Background
Built is a 100% Australian-owned digital-first contractor and property developer, delivering complex construction projects across commercial, education, health, defence and social infrastructure sectors. With a strong focus on innovation and investing in talent, Built runs a competitive graduate program designed to attract and develop future leaders in construction.
To support this program, Antares originally developed the Graduate Power Application — a digital tool to streamline how graduates manage their journey and track their development within the business. As Built’s graduate intake grew and program expectations evolved, so too did the need for the application to keep pace. What began as a simple SharePoint-based solution has naturally evolved into a more sophisticated platform. The growth of the graduate program, combined with increasing user demands, highlighted the need for a modern, scalable, and future-proof solution to support the next phase of the program’s maturity.
The Challenge
With the graduate program evolving in both scale and complexity, Built needed more than just an upgrade—it needed a complete rethink of how the Graduate App could support its people and processes. As participation grew across disciplines and locations, the original app, once fit-for-purpose, began to fall short in meeting the new expectations of users and administrators alike.
Scalability quickly became a pain point. The app was no longer able to manage the increasing volume of users, data, and workflows without performance issues. Graduates followed diverse learning paths, rotated through multiple teams, and submitted frequent assessments, adding layers of complexity that the system struggled to support.
The user experience also required attention. Tasks that should have been simple—like logging progress or self-assessments—became time-consuming and frustrating. For managers and HR teams, the difficulty in accessing consolidated data made it harder to oversee the program or extract meaningful insights. A more modern, intuitive experience was needed to boost engagement and reduce administrative overhead.
Finally, integration gaps created further inefficiencies. The app operated in isolation, disconnected from critical systems such as HR, learning and development, and performance management. This meant duplicated effort, manual workarounds, and missed opportunities to align the graduate journey with broader organisational goals.
The challenge was to deliver a future-ready platform that could scale with the program, improve the everyday experience for users, and embed more deeply into Built’s digital ecosystem.
The Solution
To support this growing need of the graduate program, Antares reimagined the Graduate App with a strong focus on modern architecture, improved usability, and long-term scalability.
Built arrived with a solid foundation of requirements, and Antares took these further, leading collaborative discovery workshops to unpack not just what the app needed to do, but how it could truly support the experience of graduates and managers alike. These conversations uncovered key opportunities to enhance the app’s functionality in practical, meaningful ways. For example, reducing clicks wasn’t just about speed—it was about making the platform feel smoother, more intuitive, and easier to use in real-world workflows.
One standout enhancement was the redesign of the assessment workflow—a vital part of the graduate journey. Graduates now complete self-assessments aligned to core competencies and projects, justifying their level of confidence. Managers, who directly oversaw those projects, can then review and adjust these ratings, ensuring balanced, constructive feedback. This interactive loop promotes richer conversations, shared understanding, and a stronger culture of development.
Under the hood, Antares rebuilt the Graduate App on a modern Microsoft technology stack—replacing the original SharePoint list and basic Power App with a robust solution powered by Microsoft Dataverse. This provided a secure, structured, and scalable data foundation to support future growth. Power Apps delivered a refreshed, responsive user interface tailored to the real-world needs of graduates and managers, while Power Automate streamlined approvals and task workflows. Azure Active Directory enabled seamless authentication, and the platform’s alignment with Built’s broader Microsoft 365 environment ensures it’s ready for future integration with tools like Power BI for reporting and insights.
To build stakeholder confidence early, Antares provided a high-level design that clearly mapped out the app’s structure, experience, and underlying data model. Even for non-technical stakeholders, this visual approach made it easy to understand what was coming and how the new solution would deliver value.
The project followed an agile-inspired delivery model, with regular demos, feedback loops, and close collaboration between Antares and Built. This flexible way of working allowed the team to quickly iterate, fine-tune features, and keep momentum throughout the project. The result was a modern, user-driven application that not only meets today’s needs—but is ready to grow and evolve alongside Built’s program in the years to come.
The Benefits
The launch of Graduate App has delivered clear and immediate value for Built’s graduate program, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from both graduates and managers.
Graduates are now navigating their assessments with ease. The app feels faster, more intuitive, and better aligned with how they work—reducing friction and saving time in their day-to-day tasks. From the very first rollout, users have commented on how much smoother and more enjoyable the experience is.
Managers have also embraced the change. With clearer workflows and the ability to directly approve and adjust graduate self-assessments, they finally have the visibility and control they need—streamlining what was once a clunky and manual process. What was previously done through workarounds and patchy approvals is now managed seamlessly through a structured, reliable system.
Under the surface, the app’s scalable architecture has set Built up for the future. As more graduates join the program and data volumes grow, the app is ready to keep up—ensuring performance remains fast, stable, and secure over time. The foundation built on Microsoft Dataverse means future enhancements can also be rolled out with ease.
Antares continues to work closely with Built, with ongoing support and improvement in place. The app was designed not just as a one-time delivery, but as a living solution—ready to evolve alongside the organisation’s needs.
The success of the app highlights what can be achieved when thoughtful design, deep collaboration, and technical excellence come together.
