Portal Summit 2026
Voice of the User

Listen. Learn. Build with intention.

Listen. Learn. Build with intention.

Apr 29-30, 2026

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About

From designing and conducting interviews to identifying patterns and building a sustainable research cadence, this summit is about moving from hearing users → understanding them → acting with clarity.

Expect immersive sessions, team-based missions, and moments to reflect, connect, and celebrate the craft of building with users at the center.

Let’s listen. Let’s learn. Let’s build with intention.

Join us for the Portal Voice of the User Summit 2026,
a three-day experience dedicated to turning user insight into everyday product practice.

This year, we focus on listening—not as a one-time activity, but as a habit and a system. Through hands-on workshops, real-world field research, and collaborative synthesis sessions, we’ll learn how to deeply understand our users and translate those insights into meaningful product decisions.

Agenda

Listening as a tool and practice

  • 10:00 – 10:30 AM
    Breakfast



    10:30 – 10:45 AM
    Opening remarks


    10:45 – 12:00 PM
    Workshop: “Listening Labs” model

    • Overview & interview design

    • Key documents: inputs & outputs

    • Dos & don’ts during a session

    • Tips for tricky situations

    • Post-interview: turning observations into themes

    12:00 – 1:00 PM
    Lunch

    1:00 – 2:15 PM
    Watch party: user research in action

    • Video: interview analysis

    • Note-taking techniques

    • Identifying signals vs noise

    2:15 – 2:30 PM
     Break


    2:30 – 4:30 PM
    Workshop: mock interviews

    • Small group exercises

    • Set hypotheses

    • Prep & conduct mock sessions

    4:30 – 5:00 PM
    Q&A + Day 2 prep

    • Reflection on the day

    • Day 2 teams and “missions” announced

    (Optional add-on adventure) 

    5:00 - 9:00 PM
    Team dinner & game play test

    • Reflection on the day

    • Watch game user testing in action at Brooklyn’s Wonderville

  • 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
    Field visits: School research sessions

    • Conduct and record field  interviews with real Portal users

    • Capture notes, quotes and themes

    1:00 – 2:00 PM
    Lunch at Serendipity Labs, Atlas Room


    2:00 – 3:00 PM
    Team activity: synthesizing learnings

    • What did you observe? (User, environment, Portal usage patterns)

    • What was easy / delightful / friction-less?

    • What caused frustration? What needs were not met?

    • Integrate into shared space (organized by feature set)

    3:00 – 5:00 PM
    Surprise Team activity

  • 10:00 – 10:30 AM
    Kickoff + coffee

    10:30 – 11:30 PM
    Full shareouts & learnings bingo

    • Share top learnings

    • Observe whole group for recurring themes

    11:30 – 12:30 PM
    Reflection & Day 3 prep

    • What was your research experience like? What was easy/difficult?

    • On site vs. remote observation 

    • What reflections will you bring into your next research session?

    12:30 – 1:30 PM
    Lunch

    (Optional add-on adventure)

    4:00 – 5:30 PM
    “Is Conversational Magical” Talk by Nick Epley

    • Lecture at Columbia University

Location

Serendipity Labs, Atlas Room, 21st Floor
205 E 42nd St, NYC