UX research has changed a lot in the last year. With user behaviour and consumerism in general turning upside down, research became even more important in every step of a product's development. In addition to this, researchers had to alter their methods too and transition to a fully online research environment basically in a matter of weeks.
Going along with these changes we see a shift in UX research-related conferences too. Many important keynotes are advocating diversity and providing ways to prevent racial bias and social stigmas in user research and that's vital in creating better and more inclusive products.
With almost every announced event going/staying online and becoming a bit more affordable for everyone, there was never a better time to participate!
QRCA 2021
Date: February 1-5, 2021
Main time zone: EST
Price: $145 - $300
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Full schedule
"The 2021 Annual Conference will be like nothing any of us have ever experienced before. Whether it's your first QRCA conference or your 21st, you’re going to want to join us as we take the virtual wheel to the next level! And this year’s theme, Diversify. Discover. Design the Vision., couldn’t be more on brand for us quallies."
Keynotes, round tables and interactive workshops spreading over 5 days. I definitely recommend checking out the full schedule of the event.
Talks include:
Mastering a "Next Level" Moderator Mindset
by Chris Kann, Research Consultant, Moderator at CSK Marketing
Designing the Vision We See
by Andy Parker, Innovation Lead at UserTesting
Shake Up Your Business Development Mindset!
by Justin Breen, CEO at BrEpic
Power and Privilege: An Exploration
by Gina Paigen, Chief Impact Officer at ThirdWay
Additional speakers include:
- Tonise Paul, Chairman at Energy BBDO
- Paolo Malabuyo, Co-Founder of the Inheritance Project
- Matt Booth, Author & Speaker at mattbooth.com
UXLx Masters 2021
Date: February 10-12, 2021
Main time zone: GMT
Price: €395
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Full schedule
3 days of online learning with UX Masters sharing their research knowledge and experience. Choose from 12 interactive masterclasses from the greatest experts in the industry that will help you hone your skills and learn best practices. Mingle with peers and thought leaders in fun online side-events and networking activities. See what others are doing, share ideas and make connections with others in the field.
Talks include:
Tomorrow's Architects
by Peter Morville, President of Semantic Studios
You’re not doing usability testing? What are you, crazy?
by Steve Krug, Author of Don’t Make Me Think
Shake Up Your Business Development Mindset!
by Jared Spool, Maker of Awesomeness at Center Centre
Let's Get Design Research Right
by Erika Hall, Author of Just Enough Research
Additional speakers include:
- Derek Featherstone, Founder of Simply Accessible
- Denise Jacobs, Founder CEO of The Creative Dose
- Kim Goodwin, Author of Designing for the Digital Age
UXRConf Anywhere
Date: February 24-26, 2021
Main time zone: EST
Price: $99
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Full schedule
"Growing your research skills and expanding your research network can be a hard and lonely process—but it doesn’t have to be.
UXRConf is the one time of year where we can focus on ourselves, as a community. It’s a place where we can learn, connect, and excel in our craft together. It’s a time when we can spotlight the new ideas and talented people that are changing our industry every day."
Talks include:
Choosing Your Flavor of Research Leadership
by Loi Goulet, Head of User Research at Buoy Health
How Colorblind User Research Produces Racist Design
by Alba Villamil, Independent User Researcher
The Research-Led Beta is a Mixed Methods Paradise
by Abby Baylen, User Experience Research Lead at Later.com
Demystifying Data Analysis
by Rachel Ceasar, UX Researcher at Culture of Health+Tech Consulting
Additional speakers include:
- Antoine Garcia-Suarez, Lead UX Researcher at Radio-Canada
- Dave Chen, Director at Consumer Insights
- Emma Van Emmerik, Team Lead User Research at Takeaway.com
Advancing Research 2021
Date: March 10-12, 2021
Main time zone: PST
Price: Early bird tickets from $795
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Full schedule
"The Advancing Research 2021 program is—surprise!—research driven. Our curation team has interviewed a variety of industry thought leaders to identify important opportunities to advance the practice of research."
This year’s conference themes
- Researchers are People
- Research as Applied and Evolving Practice
- Research Impacts the Organization
Talks include:
You Are a Badass at UX: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
by Megan Kierstead, Researcher and Educator
A Research Skills Evolution
by Dave Hora, Independent User Researcher
When UX Research and Institutional Racism Collide
by Emily Williams, Sr. UX Researcher, Marketade
and Nora Fiore, UX Writer, Marketade
User Science: Product Analytics & User Research
by Marieke McClosky, UX Research Lead at Humu
Additional speakers include:
- Bria Alexander, Design Program Manager, Adobe
- Molly Stevens, Director of UX Research, Booking.com
- Etienne Fang, Principal Researcher, Amazon
Design Research
Date: March 17-19, 2021
Main time zone: ACT
Price: Early bird: $450 | Standard: $500 (AUD)
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Full schedule
"A three-day virtual event dedicated to design research – from planning and conducting, to analysis and use. This event includes 3 mornings of conference presentations followed by afternoons of workshops."
