Intentional design marries engineering rigour, human insight, commercial logic and social licence to de-risk projects by design, not by default.
Imagine stepping onto a new light-rail line that glides through your city not only on schedule but with a sense of ease and delight so palpable you can’t help but tell your friends about it. Now imagine the boardroom where investors lean forward, eager to fund the next phase. That’s the promise of intentional design: a process that marries engineering rigour, human insight, commercial logic and social licence – de-risking projects by design, not by default.
The limits of business-as-usual
For decades, infrastructure projects have been defined by a familiar rhythm: define scope, engineer to spec, consult until objections subside, then hope for the best. Scope creep, budget blow-outs, and community backlash have become almost inevitable byproducts of this linear, siloed model.
Yet the real problem isn’t engineering skill – it’s mindset. When technical, financial, and stakeholder considerations are addressed in isolation, projects tick boxes but miss the essence of what makes infrastructure truly valuable: people’s experience. Without a deliberate focus on how assets will be used, valued, and sustained, risks quietly accumulate until they erupt as costly delays, reputational damage or abandoned plans.
Intentional design: a globally proven process
Intentional design flips this script at the outset. It begins with strategic workshops, where engineers, operators, regulators and end-users co-create a vivid picture of what enduring success looks and feels like – long before a single beam is drawn. By mapping the entire system – its technical nodes and human touchpoints – teams uncover hidden flaws and unlock new solution pathways.
When empathy becomes integral, design problems don’t just get solved – they get reframed. This shift in perspective elevates assets from static structures to enablers of valuable experiences, paving the way for outcomes that resonate emotionally and financially. Moreover, the process also unlocks latent potential and energy in project teams weary of the same old process and its inherent problems.
Read more: Critical issues plague Australian infrastructure projects
De-risking by design
Central to intentional design is de-risking – an approach grounded in experience showing that risks can be eliminated, not just mitigated. By persistently asking “how” risks can be eliminated, rather than “if” they can be, elegant and inspiring solutions emerge time and again.
Plans and designs are stress-tested too, not just by disciplinary experts, but by integrated teams of engineers, operators, and other stakeholders. Sketches, mock-ups, small-scale pilots, and digital models expose risky assumptions – about cost, performance or community appetite – when adjustments are still easy and inexpensive.
For one of Australia’s global miners, this approach paid off spectacularly: within three days, the team conceived an elegant design that would save 10 per cent from a $1.4 billion budget by rerouting water flows, optimising stockpile footprints and aligning delivery schedules – while improving functionality and eliminating environmental risks. That $100 million-plus saving wasn’t a stroke of luck; it was the direct result of intentionally testing and refining ideas before engineering locked them in.
Fusing technical, commercial, and human dimensions
Engineers might ask, “Does empathy for stakeholders really deliver better outcomes?” It’s clear from a consumer product perspective the answer is yes. A landmark study by McKinsey & Company, which analysed 300 publicly listed companies across medical technology, consumer goods and retail banking over five years, found that companies excelling in human-centred design witnessed 32 per cent higher revenue growth and 56 per cent higher shareholder returns compared to industry peers.
Equally, it’s not hard to find examples of infrastructure projects that are running over time and over budget, often because of hardening community opposition. That “poor design premium” costs Australians billions every year. Consequently, investors prize projects with clear, user-centred value propositions – underwriting risk premiums when they see user demand, social licence and predictable revenue enabled through clever design.
This is why intentional design speaks all languages:
- Technical: it exposes critical asset performance drivers – whether load factors, energy efficiency or maintenance cycles – through collaborative whole-of-life systems mapping.
- Commercial: it sharpens business cases by addressing customer willingness to pay, market dynamics, and social and environmental externalities.
- Human: it integrates community values with user and operational realities, turning potential opponents into champions who help smooth approvals and sustain long-term support.
Confronting the cynics
Hard-nosed design engineers can and should challenge intentional design. But their top objections don’t usually hold up – intentional design overcoming each in practice:
- “Where’s the proof?” Internationally, there’s evidence to show that smarter upfront design consistently delivers double-digit savings – and improved project certainty – by spotting and fixing hidden risks early. That $100 million port saving in three days wasn’t a one-off; it’s a repeatable outcome when teams surface root-cause issues together.
- “We can’t spare time or budget for fluffy workshops.” The focused workshops fit neatly into existing stage-gates – one to two days up front. The small time investment slashes change orders, accelerates approvals and pays back within days, not years.
- “Investors want cash flow certainty, not user delight.” A loved asset creates predictable patronage, underwrites revenue and removes “social licence” risk premiums. When communities co-design, objection delays vanish – improving schedules, budgets and returns.
- “We already manage risk – this is just extra complexity.” Intentional design complements HAZOPs and Monte Carlo analysis by exposing human and systemic blind spots upstream. Eliminating root-cause risks shrinks the inputs your models use, making risk registers leaner and more accurate.
- “This is just value engineering by another name.” Value engineering typically trims features to save cost; intentional design reframes the entire project context, integrating technical, human and systemic insights to conceive entirely more valuable, elegant and cost-effective design solutions.
Building the future, today
Infrastructure that people love isn’t a luxury – it’s the only way to guarantee longevity and return on investment. When design becomes a repeatable, collaborative process rather than a one-off deliverable, projects transcend mere function. They become treasured assets that perform and evolve, delivering value over decades.
If you’re an engineer committed to solving real-world problems – and tired of firefighting downstream issues – consider intentional design your competitive advantage. It’s not about replacing sound engineering practice; it’s about enhancing it, ensuring every bolt, beam and budget line is grounded in the lived realities of those who build, operate and rely on our infrastructure.
What would your next project look like if you designed it to be loved – and to attract investors – before you broke ground?
Safety completing projects starts with effective early project planning. Learn more at this Engineers Australia event.
