The Acumen Practice Notes website required an urgent upgrade to meet operational and contractual requirements. The existing platform had reached end of life, creating risk for the organization and forcing the team to move quickly. 

Key challenges included:

• End-of-life platform creating operational risk 

• Outdated, off-brand design that failed accessibility standards 

• Tight timelines driven by an approaching contract milestone 

• Large-scale content migration under time pressure 

From a user perspective, the dark and dated design made it difficult to engage with content, particularly for users with accessibility needs. The experience no longer aligned with the Australian Institute of Architects’ wider digital presence. 

Internally, the team faced a critical decision to either reinvest in an outdated system or migrate platforms rapidly without compromising quality or scalability. 

To address these challenges, the Australian Institute of Architects partnered with DDSN Interactive to deliver a fast and reliable migration to Xperience by Kentico. The focus was on speed, flexibility, and creating a foundation that could evolve over time. 

The solution included: 

• Migration to Xperience by Kentico using DDSN’s Leaping Llama accelerator 

• Structured delivery using established DDSN project management processes 

• Content restructuring through the Content Hub for reuse 

• Custom navigation with expandable submenus 

• Mixed authentication supporting public SEO and member-only access 

The Leaping Llama accelerator enabled rapid delivery while supporting custom requirements. Content was exported, refined, and re-imported to support structured reuse, alongside a custom stylesheet to improve navigation and usability. 

A key feature was the mixed authentication approach, allowing selected content to remain public while reserving full access for members and subscribers. This included SSO with iMIS for members, ENTRA SSO for staff administration access, and IP-based access for university subscribers. 

DDSN Interactive recommended Xperience by Kentico for its strong membership capabilities and built-in starting points for integrations and authentication. The platform provided a stable foundation aligned with the Australian Institute of Architects’ long-term digital goals. 

Key benefits included: 

• Membership and SSO starting points available out of the box 

• Content Hub for reusable content and assets 

• Page Builder, templates, and page starting points 

• Strong security model and reliable bug-fix policy 

• Fast and responsive administration interface 

Kentico’s performance was critical to success, enabling the team to review and manage approximately 1,200 pages of content within a compressed timeframe. 

From kickoff to launch, the project was delivered in just five weeks by a six-person team, upgrading a 1,200-page site. 

Key outcomes included: 

• Unified design aligned with the main marketing site and member portal 

• AA-compliant accessibility standards 

• Faster and more consistent user experience 

• Improved authoring experience with modern editing tools 

Authors quickly adopted the Kentico interface, highlighting the clean UI and ease of previewing content before publishing. The new platform streamlined content management while improving usability for members and public users alike. 

With a modern and scalable platform in place, the Australian Institute of Architects continues to expand Acumen Practice Notes with new content more efficiently. The updated administration interface supports ongoing improvements without added complexity. 

Next steps include exploring opportunities to enhance Acumen Practice Notes using AI, building on the strong digital foundation created with Xperience by Kentico.