  We present a spectral analysis of two XMM-Newton observations of the
narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy UGC 11763. UGC 11763 shows very different soft
X-ray spectral shapes in the two observations separated by 12 years. Three
spectral models are considered to explain the multi-epoch X-ray variability of
UGC 11763, one based on the relativistic disc reflection model, one based on
multiple partially-covering absorbers combined with the warm corona model, and
a hybrid model. In the first model, the X-ray variability of UGC 11763 is
caused by the emission from a compact coronal region with a variable size. The
resulting disc reflection component changes accordingly. A warm absorption
model with a modest column density is required in this model too. In the
partially-covering absorption scenario, the X-ray variability of UGC 11763 is
caused by the variable covering factors of two absorbers located within a
region of $r<\approx100r_{\rm g}$. Moreover, the temperature and strength of
the warm corona have to change significantly too to explain the variable
underlying soft X-ray emission. Lastly, we investigate the possibility of
variable intrinsic power-law emission from the hot corona combined with
variable absorption in UGC 11763 without changing the geometry of the corona in
the third model. This hybrid model provides a slightly better fit than the
partially-covering absorption model with improvements in fitting the iron
emission band. Current CCD-resolution data cannot distinguish these spectral
models for UGC 11763. Future high-resolution X-ray missions, e.g. Athena and
XRISM, will test them by resolving different spectral components.
