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The Diverge-and-Converge Technique For UX Workshops
The Diverge-and-Converge Technique For UX Workshops
Are you an introvert who hates meetings and derives pleasure from thinking in solitude? Or
do you get excited when you can discuss ideas with others and work side by side with them
toward a common goal? Working alone and working with others have each their own
advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we define a collaborative technique that
combines the two in order to maximize the work quality and efficiency: diverge and converge.
When team members diverge, they research, analyze, generate, or design independently,
without discussing thoughts or findings with others. When team members converge, they
share their findings, insights, ideas, or designs with one another.
Depending on the goal of the activity, the diverge part can happen before the workshop, with
participants working by themselves at their own pace, or during the workshop, with all
participants spending a dedicated period of time to do the individual work in parallel.
For example, if the goal is to speed up data collection for a large research study, several UX
researchers may run study sessions separately, using a shared research guide. After the data
has been gathered, team members will converge in a meeting to discuss research findings.