Alternova, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CEO of Gambit Labs. Gambit labs builds neurofeedback games on VR platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Alternova, Inc., and what were your goals?

The project was to build the prototype game Focal Rescue for the Quest 2.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

AlterNova has experience in digital health and the privacy rules related to that field. They have also worked with academic researchers and start-ups.

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

The ask was for a playable demo. The team developed one level of the VR game, the database to store metrics and user accounts, and made progress on the data streaming integration. We used Unity for game dev, Firebase for the database, and developed for the Quest 2

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

4 people. (1) VP, (3) software/game developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a playable demo with which I can integrate the feedback cues for user testing.

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

Communication was by email primarily and monthly zoom calls. Milestones were met with only small delays.

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

I was impressed by the ability of the team to translate our plan was to the actual thing.

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

We had some difficulty with the networking protocols. It seemed that the knowledge base in this area was not as deep as in other areas. We also received minimal support from the other device vendor, which made this hard.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Sense Relief is a digital therapeutic software that use the Apple Watch’s haptic feature to apply acupressure to relieve nausea, with plans to expand to additional smart watches and into different therapeutic areas. I am a cofounder and am currently leading redesign and fundraising efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Alternova, Inc., and what were your goals?

Alternova helps with the complete redesign of Sense Relief and integration with Cardinal Kit, a distributed clinical study open-sourced software.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Alternova had a great reputation for working with digital health companies and came highly recommended.

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

We gave Alternova a vision for the 2nd version of Sense Relief and our wish list of how we would like to see Sense Relief work.

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

There were at least 3 programmers and a project manager that helped with Sense Relief.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There were some programming wishes that we thought would not be possible, and the Alternova team was able to figure them all out.

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

Alternova, Inc. was very patient and easy to work with.

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

Alternova never dismissed any of our programming desires as impossible, they looked into every single wish and made most of them possible.

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

It would have helped the Alternova and Sense Relief to have a centralized communication system.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of Determinism. We developed the PeerKnect platform to facilitate social connections between children with special needs for playdates and social outings via their caretakers, parents, or therapists. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alternova, Inc.?

We were looking for a company to provide ongoing technical support for our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Alternova Inc. provides my company with technical support, including computer engineering, coding, and software development for our mobile and web applications. On the platform, users can post and search for sensory-friendly events for children with special needs. Since we already developed the apps, Alternova Inc. began by learning the existing software. 

They are now doing weekly updates and improvements for our cross platform mobile app on iOS and Android. Alternova Inc. is also working on UI/UX design updates for our web-based platform where businesses promote sensory-friendly events. Next, we will work with them on a UI/UX update for our mobile app. 

What is the team composition?

I mainly communicate with Ricardo (CEO & Co-Founder) and Maria (COO), and there are about 3–4 senior-level coders on the team. 

How did you come to work with Alternova, Inc.?

We found them through LinkedIn — we connected because we operate in a similar advocacy field and our missions are aligned. Even though we’re both running a business, we’re focused on empathy, compassion, assisting those in need. I saw the software they built for universities that are helping the special needs community and I loved it, and when I reached out they responded very quickly. After meeting with a few other companies, we decided to hire Alternova Inc.

How much have you invested with them?

At this point, we’ve invested over $20,000, but we have a partnership agreement in place and some of their work is done in exchange for equity payments. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in June 2021 and the partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Alternova Inc. team is committed to helping us bring the best quality product to the market that we can. They’ve already done several functionality updates on our mobile app. Alternova Inc. also integrated the Stripe payment processing system for our web-based app. 

How did Alternova, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We receive daily emails from the Alternova Inc. team with updates and questions. If we find a bug, we relay it to them and they immediately rectify it — we’ve never had a long delay in fixing anything. 

My business partner, who originally coded the app, often communicates with them via Discord. We also text, email, and meet once a week via Zoom to ensure we’re on the same page about app updates. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I love how responsive the team is. I can email Ricardo or another team member and they will reply quickly. They’re easy to work with and don’t push back on requests, even if something seems complicated. 

