2026-10-08 Ottawa Book Signing: Design Research Mastery by Sara Fortier

Meet author Sara Fortier and dive into Design Research Mastery at Indigo Kanata, Thursday, October 8, 4–6 PM. Free, RSVP appreciated.

Sara Fortier, CEO and founder of Outwitly and author of Design Research Mastery: How To Lead Research That Builds Buy-in and Great Products, is returning to Ottawa for a conversation and book signing at Indigo Kanata!

We’re inviting Ottawa’s UX design and research community to stop by, connect with Sara 1:1, ask questions inspired by the book, and get your copy signed in person.

Bring your own copy of the book, purchase a copy ahead of time (Amazon / Indigo), or pick one up on-site while supplies last.

Outwitly is one of CapCHI‘s new sponsors this season!

What to expect:

  • Meet and greet with Sara Fortier and other Outwitly team members
  • Get your copy of Design Research Mastery signed
  • Fun Outwitly branded extras for the first folks to arrive
  • Conversation about earning stakeholder trust, turning research into real business impact, and what AI is changing (and not changing) about UX and service design roles
  • Curious about the publishing process in UX? Sara would be happy to chat about that too

Sara grew up in Ottawa and came back in 2016, after years in Silicon Valley, to found Outwitly. Her debut book Design Research Mastery launched across North America this past April. This signing at Indigo is an opportunity to mark that milestone close to home and meet more of the UX designers and researchers working right here in Ottawa.

 

2026-09-15 Nobody Was Frustrated: The Promise and Problem of Synthetic Users in UX Research

Hosted by CapCHI, Cristina & Zeerak  

CapCHI September 2026 event image

Our first event of the 2026/2027 season!

Join us as we kick off this new season with a talk about whether AI-generated participants can really stand in for real ones, presented by Dominira Saul, Founder & Principal, DFFRNT.

Generative AI is making it possible to create hundreds of seemingly realistic research participants in seconds. Synthetic users can answer interview questions, react to designs, complete surveys, simulate personas, and even attempt usability tasks at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional user research.

But are we actually learning about users, or generating plausible stories about them?

DATE TIME: Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 6:00-8:00 pm.

LOCATION: In-Person Event at Impact HUB Ottawa (123 Slater Street, 7th floor, Ottawa, ON K1P 5H2).

  • NOTE: The venue is in a high-rise building, and the entry doors on the ground floor/street level lock automatically at 7pm.

REGISTRATION: (Free!) meetup.com/capchi/events/316426982