Design-led, from the first conversation.

Most rework traces back to a decision made early by people who never saw the service through its users' eyes. A form asks for information nobody has to hand. A portal is organised around the org chart. A feature nobody needed takes a whole cycle to build. None of these is a build problem, and none is cheap to fix once the build has started.

So on our projects, the people who lead research and design are in the first conversation, and they stay accountable to the end. In our delivery framework, HASTE, a design lead has a named job in every phase. They lead the user research in Hypothesise and own the desirability assessment in Assess. In Specify they own the flows, the screens, the design system and the testing with users. In Throughput they review the build against the design intent, and in Evaluate they lead user testing on the working software.

Human-centred design, for us, is a set of habits rather than a phase. We talk to the people who use a service and the people who run it. We design with them in workshops and co-design sessions, not just for them. We map the whole service, front stage and back, so the fix goes where the problem is. And one HASTE principle does not bend: design is tested with users before the build begins, because assumptions about usability are not enough.

Accessibility is part of the design, not a check at the end. Plain language, a clear structure and components built to WCAG from the first wireframe mean a service works for more people and costs less to put right later.

For you, that means fewer surprises. You see the service as your users will before it is built. The reasons for each design decision are written down, and what ships has been tested with the people it is for. Discovery is a fixed-price cycle, 4 weeks from A$40k, and it is design-led from the first day.