18 UX whiteboard challenge examples

If you’ve ever been thrown into a live design challenge, you know the pressure: the clock’s ticking, everyone’s watching, and you’re expected to turn a messy problem into a clear, logical flow right there on the board. The best way to get comfortable? Practice with real UX whiteboard challenge examples — the kind that mimic the time pressure, ambiguity, and collaboration you’ll face in the real world.

And here’s the thing — whether you’re prepping for an interview or just keeping your own design chops sharp, working through good prompts makes all the difference. Whiteboarding forces you to make your thinking visible, test ideas on the fly, and collaborate in a way that static documents just can’t match.

That’s why we’ve pulled together this guide — complete with 18 UX whiteboard challenge examples and pro tips — to help you refine your process, and show your best work under pressure. Whether you’re mapping out a grocery store self-checkout or fixing the pain points in a ride-hailing app, these scenarios will push your creativity, logic, and user empathy to the next level. 

Why use whiteboarding? 3 reasons why. 

Whiteboarding is when you integrate a whiteboard into your work processes. Why should you do this? Allow us to explain! 

1. It’s easy to get started

If you have a team dispersed around the country (or the world), it’s an easy way to get everyone to work collaboratively online. The distance becomes irrelevant when everyone can add to and edit the whiteboard in real-time.

2. It helps visual thinking and learning

It can be tricky to understand how a project or process fits together. By adding a visual element, it helps everyone get a clearer view. 

3. It encourages collaboration

Everyone can get involved. People can simultaneously hold discussions, organize items, and add new ideas. Plus, the interactivity keeps everyone actively engaged.

If you’ve never whiteboarded before and need a more detailed walkthrough, check out our earlier post that goes more in-depth into the basics of whiteboarding more generally. Next, we’ll get into more specifics that make it a good match for your UX design team!

Why whiteboarding and UX are perfect together

Whiteboarding and UX design are a match made in heaven. When you think about it, UX whiteboarding just makes sense — melding an already visual process like UX design with a flexible visual aid to help thinking processes move along. If it doesn’t look good on the board, it definitely won’t look good on a screen.

Working together, you and your team can go through your brief, writing down what you need to include in your final product. Logic flows and user journeys are a lot easier to map out when you can customize or erase any element in seconds. Plus, with a large canvas to work with, you can focus completely on your design.

What is a whiteboard UX design challenge?

A whiteboard UX design challenge is a timed (typically 30 minutes, up to 60), collaborative problem-solving exercise where designers sketch out their approach to a UX problem using a whiteboard — either physical or digital. 

Typically used in interviews or team workshops, the challenge is less about creating polished wireframes and more about demonstrating your thinking and communication in real time.

You’ll be expected to define the problem, and explore potential solutions, explaining while you work. It’s a chance to really show off how you tackle ambiguity and think through user flows — as well as collaborate with your potential future team. All key skills in a real-world UX environment! 

What is a take-home UX design challenge?

A take-home UX design challenge is — surprise surprise — a UX design challenge you take home, to complete on your own time. 

Unlike real-time whiteboard challenges, the take-home option give you more time to research and produce more refined outputs. Think wireframes, user flows, personas, or even interactive prototypes.

The goal here is to assess your end-to-end thinking: how you define a problem, think about user needs, structure your approach, and deliver a coherent, visually clear solution. 

This approach also offers a way for hiring teams to evaluate how well you communicate your ideas through documentation and rationale, even when you’re not in the room to present.

18 UX design whiteboard challenge examples

Whether you’re prepping for an interview, or just want to challenge yourself — here are 13 prompts to get you thinking. You can tackle them all as either timed exercises (give yourself between 15 and 60 minutes), or as a take-home challenge. But there’s also a dedicated take-home section at the bottom of this list. 

1. Grocery store self-checkout

Self-checkout was meant to be a quick way to get out of the store. For a lot of shoppers, it’s anything but. The scanner won’t pick up the barcode. The machine insists there’s an “unexpected item in the bagging area.” You try to add a digital coupon and end up in an endless loop of prompts. Eventually, you wave over an assistant — defeating the whole point.

Your brief: make the experience actually work. Map out a checkout flow that’s fast and clear. How should the screen look? How do you guide someone through weighing loose produce, splitting payment between card and cash, or dealing with an item that won’t scan? 

