{ "conference": { "slug": "design-research", "name": "Design Research 2026", "url": "https://webdirections.org/design-research/" }, "updated_at": "2026-07-16T20:08:28.423Z", "days": [ { "date": "2026-08-26", "label": "Wednesday August 26, 2026", "time_slots": [ "09:30", "10:05", "10:40", "12:15", "12:50", "13:25", "15:00", "15:05", "16:10" ], "tracks": [ { "name": "Design Research", "sessions": [ { "id": "65a86d70-26bd-4624-aa6a-750f2dda99f7", "title": "What Can’t AI See? Ethnographic Research in a Post-Screen World", "description": "As UX design becomes more automated and digital interactions move beyond screens and into experiences that are auditory, kinaesthetic, and sensory, what does the future of UX research look like? What is the right balance of researcher vs AI to conduct sense-making when cultural and tacit behaviour live outside LLMs?\r\n\r\nThis talk draws from the ethnographic fieldwork of Jane Goodall, Margaret Mead, and Sarah Pink to explore how AI can play a role in expediting components of research, so that we get the rigour of ethnographic observation combined with AI-assisted tools to help researchers in the field.\r\n\r\nAttendees will leave with a practical introduction to mixed methods research that combines AI-assisted synthesis with contextual, on-the-ground observation, and a clearer sense of when contextual research methods outperform digital ones.", "type": "talk", "track": "Design Research", "date": "2026-08-26", "start_time": "09:30", "end_time": "10:00", "duration_minutes": 30, "location": "", "speakers": [ { "id": "fc2e2799-3f81-4f95-8817-245e2f25fdb1", "slug": "melissa-voderberg", "full_name": "Melissa Voderberg", "job_title": "Director of Customer Experience & Innovation", "employer": "Publicis Sapient", "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/fc2e2799-3f81-4f95-8817-245e2f25fdb1?v=1774136165370", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissavoderberg/", "linkedin": null, "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null } } ] }, { "id": "65d4a49c-82f2-4ec9-b649-d75353fa94df", "title": "Designing research for AI moderators: Lessons from running 100 interviews a week", "description": "AI can now conduct interviews at a scale that would be impossible for most research teams. But what happens when you stop being the moderator and start designing the moderator instead?\r\n\r\nOver the past year, I’ve been running a continuous research program generating around 100 AI-moderated customer interviews every week. Along the way, I discovered that scaling research isn’t simply a matter of handing conversations over to AI. It requires new ways of thinking about prompts, quality, participant engagement, analysis, and the role of the researcher.\r\n\r\nIn this session, I’ll share what actually happens when AI becomes part of the research process: where it excels, where it struggles, and the challenges that emerge at scale. Drawing on real-world experience rather than theory, I’ll explore how researchers can design systems that produce meaningful conversations, maintain research quality, and create insight that teams can trust.\r\n\r\nIf you're wondering what AI-moderated research looks like beyond the demos and headlines, this talk offers a practical look behind the curtain.", "type": "talk", "track": "Design Research", "date": "2026-08-26", "start_time": "10:05", "end_time": "10:35", "duration_minutes": 30, "location": "", "speakers": [ { "id": "4f6434e7-992f-489c-bb94-4a0163f1835c", "slug": "rebecca-klee", "full_name": "Rebecca Klee", "job_title": "CX Researcher & Designer", "employer": "Meridian Energy / Independent Consultant", "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/4f6434e7-992f-489c-bb94-4a0163f1835c?v=1780109288553", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaeklee/", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaeklee/", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null } } ] }, { "id": "798a8980-94aa-4ff1-9753-89260bfa3c5d", "title": "Bridging the Gap Between Product, GTM, and the Bottom Line", "description": "As UX Research matures, the biggest threat to our impact isn't automation—it’s isolation. For too long, research has been confined to the \"Product Development\" bubble, while the most critical business levers - Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success—operate on a parallel track. This session moves beyond the tactical execution of studies to explore a strategic approach to connecting dots across the entire organization to drive measurable business impact.\r\n\r\nI’ll share how our research team stepped outside the product org to partner with Go-To-Market (GTM) teams. We’ll look at practical ways to align research outcomes with revenue KPIs, such as deal velocity and renewal outcomes, by translating user insights into the language of value propositions and market positioning. Attendees will walk away with a techniques to identify key non-product stakeholders and a toolkit for \"closing the loop\" between field conversations and product strategy. This is a guide for senior practitioners ready to transition from having impact in one sole area to having an company wide impact who builds the connections and bridges that no algorithm can replicate.", "type": "talk", "track": "Design Research", "date": "2026-08-26", "start_time": "10:40", "end_time": "11:10", "duration_minutes": 30, "location": "", "speakers": [ { "id": "3d033b00-6d18-4e2a-a97d-5246920334ed", "slug": "anna-lee-anda", "full_name": "Anna Lee Anda", "job_title": "Senior Manager, UX Research", "employer": "Zendesk", "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/3d033b00-6d18-4e2a-a97d-5246920334ed?v=1782072639529", "social": { "social_media": null, "linkedin": "https://linkedin.com/in/annaleea", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": "http://askwhy.substack.com" } } ] }, { "id": "34a182b8-49ab-402a-b126-169703e926f5", "title": "In defence of a long pause: Designing better through lived experience", "description": "Designing inclusive public transport requires more than testing in controlled environments. To inform the next generation of suburban trains in NSW, our team conducted contextual research interviewing people with disability, travelling on active train services. Researchers journeyed alongside participants, many with multiple disabilities, observing real trips from planning through to boarding, travelling, and alighting. Each session lasted up to 4 hours, allowing time for silence, reflection, and trust to build, surfacing insights that shorter, task-based research would not. This approach exposed barriers often missed in traditional research, including the complexity of the platform-to-train interface and the ways \"priority\" extends beyond seating to include space, visibility, and confidence.