The Pre-Engagement phase is typically non-billable. This phase typically serves as the team's readiness to dive into the engagement by providing a baseline of understanding and a common language for user interviews. In this phase, the team should develop a strong understanding of the industry that the client is in, the client's business as a whole, the particular business function(s) that will be addressed during the project, and the history of work with the client. The goal should also be to develop a strong understanding of the Scope of Work (SOW) and know the limitations therein.
Annual Reports, 10K Reports, and Key Metrics should serve as sources for performing industry research and know the client. In addition, the team should also make an effort to talk to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) at Axis Group for the specific client and industry.
At the end of Pre-Engagement phase, the team should have established a solid understanding of the client, the industry they are in, and the scope of the engagement. The team should now be well-set to dive into the next phase of engaging with the client and understanding the problem at hand.
As you work through the Pre-Engagement phase of an engagement, there will be a lot of information that is gathered about the industry as well as the client. It is important to embrace all information that you could gather. 'The more information, the better' attitude will come handy during this phase.
- Statement of Work (SOW): This is a formal scope of work approved by Axis Group and the client. This document encompasses the scope of the design engagement and helps narrow the team's focus on the end goal.
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Capture Industry and Client Research: The team should document research outcomes as they would be useful in future phases to ensure that the team has common grounds for formulating assumptions and identifying risks. Capturing research shall also serve as a repository for any similar sprints in future.
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Requests to Schedule Interviews/ Request for Information: The team should identify resources and key stakeholders from the client-side and send out requests to schedule interviews, and request for additional material/information. This ensures that the client is prepared with information that the design team might require to better understand the problem at hand.
The team should capture the research performed on the company, industry, business function, and client history. This will provide a paper trail for future design deicisions, and can easily be passed on to other team members to bring them up to speed. Included in this activity is the Interview Checklist, which will serve as a running list of assumptions, key ideas, and questions relevant to the engagement.
The design team should collaborate with the Solutions Director (SD) to discuss and thoroughly understand the Statement of Work (SOW). This shall ensure a common grounds of understanding the 'job to be done.'
The team should send out requests to schedule interviews with the client and block time on their calendars to gather further understanding of the problem. This shall ensure that the client is available to answer questions, provide insight, and provide any additional information that might be required by designers to further their understanding. The team should also identify key reports or screenshots that would be useful to obtain prior to interviewing users.
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