Usability247 is a new user experience agency focussing on multiplatform user testing, usability expert reviews and user research. We deliver services through a global network of freelance practitioners (plus full time staff) and this enables us to operate truly globally and with access to a wide array of technology and languages. This slide deck provides information about how freelance user experience practitioners can start working with Usability247.

1. Becoming a usability247
Accredited Practitioner
An information booklet for freelance user experience practitioners

2. Contents
▪ Introduction 3
▪ Our vision 4
▪ The opportunity 5
▪ The services 6
▪ Sharing our methodologies 8
▪ Why become accredited 9
▪ How to become accredited 10
▪ Operational model 11
▪ Quality 12
▪ Commercial arrangements 13
▪ The benefits 14
▪ About Usability247 15
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3. Introduction
The UX industry is changing.
The past 15 years have see significant world-wide growth in the
number freelance practitioners
User experience buyers have become better educated
The agency model has not evolved at the same rate
Seemingly commoditised services are over-complicated and
shrouded in mystery to those outside the industry.
Blue-chip organisations are still “discovering usability”
It is no surprise that so many interfaces still fail to meet even basic
levels of acceptable performance.
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4. Our vision
We want to change the world
…one interface at a time
so that everything is usable, everywhere, for everyone, all the time
it would be better for consumers and better for businesses
We believe there are better ways of working that can involve the freelance
practitioner community throughout the world and benefit all—customers, consumers
and practitioners.
This short guide sets out what we plan to do, how you can get involved and the
benefits available to you. It won’t be for everyone, and that’s ok because it isn’t a
competition; it’s about making progress.
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5. The opportunity
Imagine a major global brand that wants to evaluate whether the website they are
developing works in all major markets and languages and on all device formats. At the
same time with increasing pressure on budgets and therefore time, organisations find it
very difficult to stop or slow development in order to carry out “usability”.
UX practitioners are located across the globe with access to a vast and diverse array of
technologies, languages and cultures. We intend to use this distribution to everyone's
benefit.
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By connecting with the global freelance practitioner community,
Usability247 hopes to provide a research capability that is available
round the clock and has the potential to allow access to almost
any device, in any language and in any culture.

6. The Services
Methodologies will be familiar to experienced practitioners and our
goal is not to reinvent the wheel. We have simply adapted and
defined existing methodologies to ensure they can be delivered
with consistency anywhere in the world.
All three methodologies are designed to be delivered through the
accredited practitioner programme. Project length varies from a
couple of days to a few weeks.
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We are marketing three services that can be delivered by accredited practitioners:
247:expert—an expert review similar to a usability audit
247:lab—a rapid turnaround lab usability test with 5 participants
247:online—an online task based study with 200 or more participants

7. Our services in brief
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* un-moderated
feature 247: expert 247: lab 247: Online
expert review: multi-point UX index review
localisation: is it usable in other countries?
task testing: usability review of key user tasks *
International: testing in multiple countries
comparison: on multiple platforms, over time
benchmark: site/app against our database
customer research: quantitative research

8. Sharing our methodologies
We will share our unique intellectual property (IP) under a creative commons licence so that
anyone can use it for commercial purposes or otherwise by simply crediting usability247.
In development is a user experience index which is intended to provide a multiplatform
evaluation model that will underpin our 247:expert service. By working together with the
freelance practitioner community we hope we can create a relevant and valuable
methodology, particularly in mobile.
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Where our services use existing practices we won’t (of course) be able to
licence these. What we plan to do here is to share our methodologies and
deliverable templates so that a wider group can benefit.
We invite all accredited practitioners to help develop the methodologies
and share in their use.

9. Why become accredited
Only accredited practitioners will be able to receive information about projects we have
available and be paid to deliver them.
Our services vary in the amount of time required to deliver them. So a major benefit of
becoming an accredited practitioner is that you can fill gaps in your existing projects whether
that is a few hours, a couple of days or a few weeks.
Accredited Practitioners can display the Usability247 accredited practitioner logo on their
LinkedIn profile to help set them apart from other practitioners.
Because we won’t ever deliver design services we may be able to introduce you to customers
that ask us for services outside of what we do.
As an accredited practitioner you will be able to utilise the 247:index methodology and help
develop and evolve it to ensure it long term effectiveness and relevance.
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And finally, you will become part of the accredited practitioner
community and be able to network and share with like minded
professionals from around the world.

