Proposal Reading
This week’s task was to read chapter 3 of ‘ A Project Guide To UX Design’ by Ross Unger & Carolyn Chandler. The chapter discussed in-depth proposals for consultants and freelancers. My understanding from class and this chapter is that a proposal is a legal document that is not only a pitch for a job but also offers a project overview, pricing, deliverables, approach right through to signing off the project. This document is in the best interests of both parties and protects each party against assumptions such as what you may and may not need, as well as legal protection if a job runs out of finances that the designer would still be entitled to expenses for work done.
The benefit of a proposal is that it provides a sense of stability and protection and takes into consideration changes, timescale, payments, and concerns that might arise. A proposal can act as a prevention for loss of finances – acting as a guideline and lifeline simultaneously. Even though I may never need to write a proposal in my career it is good to be aware of how to create/conduct one should I ever freelance or be asked to construct one in a job role.
‘A proposal allows you to define terms that protect both sides in the event that something changes’
-‘A Project Guide To UX Design’ by Ross Unger & Carolyn Chandler’
A proposal is usually broken down into a number of page titles :
- Title page
- Revision History
- Project overview
- Project approach
- Scope of work
- Assumptions
- Deliverables
- Ownership & Rights
- Additional costs/fees
- Pricing and payment schedule
- Acknowledgement & sign off
The title page is self-explanatory, it’s the cover introducing the document. It’s worth noting that it is not good to put the client’s logo here without permission. This page covers the client name, the company proposing the document’s name, the version, the date, and some copyright text.
The Revision history is a table/document declaring what version of the proposal it is you are submitting as it may have changed a few times since sending the original. It is good practice to document any back and forth changes to the document so they can easily be referred to by both parties.
The Project Overview section is a clear and concise summary of what you will be working on and your solution to their problem. An overview of what to expect in the rest of the proposal is also highlighted here, this is the introduction to the set of expectations to be outlined in detail throughout the rest of the proposal.
The book referred to the P.U.R.I.T.E methodology when discussing the project approach.
P-Prepare> time dedicated to understanding the client’s industry and competitor research/analysis.
U-Understand>Outlining how you understand the problem and will involve client/their experts as a team to solve it.
R-Render> Creating the deliverables but keeping an open line of communication throughout the process.
I– Iterate> acknowledging that the designer will create multiple design iterations and quickly, in which the client/team will need to respond to in a timely fashion to stay on schedule.
T-Test>Testing the design will involve compliance/eyes from both sides to ensure as few problems arise as possible.
E-Enable> Completion of the project, approval, and taking it live.
Scope of work –
-‘A Project Guide To UX Design’ by Ross Unger & Carolyn Chandler’
The scope of work defines what work the designer and client will do so there is no confusion which leads naturally into the next section of the proposal.
I found the Assumptions section to be a vital part of the proposal. This is a polite way of outlining all expectations, for example, what you will need access to in order to ensure a successful project. It is an agreement to resources, assets, and anything else needed in a timely manner so there are no grey areas. This section allows no room for guesswork and ensures everyone is on the same page regarding expectations.
Deliverables are the work/work that will be handed over/delivered to the client during the duration of the project. a description of each deliverable should be added here from competition analysis to sketches to final prototype/live product depending on the scope of the project.
Ownership & Rights is the section that lets the client know to what degree they can use the work you hand over to them and falls into two categories usually- work for hire or licensed work. Work for hire means the person who pays for the work is the legal owner not the creator of said work. This comes with it the likely possibility the creator will not be kept on to maintain the work after sign-off, and in turn, missing out on the wage that would come with that. However, this is fairly standard industry practice. In short, once the work is done and sent off, you more than likely won’t work on it again – this is also dependant on the relationship you have with the client and the agreement you come to. Licensed work means you keep the copyright to it and can allow others to copy or sell it. Thus usually only happens if the designer owns all the source material for the work. There are various ways in which you can license work e.g non-commercially, use without modification, etc.
Additional costs and fees do exactly what it says on the tin. This covers every cost of the project and details, for example, if additional services are needed or if you have services the client is unaware that you can market to them. Stock footage and fonts can be an example of costs or additional costs depending on the project. A Maintainance package is an example of additional costs that might be suggested and dependant on approval but discussed in a way that’s beneficial to both client and designer in the additional costs/fees section. Fees need to be put in place should either party not fulfill their obligations/expectations and act as a deterrent for actions that stall/hinder the project.
Payment Schedule is another key benefit to be outlined in the proposal and there are a number of ways to do it. Milestone payments or regular recurring payments can be scheduled. Recurring regular payments offer the opportunity for client and designer to have updated and detailed, regular payments so that both parties can see where revenue is coming/going. This section is helpful in clarifying what would happen if a project is put on hold or goes bankrupt and where everyone stands in terms of finances. This will be useful if a project is put on standby as it allows the designer to factor in other projects to maintain an income.
Acknowledgment & sign-off is an understanding between the two parties that everyone is on the same page in terms of expectations and legally agrees to fulfill those obligations in a manner outlined in the proposal. Each party should retain a copy that either can refer to should any issues arise.
A statement of work is a 2/3 page document that comprises of a high definition of project objectives – it’s basically a more succinct version of a proposal.
My Thoughts
I found this chapter extremely hard to read. I felt I had to keep re-reading the same line over and over for it to sink in, I think this is because I have a creative mind and well….it was boring (to me). However, I understand the importance of needing to be aware of this for the future. I am going to have to conduct extra research on this topic to solidify what I have learned from this chapter.