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  • Who we work with

    Our client list has included the government organisations ASIC, ACCC, the Productivity Commission and the NSW Police;  financial services brands like ALI Group, Industry SuperFunds, and Westpac; not-for profits such as CCNB and ZAA.

    Our work has been used by governments in developing policy and by financial services firms and not-for-profit organisations in submissions to government. We have helped clients develop better targeted marketing, channel and communication strategies. We have used our linguistic and sensemaking skills to to give our clients the tools and greater confidence to create clearer communication and more suitable and desirable products.

    Why us?

    We have the research expertise, resources and processes specifically designed for clients like you. Your situation is unique, so we take time with you upfront to understand your organisation, your strategy, your category and your customers, members, users, donors etc so we can design research to give you the insights you need. We then use our social science training to design innovative techniques that sit beside the tried-and-tested research methods that we use for deep understanding, and provide robust, actionable interpretation of the results. We are based in Sydney and have helped small, medium and large businesses, government agencies, and not-for-profits across Australia. 

    Is your world changing?

    Many of our clients come to us because their world is changing.  What once seemed certain is now very uncertain.  Of course, the pandemic has had much to do with this, but it is not only pandemics that cause uncertainty. New regulations in financial services, many coming into effect in 2021, are placing greater demands on our clients who ask us for insight and direction.  Other clients are experiencing highly dynamic competitive marketplaces, so they have come to us for insights about new service channels or to explore rebranding options. Others are seeing changing social trends that they need to make sense of.

    We design research to meet your needs. All you need to do is request an obligation-free proposal from us by emailing me This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Our aim is to help you make the right decisions about your business or organisation. I look forward to hearing from you,   
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Our innovative and unique services

  • Usability testing for complex or technical material

    One of the most difficult tasks for anyone in a large organisation is knowing how to communicate complex or technical material to the general public. We see this all the time and empathise.  When you are writing about legal processes, you must use precise language.  We get that. The problem is that members of the general public may not understand it, so in the end you have not achieved your aim.

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  • Research with retirees and pre-retirees

    The years before retirement in Australia is a time of transition, that is partly behavioural but is also a search for meaning and a rethinking about identity.

    Lots of changes can happen at this time. Some people cut back on their work hours, some people retire and then go back to work. The decision to retire is (of course) partly about money. Many pre-retirees worry that they will not have enough to live on.

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  • Sensemaking

    Sense-making is a new way to think about customer experience research and decision-making research.

    Sense-making is about how people make sense of the communications we test. It explains why they get somethings right and others wrong. It is about how people make sense of service experiences. It explains what is going on the mind of the customer during a service journey and how people make sense of the products and sensory experiences we test

    Sense-making adds a unique perspective and a greater depth of insight to all our research.

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Some case studies

  • Case study: Retirees

    Case study: Retirees

    How do people choose when to retire? How do they plan, if they plan at all?  We conducted a survey for Industry Super Australia which they submitted to the Retirement Income Review. You can find it here.  
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  • Case study: membership

    Case study: membership

    A membership organisation asked us to review how well they were engaging with their members,  to gain a clearer understanding of the reader base and members' reasons for belonging and engaging with their newsletter.
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  • Case Study: Self-service challenges

    Case Study: Self-service challenges

    We know that many businesses aspire to self-service delivery models, but creating the right model can be a challenge. One recent project in financial services has shown us how challenging it can be to get this right.
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I study how people read, especially how they read digital media. I have been trained in plain language. I also understand the impact that graphics and design have on written communications. I have developed research and testing tools based on this understanding. 

Organisations commission us to conduct Information usability testing, when they  

  • Want users to give information to them that is accurate and honest; and

  • Want to give information to users  that they use in the way intended.

We have conducted hundreds of information user tests over the years for financial services organisations, not-for-profit associations, and government.

We bring research consultancy benefits to our user testing

We design the test specifically for the material we are testing. We may create questions for you that we have never used before to meet your specific needs.  We are trained in linguistics, so we bring our technical language skills to this.

We identify what needs to be rewritten or re-designed and how it should be done, specifically:

    • User stories: People vary in how they give information, how much they are willing to give. People vary in how well they understand information given to them. The task they want done also affects what information of theirs they will give and what of yours they will use
    • User journeys.  User journeys have pain points when users abandon giving or using information because it is too difficult.  
    • Engagement levels vary.  Users skim through some sections and pour over others. This is sometimes driven by the content, sometimes by the language and sometimes by the affordances.

We specialise in 'information usability' because we have an extensive knowledge of linguistics and have been trained in plain language.

Tags: Making sense, Disclosure, Consumer testing, Compliance, Information usability

For a quote or a confidential discussion about your research needs

Contact Sue

  • Email Sue on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Or phone her on +61 0409657317. We are based in Sydney, Australia and are members of the Research Society with QPR and ISO 20252 accreditation.