Foundations First - how the BOM website experience highlights the value of strong scoping
How much should it really cost to redesign a website that does not even touch global payment gateways
If someone asked me for a reasonable estimate to redesign a public information website with moderate complexity, I would normally suggest somewhere between one hundred and fifty thousand and two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Perhaps more if the site is genuinely complex, integrates multiple data sources or requires real time interaction.
This is why the ABC report noting that the Bureau of Meteorology’s website project reached ninety six point five million dollars understandably attracted attention. Only a small proportion of that total was associated with the public facing redesign, with the rest relating to build and security work. For many people working in digital delivery, the immediate question is not who is to blame, but what can be learned.
Across my digital career, I have worked on websites ranging from simple refreshes to fully integrated white labelled platforms pulling live data from multiple application programming interface sources through cloud connectors and data warehouses. The technology itself is not unusual. What determines success or failure is the structure that surrounds the work.
Large cost escalations often reflect a pattern that is familiar in complex projects. Requirements shift before they are fully understood. Stakeholders refine their preferences through successive redesigns rather than through clear initial direction. Project managers may struggle to challenge scope or estimates without strong technical grounding. Vendors continue to deliver against moving targets. In busy environments, leaders may receive high level updates without having full clarity around emerging risks.
These situations rarely arise from one decision or one individual. They come from gaps in process, communication and shared understanding.
The teams doing the work feel this most. Developers and analysts responding to changing directions without supporting data. Delivery teams asked to provide plans and budgets before capacity, skills or constraints are fully understood. It is the equivalent of asking how long a piece of string needs to be without yet knowing its purpose.
The core lesson is not about the tools. It is about discipline.
Strong requirements gathering remains the most valuable investment an organisation can make in any digital initiative. Understanding the current state, the desired future state, the supporting business processes and the technical landscape creates a shared foundation. Ka mua ka muri understanding where we have come from to guide where we are going. This work can take time, particularly for organisations with complex systems or limited internal capacity, but it is critical to preventing costly rework later.
When the foundations are clear and the work is properly scoped, the build phase of a website or application can be remarkably efficient. Like constructing a house, a strong foundation supports everything above it. When foundations are rushed or unclear, cracks tend to appear early, often within the first year of operation.
For many organisations, especially those running lean and working hard to serve their communities, the challenge is navigating an environment where solutions can be oversold and complexity can be underestimated. The promise of speed and simplicity is appealing, but without grounding in governance and clarity, the final outcome can drift far from the initial expectation.
At Nepata Digital we focus on the work that protects organisations from these situations. We begin with requirements, process mapping and clear documentation. We can lead the process of going to market and present balanced solution options that fit both capability and budget. We can manage vendor engagement and implementation or take full end to end responsibility including level one and level two support where appropriate for the software chosen.
Where organisations need stronger data capability, we design centralised storage solutions such as data warehouses or data lakes so that reporting, analytics and automation are part of the architecture rather than add ons later.
The lesson from the Bureau of Meteorology website is not that technology is risky. It is that large scale digital work requires grounded governance, strong scoping and an environment where informed challenge is welcomed. When those elements are in place, costs remain predictable, teams stay aligned and the outcome meets the organisation’s intent.
That is the discipline we prioritise and the value we bring to every project we support.
