX and Service Design consultant and trainer. Workshops involve group activities and discussions, with more hands-on experience in learning the material presented. Online workshops are included as part of your UX Inner Circle membership. They allow a deep study of UX topics, with insights drawn from process best practices and case studies from Frank Spillers two decades in the field. Join the monthly subscription UX Inner Circle to get this free plus 250+ videos of past events.

Why Join?

The UX Inner Circle is a professional learning community with a program of monthly events for UX researchers and designers, managers, and directors practicing UX and Service Design. We are a small group of currently 50 UX and Service Designers, Directors, and Researchers currently 100% working in UX. Attendees come from orgs like Harvard, Google, IBM, Accenture, Deloitte, Capital One, US Bank, healthcare, government, and non-profits. So why join?

Refine or expand your current skills– push the boundaries of your learning.
Get advice and guidance: Put a top-performing UX expert (Frank Spillers, CEO of award-winning UX firm Experience Dynamics and top instructor at Interaction Design Foundation) in your pocket. Stay connected with the latest on what Frank is thinking and prioritizing in UX and Service Design.
Ask other UXIC colleagues anything on a dedicated private Slack channel. Also, collaborate during monthly meet-ups (Masterclasses).
Get a promotion at work or upgrade your skills, portfolio, or process knowledge. This is the #1 reason folks keep subscribing to the UX Inner Circle.

30 Apr 202513 UTConline

Doing UX Research alongside AI workshop- part 5 3795

2 hours Part 2, see Part 1 here

Problem Framing for UX Workshop

Building on our recent Are you Solving the Right Problem? masterclass, this workshop dives into a workshop format you can use as part of your problem space discovery and problem definition step.

What is Problem Framing?

Problem framing is a structured process for identifying and defining the core issue that a project seeks to address. Instead of focusing on possible solutions, problem framing centers on uncovering what exactly needs solving. This involves examining assumptions, understanding user needs, and aligning team members on a shared problem definition. Why it matters: Right problem framing acts as a compass, guiding the design process and ensuring that every step aligns with both user needs and business objectives. It enables teams to focus their efforts, prioritize features, and avoid the common pitfall of solving symptoms rather than root causes.

Agenda: Problem Framing workshop

Problem Framing (using Miro/Mural templates)
Preparing your team: Context debrief
Learning Assumption mapping
Write problem statements and how to use them.
Participate in the Problem Framingworkshop itself but also...
Learn how to conduct the workshop with your team (process tips)

About UX Inner Circle Workshops:

Why Join?

Refine or expand your current skills– push the boundaries of your learning.
Get advice and guidance: Put a top-performing UX expert (Frank Spillers, CEO of award-winning UX firm Experience Dynamics and top instructor at Interaction Design Foundation) in your pocket. Stay connected with the latest on what Frank is thinking and prioritizing in UX and Service Design.
Ask other UXIC colleagues anything on a dedicated private Slack channel. Also, collaborate during monthly meet-ups (Masterclasses).
Get a promotion at work or upgrade your skills, portfolio, or process knowledge. This is the #1 reason folks keep subscribing to the UX Inner Circle.

25 Apr 202519 UTCzoom

Problem Framing for UX Workshop pt 2 3789

69 minutes We’re trialing a new format - stay tuned for part 2 and instructions on how it works!

Inclusive AI Masterclass_Flipped

From recruitment tools to chatbots and city services, AI is shaping decisions that affect people’s lives. When built without care, these systems can exclude, harm, or misrepresent. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

If you’re building AI-powered products or services—this masterclass is for you.

AI can reflect bias, or it can challenge it. This masterclass is for teams building AI-powered products and services who want to do better. You’ll learn practical methods to design for inclusion from the start, avoid harm, and challenge biased systems. Through real-world examples, discussion, and guided activities, we’ll unpack what it means to build inclusive, human-centered AI (HCAI). This session is hands-on, collaborative, and focused on skills you can apply right away—across teams, tools, and workflows.

Topics We’ll Cover in this Inclusive AI Masterclass

What Inclusive AI means: definitions, tensions, and opportunities
Bias in AI: where it comes from and how it shows up
Inclusive data practices (collection, labelling, and audit points)
Ethical frameworks vs. lived experience insights
Designing for edge cases and “extreme” users
Inclusion prompts for model training and prompt engineering
Techniques to co-design with underrepresented groups

About Monthly MasterClasses:

These monthly meet-ups are topic-driven live events with an informal presentation by Frank Spillers and group activities and discussions. Monthly MasterClasses are included as part of your membership. They allow a deep dive into important UX topics, with insights drawn from process best practices and case studies from Frank’s two decades in the field. How to access this masterclass...

Open Circle: FREE (Get it FREE>> Join Open Circle)
Inner Circle: Included in your $99 a month Inner Circle membership (50% discount available) for all events plus Digital Library 250+ videos, mentoring, hands-on workshops and more...

10 Jul 202517 UTCzoom

Inclusive AI Masterclass- part 1 3782

08 Apr 202513 UTC

Reading Circle- Closing the Loop cpt 1-2

120 minutes

Defending User Research Masterclass

User research doesn’t always get the respect it deserves. Sometimes it’s ignored. Sometimes it's questioned. Often, it's rushed, underfunded, or treated like a checkbox. And researchers—especially solo ones—spend as much time justifying the work as doing it.

Sound familiar?

This isn’t a call to complain. It’s a chance to reframe.

Because defending user research isn’t about fighting people—it’s about designing smarter ways to bring others along. To show how insight connects to value. To stop speaking research-to-research and start speaking human-to-human.

Why it matters:
Good research often dies in silence. It’s misunderstood, sidelined, or rushed. But when done well—and explained clearly—it reduces risk, accelerates decisions, and builds better products. This session helps you make that case, again and again, without reinventing the wheel.

