Working Together

Capabilities Client Charter Process DesignPacks Awards Practices
Client Charter

In addition to our own values and beliefs, CobaltNiche has special commitments to our clients in terms of our professional practice and the final product outcome.

Once authorised, this Client Charter will be a mutual guide to the working relationship we seek with our clients.

CobaltNiche will

  • Use our expert knowledge, experience and resources to best meet our client’s commercial, functional and cost targets of the product or project as outlined in an agreed proposal.
  • Keep our clients informed and in control of the development process, project budget, product performance decisions and risk reduction strategies of the project by communicating regularly and honestly.
  • Recommend sustainable design directions and solutions that reduce environmentally and socially negative impacts.
  • Act with professional integrity and respect and follow industry best-practice standards of consulting, confidentiality and business ethics.
  • Stick to our agreed budget unless; there are new requests; or there are factors outside our control which increase our work relative to our original understanding.
  • Warranty our work by correcting any errors for which we are responsible at our own cost where a project follows the tasks, approval-making and prototyping processes recommended by CobaltNiche.

You, our client undertakes to

  • Understand that design and product development, no matter how simple, involves risk. High risk can be minimised through strategies such as additional research and prototypes, although these may only become apparent during development and may increase the timeframe and development budget.
  • Provide:
            - Prompt and open information, samples and target specifications
              as requested
            - Reliable and consistent decisions regarding project directions
            - Active participation and availability of necessary resources
     

 

Proposal Process

Defining a problem is the first step to finding a solution. So before we commence any design project we work hard to understand your requirements and prepare a thorough document (proposal) that clearly explains our approach, deliverables and budgets.
Typically, our proposal process includes: 

1. Initial meeting or discussion

Understand the client’s background and their needs. If the client has prepared a brief (list of requirements for the project) we would review it at this point. Either way we will ask additional questions to understand your requirements and our scope as fully as possible. In the event that we do not believe we can assist, we will suggest alternative suppliers.

2. Planning

Assuming CobaltNiche can assist, we then plan our strategy to undertake the project. Sometimes this takes some basic research and discussions with our team or specialist associates to determine tasks and stages.

3. Proposal

Based on these tasks we calculate our budget and hours required using Lynx (our own proprietary enterprise information system) and prepare a detailed written proposal. We then present the proposal and discuss any questions you may have.

4. Authorisation

If the proposal is acceptable we ask our client to sign-off the proposal authorising us to commence work.