Decoding Parent Behavior. Optimising the Digital Experience for Melbourne Grammar School

From real parent behaviour to a clearer digital experience.

The Challenge

A school website has to serve very different needs. Prospective families are researching scholarships and admissions. Current parents want fast access to everyday information. Families using the Uniform Shop need certainty that they have selected the right items.

Melbourne Grammar School had strong digital foundations, but the experience was spread across multiple platforms, navigation structures and content formats. The key question was not simply whether information existed. It was whether parents could find it, understand it and act with confidence.

Sonar was engaged to move the conversation from opinion to evidence. We needed to see where real behaviour matched the intended journey, where it diverged and which changes would create the greatest experience improvement.

MGS

Our Approach

A connected evidence base

User testing was one part of a broader CX optimisation process. Sonar triangulated the sessions with:

  • Website traffic and acquisition-channel analysis.
  • Search-query and emerging AI/LLM discovery patterns.
  • Microsoft Clarity behavioural data.
  • UX and conversion-rate optimisation reviews.
  • Content, navigation and information-architecture assessment.
  • Technical discovery for the Parent Bulletin.
    Stakeholder workshops and a strategic findings presentation.

This combination was important. Analytics showed where people went. Behavioural tools showed how they interacted. User testing revealed why they hesitated, changed direction or lost confidence.

From Observations to Strategic Decisions

Sonar synthesised the evidence across all key testing experiences, rather than treating each issue in isolation. We mapped recurring friction to the underlying cause - navigation, content structure, product discovery, decision support or platform design - then translated the findings into a prioritised roadmap.

The consultation moved through four clear stages:

  1. Align on the audiences, objectives and critical journeys.
  2. Observe real parents completing real tasks.
  3. Triangulate qualitative behaviour with analytics and UX evidence.
  4. Turn the findings into practical recommendations, priorities and a phased delivery plan.

What The Testing Revealed

  1. The biggest friction was often before the destination
  2. A functional transaction can still hide a confidence gap
  3. Content structure needs to reflect how people think
  4. Finding information is not the same as understanding it

The Outcome

An evidence-led roadmap, not a redesign by opinion

Sonar gave Melbourne Grammar School a clear view of where the digital experience was working, where it was creating avoidable friction and which improvements should be prioritised.

The work turned the key observed tasks into one connected CX strategy. It separated usability from findability, transaction performance from decision confidence, and isolated page issues from broader information-architecture problems.

Most importantly, it gave stakeholders a practical roadmap grounded in the behaviour and language of real parents - creating a stronger foundation for navigation, content, design and platform decisions.

The fastest route to a better experience is not more assumptions. It is watching real people try to use it.

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