Sporting Schools

Helping schools increase children's participation in sport

Problem statement

Sporting Schools is an Australian Government initiative connecting 8,000+ primary and secondary schools with sport programs and grants. The platform — used by over 25,000 teachers and 1,500 sporting organisations — was running on ageing SaaS infrastructure that no longer fit the program's needs.

The Australian Sports Commission funded a full rebuild on Microsoft Dynamics and PowerApps Portals. My role was to design the new platform end-to-end.

The existing platform had accumulated years of usability debt:

• 60% of users were on mobile or tablet — but the platform was desktop-only
• Navigation was built for the 2% — users associated with multiple schools — creating unnecessary complexity for the other 98%
• Quarterly grant cycles meant long gaps between logins, and no self-serve credential recovery
• Principal approval dependencies created bottlenecks before schools could even apply for grants
• Smaller and specialist schools weren't catered for at all.

Design process

This was the program's first time working with a designer. The platform had been built and maintained by a single lead developer, and design decisions had never needed to be justified.

Early on, my "why" questions created some friction — but the lead developer was experienced and genuinely open to new approaches.

By working closely with him and the product owner, I was able to shift design ownership into my role and build a strong collaborative foundation.

Understanding the current state:
I started by mapping existing information architecture, user flows, and usability issues. A user matrix helped the team see clearly who they were actually designing for — and where the platform was failing them.

Responsive-first design:
Google Analytics confirmed what the old platform ignored — 60% of users were on mobile or tablet.

Since the new platform used Bootstrap via Microsoft PowerApps Portals, I recommended a responsive design approach from the start, removing the need for a separate mobile build.

Microsoft B2C authentication:
Migrating to Microsoft B2C was a priority for the IT team, but the platform came with significant UX constraints — limited control over layouts, form fields, error messages, and button styles.

I met with the Lead Designer from another team already using B2C to understand the boundaries, then designed two options for each core flow (sign in, sign up, forgot/reset password).

After stakeholder review and approval, I collaborated with the business analyst to write user stories ready for development.

Sprint delivery:
Working in two-week sprints, I designed and handed over all screens, flows, states, and components across the platform — collaborating with business analysts, developers, QA testers, and the product owner throughout. I also QA'd each release in the test environment against design specs.

Usability testing:
By February 2023, the build was stable enough to test. I planned and ran moderated usability sessions with real teachers — defining scenarios and tasks, recruiting participants, and scoring results using the Single Ease Question (per task) and System Usability Scale (per session).

After rewatching every session, I produced a findings report, a presentation, and a prioritised action roadmap. I presented this to the product team and Sporting Schools stakeholders, then translated agreed actions into user stories to close out the project.

Results

By late May 2023, 8,000 schools had access to a fully rebuilt Sporting Schools platform — responsive across all devices, WCAG 2.1 AA compliant, and validated through usability testing with real users.

Learnings

This project shaped how I think about bringing UX into environments where it hasn't existed before:

• First-designer problems are real — and solvable. Introducing design rigour into an established team takes patience, but experienced developers are often your strongest allies once trust is built.
• Data drives decisions. Analytics showing 60% mobile usage made the case for responsive design.
• Constraints aren't blockers. Working within Microsoft B2C's limitations pushed me toward clearer, more creative solutions.
• Usability testing can be uncomfortable — Watching real users struggle is a powerful tool for shifting assumptions.
• Consistency compounds. Users noticed and appreciated familiar UI patterns across screens. It's a small thing that has an outsized impact on trust.