\r\n \r\nDelivering research in a live operational environment required navigating risk, aligning with operators and frontline staff, and designing tailored support for participants. Over two weeks, participants shared unfiltered experiences of frustration, exclusion, and resilience, providing a level of depth not typically achieved in structured testing. In this session, we will share how to design and deliver contextual research in complex environments, work respectfully with participants with lived experience of disability, and translate qualitative insight into practical design decisions.", "type": "talk", "track": "Design Research", "date": "2026-08-26", "start_time": "12:15", "end_time": "12:45", "duration_minutes": 30, "location": "", "speakers": [ { "id": "a9af6f9d-5492-464c-9185-263c9714f4a5", "slug": "bhaven-chauhan", "full_name": "Bhaven Chauhan", "job_title": "Service Design Lead", "employer": "Transport for NSW", "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/a9af6f9d-5492-464c-9185-263c9714f4a5?v=1781767182814", "social": { "social_media": null, "linkedin": null, "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null } }, { "id": "3295f96e-9041-4d50-a0c1-1819a193f2f4", "slug": "chanel-lee", "full_name": "Chanel Lee", "job_title": null, "employer": null, "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/3295f96e-9041-4d50-a0c1-1819a193f2f4?v=1781767619418", "social": { "social_media": null, "linkedin": null, "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null } } ] }, { "id": "602622d2-abcf-4e57-ad85-9edb25b94016", "title": "Designing ResearchOps for uncertainty", "description": "The pace of change in tech right now is wild. AI is reshaping how teams work, entire functions are being redefined, and layoffs and restructures have become part of the cycle rather than exceptions. Ways of working are shifting just as quickly—what worked six months ago can feel outdated today. In this kind of environment, how does one build systems while everything around you is still moving?\r\n\r\nThis session is about how to do ResearchOps when things aren’t stable. I’ll share how I think about designing governance, tools, and processes that can flex as things change. That includes things like tying governance to teams instead of individuals (because people move), documenting decisions so context doesn’t get lost, and choosing tools with the assumption that your requirements might look completely different in six months. I’ll also talk about how to rethink research competencies and operating models when org structures shift, without losing research quality along the way.", "type": "talk", "track": "Design Research", "date": "2026-08-26", "start_time": "12:50", "end_time": "13:20", "duration_minutes": 30, "location": "", "speakers": [ { "id": "7e017781-c0b8-4fc6-bc7d-f2b35d19d3c5", "slug": "weiyan-chee", "full_name": "Weiyan Chee", "job_title": "ResearchOps Lead", "employer": "Bupa", "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/7e017781-c0b8-4fc6-bc7d-f2b35d19d3c5?v=1780355141393", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/weiyanchee/", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/weiyanchee/", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null } } ] }, { "id": "db8ea2f7-fa98-4ac3-a749-82869e4a63c8", "title": "The Researcher as a Diplomat", "description": "In the world of UX research, we often act as diplomats - navigating competing interests, translating perspectives, and persuading without authority. This talk explores what diplomacy can teach us about stakeholder management: how to build trust across power dynamics, negotiate research priorities, and maintain influence when decisions aren’t ours to make. Drawing from real diplomatic principles - like soft power, coalition building, and framing narratives - I’ll share how researchers can use these techniques to move from “fighting for research” to shaping strategy through relationships.", "type": "talk", "track": "Design Research", "date": "2026-08-26", "start_time": "13:25", "end_time": "13:55", "duration_minutes": 30, "location": "", "speakers": [ { "id": "dcb71afb-038a-4ba7-b911-352a72d1cb2a", "slug": "ania-mastalerz", "full_name": "Ania Mastalerz", "job_title": "Lead Researcher", "employer": "Atlassian", "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/dcb71afb-038a-4ba7-b911-352a72d1cb2a?v=1779663569109", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniamastalerz/", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniamastalerz/", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": null } } ] }, { "id": "a9949e89-dfc9-430d-9d46-62e5ea731828", "title": "Insight Is Not Enough: The Next Chapter of Design Research", "description": "My talk will focus on how design research is evolving from a tactical, project-based discipline into a strategic capability that shapes organisational decision-making. I will explore how leading organisations globally are embedding design research earlier in strategy formation, not only to test ideas but also to inform prioritisation, investment decisions, and risk management in increasingly complex digital and AI-enabled environments. Drawing on real-world examples from enterprise, government, and regulated industries, the session will unpack why traditional research models are no longer sufficient and what is changing in how research operates at scale.