Community Workshop

Project Overview

Team size: 2
My Role: UX Researcher & Workshop Co-Host
Workshop Impact: Creating new connections between our users and our team; useful insight into our next projects
My Favorite Part: Seeing so many Explorers have fun creating new solutions to their own problems in innovative ways

Why Host a Workshop? The goal

We wanted a space where Explorers could work with each other in person to be me for an hour and brainstorm new digital experiences that could help them solve some of the pain points they experienced as Explorers.

The Setup

I coordinated with several teams to set up the workshop. It was important to talk to the event planners to ensure we had the right space with the right equipment (screens, poster board, writing utensils, tables, chairs, etc.), and then find volunteers who could help facilitate the breakout discussions at every table. Since the event was hybrid, I also had to plan out the online experience and find ways to bridge the digital gap (e.g., ensuring all questions in the room were spoken through a microphone, having a digital replica of every physical item used for brainstorming, etc.). I also designed contingency plans in case our technology malfunctioned.

The workshop

My teammate and I started by introducing ourselves and laying out the plan for the hour. We also showed the room what we planned to do with the feedback we got, and a few sneak peaks into the things we were working on at the time.

After we had the tables introduce themselves to their neighbors, we had them break off into a 15 minutes of discussions with those at their table. They were to highlight problems that they faced as Explorers, and recommend pie-in-the-sky solutions, even if the technology didn't exist yet. This has always been my approach in ideation sessions for newbies because it encourages an environment of fun, playful ideas and helps the individuals bond with each other. It also usually yields some pretty awesome ideas that can act as the starting point for something that does have the potential to be real.

At the end of the 15 minutes, I took the mic again and asked them all to choose an idea or two and really dive into a solution. The Explorers spent the next 15 minutes doing just that, while I walked around the room or (as seen in the below photo - I'm in the floral print shirt), stopped at a table to answer questions and help guide the conversation, the Explorers came up with some incredible ideas.

Finally, we wrapped up the workshop when I took the mic again and asked a few tables to volunteer their ideas. This was a really fun part because Explorers are naturally very supportive people so the ideas were met with heartfelt feedback and applause.

The Outcome

All of the ideas were documented in Airtable and shared with our key stakeholders. We gathered hundreds of ideas but one main theme kept rising to the surface: Explorers wanted a better sense of community. They wanted to be able more easily find each other, especially so they could collaborate on projects together.

The Application

Our product manager used the feedback to lay out the next projects in our timeline. Community features were lower on the priority list but this research helped to move them up to be addressed at the end of 2026.