Face time with your users is precious, but a lot of funny (and not so funny) things can happen on the way to the session. We’ve seen it all: prototypes that don’t work, stakeholders who throw last-minute curveballs, participants who don’t show (or show up drunk!), etc., etc…. While the possibilities for failure can seem endless, disasters can be prevented if you know what to anticipate and how to plan for it. In this talk from Madison+ UX 2014 and UXPA 2014, Centralis co-founder Kathi Kaiser shares lessons learned, drawing on war stories from fifteen years of field research and usability testing. She offers tips, tricks and practical guidance for reducing risk and increasing the odds that you can make the most of your time with your users.