Design Research 2026 — Day 1, Session 2

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. Delivering 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.

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 Ways of working are shifting just as quickly—what worked six months ago can feel outdated today.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?

This 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.

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.