\r\nThe presentation will also examine the specific implications of this shift for the Australian context. I will share emerging global practices, such as continuous research systems, AI-assisted synthesis, and integrated insight operating models, and discuss how these can be pragmatically adopted within Australian organisations. The talk is designed to be both reflective and practical, offering conference attendees a clear perspective on where design research is heading over the next five years, the strategic role researchers can play, and how organisations can elevate research from producing insights to influencing direction and outcomes.", "type": "talk", "track": "Design Research", "date": "2026-08-26", "start_time": "15:00", "end_time": "15:30", "duration_minutes": 30, "location": "", "speakers": [ { "id": "3d44332f-8f45-48ce-8ed6-b0bf8d3feafc", "slug": "dr-asma-qureshi", "full_name": "Dr Asma Qureshi", "job_title": "Research & Insights Principal", "employer": "A2 Online", "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/3d44332f-8f45-48ce-8ed6-b0bf8d3feafc?v=1779605226177", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/draaq/", "linkedin": null, "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": "https://researchworld.com/people/dr-asma-qureshi" } } ] }, { "id": "feeae31a-6bc4-4485-8162-6cdaa086d815", "title": "Applying Anthropology in Design Research: Why Culture Is the Conversion Strategy", "description": "Why do people really behave the way they do? Not because the UX was frictionless, but because the experience spoke to something about who they are, who they want to be, and what their choices mean within their world.\r\n\r\nThis talk applies anthropological thinking to design research, unpacking the cultural narratives, social performances, and identity tensions that shape human decision-making. The argument: understanding culture isn't a nice-to-have. It's the strategy.", "type": "talk", "track": "Design Research", "date": "2026-08-26", "start_time": "15:05", "end_time": "15:35", "duration_minutes": 30, "location": "", "speakers": [ { "id": "e6092128-a107-4c73-b596-047cd3a67962", "slug": "william-yanko", "full_name": "William Anthony Yanko, PhD", "job_title": "CX/UX Research Leader", "employer": "Flight Centre Travel Group", "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/e6092128-a107-4c73-b596-047cd3a67962?v=1781490509645", "social": { "social_media": "@drwillyanko", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-yanko-phd-886b108a/", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": "https://www.williamyanko.com" } } ] }, { "id": "6fef7a2c-aaeb-4598-add4-57b54575e082", "title": "Nothing about us flying, without us: establishing a baseline for disabled travel through inclusive design research", "description": "Air travel remains one of the least understood and most stressful service environments for disabled people. While airlines often invest in accessibility improvements, they frequently do so without reliable baseline data grounded in disabled people’s lived experience. This presentation shares findings and reflections from a mixed‑method design research project undertaken with Air New Zealand to establish a baseline understanding of disabled travel across the trans‑Tasman route.\r\nThe research was designed and led using a disability rights and participatory research lens. It combined an accessible online survey offered in multiple formats, in‑depth interviews, ethnographic travel research with 12 disabled people flying between Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, and a disability leadership workshop with advocates and sector leaders. Participants represented a range of physical, sensory, cognitive, and psychosocial impairments, as well as intersecting identities.\r\nThe study focused on the end‑to‑end travel journey, including booking, check‑in, security, boarding, in‑flight experience, arrival, and recovery after travel. Rather than treating accessibility as a set of isolated problems, the research examined how systems, policies, staff practices, digital touchpoints, and social attitudes combine to either enable or restrict safe and dignified travel.\r\nThis paper contributes three key outcomes to design research. First, it demonstrates how inclusive research methods can generate richer and more trustworthy data than standard customer research approaches. Second, it provides rare baseline evidence of common barriers and points of harm experienced by disabled travellers, including emotional labour, risk transfer, and loss of autonomy. Third, it reflects on the role of disabled leadership in shifting research from extractive consultation to shared authority.\r\nBy situating disabled people as experts of their own experience, this research challenges deficit‑based models of accessibility and offers a replicable approach for designers and organisations working in complex service systems. The findings are relevant to design researchers, service designers, and industry practitioners seeking to move beyond compliance towards meaningful inclusion.", "type": "talk", "track": "Design Research", "date": "2026-08-26", "start_time": "16:10", "end_time": "16:40", "duration_minutes": 30, "location": "", "speakers": [ { "id": "bda98553-6543-4fb8-b801-49c09f944a10", "slug": "chandra-harrison", "full_name": "Dr Chandra Harrison", "job_title": "Managing Director / Researcher", "employer": "Access Advisors", "bio_short": null, "photo_url": "https://speakers.webdirections.org/photos/photo/bda98553-6543-4fb8-b801-49c09f944a10?v=1781504679637", "social": { "social_media": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandraharrison/", "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandraharrison", "bluesky": null, "mastodon": null, "website": "https://accessadvisors.nz/" } } ] } ] } ], "cross_track": [] } ] }