You could use clearer on-screen language, better audio prompts, or let people finish the process on their phone. The aim is simple: no one should need rescuing halfway through.

2. Ride-hailing for parents

Booking a ride when you’ve got a baby in tow is a gamble. Will the car have the right seat? Will it even have a seat? Is it clean enough that you’d feel fine putting your toddler inside? Most ride-hailing apps don’t make it easy to set those expectations. You just cross your fingers and hope the driver understands.

Your brief: build a booking experience that puts parents at ease. Let them choose the exact type of car seat they need, confirm the driver’s experience with kids, and set any other comfort or safety preferences up front. Show them those details again before the car arrives so there’s no second-guessing. Think about the ride itself, too — what real-time updates, reassurance, or in-app communication might make the journey feel safer and less stressful?

3. Accessible ATM interface

ATMs are still a lifeline for millions of people, but for anyone with limited vision, hearing, or mobility, they can feel like a locked door. Small buttons you can barely press, screens you can’t read in bright light, tinny audio instructions that don’t make sense, and menus that time out before you’re ready — it’s all stacked against accessibility.

Your job: redesign the ATM so that everyone can use it without a second thought. Show at least one screen and one alternative way to interact — maybe high-contrast, large-type modes; tactile feedback; voice input; or simplified menu structures. Think about the whole journey, from walking up to walking away with your cash, and how to make every step usable no matter someone’s abilities.

4. E-commerce returns

The only thing worse than getting the wrong item is figuring out how to send it back. For a lot of shoppers, returns are buried in tiny footer links, full of vague instructions, and slow to process. People are left wondering: Can I return this? Where’s the label? How long until my refund shows up?

Your challenge: design a return process that’s clear from start to finish. Make it obvious where to start, guide people through selecting a reason, and generate a label or drop-off code without sending them to a separate site. Let them see the return’s progress — when it’s been received, when the refund is on the way. And if you can, make return eligibility visible before they even click “buy,” so there are no nasty surprises.

5. Freelancer dashboard

Freelancers have a bad habit of keeping their work life in a dozen places at once. Notes in email drafts. Deadlines in a calendar they never check. Invoices on a spreadsheet they swear they’ll “update later.” It works — until they miss something important.

Your brief: pull it all into one view. Something that shows the urgent stuff the moment they log in — today’s deadlines, overdue invoices, a reminder about that meeting they keep forgetting. From there, they should be able to click into the details: a project’s full task list, payment history for a client, whatever they need. Don’t make it cluttered, but don’t make it rigid either. Different freelancers work in different ways, so give them room to tweak it to fit their style.

6. Medical clinic check-in

Walking into a busy clinic can feel like stepping into organised chaos. The queue’s snaking around the room, clipboards are being handed out, and someone at the front desk is typing the same details they typed for you last month. New patients get stuck filling in forms they don’t quite understand, while returning patients still wait longer than they should.

Your brief: create a check-in process that doesn’t make people dread the waiting room. Returning patients should be able to confirm who they are and why they’re here in seconds. New patients should get clear, step-by-step guidance on ID checks, symptoms, and anything they need to know before seeing a doctor. Build in support for people who aren’t fluent in the local language or who might have accessibility needs. The whole thing should feel calm, clear, and welcoming — no matter how busy the day is.

7. Non-profit donations

Donating should feel good. Not confusing. Or like you’re filling out a tax return. But too many donation pages bury the “why” under endless form fields. You don’t know exactly where your money’s going. You hit “submit” and… nothing. Just a confirmation code that looks like a parcel tracking number.

 

Your challenge: make giving feel simple and worth doing again. Show people the impact up front — what their $10 or $100 will actually change. Keep the form short. Let them choose between a one-off gift or something regular without making it a hard sell. And when they’ve donated, thank them like you mean it. A line of text won’t cut it; make the moment stick.

 

8. Family calendar coordination

Trying to keep a family’s schedule straight can feel like juggling jelly. School plays, dentist appointments, football practice, birthdays — Half the events live in a group chat, the other half on a fridge calendar nobody updates. Things still get missed, and the “I told you about that!” conversations keep happening. Arguments follow.

