UI / UX design or audit - how to measure costs?
Recently I was asked to do a UI or UX audit, and to be honest, I really don't know how to blame people for this ... The story is that I was using some kind of Portal X and I started to complain about how this is unfriendly and they asked me to do a full audit for them ... so what I did ... audit (with graphics, conversation with people, etc.) if they would like to get general.
In short:
How do I charge it? I can do something like: price * hours. But it looks like I have been using this portal for about two months so I didn't need to know this and I don't even know how to measure it. It took me 8 hours to write the doc ... I charged them about $ 200, but I haven't done this kind of thing before (not in a commercial space), so I can't show any recommendations or anything ... and I "I guess that it costs some real money because it's really hard and often people get it wrong ... sort of ... really really wrong ...
It would be great to hear what people in the UI / UX business have to say about this. TIA.
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I'm a professional UI designer and I can tell you that we handle this in different ways depending on the situation. If the job is "in the bag," then we'll do a lot of prep work (not user polling) for the "free" front and then go back to the cost of the actual work. In small jobs, I even went so far as to make multiple wireframes as part of the planning and bidding process. For some clients I am asked for semi-working layouts, in which case the "spec" and "design" stages will be charged separately. The $ 1 million account I worked for hired my team to work out the requirements for starting a planning process that seemed a bit overboard.
I am often asked to design or create something that I have never done before, so don't let that hang in your pricing. It is important to ultimately release a quality product that you are happy to put your name on. Experience has nothing to do with results.
One hard and fast rule that I follow. If I can see a "difficult" customer that I received very well, then the fee is always paid by the hourly rate with no exceptions. I have the flexibility to "give" them a few extra hours if all goes well, but if the client starts taking advantage of the situation, I can still pay in the end.
Regardless of the process you take, the key to success in this business is documentation. Put your contribution, change management strategies, warranty period, etc. GET SUBSCRIBED! I've been burned out by clients trying to use me for a site and then plugging a low ball contractor into the equation, so don't be afraid to tell who's going to do what happens, when it happens, and when the results from each person will be received.
There are hundreds of resources on the subject at smashingmagazine.com. It is a user interface that is suitable for this kind of information.
Good luck!
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