Avocado helped a subsidiary of Australia's largest telecommunications company deliver the biggest upgrade in its sports website's history, with real-time content, a complete redesign and every team site, live in time for the start of the season.
About our client
Our client, a subsidiary of Australia's largest telecommunications company, runs sports websites that it upgrades every year. This upgrade was the largest and most complex it had attempted: real-time content and live feeds, a complete redesign, and seamless integration of every participating team the site promoted.

The challenge
The site's competitive advantage depended on giving fans a high-quality experience, and this release had to raise the bar.
- Immovable deadline. The project had four months to deliver, so the site would be ready for the start of the sporting season.
- Huge, highly visible audience. As one of the most heavily trafficked websites in the southern hemisphere, any defect or usability problem would be seen by thousands of fans.
- Real-time complexity. Delivering live data feeds and real-time content added significant technical risk within an already tight timeframe.
Our approach
- Risk-led planning. Avocado brought in an experienced team of website subject matter experts to assess the risks and break the work into manageable pieces.
- Usability first. Our consultants ran usability testing early, so the solution suited a wide range of user profiles.
- Quality assurance alongside development. A quality assurance team worked closely with the development team and the vendor, with structured test management and performance testing to make sure the site would hold up under peak traffic.
- End-to-end delivery. Avocado managed releases, test management and execution, user acceptance, IT implementation, operational handover and warranty support.

The Result
- The upgraded site went live on time, ready for the start of the season.
- Fans got real-time content and live feeds, a new design, and integrated team sites.
- Usability testing meant the new design worked for a wide range of users.
- Close collaboration between quality assurance, development and the vendor kept the project on track to its fixed deadline.
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