UX Australia 25 Session 2

Emerging technology is rapidly transforming the way we work, bringing both new challenges and exciting opportunities. This talks provides a practical exploration of how AI is shaping research practices, the checks and balances required to maintain quality, and how the role we play in research will change.

Continuous Discovery, like generative UX research, uses customer research to find new opportunities. Unlike upfront strategic research, it involves frequent, small research activities throughout product development – essentially and agile approach to product research. While praised by some product practitioners, UX researchers worry it could lead to less rigorous research by PMs, devaluing their expertise. Even proponents have concerns about the time and budget needed for consistent research and proper implementation. This talk critically evaluates Continuous Discovery, comparing it to traditional UX(R) practices. It shares practical learnings from a pilot with considerations of whether this method is right for you, your team, and your product with reflections on whether UX(R) should reclaim or co-own discovery.

What if we saw ethnography not just as another tool in the design toolkit but as a way of thinking that could fundamentally reshape how we approach design and strategy? Ethnography is often treated as just a research method, but at its core, it is much more than that. It is about immersion in the innate setting, a focus on the lived experiences of individuals and communities, and a holistic perspective on social and cultural phenomena - grounded in exploration, interpretation, and contextual understanding. This session will explore how embracing an ethnographic mindset rooted in deep curiosity, empathy, and critical reflection can help designers and strategists move beyond surface-level insights to truly understand people in context. Ethnographic thinking encourages us to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and embrace the nuance of what it means to be human at a given moment. Drawing on real-world examples from design and service strategy, we will show how this mindset can lead to more innovative, inclusive, and human-centred solutions and transform how we design systems, products, and policies. Whether you are a seasoned researcher, a strategist, or just ethno-curious, this talk will offer practical ways to bring deeper thinking into your everyday work.

Bureaucracies crave certainty. Design lives in ambiguity. I work in that gap—translating strategic design into moves that public systems can actually pick up and run with. In this talk, I’ll share how I’ve learned to stop pushing against the system and start designing with it. No big bang redesigns—just practical ways to get good ideas through risk-averse environments without losing what makes them powerful. You’ll leave with simple tactics to reframe your work, build trust with decision-makers, and get real change moving—even in the slowest parts of government.