User research and testing to support the development of a new and improved website for the HRA

Description

Summary of the work An exciting user research project supporting the Health Research Authority to gain user insight to inform the development of our new corporate website. We require an experienced user researcher to support user testing of wireframes, prototypes and website covering the discovery, alpha and beta phases of our new website development. Specialist role User researcher Expected Contract Length Maximum 65 Days over 12 Months, dependant on needs of project +Optional 6 months extension Latest start date Monday 20 February 2023 Maximum Day Rate Up to a maximum of £600 per day. Who Speclialist Work With You’ll be working with the HRA project team which includes a project manager, product and delivery manager, product owner and public involvement officer. You will also be working with our commissioned partner who is responsible for the development of the technical solution. As part of the team, you will be supporting the team to meet the relevant Government Delivery Standards for service design and development and can read more about the standards here - https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard What Specialists Work On 1. Develop a research plan with the project team and align activities to inform decisions 2. Test assumptions about user journeys, content, information architecture and navigation elements of the new website 3. Plan, lead, conduct and debrief user research focus groups, interviews and workshops 4. Identify and prioritise user insights to provide robust, evidence based recommendations to develop the product 5. Document findings to evidence a clear thread between the insights and decisions 6. Contribute, prepare and attend GDS alpha and beta assessments 7. Contribute to the planning of ongoing research carried out by the HRA after the contract end Skills & Experience • Demonstrable skill and experience of conducting user testing with a diverse range of users of a digital product • Experience and demonstrable understanding of a range of user research methods, when to use those methods and how to use them correctly • Ability to lead analysis of research/testing data and synthesise clear and actionable findings to create a rich picture of user behaviour and feedback and recommend prioritised amends • Ability to work closely with project team to develop findings into recommendations for product development and decisions for amendments to a product • Demonstrable skill and experience in designing sustainable ways of collecting and acting on user feedback once the website is live and once the contract has finished • Demonstrable skill and experience of conducting accessibility testing with users who use assistive technologies • Experience of at least one example of working with users of public and / or government digital services Nice to Haves • Skill and experience of working within highly regulated sectors similar to NHS / social care organisations • Skill and experience of working as part of a small, agile team • Skill and experience of working through the end to end GDS process from discovery through to a live service Work Location Most meetings will be done remotely via Teams, Google Meet and/or Zoom however users that take part in the user research and user testing sessions will be from across England and potentially beyond. There may be a requirement to hold workshops face to face which will be at one of our five offices - Manchester, London, Newcastle, Nottingham or Bristol. Working Arrangments The supplier will carry out the majority of the work remotely and communicate with the project team using Microsoft Teams, Slack, Basecamp and use other digital collaboration tools such as Trello and Miro. Whilst some meetings and workshops may be possible face to face to facilitate user testing methodologies, it's expected that the vast majority of sessions will take place via Teams, Zoom or Google Meet so they are accessible to everyone. Security Clearance All must have BPSS as a minimum An enhanced DBS check Additional T&Cs All expenses must be pre-agreed between the parties and must comply with the Cabinet Office (CO) Travel and Subsistence (T&S) Policy. All vendors are obliged to provide sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures so that the processing meets the requirements of GDPR and ensures theprotection of the rights of data subjects. For further information please see the Information Commissioner's Office website https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/ (https://ico.org.uk/fororganisations/ data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/) No. of Specialists to Evaluate 5 Cultural Fit Criteria • Be collaborative and transparent when making decisions • Openly share knowledge and experience with the team in order to enhance the project • Take responsibility for their work • Work effectively with a variety of people at different levels Assessment Method • Reference • Interview Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 15% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Hi, can you confirm whether this role has been determined Inside or Outside IR35? Thanks We confirm that this role has been determined as outside IR35 2. is there a possibility for the 65 days to be done consecutively as opposed to spread out? Unfortunately this is not a possibility due to the nature of the project. The user research and testing is required to take place at specific stages/phases of the project and as the website develops. Initial research and testing will be on wireframes, then there will be a gap to develop designed prototypes and once they have been agreed the next period of user research/testing will be on the prototypes. Following this and a longer period of website build and development, a larger period of user testing will begin on the MVP website. 3. is there a current incumbent supplier? There is no incumbent supplier - this is a new project 4. Could you advise on what the working pattern for those 65 days would be or how the needs of the project would affect which days the specialist works? Answer part 1 of 3: The user research and testing is required to take place at specific stages/phases of the project as the website develops. Initial research and testing will be on wireframes, then there will be a gap to develop designed prototypes and once they have been agreed the next period of user research/testing will be on the prototypes. Following this and a longer period of website build and development, a larger period of user testing will begin on the MVP website. 5. Could you advise on what the working pattern for those 65 days would be or how the needs of the project would affect which days the specialist works? Answer part 2 of 3: Whilst we have estimated the weeks in the project plan during which the testing will take place, there is flexibility in when/how this is carried out, to meet the needs of the researcher and the testers. Below is the estimation of the weeks where we think the research/testing would take place: 6. Could you advise on what the working pattern for those 65 days would be or how the needs of the project would affect which days the specialist works? Answer part 3 of 3: Wireframe/prototype research and testing - approx mid March 2023 to end of April 2023 (approx 25 days)MVP website research and testing private beta - starting approx mid Aug 2023 through to Oct 2023 (approx 30 days)MVP website research and testing public beta - Oct/Nov 2023 (approx 5 days) 7. Accepting some work may need to be done at premises in the UK, must the worker reside in the UK? Would it be acceptable if they generally worked for instance from Spain? We would be open to using non-UK based suppliers who are able to meet our requirements, which includes our published additional terms and conditions and compliance with the DOS5 framework and call-off contract terms and conditions.