Specialization

Research & Insight Synthesis

From user understanding to strategic clarity—research that drives results.

About This Offering

SYSTEMshift delivers research that doesn’t just observe—it guides. We conduct deep user research, synthesize findings into actionable insight, and embed learning across teams to drive meaningful product and service decisions.

From stakeholder interviews to usability testing and insight platforms, we help organizations turn complexity into clarity, and observations into strategy.

Services Include

→ User Interviews & Stakeholder Research
→ Field Studies & Contextual Inquiry
→ Research Repositories & Insight Platforms
→ Usability Testing & Feedback Loops
→ Research Synthesis & Pattern Analysis
→ Insight Translation into Design or Product Strategy
→ Report Building & Workshop Facilitation

Featured Projects

ExxonMobil Speedpass+ Payment UX (2019)

→ Mapped pain points across cross-device payment journeys
→ Conducted field observation and task analysis
→ Delivered UX refinements for better adoption and flow

BMO Trident Product Bundle Research (2020)

→ Conducted qualitative interviews across financial product holders
→ Synthesized onboarding friction into service blueprint
→ Aligned business needs with user experience

Air Canada Loyalty Research Automation (2020)

→ Automated transcription + analysis of Aeroplan panel interviews
→ Identified onboarding and reward friction points
→ Used insight to streamline experience design

TD Contact Centre AI Discovery (2022)

→ Used telephobia research to inform NLP model training
→ Facilitated workshops with frontline and business stakeholders
→ Aligned CCaaS transition with user mental models

YorkU Watson Chatbot (2020)

→ Blueprinted chatbot based on student support journeys
→ Used research synthesis to define conversational architecture
→ Resulted in campus-wide adoption of SAVY AI assistant

About Bernadette

Bernadette Smail is the founder of SYSTEMshift and a certified experience researcher with 15+ years in UX, AI, and strategic design. As a former IBM iX consultant, she’s led insight-driven engagements for Air Canada, BMO, TD, and YorkU—turning qualitative and quantitative research into measurable direction.

Ideal Clients

→ Product teams seeking stronger research-to-strategy translation
→ UX leaders scaling research practices across teams
→ Government or enterprise orgs building research repositories
→ Founders validating early-stage user needs

Credentials

Testimonials & Recognition

Endorsements from UX, AI & Business Leaders

Helen Romano

Head of IBM iX

Bernadette is an exceptional UX/UI researcher and designer. Her strategic insights and design expertise consistently delivered impactful solutions, making her highly sought after by clients and product teams alike.

Ranvir Malik

Senior Managing Consultant

IBM Canada

You are outstanding—you make a difference. Your unselfish support introduced us to the Mural universe, leading to transformative collaboration.

TD CCaaS Genesys Integration

Uddipana Baishya

Senior Design Researcher

TD Invent

Bernadette, your blend of skills is truly impressive. Managing repository design, development, testing, and debugging as a one-woman team was remarkable. You handled a heavy workload under tight deadlines with composure and adaptability, always eager for feedback and continuous improvement.

TD UX Research Repository