Airnauts

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a partner at Base Design, and I run interactive projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Airnauts?

We needed web and app development for our firm.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Airnauts partnered with us on the development side of our project. The work they did was custom backend coding and frontend development of the website and web-based application, as well as comprehensive content. We did the design, and they did the development.

What is the team composition?

The team changed slightly throughout the project, and in total there were 5–6 people involved with three people at any given time.

How did you come to work with Airnauts?

They actually approached us and showed us how they worked, and we decided to work with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them two years ago. The project was half completed because it got stuck due to the pandemic. The project was for a health club and travel business, and as you can imagine, those both were frozen at that time. It was launched, but not fully. It ended at the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I am very happy. They were an excellent, thoughtful team. They had developers who thought and didn’t just approach a project by getting the tasks done and delivering them, but they questioned and improved things. 

How did Airnauts perform from a project management standpoint?

It was very good. They were very tightly managed and had a well-established workflow. Testing was well done. They were a very good development team. Given that the work was remote, we anticipated some tension, but there wasn’t any. 

Their English was impeccable, and they all spoke fluently. We are actually looking to work with them on another project right now. Airnauts had a project manager who was truly dedicated to the project. They followed the schedules and facilitated all the required meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We typically work with development firms as partners, and it works well only when they actually act as a partner and not as a subcontractor, meaning that the main drivers are quality of the work and not the fulfillment of contractual scope. That was Airnauts’ approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing struck me as an area for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Engage with them and don’t use them as subcontractors. Let the developers be a little bit creative and you will have a better outcome.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Capturelife is a mobile platform used by experience creating companies (resorts, attractions, theme parks) to engage consumers through digital memories. I am the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Airnauts, and what were your goals?

Airnauts developed both our iOS and android apps, which are the consumer workhorses for the platform. Our goals were to develop apps that provide a superior user experience with minimal updates required through the app stores.

SOLUTION

How did you select Airnauts and what were the deciding factors?

We selected them through a competitive review of three different companies. We selected Airnauts because of their experience relative to our project/goals as well as the impressive developers they applied to our project. Their communication style was also very important to our decision.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Working with our Go API and backend developers in the States, Airnauts developed an Andoid app from scratch and took over our existing iOS app and refactored/took to a new level.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Android Developer iOS Developer Designer (early on in the project) Business Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We've had an incredible relationship with Airnauts. Our platform is very broad and complex. The Airnauts developers were able to work extremely effectively with our team to add features against a very diverse set of requirements. Our apps support image/video/gif content, social sharing, geo-location services, dynamic content creation, in-app purchasing, in-app messaging, and integrations with several 3rd party services. They handled all of these requirements effectively and efficiently. They are a market enabler for us.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We follow Kanaban agile development with continuous releases. We use Trello to manage our project and Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their ability to meet a diverse set of requirements in a timely manner with excellent quality. Their flexibility in working with our continuous release cycles, which may have caused friction with other companies, is very important to us. Given that we are in the Unites States and they are in a different time zone in Poland, we continue to be incredible impressed at their responsiveness and incredible written and verbal communication skills.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not in my view. I think there are things that our team could have done differently, but not Airnauts.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

INTEGRA Metering’s history goes back to 1928 when the Wasserzählerfabrik, later renamed Aquametro, was founded in Basel, Switzerland. For 89 years, the company strives to gain knowledge, know-how, and experience in the water and thermal energy business while building its reputation on a global scale with 5 international offices in Europe, Middle-East, and Asia.

Today, INTEGRA Metering provides a broad and complete range of solutions and products in the water and thermal energy industries, and builds on its 90-year experience to deliver customized and quality services to water and thermal energy suppliers, utilities, municipalities, property management companies, and building operators. Thanks to its 200 committed employees in Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, the UAE, and Singapore as well as its long-lasting relationship with business partners all around the world, INTEGRA Metering is the trusted partner for traditional and latest smart technology metering in water and thermal energy products, services, and solutions.

In order to redesign the INTEGRA Metering/Aquametro websites, the Marketing and Communications department has undertaken the websites project's responsibility.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Airnauts?

We needed to redesign our three old-fashioned corporate websites completely.

What were your goals for this project?

