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Together, we make life-saving discoveries
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
A brighter future together
Development
UX design & research
UI design
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Background

Home to 90+ labs and 1300+ staff and students, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), is an internationally recognised, Nobel Prize winning medical research institute, based in Parkville, Melbourne. Amongst the scientific community the institute is highly regarded for both its current output and past discoveries spanning over 100 years – with 484 scientific publications in 2022 alone.

The challenge

With scientific research a prime focus, WEHI also has a huge variety of undertakings including scientific education, philanthropic endeavours and reconciliation programs, as well as the crucial aspect of maintaining funding for the institute. The challenge was determining the best way to present this extensive amount of content in a way that seemed logical to navigate through and provide a pleasant experience for users

The Approach

An initial research project was conducted and formulated into a needs analysis to help identify a clear path forward for the project. This needs analysis uncovered the strategy and direction required to consider this project a success. This research project included extensive stakeholder consultation, user interviews and co-design sessions spanning from research scientists and students to general community and donors.

Needs analysis

With such a large undertaking, it was of high importance to research and plan the best possible roadmap to delivering a successful project. With so many different segments of users and the requirement to give a vast majority of stakeholders the opportunity to provide input, a documented needs analysis was formed

This initial research project was conducted and formulated into a needs analysis to help identify a clear path forward for the project. This needs analysis uncovered the strategy and direction required to consider this project a success. This research project included extensive stakeholder consultation, user interviews and co-design sessions spanning from research scientists and students to general community and donors.

WEHI website project

We conducted an extensive research project to uncover the biggest problems we wanted to solve with this project and the best way to solve them.

Discovery workshops

Identifying internal project goals, key challenges and stakeholder priorities through a series of exercises; expert interviews, long term goals, project barriers and initial journey mapping

Competitor benchmarking

Garvan, Hudson, The Francis Crick, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre, SAHMRI, The University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

SEO and analytics data analysis

Combination of SEO keyword research, analysis of analytics data and review of WEHI’s social media channels

Ideation workshops

Dedicated activity-based sessions to generate ideas and validate the proposed prototypes with specific stakeholder groups

Stakeholder interviews

48 interviews and 38 questionnaires to gather project-relevant information, team objectives, delivery priorities and stakeholder suggestions

Usability testing & interviews

Usability testing and interviews with end users to test ideas and assumptions around terminology and navigation. Wireframes were refined based off participant feedback & behaviour patterns

Information architecture audit

A site crawl to assess which existing content has a high engagement. This is considered against audience requirements and SEO best practices to establish any adjustments to site structure

UX design & prototyping

Wireframes based on collected data, stakeholder knowledge and user testing. The wireframes highlight the core functionality and structure of the website, with considerations on how we nurture users

Final needs analysis report

This website needs analysis report outlines the strategic recommendations for the website. All data has been evaluated and a comprehensive understanding of the project considerations and recommendations have been outlined

Manifesting a usable product based on what we uncovered

Now we have all this collated user input and data, what do we do with it? This mountain of information helped guide us with how we can produce a clearer and more defined website architecture, structure simplified and logical navigation, prioritise appropriate content to guide page structure and appropriately design and style the interface of the new build.

“WEHI has a rich history of extraordinary discoveries and profound contributions to improving human health. Here, the brightest minds collaborate, innovate and strive to solve the most pressing health challenges facing our community.”

Professor Alan Cowman, AC Acting Director WEHI
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