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Supporting human-centred design through usability testing

By Tori Sanderson

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Supporting human-centred design through usability testing

By Tori Sanderson

View profile

Tori Sanderson
Founder & Managing Director

With over 15 years in digital strategy, product delivery and consulting, Tori leads teams that turn complex ideas into products that work. She brings creative energy, focussed clarity, and a knack for building positive, high-performing cultures.

Tori has delivered impactful digital products across banking, construction, healthcare, government and the not-for-profit sector. She’s driven by curiosity, connection and continuous learning – and by helping teams and clients achieve outcomes that matter.

Connect with Tori

Call 02 6189 4943[email protected]

How Avian partnered with Jude Digital to provide usability testing and evidence-backed design recommendations for DCCEEW’s Nature Positive Matters platform.

Understanding what users really need

When the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) set out to create Nature Positive Matters, it wanted to deliver a platform that would help organisations and communities engage with Australia’s nature-positive agenda. DCCEEW engaged Jude Digital to design and deliver a platform that would deliver against these objectives.

To support their work on this engagement, Jude Digital engaged Avian to design and deliver usability testing on phase two of the product delivery. Jude’s goal was to deliver an iterated product that was intuitive, accessible, and grounded in real user needs; Avian supported this outcome by validating early product iterations with real users, testing content and navigation flows, and providing evidence to guide future product direction.

Key outcomes

  • Evidence-backed design decisions grounded in real user behaviours, tasks and needs
  • Clear, prioritised recommendations to improve content, navigation and information architecture
  • Improved confidence in human-centred design across the delivery team through practical usability testing
  • A strong foundation for future phases, aligning user needs, accessibility and long-term service direction

Bringing evidence to design decisions

Working in close collaboration with Jude’s project team, Avian designed a rapid, evidence-based usability testing process to uncover user needs and pain points.

The usability testing workstream not only tested prototypes; it built confidence and practical capability, giving DCCEEW teams the tools to apply HCD and accessibility principles across future digital services. By focusing on real tasks, behaviours, and expectations, the testing process helped the broader delivery team align around what mattered most to users.

Insights informed a suite of recommendations to further strengthen content, design, navigation and usability in the short and long term, including a new information architecture that reorganised key tasks and content around user journeys. A clickable prototype brought these ideas to life to show how the website might evolve in the future to meet AMSA and user needs.

Usability testing for better digital services

Avian conducted structured usability sessions with representative participants drawn from DCCEEW’s priority audiences. Using scenario-based tasks, participants navigated prototype designs to complete real-world goals while researchers observed interactions, recorded usability metrics, and captured qualitative insights.

The research produced a clear view of user needs: which features supported their goals, where users hesitated, and what content or language caused confusion. Findings were translated into prioritised recommendations that guided content, design and feature decisions for the next phase of development.

“Avian’s thoughtful insights and clear recommendations are already helping our client to improve future developments.” — Jude Digital

Insights that guide long-term direction

The usability testing results provided a detailed evidence base for DCCEEW’s decision-making, and supported Jude’s next phase of design work on the product. Each finding connected directly to user tasks and product goals, balancing immediate improvements with longer-term design opportunities.

This evidence helped Jude Digital and DCCEEW make informed decisions about feature prioritisation and future service direction, ensuring Nature Positive Matters could continue to evolve with user and policy needs.

Results that drive real change

Avian delivered:

  • Quantified usability findings tied to users’ top tasks
  • Actionable design and content recommendations
  • Accessibility guidance integrated into product governance

Together, these outcomes gave Jude Digital a robust evidence base to support their continued design and delivery work for DCCEEW, ensuring Nature Positive Matters continues to evolve with user needs and nature positive goals at its core.

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