The previous websites were looking very old fashioned and were not user-oriented at all. In addition to that, the CMS was licensed, definitely overpriced, and terrible to use. The goals were to have three new websites with a clear and easy-to-navigate organization, a fresh design, and a free CMS that was intuitive in terms of usability.

SOLUTION

How did you select Airnauts?

We knew that there were a lot of skilled digital agencies in Warsaw, Poland. We then searched on Google, visited many agencies' websites, and compared the offer of three different agencies. Airnauts stood tremendously out of the two other prospects.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we had selected Airnauts, we entered a discovery phase which took place in their office in Warsaw. The goal was for them to understand our company and draft a design of the websites' contents at the same time. Then came the development phase and finally, the content migration. During these different phases, there was a great collaboration between the Airnauts team in Poland and INTEGRA Metering/Aquametro in Switzerland.

What was the team composition?

On the INTEGRA Metering/Aquametro side, we had one person from the Marketing and Communications department who undertook the project and coordinated with the IM/AM different teams internally. On the Airnauts side, the Head of Design & Strategy/Founder of Airnauts and the Relationship Manager initiated the project and were later supported by a team of expert developers and designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We managed to have our websites' Go-Live only 6 months after initiating the project thanks to Airnauts expertise: https://integra-metering.com/ https://aquametro.com/ https://aquametro.de/

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Amazingly effective! The Airnauts team has always demonstrated exceptional flexibility and efficiency with this websites' project. The fact that they provided us with a timeline beforehand was great as this really helped us to visualize what would go on, when, and what were also the expectations on their side in terms of information/data delivery.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Once again, we definitely appreciated Airnauts' flexibility and efficiency with this project. More than anything, the entire team's professionalism was absolutely on point, they were all highly available to our questions, and it was a great experience collaborating with Airnauts. We would not hesitate to recommend them to others!

Are there any areas for improvement?

The management team from INTEGRA Metering/Aquametro would have liked to have a booklet with a presentation of the project in general, which a more detailed timeline explaining what was inherent to the different phases, who from Airnauts and/or IM/AM was in charge of which task, and also a table detailing the project's price, i.e. a short description of the services associated with the figures, and what were the recurruring costs (plugins, server etc.).

Moreover, we would have liked Airnauts to provide us some examples of the finished project, namely the websites' overall designs so we could have chosen the one we preferred the most.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founded in 1949, ArtReview and ArtReview Asia are two of the world’s leading international contemporary art magazines, dedicated to expanding contemporary art’s audience and reach.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Airnauts, and what were your goals?

We hired Airnauts to develop a new web presence for ArtReview since the old website became outdated and didn't meet our purposes and standards anymore.

SOLUTION

How did you select Airnauts and what were the deciding factors?

Airnauts have been recommended to us by various trusted partners. The decision to go with their proposal was based on their impressive portfolio and their experience in developing exciting, fun and user-friendly web experiences.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had various discovery workshops and Q&A's where Airnauts was able to find out more about our readers, what ArtReview stands for and what we were expecting from a new website.

Following the workshops Airnauts delivered design ideas and multiple wireframe options. The scope of work included developing the front-end design and user experience, developing a new CMS, integrating an ad server, develop a Search function, developing an e-commerce section, video hosting, email subscriptions and more.

After careful deliberation and by keeping the key deliverables in mind we decided to go for a Wordpress platform and to use Shopify for the shop section.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We mainly communicated with one dedicated project manager and there was a team of four developers & designers in the background.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We received only very positive feedback from our audience so far. Our readers are enjoying the fresh and minimal design of the new website and its user-friendliness.

Pages are loading quick, texts are easier to read, the website is more visually driven with bigger images and more options to display video. Our editors appreciate the newly developed CMS which makes their work flows more efficient.

Advertising sales went up since the launch of the new website due to having more advertising inventory available.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We were in a regular exchange with the project manager and had meetings on a weekly basis, we always felt kept in the loop about the development process. With Asana we were able to monitor Airnauts progress and share requests & comments in an efficient way.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We were impressed by the seamless development process and didn't experience any major bumps along the way. We also very much appreciated Airnauts' willingness to learn more about the arts & culture industry in order to provide us with the best service possible.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

The training sessions on how to use Wordpress in general, how to deal with the new CMS and the ad server could have been slightly more in-depth.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

At XO, we work on classic ski designs that are constantly evolving, focusing on durability as we refine every detail. It’s the same with our graphics: an XO should have a look that remains identifiable year after year.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Airnauts?