Alternova Inc. understands and accepts my vision and does their best to ensure the deliverables reflect it. They have a great attitude and are very personable. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It has been a great experience so far — we work well together.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients need to be expressive and creative in communicating exactly what they need from a project. Don’t be afraid to communicate exactly what you want, even if it can’t happen right away. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a vascular surgeon and the director of Biodesign for Digital Health.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alternova, Inc.?

We deal with several digital health projects, and we need to connect doctors, providers, and solution developers. We needed help building out our provider dashboard with partners that we can work closely with to support our projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Alternova has been instrumental in supporting our work teams to develop projects and moving the open-source projects forward by contributing back to them. They created the dashboard we needed and are also helping us upgrade our database to ensure that it meets the international data standards, such as interoperability, mapping, and communication between research groups.

In terms of technologies, they’ve been using Vue.js, SMART on FHIR, HL7 FHIR, Google Drive, and Swift for iOS.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with four people in total throughout the project.

How did you come to work with Alternova, Inc.?

I noticed that they had done prior work in health care applications for UC San Francisco, so we decided to reach out to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $60,000–$80,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results of their work are getting us to the next level regarding the infrastructure of storing data and meeting the standards — that’s a big deal for us.

How did Alternova, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Discord and have consistent weekly meetings to go over progress and updates in terms of communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re excited about our partnership and got behind it — from that perspective, they add to the plan and help us expand our community. They’ve gone above and beyond to see how we could improve and grow the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know if it’s fair to ask for it, but, as in any other project, we’d like more speed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO for Brain Balance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alternova, Inc.?

Our purpose was to develop a new mobile app to better support our program.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We tasked Alternova with the end-to-end development of a new app based on the functional specifications we gave them. First, we did some in-house UX design. They took over the existing app and moved it to a different development framework. Then, they reviewed the UX design and began the development.

The app consists of about seven different games with a new way to connect and navigate. During the development phase, we provided feedback on the functionality and were able to test features early on to implement any changes and improvements. We used a Unity development framework with a Django database, and the app was meant for both iOS and Android.

What is the team composition?

A project manager acts as our main point of contact. Their CEO has also been involved from time to time to make sure everything was working as it should. However, we mainly rely on two developers. We sometimes have three developers, but we primarily work with one front and one backend developer.

How did you come to work with Alternova, Inc.?

They were recommended to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started around August 2020. We continue to collaborate with them on the app’s second release.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app went live not long ago, so we don’t have any user feedback yet. However, there haven’t been any crashes; we detected bugs early in our testing phase.

How did Alternova, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed very well in this regard, especially given that they made sense of our functional requirements, which weren’t highly detailed. Moreover, Alternova has been accommodating during the changes we’ve required after the testing phase. Also, they’re extremely transparent and able to provide delivery dates.

We use GitHub for project management, and we communicate through email and Click Up.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Since they came recommended, they were already familiar with the type of game design we needed, which was quite specific because it was based on neuroscience. In summary, they’re well aware of the kind of industry we’re working in and the requirements involved.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We don’t have anything at the moment. We’re pretty satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you’re clear on the requirements before you start negotiating with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My first business is called Tyler’s Mystery Tours. We do all kinds of in-person adventures and a lot of team-building events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alternova, Inc.?

When the coronavirus hit, Altenova developed a virtual event platform for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The leading service was Alternova building a Unity platform that uses WebRTC. We also went through a brainstorming & design process with them. They also troubleshoot bugs and everything else related to the platform.

We also used AWS, Photon Engine, Fireface, and DigitalOcean.

What is the team composition?

Throughout the engagement, we worked with four or five people.

How did you come to work with Alternova, Inc.?

I found Alternova in a Discord channel of Unity game developers in the Bay Area. I posted at the beginning of COVID-19, saying that I was looking for help with a project. The next morning, I spoke to Alternova, and they were very responsive. They had really good ideas too.

That paired with their response rate and lower rates, it just made sense to partner with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost between $50,000–$199,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our engagement a little over three months ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a prototype within a month and a half, and we’re almost at our beta release. We’re ramping up and plan to double their team.

