Design Thinking Workshop
Facilitated a Design Thinking workshop for development teams, highlighting the importance of user-centered problem solving in software development. The session demonstrated that Design Thinking is not just for designers, but a practical approach that can be applied by any team to improve products, processes, and decision making.
UX Workshop on Pre-Design Activities
Co-facilitated an in-person UX workshop for cross-functional IFS Service Management teams, including Program Managers, Product Specialists, Developers, and QA Engineers. The session focused on pre-design activities and introduced the 5 Whys technique as a practical method for uncovering root causes before defining solutions. The workshop encouraged interdisciplinary collaboration and helped teams develop a deeper understanding of problem framing and user-centered decision making.
Design Thinking 101
Facilitated an interactive UX and Design Thinking workshop for new interns in IFS Service Management, introducing the fundamentals of user-centered design and collaborative problem solving. Through hands-on activities, participants identified real-world problems, applied affinity mapping and dot voting techniques, conducted user interviews, and created empathy maps to better understand user needs. The session was designed to foster a Design Thinking mindset and equip interns with practical techniques for approaching challenges with empathy, curiosity, and evidence-based decision making.
IFS Unleashed 2024 — Design Lab
Played a key role in planning and facilitating activities within the Design Lab at IFS Unleashed 2024, an innovation space focused on customer collaboration and product discovery. Responsibilities included conducting user study sessions with customers, gathering feedback on early-stage concepts and prototypes, and helping shape Design Lab experiences that connected customer insights with future product direction. Through usability testing and collaborative design activities, helped ensure customer voices directly influenced the evolution of IFS solutions.
Session on UX Practices at IFS
Delivered a UX knowledge-sharing session for approximately 30 undergraduates from the Faculty of Information Technology at the University of Moratuwa, providing insights into UX practices at IFS and how user-centered design contributes to successful product development. Engaging with such an enthusiastic audience created valuable discussions and reflections, while also offering an opportunity to revisit our own practices through a fresh perspective, often sparking new ideas and improvements.
Day in the Life of A UX Designer
A collaborative session with the UX team at IFS covering UX best practices, how to succeed in a career in UX, and designing for AI — held for Cr8x, the inter-university design competition champions organised by KDU. Students brought their real design challenges and career progression concerns, creating an open and energetic exchange with the team.
SLIIT Academia Conclave — Invited Speaker
Served as an invited speaker at the SLIIT Academia Conclave, presenting the UX career journey at IFS — including job architecture, career progression opportunities, and the role of UX within cross-functional product teams. The session explored how UX designers contribute throughout the software development process and collaborate with various disciplines to create user-centered solutions. Attended by senior lecturers and academic staff.
SLIIT Codefest Designathon 2025 — Opening Workshop
Led the opening UX workshop for SLIIT Codefest Designathon 2025, helping participants understand the fundamentals of user-centered design and problem-solving. In addition to facilitating the session for approximately 30 teams (120 undergraduates) from universities across Sri Lanka, I created the first-round design challenge and contributed to reviewing and evaluating submissions as part of the judging team.
SLIIT Codefest Designathon 2025 — 24h Challenge Judge
As a judge for the final round of SLIIT Codefest Designathon 2025, I had the opportunity to help shape a challenge for the next generation of innovators. It was impressive to see participants rapidly understand a new problem domain, uncover key user needs, and propose creative, user-centered solutions within a limited timeframe. Their work demonstrated not only strong technical and analytical skills but also empathy and design thinking in action.