Our brand needed a website that reflected our personality, focus on quality and detail as well as making it easy to find information about our products.

What were your goals for this project?

The website needed to be appealing to visitors, functional and cost effective for us. The solution Airnauts proposed ticked all these boxes

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We came across their Clutch profile and reviews. It was important for us to work with a company that would take the time to understand us and our vision, where we could build relationships. So we didn't want a huge, expensive corporation. We reached out, they got back to us quickly with reasonable questions about our needs, and we took it from there.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Starting the formal process with a thorough questionnaire about our strategy and business goals, Airnauts guided our project through the entire process of wireframing, designs (+ iterations) and the actual development work with these priorities at the forefront.

What was the team composition?

The team was made up of their Creative Director, a Project Manager, a Developer and a QA tester, so 4 persons in total for various aspects of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Going from not really having a website to having a beautiful, functional one is a big change for us. The most noticeable impact is an increase in interest, resulting in an increase in sales

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their PM was the primary point of contact, thought at times we wanted to speak directly to the designer / developer and Airnauts made this possible.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their flexibility and transparency set them apart. Most companies have a set way of working, but they adapted to our needs quickly. Communication was clear and fast, costing was predictable and fair.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I saw. The one thing that took slightly longer than expected was shipping products to their HQ in Warsaw for a photoshoot, but the delay was minor and not their fault.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a software consultancy active in B2B and B2C.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Airnauts?

One of our customers asked us to deliver a mobile app with a non negotiable and very tight deadline.

What were your goals for this project?

Deliver a quality app as we knew that the audience would be large and we could not deliver a half backed product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had worked with Airnauts before and they are my go to when our internal team is overloaded.

Describe the project in detail.

It was a game to be released simultaneously on iOS and Android. The game had 5 levels that we would need to develop on our own. We also needed to interface with the customer IT team for the server calls.

What was the team composition?

Developers and Jakub as a PM.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We delivered on time and on budget. We were able to retain our client because of the project's success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. We could have a real collaboration and constructive discussion with the customer based on the tangible insights and recommendation from Airnauts.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Focus and commitment.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I would like them to do more web apps (vs native).

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder of a dating app that has a social networking component. We enable users to find (1) soulmates, (2) friends, and/or (3) roommates based on certain criteria such as location and age.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Airnauts?

We hired Airnauts to develop our iOS app. Not only did they develop it magnificently, they also provided product and design feedback that dramatically improved the app.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to deliver an incredible V1 experience - an app that not only is fully functional but highly performant as well. Since launch, we've had almost almost hundreds of couples and friends match and connect.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed numerous vendors and they stood out by leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else. They also came highly recommended by the VP of Product at Dribbble.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Airnauts provided three critical aspects:

1. development of our iOS app (both front end to spec, and back end in a smart and scalable manner)
2. Great PM that was easy to work with and prioritize features 
3. Roadmap planning so that we can figure out what best to work on for the future (for example, when we would build our Android app, requirements, etc.).

What was the team composition?

We had a stable project manager the whole time as well as one dedicated front end developer, and a dedicated back end developer. Others would jump on the project as needed. We always felt like they have our back.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Without Airnauts, we would not have an app - the core technological aspect of our business. Suffice it to say: they're critical to our business.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their project manager is a rockstar. You're honestly in great hands: he's very timely and cogent in his prioritization.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The thing I found most impressive is the amount of care they put into the work. Even though it's "our baby," they treat it like it's theirs as well which means a lot to us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is very little they could improve, if anything at all.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We sell a library of ready-to-use video game assets that developers can use to quickly develop their games. I'm the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Airnauts?

We were at a place where we had funding to grow. We didn't have the budget to hire our own developer, but we had enough to move the project forward to realize some of our initial goals. We wanted to upgrade our original website and use some new tools and functionality to help our site shine.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We developed several tools on our own, but they helped us create a strong API on the website to connect to. The site is built with Next.js, a React framework. Airnauts built a custom backend in WordPress and added a few custom tools that plugged in through AWS. The backend does all of our image processing and packages all our products in ways our customers need. There are also custom caching solutions to accommodate our package delivery. We built all our billing, e-commerce software, plugins, download managers, and custom formats with their help.

What is the team composition?

