Daniela Napoli

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
hello@danielanapoli.com
www.danielanapoli.com

Professional Summary

User researcher who drives mixed-methods studies end to end, synthesizes complex qualitative and quantitative data, and turns it into decisions senior leaders act on. Integrates AI to accelerate analysis while keeping interpretation and validity under researcher judgment. Latest benchmarking study showed a 20% lift in task success and 395% improvement on a key findability metric.
Sets research strategy and builds scalable systems, including reusable methods (question banks, collaborator FAQ guides) and an AI-enabled research repository, so cross-functional product, design, and engineering teams leverage user insight at scale. Mentors junior researchers and sets research standards.
10 years of user research across industry UX and academic HCI, including a PhD in Computer Science examining trust and adoption of emerging technology, and hands-on delivery inside Agile product teams. Writes publicly on where researcher judgment can't be automated.

Skills

Design Research • Research Strategy • Generative and Evaluative Research • Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies • Interview and Survey Design • Usability Testing and Prototype Evaluation • Heuristic Evaluation • Accessibility and Inclusive Design • Design Thinking • Agile Product Development • Stakeholder Engagement • Cross-Functional Collaboration • Research Mentorship • AI-Assisted Research

Research Methods and Tools

Generative research: Semi-structured interviews, contextual inquiry, journey mapping, concept testing and concept evaluation, research protocol design (interview guides, observation grids, questionnaires).
Evaluative research: Heuristic evaluations, think-aloud usability testing, unmoderated task-based usability testing, longitudinal benchmarking studies.
Questionnaire and survey design: Survey design, statistical analysis of survey data, validated questionnaires (SUS, SUPR-Q, UX-Lite); Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, Microsoft Forms.
Qualitative analysis: Thematic analysis, affinity mapping, severity ranking; NVivo.
Quantitative analysis: Descriptive and inferential statistics (t-tests, ANOVA, chi-square); Python, R, SPSS, Excel; Hotjar, GA4.
Research platforms: Optimal Workshop, Loop11, Questback, Qualtrics.
Stakeholder engagement and cross-functional collaboration: Design Thinking workshops, Mural, Miro, Confluence, Jira.

User Research Experience

Senior User Experience Researcher

Oct 2025 – Oct 2026

Canadian Institute for Health Information, Toronto, Ontario

Design, run, and synthesize concurrent generative discovery (20+ interviews, Canada-wide survey) and evaluative longitudinal benchmarking for CIHI's highest-priority modernization program, embedded within Agile cross-functional product, design, and engineering teams building products for users across all Canadian provinces and territories.
Benchmarking measures products before and after release; latest outcomes: 20% task success lift, 395% improvement on key findability metric.
Analyze discovery interviews with AI in parallel with fieldwork, surfacing participant feedback to the team before sessions close while keeping interpretation and validity under researcher judgment. Lead prompt-writing workshops to build the team’s AI fluency.
Anchor ambiguous project vision through storytelling and journey maps. Translate user needs into feature priorities, technical requirements, and success criteria, and present findings to senior leadership, including Branch Directors who use them to reprioritize development backlogs.
Design and build an AI-enabled UX research repository, a scalable system that consolidates findings, reduces redundancy, and lets cross-functional teams leverage user insight at organizational scale.

Doctoral Researcher (Full-Time Focus)

Apr 2023 – Sep 2025

Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario

Computer Science PhD Researcher focused on tailoring remote healthcare technology to the needs and privacy expectations of older adults, examining how trust shapes adoption of emerging technology.
Designed and executed qualitative interviews and a national survey (n=384) on data collection, data sharing preferences, and privacy concerns, and published two peer-reviewed papers at HCII 2025 on privacy and on AI in remote healthcare.
Senior member and junior research mentor for Carleton's Human Oriented Research in Usable Security Laboratory.

Senior User Experience Researcher

Oct 2021 – Mar 2023

Canadian Institute for Health Information, Toronto, Ontario

Led generative requirements discovery shaping the program's target model (future vision and modernization strategy) through 15 user interviews and 10 stakeholder interviews.
Designed and executed evaluative studies in a longitudinal findability benchmarking program, establishing the baseline and methodology that anchored a multi-year research roadmap.
Partnered cross-functionally with product, design, and engineering teams and presented recommendations to leadership; findings implemented in retirement of legacy offerings and release of new products designed around user needs.

💡 Read more: Longitudinal benchmarking

User Experience Researcher, Intern

Sep 2020 – Dec 2020

Canadian Institute for Health Information, Ottawa, Ontario

Developed Python modules to automate persona mapping from research findings and website metadata, replacing a manual process that took a week per cycle; automation became part of the team's ongoing persona refresh workflow. Identified gap in how research translates to decisions and built infrastructure to solve it.
Facilitated 2 cross-departmental workshops and 10 user interviews to refine and validate user personas.

💡 Read more: Persona Automation

Design Researcher, Intern

May 2019 – Dec 2019

IBM, Ottawa, Ontario

Conducted and analyzed 15 user interviews across Design, Development, and Product Management to map workflows, identify organizational pain points, and uncover collaboration opportunities.
Designed and facilitated a cross-department design-thinking workshop (20 participants) using as-is scenario mapping, value proposition analysis, and need-statement techniques to ideate solutions for workflow challenges.
Packaged and presented key findings to internal stakeholders and at an internship-related conference.

💡 Read more: Improving Interdisciplinary Workflows

Human Factors Consultant, Intern

Jan 2017 – Jul 2017

CAE, Ottawa, Ontario

Collaborated with developers on a proof-of-concept for a cost-effective virtual-reality aviation training system; conducted usability studies (n=10) assessing impact on users' learning goals and situational awareness.
Co-designed and co-facilitated a director-level workshop using emergency-scenario simulations; captured findings and synthesized them into a recommendations report informing formal organizational response plans.
Systematically reviewed academic literature on AR in military training to support R&D proposals.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science

Sep 2018 – Aug 2025

Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario

Thesis: Tailoring Remote Healthcare Technology to Meet the Needs and Privacy Expectations of Older Adults
Senior member of Carleton's Human Oriented Research in Usable Security (CHORUS) lab

Master of Arts in Human-Computer Interaction

Sep 2016 – May 2018

Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario

Thesis: Accessible and Usable Security: Exploring Visually Impaired Users' Online Security and Privacy Strategies
Junior member of Carleton's Human Oriented Research in Usable Security (CHORUS) lab

Selected Publications

Napoli, D., et al. "I'm Literally Just Hoping This Will Work": Obstacles Blocking the Online Security and Privacy of Users with Visual Disabilities. Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), 2021 — 35 citations.
Napoli, D., et al. Developing Accessible and Usable Security (ACCUS) Heuristics. ACM CHI Extended Abstracts, 2018 — 24 citations.
Napoli, D., et al. Exploring User Perspectives on Data Collection, Data Sharing Preferences, and Privacy Concerns with Remote Healthcare Technology. HCI International (HCII), 2025 — large-scale survey, n=384.
Napoli, D., et al. Helpful but Terrifying: Older Adults' Perspectives of AI in Remote Healthcare Technology. HCI International (HCII), 2025.

Selected Invited Talks

Considering Privacy & AI in Remote Healthcare Technology for Older Adults — Wisdom Exchange Project, Dec 2025.
The U in UX Can Be For Everyone: Accessible and Usable Privacy — uXperience Think Privacy Design Jam, University of Waterloo (workshop facilitator).
Design Tips to Help Non-Visual Visitors Stay Secure Online — 10th Annual Accessibility Conference, University of Guelph.