Challenge:
Project Managers at a Financial Institution face a complex information landscape. Effectively using the GRC-GPAD information system requires proficiency in 11 applications and 16 processes. This leads to several challenges:
• Difficulty finding answers: Users struggle to locate solutions within the Financial Institution Hub, particularly for initiating processes in Coupa or Lotus Notes.
• Extensive knowledge requirement: Project Managers need in-depth expertise in numerous applications and processes, hindering their efficiency.
• Over-reliance on Hub searches: The system's complexity forces heavy reliance on Hub searches, making knowledge retrieval inefficient.
• Frustrating user experience: Inability to find answers quickly leads to frustration and impacts productivity. These factors contribute to project delays, missed deadlines, and resource strain.
Impact:
The resulting high-fidelity prototype served as a powerful tool for:
• End-User Feedback: The prototype enabled us to gather valuable user feedback, ensuring Choro addresses real user needs.
• Stakeholder Buy-in: The visual representation of Choro helped gain buy-in from key stakeholders, paving the way for investment.
• Funding Securement: The client used the final video featuring the MVP prototype to secure funding for Choro's development.
Solution:
To address these challenges, the Financial Institution and Synechron developed Chōro, an AI-powered information system designed to streamline workflows and simplify information access for Project Managers. Choro leverages artificial intelligence to provide precise search results and a user-friendly interface, aiming to improve the efficiency and accuracy of information retrieval. The development team, working closely with key stakeholders, created a rapid prototype to demonstrate Choro's vision. This prototype, accompanied by a narrated video, served as a tangible tool for gathering user feedback and securing investment for further development.
My Role:
As the UX Lead, I executed a 4-week user-centered design process to develop a high fidelity, clickable prototype of Choro:
• User Research: I led and facilitated workshops to understand user needs and pain points through user interviews with executives and project managers who will benefit with Choro.
• User Flow & Information Architecture: I executed the user flows outlining core user journeys within Choro.
• Wireframing & Information Architecture: I coordinated with the Senior UI Designer the sketched and produced low fidelity wireframes, executed A/B testing on these wireframes, and built out the platform's information architecture.
• Prototype Development: I collaborated with a senior UI Designer to build from low to high-fidelity prototype showcasing Choro's functionalities.
• User Stories & Video Script: I captured user needs through user stories and authored a video and its script that effectively communicated the Choro concept, user experience, and business value proposition, using the prototype as a visual aid.
Conclusion:
This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of user-centered design and prototyping in bringing complex solutions to life. By involving users and stakeholders early on, we successfully validated the Choro concept and secured resources for its development, ultimately aiming to improve the efficiency and productivity of Project Managers at this Financial Institution.