They’re based in Colombia. They’re responsive and fast. Through the majority of the technical problems and issues we’ve had, they’ve been able to work with us and find a solution.

Their ability to adapt and learn is also impressive. My project is using newer features that they weren’t familiar with. It’s a learning process for them and me.

How did Alternova, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Discord to readily have discussions with threads for different topics. I talk directly to most of their team members. Most of them know English, but if they don’t, we usually translate. We’re practicing English and Spanish together. The language barrier hasn’t been an issue because the tools we use are just fast and streamlined.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Along with being adaptable, their team is interested and invested in doing the best for their clients. Sometimes I’m changing my plan or testing goes one way, so we have to modify it, but they’re ready for the change and eager to make the best result.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are a variety of engineers and skill levels. When I signed up with them, I knew I wasn’t getting a WebRTC expert, but they’ve learned it. The only thing I can think of is that although they weren’t knowledgeable in this tool we’re using, they’re super aggressive about learning it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a researcher at the Univestity of California San Francisco.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alternova, Inc.?

We needed help designing an app that would promote organizational skills for children.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed and developed our web application. We first brainstormed the idea here with our team, and then started talking with Alternova. They had us send them various features we liked. Next, we created a user story of what we wanted and they created mockups using InVision. We gave them feedback on the design, function, and orientation, and they built the first version. Then we took that version and gave it to parents and teachers and we got the version we have now.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from their team, including a designer and a main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Alternova, Inc.?

Another researcher at UCSF had used them for a different cognitive training tool and had a great experience with them. We interviewed 4-5 different companies and made a Google Hangouts chat and we clicked really well.

How much have you invested with them?    

We've invested $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in October 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were all really impressed with how things turned out and how responsive they were throughout the process. They knew when to go with their instincts and balanced that with what we wanted in the app. We appreciated that because we know the psychology aspect, but we're not UI people. It was a great give and take.

How did Alternova, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and use Google Hangouts to video chat regularly. They always respond within a couple of hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and follow-up were great. They're always very flexible and solutions-focused.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to communicate with them early on and flesh out a timeline and a budget. Once we did this, things went exactly as planned.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. I am also the director of a clinical program at Nueroscape.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alternova, Inc.?

I needed help designing and developing a platform to help assess a user’s cognitive abilities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Alternova, Inc. developed and designed our platform for us, which can be accessed from a phone, tablet, or desktop. The app syncs with our backend in a robust fashion to synchronize with different types of statistical software packages for dashboards. They work hand in hand with our team on the design. 

The app was built with a Unity framework to ensure it could be accessed from different devices and has a Firebase backend to capture data. We have since updated the software with Django.

What is the team composition?

Their team grew during the scope of the project. What began with just their lead technical person and an engineer, grew into an entire team with different people playing different roles. 

How did you come to work with Alternova, Inc.?

I originally came in contact with their CTO years ago when I first started this project. He matriculated to Alternova, Inc. while we were working on the project so it made sense to continue working with him. He was able to bridge the gap between a lot of different engineers on his team. As their company began to grow, the resulting work was of similar quality but was produced faster.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $275,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Alternova, Inc. began in January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While the work is ongoing, we’ve been doing qualitative assessments. Alternova, Inc. consistently hit deadlines and give us fair notice when they need to push one back. They’re able to shuffle things around and take care of things without fail. It’s been really great.

How did Alternova, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager is fantastic and is great about keeping in contact. The Alternova, Inc. team is always suggesting improvements to make things more streamlined. We really appreciate the way they work with us and our partners, which is great because the university always has many collaborators on projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our ability to trust Alternova, Inc. has made the engagement successful. Everybody that works for them is confident and honest. I find working with them very comforting and I’m always confident we’re going to get the results we’re looking for. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything has been great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the design and communications manager of a real estate company based in Medellin, Colombia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Alternova, Inc.?

The goal of this was to create a virtual reality experience for the project’s sales and international fairs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We're currently developing a residential neighborhood near the city so we hired them to create models of the apartments during one of the stages of this development. The model contained three different types of apartments with three different finishes. In total, they modeled nine apartments for us.

