BACK: What kind of help do you need?

4.2 What attributes should they have?

Write down what kind of person you are looking for. What qualities should they have, and what should they be able to do?

What attributes should an adviser on choosing or implementing a tool have?

What attributes should someone who will design a tool with you have?

What attributes should someone who will build a tool with you have?

What attributes should someone who maintains your tool or provides user support have?

example

Do they need to have worked with organisations like yours before?
Do they have an interest in the mission of your organisation?
Are they impartial or do they have a bias towards some types of tools?
Are they happy to give advice without providing support on other issues?
Do you need them to train staff?

example

How should they involve you in the process?
Are they practitioners of human-centred design?
How would you like them to engage with your target users?
Do you need to own the intellectual property of the designs they create?

example

What kind of projects should have they worked on before?
Should they have experience working with organisations like yours?
Do they have practical experience working with the technology you want to use?
Do they need specific technical skills?
What times can they guarantee to provide support?
Will they be available at the times you need them?
Can they prepare support documentation for people to use or train staff?
Do you need them to be in the same city or country as you?

case study

An organisation created a request for proposals and selected a technical provider because it had made the lowest-priced offer. The provider was unreliable and never finished the database it had been contracted to set up. The organisation then tried two other suppliers before finally building the tool. It wished it had invested more effort initially in choosing a technical partner that properly met their needs.

Alidade

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

CONGRATULATIONS

4.2 What attributes should they have?