Mike
Lol!
And it's what I'm working on in north Kent this weekend - an Ideas Camp to
help people get to the point where they might begin to know what they
actually want.
Keep up the good work...
JP
On Thu, Mar 12, 2015 at 9:41 AM, Mike Ellis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> @Jon - yes, absolutely, but that's a slightly different point. Finding out
> what you want to deliver is hopefully part of the process - and there's a
> whole raft of stuff that could be said about funders wanting X when
> actually they have no idea that there's an audience / need / content to
> support it...
>
> Which is why ~totally gratuitous pimp~ we've just started offering an
> "Online Brainstorm" workshop:
>
> "This is a one-day, highly interactive and fun session for anyone who is
> at the beginning of a digital project and wondering how to take things
> forward. We'll work with you looking at what you're aiming to achieve and
> considering examples from others."
>
> http://courses.thirty8.co.uk/our-courses/
>
> Mike
>
>
>
> _____________________________
>
>
> *Mike Ellis *
>
> Thirty8 Digital: a small but perfectly formed digital agency:
> http://thirty8.co.uk <http://thirty8.co.uk/>
>
> * My book: http://heritageweb.co.uk <http://heritageweb.co.uk/> *
>
>
>
> jon pratty wrote:
>
>> Mike
>>
>> Your first point is the hardest one. From my recent experience, getting
>> clients to that stage of knowing the basic requirements needs a work
>> strand
>> all of its own. They frequently don't seem to know why they want an xxx or
>> a yyy or who it's for...
>>
>> JP
>> On 12 Mar 2015 09:21, "Mike Ellis"<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Great post, and some useful stuff, thanks Andrew (and Kati!)
>>>
>>> Can I turn it around though, and also suggest that museums and other
>>> people who want work done can make everyone's jobs very much easier by -
>>> well, frankly - cutting to the chase in their RFP documents?
>>>
>>> The main things that every agency I've ever known looks for straight away
>>> when they get a document like this is:
>>>
>>> 1. A SHORT tl;dr version of the thing that is needed. So rather than a
>>> 100-page word-fest, something like this:
>>>
>>> "Our museum is looking to develop an online resource to do X for audience
>>> Y using technology Z"
>>>
>>> 2. A sense of timescales, right up front:
>>>
>>> "We need X to be delivered by mid-2015, but expect the project to be live
>>> for Y years"
>>>
>>> 3. Budget. Or at least a ballpark sense of budget.
>>>
>>> This is controversial, and I know some people like agencies to pitch this
>>> - BUT I also know that every single agency I know, mine included, prefer
>>> to
>>> have a sense of what they're working to.
>>>
>>> Firstly, it gives us some context as to how much effort to put in to the
>>> pitch.
>>>
>>> Secondly it really helps when actually thinking about what to propose -
>>> the "how much is a website" question is a non-question, especially in a
>>> world in which you can throw something up on WordPress.com for free. So
>>> being guided by budget is really helpful.
>>>
>>> Finally, and most frustratingly - ** Everyone has a budget!! ** - no-one
>>> goes to an agency without knowing what they want to spend - so why be so
>>> secretive about it? It's much better if a museum comes to you and says
>>> "Look, we've got £10,000 put aside for this, but really we're cost
>>> sensitive and would rather get it done for £7,000 so we can spend £3,000
>>> on
>>> something else - so we will be judging your response partly based on what
>>> your estimate is". Or: "We've got a £10,000 grant to spend on this so as
>>> long as it hits the budget, that's fine. What we're really looking for is
>>> experience in doing X"
>>>
>>> I'd like to see a template where these three bits of information are on
>>> the very front page of any request - rather than having to play the
>>> scrolling-through-100-pages game in order to get to the crucial "do we
>>> want
>>> to pitch for this work?" information.
>>>
>>> cheers
>>>
>>> Mike
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _____________________________
>>>
>>>
>>> *Mike Ellis *
>>>
>>> Thirty8 Digital: a small but perfectly formed digital agency:
>>> http://thirty8.co.uk<http://thirty8.co.uk/>
>>>
>>> * My book: http://heritageweb.co.uk<http://heritageweb.co.uk/> *
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Andrew Lewis wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear MCG people,
>>>>
>>>> Our very own Kati Price here has laid out a lovely summary of what goes
>>>> through a client's mind while reviewing tender proposals.
>>>> It's a very digestible summary.
>>>>
>>>> I'd suggest recommended reading for anyone managing a tender or indeed
>>>> anyone working in a prospective partner company who has to put a lot of
>>>> effort into writing a proposal.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/digital-media/11-tips-for-
>>>> writing-a-killer-proposal-2
>>>>
>>>> enjoy
>>>>
>>>> Andrew Lewis
>>>> Digital Content Delivery Manager
>>>> Digital Media
>>>>
>>>> Victoria and Albert Museum | South Kensington | London | SW7 2RL
>>>> T: +44 (0)20 7942 2373
>>>> linkd.in/andrewlewis<http://linkd.in/andrewlewis>
>>>>
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--
Jon Pratty, FRSA
Creative Digital Producer
07739 287392
@jon_pratty
Associate Director, Tech Resort Teens; Associate Director, People in IT Ltd
I have a hearing impairment and my preferred means of communications is
email. If I'm not answering my phone, please leave voice mail in a loud and
clear voice, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
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