In this Masterclass, Frank Spillers will cut to the tried and tested techniques he’s used over 25 years to sell the value (and the work if you’re an agency or consultant) to organisations.

Developing your User Research defence strategy

Getting buy-in from your stakeholders is vitally important (See Stakeholder Management masterclass series). This is why UX maturity follows User Research maturity. Product managers and others that don’t ‘get it’, end up relying on Inside-Out design.

In this Masterclass, Frank Spillers will share practical approaches to get buy-in, explain your work, and scale insight across your org. Whether you're a researcher, designer, or ResearchOps lead—this session helps you turn resistance into alignment.

You’ll learn how to pitch research in business terms, handle skeptics without burning out, and set up lightweight systems to make research stick. We cover real-world tactics with conversational scripts, stakeholder maps, quick-explain visuals and more.

Who it's for:
UX teams, solo researchers, designers who do research, and anyone struggling to make research visible, valued, and scalable in their organisation.

Topics we will cover in this masterclass:

Selling research to leadership
Explaining methods to non-researchers
Converting skeptics with evidence
Scaling with ResearchOps
Building credibility through storytelling
Pre-empting resistance with clarity and planning

About Monthly MasterClasses:

Why Join?

The UX Inner Circle is a professional learning community with a program of monthly events for UX researchers and designers, managers, and directors practicing UX and Service Design. We are a small group of 50+ UX and Service Designers, Directors, and Researchers currently 100% working in UX. Attendees come from orgs like Harvard, Google, IBM, Accenture, Deloitte, Capital One, US Bank, healthcare, government, and non-profits. So why join?

Refine or expand your current skills-- push the boundaries of your learning.
Get advice and guidance: Put a top-performing UX expert (Frank Spillers, CEO of award-winning UX firm Experience Dynamics and top instructor at Interaction Design Foundation) in your pocket. Stay connected with the latest on what Frank is thinking and prioritizing in UX and Service Design.
Ask anything to other UXIC colleagues on a dedicated private Slack channel. Also, collaborate during monthly meet-ups (Masterclasses).
Get a promotion at work or upgrade your skills, portfolio, or process knowledge. This is the #1 reason folks keep subscribing to the UX Inner Circle.

Get this event FREE:

Join FREE, or Paid- access starting at $99 USD/ mo.
Membership includes access to ALL monthly event recordings and more (going back 25 years of Frank's UX career). 200+ recordings. Monthly live meet-ups (Masterclass topics) and workshops (every other month). Miniclasses (short webinars) and more...

Financial inclusiveness membership: USD$49 per month for Nonprofit-Student- or you live in the Global South/ Emerging Market (.org; .edu) Regular membership: USD$99 Individual per month 20% discount on Annual Price; switch anytime, cancel anytime.

08 May 202517 UTCZoom

Defending User Research 3766

1 hr 30 minutes

Why UX stakeholder management tactics?

Stakeholder engagement is crucial for successful UX and service design projects. It ensures alignment between the team’s efforts and the organization’s goals. Stakeholders bring insights about strategic priorities, operational constraints, and silo’ed knowledge that shapes the design process. Without their input, teams risk creating solutions that miss key business or stakeholder insights, leading to wasted efforts, more risks or missed opportunities. Engaged stakeholders also foster cross-functional collaboration. Service design often involves multiple departments, each with its own priorities and workflows. Active management of stakeholder relationships helps break down silos and ensures everyone has a shared understanding of the project’s objectives. This collaboration can uncover hidden pain points and identify opportunities for innovation that may not emerge otherwise.

Why this matters: Teams suck at stakeholder management. Narrowing in on tactics and skills can help get it right and avoid derailed UX or Service Design efforts. Experience shows that if stakeholders do not deeply understand UX and Service Design value, they can create cultural patterns that reverse UX gains. A classic example is having UX focus on Visual Design or using UX to support technical delivery, missing out on strategic UX management. Also see: UX requires effective Stakeholder Management

The ‘So What?’: Proactive stakeholder management mitigates risks. Early involvement builds trust and minimizes resistance to change. Stakeholders who feel heard and included are more likely to champion the project, helping overcome institutional inertia or skepticism. It also allows teams to identify and address potential roadblocks—such as budget constraints or technical limitations—before they escalate.

Engaging Stakeholders In UX Projects

In this Stakeholder Management tactics Masterclass Frank Spillers will share his latest field-tested learnings for how to appropriately manage and engage your stakeholders. The idea is to create better stakeholder collaboration. Engaged stakeholders feel a sense of ownership and commitment, leading to better outcomes and user advocacy. User advocacy is the ‘gold star’ skill of org UX maturity momentum. Better UX maturity means repeat success of UX efforts and outcomes.

Topics We Will Cover In This Stakeholder Management Tactics Masterclass:

Getting started with a Team Sport UX canvas
Identify Stakeholder sabotage and create a mitigation plan
How to involve stakeholders early-on
Ways of changing systems, processes, or culture
Accelerating UX maturity: how stakeholders can rev UX results

About Monthly MasterClasses:

Join FREE, or Paid- access starting at $99 USD/ mo.
Membership includes access to ALL monthly event recordings and more (going back 25 years of Frank’s UX career). 200+ recordings. Monthly live meet-ups (Masterclass topics) and workshops (every other month). Miniclasses (short webinars) and more…

21 May 202517 UTCzoom

More UX Impact with Inclusive Design 3758

14 Mar 202514 UTCzoom

Redesign it with AI- Spotify part 3

51 min Also see this 12 minute after class Wire...

1 hr 30 min See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Doing UX Research alongside AI workshop- part 4

Why AI in User Research?

Figure this out, or somebody else will for you (like your Product team).