Angrybuilds

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

cpmo was founded in 1998 and started as a full-service agency for Internet-, Intra- and Extranet projects with a strong focus on developing content management solutions on the HCL Notes/Domino platform. Nowadays cpmo acts as a consulting company and solution provider within the KIAG.net group. I am one of the founders and managing director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angrybuilds?

cpmo created an app and portal concept for a well-known international brand in the payment sector. Angrybuilds developers were responsible for the development of native apps for iOS and Android. They also created the accompanying web portal and back-end database.

What were your goals for this project?

We had to deliver apps, portal and backend in a very limited amount of time and with very high quality regarding UX of the native mobile apps. Therefore, we looked for a single partner who could handle all the different development tasks for us.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

When we created the concept for this project quite a while ago, we talked to different teams about it and asked them to give estimates. As we knew some of the developers from former projects, Angrybuilds have been part of this tender. During this process, they showed the best understanding for the requirements and challenges that might come with this project.

Describe the project in detail.

End-users are enabled to send certain reports to a central database. Depending on the target audience, we offer native mobile apps for iOS and Android, a web-app and an Intranet form for contact-centers. All apps use Google Maps and Google Places to help users find the right location to file reports for. The mobile apps do support Apple, Facebook and Google Social login, so that users do not need to remember passwords. The whole platform has been designed to store as few personal data as necessary. Gathered reports then will be exported to systems of partners. End-users will receive updates on their reports inside their mobile app. More details cannot be shared at this moment.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a team of three specialists: iOS developer, Android developer and a Full Stack web developer for the portal. Project management and testing resources have been provided by cpmo.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The cooperation with Angrybuilds helped us to deliver all parts of the project within time and budget to our client. Some deliverables were ready way ahead of the project schedule, so we were able to concentrate on our parts of the project.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Most of the communication took place within our common tools like Slack, Trello and BlackBerry Workspaces. When necessary, we scheduled brief sessions with screen sharing etc. on short notice. Despite the physical distance, it felt like working with an in-house team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're equipped with excellent skills in their respective platforms, and they also have broad knowledge and understanding of customer’s needs. From the estimate to the final results, everything worked out fine.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing I could think of at this moment.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a professional singer. I have a manager and he takes care of promotion. He suggested to me that I need a new website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angrybuilds?

I wanted to change my website. I needed a website that a non-technical person could edit and add content to

What were your goals for this project?

A new website online. A way to edit it with drag and drop. It needed to be extremely beautiful and eye-catching

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

My manager got some samples from some freelance website creators. We examined their portfolios and we didn't fall in love with any of them. We then found a nice website template and contacted the author. He was unavailable. Then my manager suggested we choose a company rather than a freelancer. We needed great graphics and thought that's too much for one person. He found Angrybuilds through his network and I agreed.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designated a graphic artist and he said we should ignore my current website completely when planning the new one. He requested a ton of material, mainly photos, and videos from my concerts. He even wanted to listen to my music to get the vibe. After that he created what he referred to as mood board. I chose some concepts that I liked. My manager also added his five cents. Then I got a new mood board and then another one. Then the design for the website came that I liked and I added a few minor corrections. Website followed in a month. Then they taught my manager how to add new stuff.

What was the team composition?

I'm not sure. I only spoke to the designer. Of course there were more people but I never met them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After the website launched I got more bookings but I'm not sure I can attribute them to it. Anyway, it was beautiful and I learned a lot from the design process. I connected with the artist very well.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I work nights and it was perfect because of the time difference we spoke when I could. The designer had a cute accent and was a nice person, but above all an artist.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed that I could truly tap into the design process.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I had to wait a month for the website but they told me in advance they are busy.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I run a large real estate photography business. We work with thousands of photographers in France and the United States. We have millions of euros in revenue.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angrybuilds?

We hired this company to implement an iOS application using AR technology. It is an internal application used by our colleagues.

What were your goals for this project?

The objective of the project was to create an iOS application according to our idea and to test its usefulness in our work.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking for companies with experience in mobile AR technology. At that time, this technology was only crawling. We found Angrybuilds while reading their case study of an AR iOS project. Most of the companies we spoke to were very enthusiastic about our project, but none had commercial experience in this area. This is why we have decided to continue discussions with Angrybuilds. After several hours of telephone conversations and a visit of their representative to Paris, we decided to start the project.

Describe the project in detail.

We are not computer scientists and we entrusted the project to them. For us, the result counts. Of course, we wanted to know what was happening regularly. Their manager was always available. Even during my trip across the ocean, he had no problem talking to me in the middle of his night. The longer the project lasted, the less I supervised it because I saw that it was going well. I got a link and was able to install new versions of the app very easily.