Your job: make a shared calendar that everyone actually uses. It’s got to be dead simple — add an event, see who’s free, get a reminder. That’s the core. Then maybe layer in extras: a shopping list, location-based nudges, the term dates from school. It should work for the kid glued to their phone and the grandparent who barely checks theirs. If it’s too fiddly, it’ll get ignored.

9. Meal planning via recipe browsing

You find a recipe online that looks amazing, save it for later… and then later comes, and you’ve forgotten the ingredients or bought the wrong amounts. Maybe you planned three dinners and forgot they all needed fresh herbs you didn’t buy. The end result: wasted food, wasted money, and more takeaway nights than you planned.

Your job: take the chaos out of turning recipes into actual meals. Let people scale portions without doing mental maths, swap out ingredients they can’t stand, and drop the rest straight into their shopping basket in one go. Make it clever enough to skip the flour and olive oil they already have, spot dietary red flags, and flag price changes before checkout. The win? Less 6 p.m. fridge-staring and more dinners that actually get cooked.

10. Library book returns

People don’t stop going to the library because they hate books. They stop because they racked up fines without realising, and they’re too scared to face the music. One book from one branch, two from another — different dates, no reminders, and suddenly you’re in the red.

Your brief: find a way to keep borrowers in the loop (ideally without making them feel intimidated or guilty). Maybe that’s friendly reminders. Maybe it’s a quick “renew all” button. Maybe it’s a colour-coded list showing what’s due soon and what can wait. Whatever it is, make it feel helpful, not like a telling-off. The aim’s simple: keep people borrowing, not avoiding the desk.

11. Subscription management for streaming services

Streaming services are sneaky. You sign up for a free trial, promise yourself you’ll cancel, and six months later you’re still paying for something you haven’t opened in weeks. Multiply that by three or four services, all with different billing dates and payment methods, and it’s easy to lose track.

Your job: build a single place where people can see every subscription they have — what’s active, what’s lapsed, and what’s coming up for renewal. Give them reminders before money leaves their account. Let them cancel or downgrade without having to dig through hidden menus. Maybe even show whether the subscription’s worth it based on how often they actually watch. And think about how it could link up with things people already use, like their phone’s OS or their Apple/Google/PayPal accounts.

12. Group trip planning

Planning a trip with friends sounds fun until you actually start doing it. The group chat explodes with half-baked ideas. Someone makes a spreadsheet that only three people update. Others disappear until it’s time to pay, and by then the dates have changed twice. Nobody’s quite in charge, so decisions just… stall.

Your challenge: create a tool that gets everyone on the same page without one person having to be the organiser. Let the group vote on destinations or dates, keep tabs on shared costs, and split up tasks. Build in a way to handle last-minute changes and indecisive members without drama. And for those who haven’t added their info yet, make it easy to send a nudge that’s friendly, not passive-aggressive.

13. Job application tracker for students

When you’re applying for internships or grad jobs on top of coursework, it’s easy to lose track. One deadline slips past, you forget which company you sent your CV to, and suddenly you’re scrambling before class to prep for an interview you booked weeks ago. Sticky notes and half-finished spreadsheets only go so far.

Your task: design a lightweight tracker that takes students from first application to final offer without losing their place. It should let them mark stages like “applied,” “interviewed,” or “offer,” store documents or links, and set reminders for follow-ups. Show progress in a way that eases anxiety — something that makes them feel organised rather than overwhelmed. Bonus points if it links with email or platforms like LinkedIn or Handshake so updates happen automatically.

14. Mobile farmers’ market app

Right now the app lists what’s on sale, gives seller bios, and lets people reserve produce for pickup. But customers say they want to know more — where the food’s from, who grew it, and how it was produced. They’re looking for trust as much as they are for tomatoes.

Your brief: redesign the product detail page so it feels like meeting the farmer in person. Show the story behind the food, the growing methods, and even photos from the farm. The aim is to help customers feel connected enough to make buying local their first choice, not just a nice extra.

 

15. University mental health support portal

Students know support is out there — but finding the right kind can feel like wandering into a maze. There are booking systems, peer programmes, self-help tools, and helplines, but no clear way to figure out where to start. The stress of choosing sometimes makes people give up before they get help.

