Read what people have to say about working with me.
How I Can Help | How I Can’t Help | Pricing Policy | Hire Me!
How I Can Help
Working with me is easy: I will help you define the scope of the project, will provide a clear schedule upfront (and stick to it!), and will take all the steps necessary to ensure that we are creating a well-designed and easy to use product that meets a need in the world.
The process that I most often follow to get there is:
Research > Strategy > Design > Evaluation
This is a holistic approach that in my experience has yielded terrific results, but it isn’t always suited to every situation. Every project is unique and I treat it as such.
Depending on your company’s needs, budget, and timeline, I can provide the appropriate combination of the following services:
Research
- stakeholder interviews
- user interviews and observations
- competitive analysis
- web metrics analysis
Strategy
- personas
- scenarios
- feature set development
Design
- flow diagrams
- site maps
- storyboards
- schematics and wireframes
- functional specifications
Evaluation
- prototyping
- usability testing
- card sorts
- usability evaluations
If you would like an explanation on what any of the activities entail, I will be happy to explain it in great detail. My goal is to make sure you understand the value in every step that we decide to take together.
How I Can’t Help
It’s important to note that I do NOT do any visual design or programming. If you’re looking for an all-in-one person, it’s just not me. I focus solely on user experience (which is actually quite broad) — and I think that makes me very good at what I do.
I also have mixed feelings about the value of certain activities, so I tend not to do them:
- Focus groups (one perspective instead of many)
- Eye-tracking studies (high cost, low benefit)
- High-fidelity wireframes (inflexible and premature)
- Lists of best practices (there is no one-size-fits-all approach)
If you’re in desperate need of someone who does any of the above, I’d be happy to point you to the appropriate person. I am very selective about whom I refer out, so you’ll be getting the cream of the crop.
Pricing Policy
I don’t measure the value of my work in the number of hours that I spend working, therefore I don’t charge by the hour. If I take half as long as someone else to get things done, that doesn’t mean I’m half as good; on the flip side, if I take twice as long you shouldn’t be penalized.
Instead I charge a project rate that is determined by: (1) the duration of the project, (2) the types of activities I’ll be conducting, (3) the types of deliverables I’ll be producing, and (4) how formal you need those deliverables to be.
By telling me how much you want to spend upfront, I can tell you exactly what I can give you and when. There are several ways to approach any project, and it will be a lot easier for us to determine the right approach for your company if you have a budget in mind. Whatever your budget, there are many things we can do to improve the experience for your customers — and that’s what’s really important.
Hire me
If you’re interested in working with me, thank you! In order to get the ball rolling, just email me at whitney@whitneyhess.com and we can take it from there.
I can’t wait to hear from you! (P.S. I love what I do)