10. How to become accredited
It costs nothing to become a Usability247 accredited practitioner other than your time.
Accreditation is about gaining training in our methodology and ensuring that there is 100%
alignment and familiarity with our approach.
This may be achieved in a number of ways related to your qualifications and experience. In
most cases, experienced practitioners will find accreditation very simple.
It is possible to be accredited to deliver one service, two services or all three as the demands
for each are slightly different. 247:expert requires minimal client contact, no facilitation and no
statistical data analysis skills. For 247:lab you will need to demonstrate that you have facilitated
one to one usability tests.
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With 247:online, where we are carrying out research with 200, 400 or 600
participants, you will need to demonstrate that you have statistical skills and can
carry out quantitative analysis. If you have used technologies such as UserZoom,
Keynote Web-Effective and Loop11 you will be well on the way to becoming
accredited.

11. Operational model
The accredited practitioner programme will be operated through a closed LinkedIn
Group. The address of this group is: http://www.linkedIn.com/groups/usability247-
accredited-practitioners
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Available projects are posted to the group with details of what is required.
Most projects will be time sensitive and so we will select a practitioner to work
on the project soon after posting the message.
Accredited Practitioners are selected based on their historical availability,
the quality of the work they have previously delivered and any other relevant
attributes such as language, location, culture, industry and technology.
The LinkedIn group will be used for all broadcast communications to the
group but project work is dealt with through direct contact via email or by
sharing of documents through our SharePoint site.

12. Quality
To be successful we have to ensure that the work delivered to our clients is of the highest
quality.
We will limit some of the variance in deliverables and approach by using structured
methodologies, guidance notes for practitioners and templated deliverables.
We will carry out a QA process on every piece of work going to a client. This is to pick up
any typos or formatting issues and provides an opportunity to clarify any points made by
the practitioner before the deliverable reaches the client.
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Our quality objectives are to:
 be error free in grammar and spelling (the basics)
 thorough in our analysis and identification of issues
 insightful in our recommendations for improvement
We believe that quality is achieved by creating an environment where
people can do their best work, and that is what we set out to do.

13. Commercial arrangements
Each of our services plus the optional extras available has a delivery time associated
to it which translates into a fee available for the accredited practitioner.
When a project is assigned to an accredited practitioner for the first time it is
accompanied by a purchase order and a contract. The purchase order confirms the
work required and provides details against which an invoice can be submitted.
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The contract sets out the terms and conditions surrounding the
relationship. The contract must be signed and returned before
any payment can be made.
Invoices follow completion and will be paid no later than 30 days
after the end of the month in which the invoice was received.
Accredited practitioners will be asked to provide evidence that
they have in place appropriate business insurance covering
public and product liability.

14. The benefits
▪ We can fill gaps in your schedule, between projects or during part time engagements
▪ We can provide a revenue stream from carrying out projects for us on a regular basis
▪ As we don’t sell design services we may provide you with introductions to clients looking for
additional services.
▪ You can display the Usability247 accredited practitioner logo on your LinkedIn profile. This will
help to set you apart from other practitioners because the accreditation reflects the
attainment of a practical quality level.
▪ You will have the opportunity to influence how our methodologies develop and share in their
use including templates for deliverables
▪ As part of the accredited practitioner community you will be able to network and share with
like minded professionals from around the world.
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15. About Usability247
Usability247 is a user experience research and testing agency.
We provide usability services when our customers need them: 24 hours a day and 7
days a week.
Our vision is to change the world, one interface at a time, so that everything is
usable, everywhere, for everyone, all the time. It would be better for consumers and
better for business.
We use three methodologies, (247:expert, 247:lab & 247:online) developed to be
delivered anytime and anywhere with exactly the same high level of quality.
We provide an online booking mechanism so in-house practitioners can self serve.
Usability247 is a trading name of Miram limited a company registered in England, whose registered office is at the following address: Miram
Ltd, Ground Floor, Belmont Place, Belmont Road, Maidenhead, SL6 6TB. Registered number: 7966950 VAT Reg No: 131878893
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for more information get in touch:
Usability247, Siena Court, The Broadway, Maidenhead, SL6 1NJ
telephone: +44(0)1628 74 20 20
email: info@usability247.com
or visit our website at www.usability247.com
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