Your challenge: create an onboarding experience that gently steers new users towards what they need. Ask simple, reassuring questions, then guide them to the right mix of resources — whether that’s booking an appointment, joining a peer group, or getting emergency contacts straight away. The tone matters here: no jargon, no overwhelm, just a clear first step

16. Event networking feature

At virtual events, the “networking” tab usually feels like scrolling through a phone book. Just names, job titles, and a vague hope you’ll find someone worth talking to. You end up sending cold connection requests that go nowhere, or you skip the whole thing entirely.

Your brief: make meeting people at an online event feel less like guesswork and more like bumping into someone interesting at the coffee stand. Give attendees ways to filter by shared interests, location, or goals. Suggest matches based on what they’re there for. And when they do connect, make it easy to start an actual conversation — not just fire off a generic “Hi, let’s connect.”

17. Personal carbon footprint tracker

Most carbon footprint tools make people feel guilty. They log a few meals or trips, get a scary number, and quietly close the app. If the goal is behaviour change, that’s a dead end.

Your task: design a dashboard that feels encouraging. Show their footprint for the week alongside past progress, with simple insights tied to habits — “That train trip saved X compared to flying.” Use positive reinforcement so people want to keep coming back. The point is to help them see the difference they’re making, not the size of the problem.

18. Urban dog walking marketplace

Dog owners in busy cities don’t have time to chase down updates from their walker. They want to know what’s booked, see proof their dog’s had their walk, and be able to chat if something comes up — all without juggling different apps.

Your job: design a “Your Walks” section that keeps everything in one place. Upcoming bookings, past walks, live updates while the walk’s happening — it should all be easy to scan at a glance. And when the walk’s over, let owners see notes or photos so they feel reassured their dog’s been cared for. Trust is everything here, so the design needs to make it effortless.

Where can I find practice whiteboard challenges?

New to UX whiteboarding? Just want to sharpen your skills? There are several sites that offer free, practical prompts to work through on your own or with a group. These platforms vary in tone and complexity, so you can pick one that suits your goals — whether you’re preparing for interviews or just building confidence.

• Designercize – A random UX challenge generator that lets you set a timer and difficulty level. Great for quick, no-prep practice sessions that simulate real-time whiteboarding conditions. Also, it has a really fun interface!
  
• Fakeclients.com – A randomly generated brief from a ‘fake’ client, designed to make you think. Includes a paid Pro service with even longer, more in-depth briefs.
  
• Prototypr – A community-driven hub where designers share real-world UX challenges and case studies. A great place to find inspiration and learn how others approach similar problems.
  

Tips for better UX whiteboarding

While grabbing a whiteboard and starting to draw may seem easy, there are some tips that whiteboarding pros would recommend to get started on the right foot. We’ve brought some of these together so your team can refer back to them.

Narrate your process

Talk through what you’re doing as you go. Every choice you make, every element you add — say it out loud. UX is built on logic and intuition, so you need a clear reason for everything on your board. If your explanation makes sense in your own head but doesn’t land with someone else, that’s a sign to talk it through and find a better answer. The logic behind your decisions isn’t something you can just assume everyone shares.

Ask questions

Don’t take any design decision as gospel — if something doesn’t sit right, ask about it. The team doesn’t benefit if you stay quiet and miss your chance to understand (or improve) part of the process. And being questioned isn’t a bad thing either. It makes everyone stop and think about what they’ve done. You might be the only one who spots that something doesn’t actually add up.

Keep it simple

The golden rule in UX? Don’t overcomplicate. That applies to whiteboarding too. If it’s not adding value, it’s just clutter. Document what’s needed, but resist the urge to cram in every tiny detail. A board that’s too busy is as unhelpful as one with missing steps — sometimes more so.

Ready to roll? Make sure you’ve got the right kit

Whiteboarding is easy when you’re in front of a physical board fully stocked with working markers. Fortunately, even if your whole team isn’t conveniently sitting together in one room, you can still get the full experience when you whiteboard remotely.

Our own tool, Cacoo, has a built-in whiteboarding feature, so you can access the same board as a team and make edits in real-time. As if the ability to be working in one application simultaneously weren’t great enough, you can also use a video chat feature within Cacoo to easily discuss every decision with the whole team along the way.

Depending on your team’s everyday needs, you can set up templates with screen sizes, categories of journeys and steps, and different aspects of your toolkit ahead of time. This way, you’re off to a quick start every time. Get started and see how quickly you finish your first whiteboarding project!

This post was originally published on July 20, 2021, and updated most recently on September 5, 2025.