I don’t know in detail but they provided consulting for us about the equipment we acquired to set up the virtual reality experience in our salesroom.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I don’t know in detail but they provided consulting for us about the equipment we had to acquire to set up the virtual reality experience in our salesroom. As for the tool they use for the development I believe it was ??, but I am not certain.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Ricardo the general manager, a project manager, both of them very attentive. There were also at least three engineers working in the project. 

How did you come to work with  Alternova, Inc.?

For this project we have a partnership with another company, they met the Alternova’s manager in a fair here in Medellin. So when we decided to start with this project they referred them to us, we met up and it worked well. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around 30 to 40 million Colombian pesos ($8,800-$11,800 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2019 and continue working with them in updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of the quality, it was excellent. They were constantly sending us updates. We would send our feedback and they made all adjustments right in time. They would receive us in their offices and we would work for hours together in improvements, so the quality was extremely good.

The results for us have been very positive. Everyone likes it and our clients are more motivated to buy the apartments with this experience. They really like our way of showing the product and it is not a very common strategy here in Colombia. It has been very well received.

How did Alternova, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They didn’t use any specific project management tool. They shared all updates through Google Drive, we used email, phone, WhatsApp. In general, it was a very good experience, we could tell that they were deeply involved in the project. They were very patient and understanding of our needs and feedback. In addition, they were extremely punctual and professional too.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They stand out in their punctuality and permanent feedback throughout the project. The quality of the project, experience, and consulting to set up the experience in our salesroom was all impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have more options for interior design on the apartments. I know they had to model some things from scratch; if they had had more of these already crafted it would have been faster.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of client success at a digital marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alternova, Inc.?

We wanted to work on lead generation. A lot of people are on their phones trying to find content that’s easy to digest and actionable. So, we needed to create a series of mobile applications that would allow our client base or prospects to engage in activities that we could track and score. Afterward, we would categorize them into different streams depending on what activities they did. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the framework and technology for three iOS and Android mobile apps. Before the development phase, some of their designers worked to improve the designs that we had submitted so that they worked well with the different apps. One of them is an AR app that takes offline marketing tools such as print ads, brochures, trade show material, and direct mailers, and digitizes them. When users log in and scan these tools, the app takes them to the content. 

Alternova, Inc. also included functionalities that allow us to send notifications about product updates, access users' engagement history, and release additional content based on their past interactions. They built the framework such that we can plug-in data into different marketing automation tools and our CRM. Every client comes with their own marketing tech stack so Alternova, Inc. developed the products to meet these differing needs.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Ricardo (Co-Founder & CEO, Alternova, Inc.). His team also includes a handful of developers, designers, and coders.

How did you come to work with Alternova, Inc.?

I was referred to them by someone I know and trust. We did a test pilot for a casino company with them and they delivered. So, we decided to continue working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested about $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2017 and our relationship is ongoing. We usually work with them for about 12 weeks at a time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They got the apps up and running in 3 months, which was within the deadline. Thanks to their work, we were able to immediately release functional apps that deliver results to our clients. Overall, their work is of high quality and it’s clear that they don’t take any shortcuts. 

How did Alternova, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We use the scrum methodology so they work in sprints that last 2–3 weeks, depending on the project. When we work with them, we have weekly check-ins either in person or through Google Hangouts. We also communicate with them via email if there is any work that needs to be done urgently. They’re very responsive and when we outline tasks, they always complete them by the time they’re due.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are an extremely talented team with a skill set that’s difficult to find–I wish I could work with them all. Although we haven’t started working on this aspect yet, I know that their data and predictive analytics practices are really strong. They have a real depth of knowledge when it comes to AI, technology, and mobile apps.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should think about how to communicate what they’re capable of. They don’t realize how sought after their skill set is. We started working with them on one project and it led to another but only because we had been exposed to them. They should figure out how to make their strengths known.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Like any technical project, have a manager, milestones, a timeline, and a plan of what you want to get out of it. That’s how you’ll succeed.