G- Cloud service Visual design and UX services for cloud based applications, services and sites 2013 Page 1
Table of contents 1. About us... 3 2. Overview of G- Cloud Service... 3 If it looks good, you ll see it... 3 Working with you... 3 3. Pricing... 4 4. Training... 4 5. Support Service... 4 6. About Drupal... 4 7. Methodologies and approach... 4 8. Contact us... 5 Page 2
1. About us Our approach centres on our determination to deliver high quality, usable and accessible websites that use the latest web technology. We are not only hands on when it comes to creation and build, we train and work with clients resources to help maintain what we ve put in place, and are confident that this approach will ensure you get a site that you are proud of and that your users enjoy using. We believe that our approach to this project will ensure that the aims and goals are met successfully. We have a wealth of experience of working with clients who are based in the public, private and third sectors around the world. We have built some of the largest Drupal sites in the UK, and have several Government clients including the Department of Health, Department for Education, the Home Office, and Northern Ireland s Business Development Agency. While there are many Drupal hosting providers around today we believe our experience in Government makes us the G- Cloud supplier most attuned to a Government Department s unique set of needs. In the private sector we recently led the design and rebuild effort of the Tate Gallery s website a huge undertaking and one that is receiving accolade s around the world. We are currently leading the technical delivery of the Care Quality Commission s drive towards achieving their Digital by Default targets through the use of online registrations and form submissions. We design, build, host and support complex web based applications based on Drupal, SOLR and other 3rd party systems. We are particularly known throughout the community as experts in difficult integrations and for enterprise search. Acquia USA the largest Drupal company in the world - recently engaged us to development a secure messaging service for the US Department of Defence. We ve built solid partnerships with leading players in the industry (including Acquia), and have a reciprocal partnership agreement with Volacci, the community s experts in SEO for Drupal sites. Axis12 has been a member of the Drupal Association since the company s inception. Collectively, the management team at Axis12 Ltd has over 70 years experience in the Internet technology sector, and over 25 years experience with Drupal. We currently have a total of 17 staff and continue to actively recruit. Our dedication to Drupal and our size makes us one of the largest and well- respected Drupal companies in the UK. We are very active in the open source community for both Drupal and SOLR and were platinum sponsors at Drupalcon London in 2011. In addition, Axis12 is embarking on an exciting programme of Drupal product development. Our first product, Find provides SaaS enterprise quality search, which leverages the power of SOLR (an open source Enterprise search platform) to provide plug and play high speed, high availability search on any Drupal site on a pay- as- you use basis. Guiding our delivery of the technical solution will be the use of a PRINCE2 and AGILE project methodology combination. This combination allows stakeholders to monitor progress via traditional high- level project plans and Gantt charts, at the same time as providing a flexible framework for the rapid delivery of a high quality website. 2. Overview of G- Cloud Service Specialist visual design and UX consultancy for cloud based web applications and services, that ensures you produce visually engaging, clear and highly usable services and sites. Our consultancy covers all aspects of the design and UX lifecycle, including requirements gathering, wire- framing, design, user testing and application or production. If it looks good, you ll see it We have been building big enterprise websites for the private and public sectors for a long time with high profile customers like The Tate and the Evening Standard, visual design and user experience is a critical part of the site experience. Our team has lots of experience working with visual design and user experience for websites, cloud applications and services. Having worked internationally, our experience and understanding of various user groups and the way those groups use websites is immense and we pass this experience onto our clients as we advise and design friendly online journeys for your users. Working with you Page 3
Our team are able to work remotely, or on site with your team, depending on what you need. Our visual design and UX services are available for big projects, or just for when you need some specialist advice to overcome a challenge. Here is just some of what we can do for you: Persona production for all users Production of pixel perfect designs and themes Usability testing, remote testing and eye tracking Wireframe development Development of prototypes Development of information architecture and testing, including card sorting 3. Pricing For this service we offer prices per day. The prices range from 250 to 750 (ex VAT) per day. The detailed breakdown of rates can be seen at http://assets- production.govstore.service.gov.uk/giii%20attachments/axis12%20ltd/bids/ratecard_uxdesign_consultancy.pdf Please use these rates as a guide for this particular type of consultancy. If you would like to engage us, once know more about your requirements we can provide more specific costs. 4. Training We train and work with clients' resources to help maintain what we've put in place. We can also help you maximise the potential of your existing websites. Our team has a deep understanding of technology coupled with experience of the challenges that face organisations that need to stay on top of their market. 5. Support Service We offer a support service for Drupal applications and hosting. Further details about our support offer can be found at http://govstore.service.gov.uk/cloudstore/drupal- cloud- hosting- application- management- and- support 6. About Drupal One of the reasons we are fanatical about Drupal is because of the size and enthusiasm of the community behind it. The huge community means a huge repository of features and functionality has already been written, and even more importantly is always being improved by others that are using it on their websites. Our starting point therefore in delivering functionality to our client is to ask has this been done before? The answer is invariably yes and by reusing a piece of contributed functionality - as it is or with only slight modifications, we save you time and money. We deliver on time and budget, and have the assistance of many thousands of other Drupal folk in ensuring the code we are using is kept secure, bug free and up to date. Our main area of focus is the delivery of high quality, enterprise websites that use the latest web technology. All members of our staff are truly 'hands on' when it comes to creation and build. We are also strong advocates of cloud computing and the use of Software as a Service (SaaS). Our own systems are built on these unique principles and provide us with levels of flexibility, agility and resilience far beyond those provided by traditional platforms. This approach enables us to provide high levels of service to our clients no matter where, or who they are. As well as using the cloud and software services to meet clients needs, we also offer a number of products as add- ons to clients websites. These products include enterprise search, content aggregation and content relator tools 7. Methodologies and approach We have learnt through experience that AGILE is an extremely effective methodology for web development projects, as it secures quality delivery through regular releases, which have specific quality criteria. However we appreciate that not all stakeholders have the time to engage in the deliverables at a detailed level, so we have successfully merged the AGILE and PRINCE2 methodologies together to allow stakeholders to monitor progress via traditional high- level project plans and Gantt charts, at the same time as keeping rapid, high quality delivery. Page 4
This customised approach links very well with Drupal. The modular make up of Drupal means that major functional elements can be implemented, configured and released within one sprint. The AGILE process diagram (below) shows how one large product, (e.g. Search), can be delivered over a series of increments (an increment in this case might be keyword search or advanced search). Whilst it isn t always needed, this approach also highlights delivery problems very quickly, as the regular (ideally fortnightly) releases can be assessed and tested as they become available, instead of at the end of a large chunk of time, when there often isn t enough time to resolve any major problems. Our project delivery is supported by specific systems that manage the detailed specifications, including acceptance criteria, user stories and, results from functional and non- functional testing. These systems are available to all internal staff and staff from third parties and partners, and ensure clear specifications are available to everyone involved in delivery. 8. Contact us We re a friendly bunch and we love to chat, so why not get in touch via email at info@axistwelve.com, or call us on 0845 519 5465. We look forward to getting to know you. Page 5