Lucas Paraizo

Asset Register Redesign for Aurora

Asset Register, Aurora at SmartStream

The Asset Register is where banks and hedge funds manage the securities data that regulatory reporting and settlement depend on, so accuracy and speed are non-negotiable. I led its redesign as part of the launch of Aurora's securities module.

Problem

Real assets are messy. One security can be listed on several markets and carry several identifiers: ISIN, CUSIP, internal codes, SWIFT. The legacy screens fragmented a single asset across multiple rows and screens, so users navigated back and forth to understand one holding. That slowed routine work and raised the risk of errors, and it got worse as the securities module grew.

Approach

I ran a two-day, in-person workshop in Vienna with engineering, QA, product and documentation to map how different users actually work with securities data. The insight that reframed the project: the system was structured around how data was stored, not how people think about assets.

The constraints were real ones: complex financial data under strict compliance, a tight launch timeline, no tolerance for breaking existing workflows or terminology, and both technical and operational users to serve.

• Grouped dual-listed assets into a single expandable record instead of fragmented rows
• Supported multiple identifiers per asset, reflecting real exchange and client complexity
• Prioritised active assets by default to match daily usage
• Optimised the layout for fast scanning, accuracy and repeat use

Outcome

An unscripted client walkthrough during a design review surfaced a requirement nobody had documented: custom identifiers for internal codes and SWIFT. It went in as an inline interaction before build rather than after. Alongside the UI I delivered user flows and logic documentation, which reduced ambiguity during implementation into Aurora.

The full case study walks through the workshop, the pivot concepts, the client feedback and the before-and-after screens. It is password protected because it shows client software.