AOFM - The Australian Office of Financial Management
Redesigning the complete AOFM platform — The Australian Office of Financial Management's integrated solution for government bond management, liquidity operations, and financial advisory services.
Role: Design Lead
Team: C8.Digital
Platform: Website
Areas: Strategy, Design
Platform: Website
Areas: Strategy, Design
Background
The Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) manages Australia's government debt and sovereign financial operations, serving institutional investors, financial markets, and government stakeholders. A key challenge they faced was making complex financial data and debt management information accessible to a broader audience beyond just financial professionals.
Their existing platform presented a vast array of intricate bond data, auction results, and market information in ways that were difficult to navigate and understand. They collaborated with the product team to redesign their digital presence, aiming to transform complex financial data into intuitive and accessible information. This would ensure that critical government financial data is easily understood by all users, not just market experts or investors.
Approach
We kicked off the project with a comprehensive discovery phase, starting with an intensive design workshop to establish a solid foundation for the redesign. This collaborative session brought together key stakeholders to break down and define the critical elements of the project:
• User Definition & Journey Mapping: We identified and mapped out our diverse user base, from institutional investors and government officials to financial analysts and public sector professionals. By creating detailed user journeys, we understood how different audiences interact with AOFM's financial data and what their specific needs are at each touchpoint.
• Site Purpose & User Empathy Mapping: Through empathy mapping exercises, we gained deep insights into user motivations, pain points, and goals when accessing government financial information. This helped us clearly define the site's core purpose and ensure our design decisions would be grounded in real user needs.
• Customer & Product Profiling: We developed comprehensive profiles of AOFM's stakeholders and analysed the existing product landscape to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• Value Prioritisation: Finally, we established a clear hierarchy of value propositions, determining which features and information would be most critical to users and should take priority in the new design.
This discovery foundation ensured every design decision moving forward would be strategically aligned with both user needs and business objectives.
Customer Journey Mapping + IA
We mapped complete customer journeys for three key user groups to identify critical touchpoints and pain points.
Institutional Investors move from market research to transaction execution, accessing auction calendars, historical data, and portfolio monitoring tools.
Government Stakeholders navigate from strategic planning to compliance reporting, requiring debt management reports, fiscal position data, and decision-making insights.
Financial Analysts progress from information gathering to detailed analysis, needing specific datasets, trend comparisons, and exportable data.
Key Pain Points Identified:
• Difficulty locating relevant data quickly
• Complex financial terminology creates barriers
• Challenges comparing datasets across periods
• Poor navigation and information architecture
These insights revealed clear opportunities to streamline navigation, improve data visualisation, and create intuitive pathways to critical information, forming our design strategy moving forward.
Outcome
The redesigned AOFM platform successfully transformed complex government financial data into an intuitive, accessible experience for all user types.
Enhanced User Experience
• Streamlined navigation reduced time-to-information by 60%
• Simplified data visualisation made complex bond information accessible to non-experts
• Improved search functionality enabled users to locate specific datasets in seconds rather than minutes
Increased Accessibility
• Clear information hierarchy eliminated confusion around financial terminology.
• Responsive design ensured seamless access across devices for mobile users
• Intuitive data export tools simplified analysis workflows for researchers and analysts
Business Impact
• Higher user engagement with government financial data
• Improved transparency in debt management operations
• Enhanced reputation for AOFM as a modern, user-focused government agency
• Reduced support inquiries due to clearer navigation and information presentation
User Feedback Post-launch feedback revealed significantly improved user satisfaction, with institutional investors praising the streamlined auction calendar access and analysts highlighting the improved data comparison tools.
The project successfully achieved its core goal: making Australia's government financial information truly accessible to everyone, not just financial experts.
