Finance Research Management System
The Finance Research Management System (FRMS) was designed as a centralized platform where research papers can be submitted, reviewed, organized, and accessed efficiently. The system introduces a structured workflow where contributors submit papers, administrators review and approve them, and receivers explore and consume the research.
requirment
Designed Finance Research Management System for Aker Solutions
Finance professionals, students, and researchers constantly produce valuable research papers. However, these papers often remain scattered across emails, local drives, or disconnected systems, making discovery and knowledge sharing difficult.
The Finance Research Management System (FRMS) was designed as a centralized platform where research papers can be submitted, reviewed, organized, and accessed efficiently. The system introduces a structured workflow where contributors submit papers, administrators review and approve them, and receivers explore and consume the research.
The platform also integrates an AI-powered assistant to help readers understand complex financial terminology while reading research papers.
Financial research environments face several challenges:
• Research papers are often stored in fragmented systems
• Lack of a structured approval process reduces content reliability
• Finding relevant research is time-consuming
• Complex financial terminology makes research difficult to understand
• Organizations lack visibility into trending research topics
These challenges slow down research consumption and reduce the overall value of financial knowledge.
The goal was to design a centralized platform that:
• Enables structured research submission and approval
• Improves research discovery and accessibility
• Helps readers understand complex financial concepts quickly
• Provides insights into trending research topics
• Maintains content quality through administrative moderation
RESEARCH ANALYTICS
The platform provides statistical insights such as:
• Trending research topics
• Most viewed research papers
• Contributor activity
• Research engagement
These insights help administrators understand what topics are gaining attention in the financial research ecosystem.
Solution
Challenges in organizing & accessing financial research
Several UI decisions were made to support clarity, readability, and information density.
CLEAN DATA TABLE:
Research lists and user management screens use structured data tables with filters and status indicators to make large datasets easy to manage.
This allows administrators to quickly review and approve submissions.
MINIMAL READING INTERFACE
The research reading interface was designed with:
• A wide reading layout
• Minimal distractions
• Clear typography
This creates an experience similar to reading a research journal or academic report.
CONSISTENT NAVIGATION
All dashboards follow a consistent navigation structure, allowing users to easily move between:
• Dashboard
• Projects
• Reports
• User management
This improves learnability and usability across roles.
VISUAL STATUS INDICATOR
Color-coded status indicators help quickly communicate information such as:
• Pending submissions
• Approved papers
• User account status
This reduces the need for detailed manual review.
design process
Understanding research workflows & structuring the platform
The design process focused on understanding research workflows and information management needs.
RESEARCH & SYSTEM UNDERSTANDING
The first step was defining the information architecture for the platform. Since the system involved multiple roles, the workflow needed to clearly define how research content moves from submission to approval and finally discovery.
Key entities identified:
• Users (Admin / Contributor / Receiver)
• Projects
• Research Papers
• Research Ratings
• Analytics Insights
This structure helped create a clear content hierarchy.
USER FLOW MAPPING
Separate workflows were created for each user role to ensure clarity and efficiency.
Admin Flow:
User Approval > Project Creation > Paper Review > Paper Approval > Research Monitoring
Contributor Flow:
Login > Select Project > Upload Paper > Await Approval > Track Submissions
Receiver Flow:
Search Research > Read Paper > Use AI Assistant > Rate Paper > Save or Download
Mapping these flows ensured the system remained structured and scalable.
The final solution was a role-based research management platform designed to organize financial knowledge efficiently.
Key platform features include:
ROLE-BASED DASHBOARD
Each user role receives a dashboard tailored to their needs.
Admins see research statistics and submissions.
Contributors track their research submissions.
Receivers quickly discover trending research topics.
This reduces cognitive load by showing only relevant information.
RESEARCH DISCOVERY
Receivers can search research papers using:
• Title
• Author
• Keywords
Suggested research topics and trending reports help users quickly explore relevant content.
STRUCTURED RESEARCH APPROVAL WORKFLOW
To maintain research credibility, the system introduces an approval process:
- The contributor submits the paper
- Admin reviews submission
- Admin approves paper
- The paper becomes visible to the receivers.
This ensures quality control and reliable research content.
AI RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Financial research can include complex terminology that may be difficult for readers to understand.
An integrated AI chatbot helps users:
• Understand difficult financial terms
• Get quick explanations while reading research
• Improve research comprehension
This feature reduces friction in reading complex financial material.
iteration & feedback
Refining the experience through usability improvements
During the design process, several refinements were made to improve usability.
Early designs required administrators to open each submission to view details. This was improved by introducing summary previews in tables, allowing admins to scan submissions faster.
Initial search results lacked context. Research cards were enhanced with:
• Short summaries
• Author information
• Rating indicators
This helped receivers decide which research to open quickly.
Reading long financial reports can be challenging. Adding the AI chatbot panel allows users to ask questions directly while reading, improving comprehension.
Outcome & Impact
Improving research accessibility & knowledge distribution
The FRMS concept demonstrates how structured research management can improve knowledge sharing in financial environments.
Potential impact includes:
• Faster discovery of relevant research
• Improved research credibility through approval workflows
• Better understanding of complex financial topics
• Increased visibility of trending research insights
The system provides a scalable framework for managing and distributing financial knowledge effectively.