Talks include:
Trauma-Informed Design Research
by Jax Wechsler, Principal Designer at Sticky Design Studio
Creating Impact through the Research Journey
by Jess Nichols, Manager, User Experience Research at A Cloud Guru
Embracing Diversity in Research
by Vivienne Dinh, Senior UX Designer at Deloitte Digital
and Kimberly Nguyen-Don, Experience Designer at Deloitte Digital
A Stakeholders Point of View on Engaging in Research
by Lucy Denton, Design Lead at Dovetail
Additional speakers include:
- Michael Bloom, Strategy Director at Folk
- Indi Young, Design Strategy & Inclusivity Research
- Vidhika Bansal, Behavioral Design & UX at Intuit
UX Copenhagen
Date: March 25-26, 2021
Main time zone: CET
Price: ~€330 - €530
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Full schedule
Denmark’s most inspirational human experience conference is back again this year (after a successful last minute pivot to digital in just 18 days last year). Covering subjects like user experience, content, strategy, and research under the theme “Commoning”, deriving from the term “Commons“.
"We’re calling it “Commoning” because co-design doesn’t fully describe the subjects we’ll be discussing."
Two days filled with diverse content from 20+ local and international speakers, hands-on workshops, inspiration, networking, new knowledge, and new insights.
Inclusive Research
by Lauren Isaacson, Market & User Experience Research Consultant at Curio Research
Green UX for a Green World
by Nisha Shetty, Technical Lead UX at HCL Technologies
Embracing Diversity in Research
by Beant Kaur, Sr. Usability & User Research Consultant
Additional speakers include:
- Greg Nudelman, Director of Design at LogicMonitor
- Gretchen Andersen, Design Consultant
- Jonas Thorsten, Strategic UX Consultant & Coach, Speaker
The BAD Conference
Date: April 14-15, 2021
Main time zone: BST
Price: £119
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Full schedule
"The BAD Conference will webcast some of the world’s leading UX Psychologists and Researchers direct to your home, to talk about implementation of Behavioural Psychology into User Research and Design. Our ambition is to create a dialogue within the User Experience community about Psychology, making the human the centre of the design process."
UX Myth Busting: Behind the Science
by Dr. Jessica Cameron Research Lead at Lloyd’s Banking Group
How Understanding Our Users Can Help Drive Product And Design Strategy
by Kevin Corti, UX Research Manager at Google
How to Listen So People Will Talk
by Sara Hefny, UX Researcher at Microsoft
Additional speakers include:
- David Dylan Thomas, Content Strategy Advocate at Think Company
- Dr. Nick Fine, Lead User Researcher at NHS Blood and Transplant
- David Evans, Sr. Research Manager at Microsoft
UX Insight Festival
Date: April 14-16, 2021
Main time zone: CET
Price: Early bird: €149 | Standard: €149
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"Our theme this year is ‘Learning through failing’ – often we learn the most when things don’t go as expected. Researchers from all over the world will share some great ideas that came out of struggles."
While the schedule and speakers aren't announced yet, you can expect activities to make you smile and boost your skills
- Natural and insightful networking with relevant connections
- A supportive and innovative community
- Time zone friendly start times
- Recordings for all ticket holders - watch whenever you want!
- All talks have captions in English
From Business to Buttons Conference
Date: May 7, 2021
Location: Stockholm
Price: Early bird: € 899 | Standard: € 999
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Full schedule
One of the few announced conferences that are not planning on going virtual. The conference's theme includes UX design and Product Management but they'll have workshops and talks for UX researchers too.
Talks and workshops include:
What’s the question?
by Ghaida Zahran, Lead Product Designer at Netflix
Research Together: Make Critical Research Decisions on Evidence, not Speculation
by Erika Hall, Author of Just Enough Research
Listening Deeply: Understand People Before Solving Problems
by Indi Young, Design Strategy & Inclusivity Research
A Stakeholders Point of View on Engaging in Research
by Margot Bloomstein, author of Content Strategy at Work
Additional speakers include:
- Peter Merholz, Consultant, Author, and Founder at Humanism at Scale
- Mike Monteiro, Design Director and Co-owner, Mule Design Studio
- Jake Knapp, Author of SPRINT and MAKE TIME
GamesUR Summit North America
Date: May 20-21, 2021
Main Time zone: EST
Price: TBA
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The North American #gamesUR Summit will be taking place online for the first time in 2021. The event will feature most of the speakers who were originally scheduled to present in 2020 but not much else is known at the moment.
User Research London
Date: May 7, 2021
Main time zone: GMT
Price: TBA (Last year's tickets were starting at £200)
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Full schedule
Workshops
"Spend a full day diving into research skills. Choose between one of 3 workshops focused on developing you as a researcher."
Talks
"The main User Research London event continues with a day of talks. These talks explore what it is like to be a user researcher and the lessons and experiences that can make us better."
Deep dives
"User Research London is introducing a second track of interactive sessions. During these hour and hour and a half sessions you’ll get to interact and join discussions with the speakers."
Talks and workshops include:
ResearchOps 101 Workshop
by Kate Towsey, Research Operations Manager at Atlassian
Research Systems Workshop
by Tomer Sharon, Cofounder and Chief Experience Officer at Stealth Mode
Uncovering User Truth: Fusing Data Science and User Research at Spotify
by Colette Kolenda, Research Lead at Spotify
and Kristie Savage, Senior Data Scientist at Spotify
Opportunistic research
by Gregg Bernstein, UX research leader at Signal messenger
Want to see your conference represented here? Drop us a line at team@hellopingpong.com!
