Upcoming Workshops

If you have any questions about HCII's Professional Education workshops, contact us at EngageWithHCII@andrew.cmu.edu.
 

Rapid Research Methods: 
Reduce Risk & Drive Value with Assumption Artifacts

Tuesday, August 19, 2025 
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. EDT

Location: Remote

Led by: MHCI Director Raelin Musuraca and Founder of Open Megan Guidi

Details: Traditional user experience (UX) research is outdated. Product development requires quick, iterative feedback cycles from users and stakeholders. Discover innovative methods for validating product improvements or new product ideas using a rapid research approach informed by start-up practices.

  • Ditch Design-Thinking and learn how the Uncertainty Model can ensure you take the next right research step.
  • Leverage Assumption Artifacts to isolate your most significant product development risks and use low-low-low fidelity artifacts to test iteratively.
  • Explore Analogous Domains that can be substituted for primary research and testing with alternative users when yours may be difficult or expensive to reach.

This 3-hour workshop includes some lecture, but primarily provides hands-on experience practicing these three new research methods.

Cost: $399 per person. 
Early Bird Rate: $349 per person if you register by Saturday, August 2. 
Event registrations will close on Saturday, August 9 at 11:59 PM EDT.

Register for the "Rapid Research Methods" workshop

 

New Techniques for Designing for AI: 
Identify High Value, Low Risk Opportunities

Friday, September 12, 2025 
11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT / 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PDT 

Location: Remote

Led by: HCII Faculty Dan Saffer and Laura Vinchesi

Details: AI is everywhere. It filters out spam before we ever see it, predicts when we’ll need a ride (and how much it’ll cost), recommends what we should watch next, and quietly powers the systems that keep our warehouses moving, our packages arriving, and our forecasts—whether weather or sales—with remarkable accuracy. It’s helping to diagnose cancer, beat chess grandmasters, fly without pilots, and create content at the click of a button. The possibilities seem endless. So do the ethical landmines. With results like these, it feels like AI should be a goldmine for innovation. But here’s the reality check: nearly 90% of AI projects fail. Why? Because traditional innovation methods—what worked for mobile apps or web platforms—don’t translate well to AI. Worse, teams often overlook simple opportunities where a bit of machine intelligence could make a real difference to customers. At Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, we’ve been exploring how to fix that—from brainstorming and prototyping to launch. This workshop brings that thinking to practitioners—designers, PMs, and researchers looking to move beyond hype and actually build useful AI.

What we’ll cover: 
In the first half, we’ll dive into Matchmaking and Rapid Concept Evaluation—two practical techniques to help you connect the right AI tech to the right user need. Think of it as finding your AI-product-market fit. 

In the second half, we’ll shift from building the right thing to building the thing right. We’ll explore Adaptive UIs—where AI adds the most value in your current products—and practice techniques for making AI explainable and trustworthy. 

Finally, we’ll wrap with Consequence Scanning: a way to identify potential risks and design with impact in mind. You’ll leave with new tools, new perspectives, and a clearer path to creating AI that actually works—for users, for teams, and for the world.

What you'll take away:

  • The reasons why most AI projects fail
  • The Matchmaking technique that connects user needs with AI capabilities
  • How to evaluate AI concepts based on their risk and technical complexity
  • How to rank potential AI concepts based on their feasibility, viability, and desirability
  • How to forecast potential unintended consequences of your proposed AI concepts
  • How to change your product to be more efficient and personalized using AI
  • How to build just enough trust in your AI so users feel comfortable using it

Cost: $799 per person. 
Early Bird Rate: $699 per person if you register by Friday, August 29. 
Event registrations close on Friday, September 5 at 11:59 PM EDT.

Register for the "New Techniques for Designing for AI" workshop