AI-Powered Knowledge Management for Project Leaders

Overview:

Financial Project Managers struggled with a complex Governance, Risk, and Compliance system (GRC), requiring expertise in 16 different applications and 11 processes, leading to inefficient information retrieval and frustration. Chōro was the number one finalist of the Innovation Challenge, and under my leadership, we were able to materialize this idea into a prototype that is now being developed.

• By leveraging the power of AI, I guided the Project Management Team to build Chōro, a tool that extracts and summarizes key information instantly, boosting user efficiency by 80%, and reducing help desk queries.

• I led the production of a high-fidelity prototype and video, built through user research and client collaboration, that demonstrated Chōro's value and secured stakeholder buy-in and funding.

• I was pivotal in leading the design process, from user research to prototype development and storytelling, ensuring Chōro addressed real user needs. As a result, Chōro reduces the time for project managers to create reports from 2 months to 2 weeks.

Challenge: 

Project Managers at a Financial Institution face a complex information landscape. Effectively using the Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) 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 Internal Repository (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. 

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. Chōro 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 Chōro'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: 

I designed an AI-driven information system that streamlined how project managers retrieve precise, accurate data from massive internal systems, minimizing search friction. I began by leading stakeholders interviews and workshops to capture essential user needs and pain points, which immediately informed the definition of the Information Architecture, personas, and core user flows. Collaborating closely with the Senior UI Designer, I led the production of low-fidelity wireframes, executed A/B testing for validation, and subsequently oversaw the development of the final high-fidelity prototype. I further ensured project success by capturing all functional requirements via user stories and authoring a strategic video script to clearly communicate the Chōro concept and its business value proposition.

Chōro, as a "context management system," is inherently complex. Personas provided the required focus to prevent feature creep. By grounding all design decisions (user flows and Information Architecture) in the primary goals of the defined personas, we could:

• Immediately identify the core user journeys that needed to be prioritized in the high-fidelity prototype.

• Discard low-priority features that didn't align with the most critical persona needs.

User Flow

Sketches and Wireframes

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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 Chōro addresses real user needs. 
• Stakeholder Buy-in: The visual representation of Chōro 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 Chōro's development.

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 Chōro concept and secured resources for its development, ultimately aiming to improve the efficiency and productivity of Project Managers at this Financial Institution.