Hydro Tasmania: Strategic Planning for a Modern Digital Presence

Hydro Tasmania, Australia’s leading clean energy provider, sought to modernise its corporate website to align with contemporary digital standards and reflect its values of sustainability, innovation, and community engagement. The project aimed to address existing challenges with usability, scalability, and accessibility compliance while creating a future-proof digital platform. OSKY was engaged for Phase 1, focusing on consultation, research, and delivering a strategic roadmap for the redevelopment, including critical project deliverables.

Hydro Tasmania faced challenges with its existing Sitefinity CMS, including fragmented user experience, accessibility gaps, and restricted scalability. The company required a modern website that could enhance usability, meet WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards, and support organisational growth. Establishing a clear strategic roadmap was essential to guide the redevelopment and align the project with Hydro Tasmania’s long-term objectives.

OSKY adopted a collaborative and user-focused approach to define a clear and actionable framework for the website redevelopment. Key actions included:

• Stakeholder Engagement: Conducted workshops and interviews to gather insights from key stakeholders, aligning project goals with Hydro Tasmania’s strategic objectives.
• Current State Analysis: Evaluated the existing Sitefinity CMS and identified limitations in user experience, accessibility, and scalability.
• Future State Definition: Proposed a vision for a modern, accessible, and scalable website leveraging a headless CMS architecture for flexibility and improved performance.

Core Deliverables:

• Moodboard: Created a visual guide aligning with Hydro Tasmania’s brand identity and digital narrative.
• Functional Requirements: Documented essential features and system capabilities to meet user and organisational needs.
• Non-Functional Requirements: Defined performance, security, scalability, and compliance standards to guide the technical implementation.
• Design Templates: Provided initial design concepts for key web pages, reflecting the desired visual direction and user experience improvements.
• Information Architecture: Suggested a revised content structure, validated through tree testing, to optimise navigation and user experience.
• Accessibility and SEO Integration: Collaborated with Hydro Tasmania to incorporate WCAG 2.1 AA standards and SEO strategies into the roadmap.

The project delivered measurable outcomes:

• Comprehensive Reverse Brief: Detailed all technical, functional, and design recommendations to guide Phase 2 development.
• Clear Requirements: Defined functional and non-functional requirements for the website, ensuring alignment with Hydro Tasmania’s operational and strategic goals.
• Enhanced Content Strategy: Refined content structure and information architecture to improve navigation and engagement.
• Accessibility and Compliance Enhancements: Ensured inclusivity for diverse users by aligning with WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
• Tangible Deliverables: Provided a moodboard and design templates to accelerate the design and development phases.

By delivering a strategic roadmap and foundational project deliverables, OSKY has set Hydro Tasmania on a clear path to a modern, scalable, and accessible digital presence. Through collaboration, transparency, and a focus on sustainability, OSKY has empowered Hydro Tasmania to better engage its audiences and align its digital platform with its mission of clean energy and community impact. The project’s success demonstrates OSKY’s commitment to delivering thoughtful, future-ready solutions tailored to clients’ unique needs.