Over the course of about two years, we’ve worked with a team of six to seven people.

How did you come to work with Airnauts?

I signed up for a website and worked with local companies previously, but the quality of work we received from those companies was under par. I interviewed several agencies, but Airnauts took a huge interest in our project from the beginning. They came with a real proposal, and they had clearly researched our company, our needs, and our existing stack. They had experience with game development, and they had a good understanding of the technologies our clients use. There was no question that they were the agency we wanted to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

They’re always respectful of our budget.

What is the status of this engagement?

I contacted them initially in July 2017. We spent a year completely rebuilding all our backend infrastructure, and we launched in June 2018. We recently launched a new version in June 2019, and we still work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Due to some issues on our side, our initial launch was a little rough. We’ve since recovered, and we’ve had great growth ever since. Airnauts found all the problems and fixed every issue. Our customers are very happy with the result.

How did Airnauts perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is excellent. We share a Skype channel, and they always take the time to take calls on my schedule, even though we’re in a very different time zone. They always come to me directly, and their communication is very good. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their commitment to a small, elite team is impressive. They are passionate about their projects, and the experience with them is personal and intimate. We went out on a limb to partner with them, and we've brought together a lot of unique things with them. That's against the norm for outsourcing. They did a lot of strategy work with us and really came to understand our customers and our brand before we started. Whenever they come to us with a new idea, they are clearly excited about the work. They synthesize our ideas and brainstorm on top of them. They always come to us with new suggestions, and their creative solutions are excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are a small shop, which means that sometimes development can be slow. That said, I don’t think there’s anything major they should improve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the Product Owner in charge of this project, and I was responsible for Communications and PR in the SME Dept. at Santander Bank Polska S.A.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Airnauts?

We hired Airnauts for the creation of a platform where self-employed people could find complete information on all aspects of setting up their own business in the Polish reality

What were your goals for this project?

The goals of the project were: to present users with clear and concise information regarding the registration and operation of their own busiess entities in Poland.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We chose Airnauts for their professionalism, UX/UI expertise, culture of open collaboration and relatively short lead times.

Describe the project in detail.

The project aimed to provide those wishing to open their own business entities in Poland with all relevant information on doing this in Poland, including complete information regarding all legal and tax aspects of the process.

What was the team composition?

Airnauts provided all personnel necessary for the completion of the project, including a project manager, who supervised the team and acted as a liaison between Airnauts and the bank, a team of UX/UI experts, software engineers (both frontend and backend) as well as QA testers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

From our perspective, the project was a success. The site achieved the goal of understandably presenting users with useful information on the creation and operation of business entities in Poland.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was excellent, and they had a very positive impact on the project, offering lots of advice; their expert knowledge was clear and invaluable. The cooperation featured timely communication and a realistic, down-to-earth approach.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team are clearly experts at what they do, and they were quick to share their expertise with us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The team was flexible, they adapted to the evolving concept of the project. The only area for improvement that we saw was that at times different people were assigned to maintaining the platform after handover, which slightly decreased the efficiency of communication. That was all, though, very happy overall.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief creative for the hardware projects of a global arcade and video gaming company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Airnauts?

We needed to launch a new website with a modernized look to position our new product. We designed everything in-house and were seeking to hand it off for frontend web development.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Airnauts developed and implemented all web designs very rapidly and professionally. We would send them the necessary files, which they would improve before sending back the live-builds. They’ll continue to update our website throughout the year.

What is the team composition?

My primary contact is Sebastian (Co-Founder & Creative Lead, Airnauts), and I probably worked directly with a team of around four people.

How did you come to work with Airnauts?

I had worked with Airnauts extensively for past projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent approximately $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in May 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Their work has received very positive feedback from our internal team, as well as from press and external contacts. With their help, we launched an e-commerce solution for the first time. We’ve experienced positive trending performance metrics from that.

How did Airnauts perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very easy to work with, as they’re very efficient and extremely motivated. We communicate primarily via Slack as our collaboration tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There is a unique sensibility to their working style—they have a holistic understanding of your goals and what you’re trying to achieve. They’re intuitively on the same page as you creatively, stylistically, and tonally. Their refreshing approach translates across their work, leading to a product that’s either spot on or above-and-beyond.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. There’s nothing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be extremely collaborative and open to what they have to offer.