Portable partnered with SuperFriend to design and build an automated survey platform that transforms complex research into clear, actionable insights, helping organisations measure and improve workforce mental health at scale.
SuperFriend is a mental health and wellbeing research organisation supported by Australian industry superannuation funds and insurance providers. They run survey programs across a range of industries including healthcare, retail and transport, using the collected data to calculate their proprietary Thriving Workplace Index (TWI) mental health metrics that form the core of their product offering. SuperFriend uses one of Australia's largest workplace mental health datasets to help organisations understand psychosocial risk, workforce wellbeing and the factors that enable thriving workplaces.
Before partnering with Portable, SuperFriend's process was almost entirely manual: survey data was extracted from third-party tools, analysed internally, compiled into Power BI dashboards, and distributed to clients along with curated resources tailored to each organisation's TWI scores.
Mental wellness across the Australian workforce has been an area of growing focus. Additionally, there is increasing regulatory attention on the psychosocial hazards and the growing demand for evidence-based prevention strategies. As SuperFriend works to address this, they identified that their existing approach needed to evolve to meet increasing demand. With a small internal team, they sought a technical platform to support growth and reliability.
As SuperFriend expanded into new industries, they faced a fundamental challenge: how to scale a research-led mental health model without slowing down the delivery of support to the organisations that rely on it.
Without a functioning platform, survey analysis and resource distribution would remain manual. This created a direct bottleneck, delaying how quickly organisations could understand workforce mental health trends and respond with appropriate interventions. Over time, this risked limiting SuperFriend’s ability to onboard new partners, identify emerging risks in the data, and deliver timely, evidence-based support at scale.
As a mission-driven organisation entering a new phase of growth, SuperFriend had an evolving product roadmap. The platform needed to be shaped iteratively by balancing emerging requirements with the urgency of delivering a usable system.
This introduced several layers of complexity:
Evolving product definition
The platform was being defined in parallel with its development. Rather than working to a fixed specification, the challenge was to create a delivery model that allowed for continuous alignment, validation, and refinement without losing momentum.
Complex, dynamic calculations
SuperFriend’s Thriving Workplace Index methodology required translating established research formulae into a flexible, scalable data model. These calculations needed to operate across varying survey structures, supporting both individual and aggregated insights, while the underlying schema continued to evolve. The Thriving Workplace Index calculation being split over 19 industries, the recommendations received were not identical.
Turning data into action
Data is most valuable when turned into actionable insights leading to better decisions. TWI score alone does not improve mental health outcomes. The platform needed to connect scores to the resources for right guidance at the right time, requiring a sophisticated content matching engine capable of dynamically linking TWI results to evidence-based actionable resources.
Designing within technical constraints
Early plans to use embedded visualisation proved unworkable due to security limitations. This required the team to design and build a custom visualisation layer from the ground up, without compromising usability or clarity.
Building technical capability through partnership
As a research-led organisation, SuperFriend’s strength lies in mental health expertise. Ensuring long-term success meant delivering the platform, while enabling SuperFriend to understand, own, and evolve it thus embedding technical confidence alongside the solution itself.
Portable approached the project as a partnership in discovery and delivery, recognising that SuperFriend’s platform could not be defined upfront in its entirety, but needed to come forth through usage, testing, and continuous alignment.
We established an iterative, demo-driven delivery model, where each milestone acted as both a technical checkpoint and a strategic decision point. Rather than waiting for requirements to fully emerge, working software became the mechanism for shaping the product thus enabling SuperFriend’s team to test assumptions, engage stakeholders, and refine their direction.
This approach balanced momentum with flexibility, ensuring the platform could evolve alongside SuperFriend’s expanding vision, without compromising delivery pace.
A core focus of the engagement was translating SuperFriend’s research methodology into a robust, adaptable technical foundation.
We developed a flexible calculation engine capable of transforming survey responses into TWI indexes across multiple configurations. This ensured the platform could accommodate changes to survey design over time, without breaking underlying logic and supporting long-term scalability as SuperFriend’s programs evolve.
To make these insights actionable, we designed a content matching system that connects results to targeted guidance. By structuring content around defined thresholds and automating how resources are surfaced, the platform enables organisations to move directly from insight to action by removing the delays and inconsistencies of manual analysis.
Beyond technical scalability, a primary goal of the platform was to radically simplify the user experience for those responsible for workplace mental health. Recognising that organisational leaders are often overwhelmed by complex raw data, we prioritised the development of executive-grade dashboards that transform multifaceted research metrics into clear, intuitive visualisations.
These dashboards serve as a decision-support engine, rather than just a reporting tool. By distilling complex maturity data into precise, targeted insights, the platform empowers leaders to instantly identify their organisation’s specific strengths and areas for growth. This shift from 'data presentation' to 'decision support' removes the friction of manual analysis, allowing partners and organisational admins to act with confidence and speed, confident that their interventions are grounded in evidence.
Beyond delivery, the engagement focused on building SuperFriend’s internal capability to own and evolve the platform.
We implemented a headless content management system, giving their team direct control over resources without requiring technical support. We used a widely known and well supported technology stack, for simpler maintenance and security. Infrastructure was defined through code, ensuring consistency, reliability, and ease of maintenance across environments.
Throughout the process, we worked closely with SuperFriend to build confidence in how the system operates by equipping them to scale the platform, adapt it to new contexts, and continue delivering impact long after launch. By adopting a collaborative partnership approach, we prioritised knowledge transfer, ensuring SuperFriend is equipped to confidently own and evolve the platform to meet emerging needs long after our initial engagement.
Adil KhanSenior Developer
Danielle EmondProduction Lead
Divya PuthumanappullySenior Developer
Faiq GazdharTechnology Lead
Rohan RichardsSenior Developer
“From the outset, Portable felt like a true partner - working alongside us to understand our vision, navigate complexity and deliver a solution to meet the ‘modern workplace’ of any size and industry. Not an easy feat! What impressed me most was Portable's ability to bridge the gap between technical excellence and human-centred design. They transformed what had been a highly manual, research-intensive process into a scalable, intuitive platform without losing the integrity of the science behind it. The result is far more than a technology solution. Together we've created the digital foundation for the future of workplace mental health intelligence; one that enables organisations to move from data to meaningful action at scale. I would highly recommend Portable to any organisation looking for a genuine partner who brings strategic thinking, technical expertise and a deep commitment to delivering lasting impact.”
“Our roadmap was still taking shape as we built it and Portable matched that pace - agile, ready to pivot the moment priorities shifted, without losing momentum. Portable's technical expertise and problem-solving mindset was unmatched. Their thinking was always forward-looking, built to hold up as the platform grew and choosing technology our small team could maintain ourselves. Our scope going in was wide; Portable's ability to translate that into a focused, deliverable MVP is commendable and the sign of true partnership.”
“Working with the SF team was a genuinely enjoyable experience. Angeleena and Renae were consistently responsive, always available when we had questions, and remarkably open to our ideas throughout the process. That collaborative spirit made all the difference, the final product is a true reflection of what great teamwork looks like.”
“Being involved in this project from the very beginning was an incredibly rewarding experience. Working closely with such talented SMEs, whose deep expertise guided the build, was a highlight; their clarity on specifications allowed us to construct a platform that truly serves their vision. Throughout the process, we established a fantastic rhythm and learned so much from one another. I am immensely proud to have partnered with such a smart and dedicated team.”
