Planning and estimating for UCD
February 8, 2009 (over a year ago)
Taking a user-centred design approach to a is assumed to be a bit slower – perhaps for good reason. The key then is setting the right expectations within the business. Here’s how we do it…
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Choose which UCD methods to use
Once we understand what the project is about, we can decide how we want to involve users. We use this ‘recommendation engine’ to make two recommendations, based on how important this project is to the business (and hence how much time and money can be devoted to involving users)
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Figure out the costs of our recommendations
Using our ‘UCD calculator’ we see how much resource and money each recommendation will require, and how long each will take.
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Create a UCD estimate
When we have both our recommendations, what they’ll cost, and how long they’ll take, we prepare the two timelines and estimates. This is the beginning of a conversation with the business ensuring they can make informed decisions about involving users.
All this is about setting very clear expectations before any design work is undertaken. It ensures the business knows why we’re taking a UCD approach, how long it will take and what it will cost.