In the past few weeks we’ve been invited to respond to a large number of Request For Proposals (RFPs).  This is unusual for us, as companies rarely write RFPs for usability services.  Clearly, organisations are starting to appreciate just how important usability is for the success of their design and development projects. Unfortunately however, the quality of the RFPs varies enormously, which can have a major impact on the quality of the eventual results.

The biggest problem is that organisations tend to precisely describe the usability services that they require, but only  vaguely describe the problem they want solved. It’s like going to the doctor, giving them a loose description of where you’re hurting, and telling them the exact type of antibiotics you’d like them to prescribe.

A well worded, well thought out RFP can mean the difference between project success and total disaster. So we’ve put together some recommendations on how to write useful, usable RFPs:

• Know your own mind. Before you start to write an RFP, you need to figure out what you really need. Why are do you want to employ usability services? What are you trying to find out? What business problem are you trying to solve? It is very hard to respond to an RFP if the objectives are vague, or the business outcomes are imprecise. This does require some up-front thinking, but will ultimately save you both time and money as you won’t have to answer a slew of clarifying questions from vendors.

• Consider how you will use the research. You don’t get usable systems from running usability studies; instead, you get them from acting on the findings of usability studies. It’s important to have a thorough understanding of what changes you are likely to make from the usability work – their costs, timelines and implications for the wider project or programme. Explaining how you will use the deliverables helps the vendor decide on the right tools and techniques.

• Explain the background of the project. This gives vendors some context to the questions you are asking  in the RFP. For example, asking for information about the vendor’s account management process makes a lot more sense if the vendors know that this project is the start of an ongoing, multi-year partnership.

Also, think about what information you already have that could be useful for the vendor. Provide detail on previous research (including non-obvious sources such as complaints logged by the contact centre), strategic business goals, and any demographic information you have on users. Usability consultants love this stuff. The more relevant information you can provide, the more likely you are to get a methodology that best suits your needs.

• Indicate when there is flexibility in the deliverables, services, budget or any other aspect of the project. Many vendors feel hamstrung by having to respond to the exact requirements outlined in a very formal legal document. The formal RFP process often doesn’t allow vendors to put approximate costs, or suggest wholesale changes to the methodology put forward by the organisation. It can be very useful to know when there is room to move. (Of course, alongside this is the need to know when things are absolutely immovable, such as when you  have promised the Minister that the system will be live by July 1.)

• If possible, accept proposals in different formats. Generally speaking, organisations require proposals to be written in a very specific format. This makes sense, because it allows the evaluation committee to easily compare responses from different vendors. However, most vendors have their own proposal templates, and one of the biggest gripes about the RFP process is that re-organising content into a completely different format can be very time consuming. As Selwyn Feary from New Zealand-based web design company Shift points out “the cost of preparing an RFP often almost exceeds the benefit of getting the work“. Where possible, give vendors some flexibility in how they respond to your RFP. For example, you could allow vendors to change the order and names of the section headings, so long as they answer all of your questions, and clearly reference the section they are referring to. Ultimately this benefits you because an overly strict format may miss some particular insights/experience that the vendor could provide, and having a proposal template that is easy to complete may result in more vendors putting in more proposals.

• Consider how to evaluate a usability company. Choosing a usability company is very different from choosing a design or software company. In 230 Tips and Tricks for a Better Usability Test (US$79), Rolf Molich outlines 47 questions to ask when hiring a usability professional, that can also be applied to hiring a usability company. For example, he suggests that you can gauge experience by asking potential vendors to describe a usability or design project that didn’t go well, or indicate how many usability studies they have supervised, facilitated or watched. He also recommends asking questions such as “how do you determine when a product is usable enough?” and “how would you present the results from a study to the project team?” to make sure that the chosen vendor has a pragmatic approach.  This will ensure that you end up with results that are practical and insightful and make a tangible difference to your project outcome.

Developing a well-written RFP takes time and planning. However, whether you are writing a one-page marketing brief or a 100-page preferred supplier agreement, having these guidelines in mind can ultimately make your job much easier when it comes to selecting a qualified vendor.