CHATHAM FINANCIAL
Enhacing feature and user awareness in ChathamDirect.
Overview
During my internship at Chatham Financial, I was tasked with improving feature awareness in ChathamDirect. After conducting research and stakeholder interviews, I recommended implementing a third-party in-app guidance tool to better communicate new features, based on user needs, business goals, maintenance, and budget considerations.
My Role
UX Research
UX Design
Timeline
10 weeks
June – August 2023
THE PROBLEM | SO, WHAT'S THE ISSUE?
Users were unaware of new features thus making the adoption rate of new features and updates low.
Chatham Financial needed a way to communicate product updates and new features within their platform. The existing communication methods such as email announcements, release notes, and word-of-mouth from client teams were inconsistent, easy to overlook, and not embedded within the product experience. As a result:
Clients were unaware when new features were released.
Adoption of new tools was low, even when the features addressed key user needs.
There was no unified system for sharing updates across all sectors and user types.
THE SOLUTION | SO, HOW CAN WE SOLVE THIS?
Implement a 3rd-party guidance tool to enhance user engagement while meeting business needs and requirements.
After evaluating different approaches and research, I recommended implementing a third-party in-app guidance tool to provide scalable, efficient, and user-friendly updates as it could it could possibly provide a:
20-30%
increase in feature awareness.
10-20%
increase in new feature adoption.
Double
the amount of user engagement.
RESEARCH
During my internship, I was tasked with solving how to present users with 'What's New?'. To gain a deeper understanding and to further define the problem, I delved into research.
User interviews
I was not able
3
increase in feature awareness.
2 Designers
increase in feature awareness.
5
increase in feature awareness.
6
increase in new feature adoption.
6
the amount of user engagement.
Affinity Mapping
After conducting the user interviews, I was able to us Condens to further analyze the data in common user behaviors, pain points, business wants, and team capabilities.
0.1 – Brainstorming ideas graphic.
User Journey Mapping
After gathering the initial insights, I led a User Journey Mapping workshop with my design team peers to identify persona, goals, scenarios, and steps for users how users could interact with new feature and update notifications.
0.3 – Lorem ipsum.
KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS | DEFINING USER GROUPS
From the user interviews, I learned that there were two main types of users. The frequent and infrequent users.
The frequent user were clients who logged on daily basis and the infrequent user were clients we logged in once a month. Both users had similar aspects to consider:
Behaviors
Both users are focused on completing tasks, not exploring updates. Frequency of use impacts their awareness and approach to changes.
Paint points & Frustrations
Both struggle with poor communication of new features, but for opposite reasons; over exposure vs. under exposure.
Needs & Goals
Both need more control and personalization around how they receive product updates.
CONSIDERATIONS
So, do we build or do we buy?
With the interviews with the designers, developers, and marketing..
SOLUTION EXPLORATION
Exploring the capabilities of 3rd party in-app guidance tools.
I reached out to 4 third party apps to request live demos and Q&As in order to gain a better understanding of the features and capabilities they offered.
0.1 – Brainstorming ideas graphic.
FINAL DECISION
Buying over building.
After conducting research and stakeholder interviews, it became clear that the core challenge wasn’t just about informing users—it was about doing so in a way that was timely, relevant, and embedded in their existing workflows. To solve this, I recommended the adoption of a third-party in-app guidance platform such as Chameleon, Userpilot, Pendo, or Appcues.
MOCK DESIGNS
What the incorporation of the solution could possibly look like.
After conducting research and stakeholder interviews, it became clear that the core challenge wasn’t just about informing users—it was about doing so in a way that was timely, relevant, and embedded in their existing workflows. To solve this, I recommended the adoption of a third-party in-app guidance platform such as Chameleon, Userpilot, Pendo, or Appcues.
0.1 – Brainstorming ideas graphic.
A scalable approach to feature awareness
This project supports the importance of balancing user needs, techincal feasibilty, and business goals when designing for UX solution.
20-30%
increase in feature awareness.
10-20%
increase in new feature adoption.
Double
the amount of user engagement.
Standard
protocol to follow for user experience consistency.
✅ Why this matters
Faster onboarding = happier clients, stronger engagement, less strain on internal teams.
Higher adoption rates = return on investment on new feature developments.
Increased user engagement = clients see the benefits of new features sooner.
NEXT STEPS | LONG-TERM OBSERVATION
Testing, implementation, and measuring success.
In order to truly see if this solution works and provides positive effects, we would need to:
Conduct usability testing on the selected 3rd-party tool.
Based on the recommended platforms, conduct internal evaluations and pilot testing to determine which tool best fits Chatham’s technical infrastructure and user needs.
Define an implementation roadmap for rollout.
Outline a phased rollout plan that includes onboarding internal teams, setting up content strategy workflows, and integrating with analytics tools like FullStory.
Design and test initial content
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to create the first round of “What’s New” content, ensuring it's accessible, targeted, and on-brand.
Measure post-launch adoption, engagement metrics, and gather user feedback.
SIDE PROJECT
Redesigning an old page utilizing the design system.
Before: Outdated and limited functionality
After: Design system compliant and more feature usability.
0.1 – Brainstorming ideas graphic.
RETROSPECTIVE
Key takeaways from my internship.
Designing with constraints is a core UX skill.
I learned how to create meaningful design decisions even when direct access to users wasn't possible. Instead, I had to leverage internal stakeholders to gain insights.
The importance of cross-functional collaboration.
Interviewing product managers, designers, developers, marketing, and client support showed me how many different perspectives can shape product decisions with UX bridging the gap.
Research can inform strategy, even without full implementation.
Although the scope of the project meant that the solution wouldn't be implemented during my time, my research helped shape the product recommendation based on user needs, feasibility, and business goals. This showed me that UX can drive strategy and not just surface-level UI decisions.
Evaluating buy vs. build decisions requires user empathy and business thinking.
This research experienced expand my product thinking in regards to balanced costs, speed, scalability while keeping user needs in mind.
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