Organizational Topics
Strategies for Sizing UCD Projects
Facts:
- Relevant to: Internal usability groups, External consultants, Large/medium/small companies
When discussing strategies for sizing UCD projects with consultants, it quickly becomes evident that there seem to be as many strategies as there are consultants. This document will define and describe commonly used strategies, identify each strategy’s scope (i.e., whether it applies to design, research, or evaluation), suggest situations in which each strategy would be best suited, and identify pros, cons, and caveats to its use.
- Basic Description
- How To
The following are commonly used strategies, which are described in more detail under "How To":
- Actual hours (time and materials)
- Best guess
- Low/high estimates
- Fixed price by project
- Fixed price by activity or deliverable
- Guidelines-based estimate
- Spilt sizing and pricing
Decision Criteria
These strategies aren’t mutually exclusive; they can be combined in a variety of ways.
Some hybrid solutions are discussed, but not exhaustively. Also note that sizing a project and determining what price to quote may also be, to some extent, mutually exclusive. Sizing refers to determining the amount of time (usually measured in person hours) a project will require. The consultant will use this information to then determine what price to quote for the project. The relationship between the two may be direct, or may be influenced by a number of factors that cause the cost to the client to either exceed or be less than the cost to the consultant. For the purposes of this discussion, we will assume a direct relationship between sizing and costing.