Terms of business

Last updated 28th December 2019

General approach

In recent years, I’ve been focusing on shorter assignments - hands-on testing or helping implement testing strategy. A more recent specialty is Accessibility audits. I care about the testing and this means I often question or challenge ideas clients bring to me (diplomatically, of course; I’m far from the argumentative type!). Having said that, please don’t be shy with your ideas: you know your business better than anyone!

Ways of working

I have worked with many teams on projects of all sizes. What I have learnt is fundamentally, a team is a group of people aiming towards the same (or at least similar) goal. This means the real challenge is how a team operates, especially when you are shoe-horning a new person in, on temporary basis. Be assured, I have experience of how to approach. Whilst mhy social kills may be lacking, in context of work, I value my ability to communicate effectively with many different types of people.

My location

After 20-odd years in offices, the last 4 years have been remote-based. This is not an issue, down to my experience in the kind of work I do.

I generally work remotely. Where absolutely necessary I will travel to your location; otherwise I will participate fully via video calls like Zoom, and messaging services like Slack.

Asynchronicity

Working remotely is not just about location; it’s about being timezone agnostic and asynchronous:

• Replies to emails and other messages will be timely but not immediate
• Calls should be pre-agreed
• Work should be tracked via tickets in a service like Jira or GitHub

Cost

My fee depends on the type of work you’d like me to do and length of contract. When outlining what your project is, please give a clear expectation of what you would like me to do, when you’d like it to be done by, and the budget you have available.

As a rough guide, my standard charge is £500 per day + VAT for hands-on testing work

Ongoing retainers

I can work with clients on a regular basis, to assist during times when more test expertise and experience is required.

Expenses

This is a rarity, but any travel costs would come under expenses.

Negotiations

I am happy to negotiate, to a degree. For example, if your website or mobile app is particularly straightforward, then a lower price could be agreed. If you simply haven’t the budget for your needs, I can still work out a plan to maximise testing time to the fullest. For example, I can reduce time necessary by reducing effort on reporting, which is a time-consuming task, and keep it leaner.

I’m yet to come across a project with unlimited funds, so I’m well accustomed to working within the constraints of a set budget. If your budget won’t stretch to the total estimated project price, I’m happy to work with you to reduce the scope in a way that will allow us to work together.

Contract

I draw up a contract for every job I undertake. My contracts are in plain English (as little legalese as I can get away with!) and ensure there will be no misunderstandings. They cover, among other things, what materials you’ll give me so that I can do the job for you, a breakdown of the job itself, payment terms and details of copyright ownership.

What next?

If it all sounds good and, get in touch and we can talk about your project.