Designing for Decision-Makers: How Human-Centred Design Shapes Digital Twins
I’ve always been drawn to cutting-edge technology. Not just for its innovation but for how it can truly change the way we work and live. But over the years, I’ve learned that technology alone isn’t enough. If it isn’t useful, intuitive, or trusted, it simply doesn’t get used.
Take digital twins, for example. They have the power to revolutionise asset management, urban planning, and infrastructure, but in many cases, they don’t. Why? Because they’re often built with a focus on technology, not the people who actually need to use them.
This is where human-centred design (HCD) comes in.
From Augmented Reality to Digital Twins
My journey with Human-Centred Design (HCD) began over a decade ago when I founded APositive, a company using augmented reality (AR) to make history, culture, and tourism more engaging. One of our projects, an interactive AR billboard at Canberra Airport, showcased local tourism by simulating experiences like night spotting at Mulligans Flat and meeting a cheetah at the zoo.
During the prototype stage, we tested the concept with a group of users, closely observing their behaviour and asking them to articulate their thoughts as they interacted with the design. This process revealed key insights that shaped our refinements such as; what users assumed would happen, where they hesitated, and what elements caused confusion.
These observations, combined with direct feedback, led to adjustments that made the experience more intuitive and effective. By removing unnecessary barriers and making interaction intuitive, engagement soared, with over 33,000 smiles detected in the first month and the experience becoming a favorite with children and their grandparents alike.
That same principle of early user-testing has guided my career, from working as a consultant in Gov and at CSIRO’s Data61 on Computer Vision and ML-driven research to leading human-centred design at Terria.
Just as AR had to be designed for real users, digital twins must align with how people work.
Interactive AR Billboard by APositive
In 2016, visitors to Canberra Airport were able to meet a cheetah at the National Zoo & Aquarium, search for bettongs at Mulligans Flat Woodlands Sanctuary or spot a virtual whale on the Sapphire Coast off New South Wales while collecting waiting for their bags.
Building Trust with Human-Centred Design
One of the most fascinating insights I’ve gained in working with new technology is the critical role that trust plays in adoption. No matter how powerful or innovative a digital twin is, if asset managers, engineers, and operational teams don’t trust the data or understand how it integrates with their daily work, they simply won’t use it.
The art of HCD is taking the time to understand users’ needs, preferences, and real-world challenges. When users feel understood, they’re more likely to trust a system because it feels tailored to their needs. HCD is about fostering trust effectively.
This approach shifts the focus from technology-first to people-first, ensuring that the technology not only works well but feels seamless and relevant in users' daily lives.
I’ve seen this dynamic first-hand in several projects. For instance, in one case, operational teams initially resisted adopting digital twins in favour of legacy systems. Their concern? The digital twin data didn’t immediately seem to align with how they worked. But when we applied an HCD approach, by simplifying the user experience, making the data transparent, and ensuring it was actionable within their existing workflows, user uptake skyrocketed.
The result wasn’t just increased adoption, it was genuine trust in the technology.
The foundation of effective Digital Twins starts with Human-Centred Design. By focusing on people, solving the right problems, recognising interconnected systems, and making small, impactful interventions, we can build trusted, intuitive technology that integrates seamlessly into real-world workflows.
Human-Centred Design: The Key to AEC Transformation & Adoption
In my view, the biggest misconceptions about digital transformation is that it's purely a technology challenge. In reality, it’s a “people challenge”. The best tools in the world won’t drive change if they don’t fit how people actually work.
That’s exactly why we created the Terria Digital Twin Early Adopter Program (EAP). Instead of pushing technology first, we worked with industry professionals such as asset managers, engineers, and infrastructure specialists, to co-design solutions that fit into their existing workflows. The goal wasn’t just to test digital twin capabilities but to ensure they were practical, intuitive, and genuinely useful.
Co-Designing for Real-World Impact
We structured the program around the Double Diamond design process; Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver, enabling teams to test, iterate, and refine in real-world scenarios.
Through this approach, participants tackled common industry challenges, like fragmented data and interoperability issues, with structured experimentation rather than guesswork.
One of the most eye-opening insights from the program was just how much friction comes from poor data integration. Many teams faced barriers not because digital twins lacked potential, but because existing systems weren’t designed for easy adoption.
By placing users at the centre of the design process early, we saw breakthrough moments, like WT Australia shifting from static PDF cost reports to interactive 3D models, making financial data clearer and more actionable.
Similarly, SiteDE demonstrated how federated data approaches could improve collaboration, ensuring infrastructure projects had the right insights at the right time.
Meanwhile, SMEC's work in infrastructure planning showed how early user feedback prevented costly mistakes, proving that engaging stakeholders upfront isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, it’s a game-changer.
Another standout was CNC Project Management, who used visibility modeling to transform stakeholder engagement. Instead of static reports, they created rich, interactive 3D experiences, allowing clients to see and understand project impacts in a way that traditional presentations simply couldn’t achieve.
These case studies reinforce something I’ve seen throughout my career: technology only succeeds when it works for people.
At the end of the day, digital twins aren’t just about bringing data together to represent a reality. When designed with a human-first approach, they become trusted assets that drive smarter, more sustainable decision-making across the AEC industry.
Final Thoughts: The Human Element Behind Digital Twin Success
The future of digital twins lies not in the technology alone but in how that technology is designed with human needs at its core.
Digital twins can transform asset management, infrastructure planning, and AI-driven automation, but they will only succeed if the people who rely on them trust, understand and integrate them with their existing workflows.
Through the Terria Digital Twin Early Adopter Program, we’ve seen first-hand how an iterative, user-focused approach leads to real adoption and lasting impact which is why I’m looking forward to continue our human-centred design process at Terria as our product catalogue expands.
About Terria
Terria makes it easy to build advanced maps and digital twins, so you can see the bigger picture. Our digital maps and spatial digital twin technology make it easy for you to unlock the full potential of your data, enabling faster, smarter decision-making. We help you transform complex data into clear, actionable insights, so you can tackle real-world challenges with confidence and precision.
At Terria, we believe that data transparency has the power to transform how businesses operate, make decisions, and engage with stakeholders—ultimately leading to better outcomes for all. Find out more here https://terria.io/about
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