What was the team composition?

Graphic designer, programmers and testers. Manager I spoke to. Our colleagues have had contact with their programmers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app works. Our idea was successful and we use it every day. Sometimes there are corrections and they are introduced regularly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything was based on constant contact. I called their manager, my colleagues spoke to their programmers. Every Tuesday, they summarized the effects on Skype and showed us the screen.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their knowledge of AR stood out. They told us in advance what the restrictions are and we changed our idea accordingly. Others have promised us what we now know is impossible.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They don't speak French very well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for a company in Virtual Reality space. We develop VR apps and work with major fashion brands. I am responsible for business development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angrybuilds?

We hired Angrybuilds to develop a mobile application called Liveclip. It's an app for social-media influencers. We needed both iOS and Android versions of the app.

What were your goals for this project?

We came up with a new engaging media format and wanted an app that would let users create content in this new format. The ultimate goal was to release the app on iOS (and later Android) and start promoting it among influencers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our CEO knows the CEO of Angrybuilds through a project they worked on together a few years back. Our CEO recommended I speak to the CEO of Angrybuilds about the project who in turn offered to develop the entire app.

Their hourly rate for a software developer was compelling and having compared it with two offers from the US we decide to go with them.

Describe the project in detail.

Initially we provided only a detailed description of the new media format. They got back to us within a few days after having performed a feasibility study and confirmed the idea is doable both on iOS and Android.

Then I flew from San Francisco to their office in Poland for a design workshop during which the vision was crystallized. Their UI/UX designer was very helpful and prepared initial mockups which we used to iterate over the UI/UX a few times. I worked with him and the project manager. They didn't charge for the design workshop. Development started a week after my visit to their office.

We were given updates every week. They were flexible and held calls with us in our timezone. The team accepted changes to UX halfway through the project and didn't charge extra.

What was the team composition?

Project manager (who also wrote code for iOS), another iOS developer and later two people worked on Android. QA personel was also involved.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Pixel-perfect iOS and Android applications were created. They were challenging because our new media format required some low-level programming. All requirements were met. The apps were deployed to App Store.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The initial workshop during which the app design was made was extremely helpful. It sped up things significantly. During development we spoke once a week. Angrybuilds provided a new version of the app a day before our weekly call. They also made the process of installing the app on our phones here in the office extremely easy.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They made a very modern and beautiful app-based mostly on brainstorming during the workshop. They delivered it on time and didn't charge above the initially agreed budget. Their developers speak good English and communicate well.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-cofounder of a .NET consulting business. With my business partner we grew our company from 2 to over 10 employees in 3 years. We do consulting for established European non-tech enterprises whose internal software leverages .NET.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angrybuilds?

We were approached by a chain of English as a Foreign Language language schools. They wanted a quote on a new component of their internal system and a user facing mobile app for their students. They had a fairly tight deadline. We turned to Angrybuilds for help with the mobile app.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of this project was to create an iOS and Android application for students to use when doing homework using textbooks from a concrete publisher. The app was supposed to be engaging both for young and older learners, have a beautiful UI and run flawlessly on older Android devices.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We ourselves took care of the backend and web front-end and were on the lookout for a mobile development company. Angrybuilds were recommended to us by one of our former employees whose current company also used their services.

We talked to one of their co-founders on the phone and were happy that they were ready to start the project within a week. They have successfully finished a project for a famous brand in the past and that convinced us to give them a try. They also promised to deliver a first working prototype relatively soon and they did.

Describe the project in detail.

We delivered designs for both mobile apps and had a few screen-sharing sessions with the designated project manager on their side, after which development started. He was our main point of contact throughout the project.

Additionally, one of our backend developers worked directly with their developers as our API that they were implementing was still in the making. This way we were all able to meet the tight deadline.

The app while relatively simple, had a few bottlenecks that they helped foresee in advance and proposed solutions. We were shown results after each weekly sprint and got test build every two weeks.

What was the team composition?

It was just two developers (iOS and Android), a QA person (not involved full-time) and a project manager (probably also not full-time). The co-founder was also always available even though the company was growing very fast at that time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app was ready in two months. It looked, felt and worked as expected and even better. It was crash-free on iOS and had a negligibly low crash-rate on Android. Our end-customer was very happy.

A month after the app was delivered they helped set it up for distribution on both app stores. Within a year it's been used by a few thousands students and the textbook publisher is planning to publish more books supporting it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They helped specify requirements before the project kick-off and identified a few weak points in app design that were quickly straightened up. Due to the ongoing work on backend that they were integrating, developers from both companies had to communicate daily.

They created a guest slack channel for us and we used it also for video calls. We were given access to a project board from the github repo to monitor progress and were always in the loop. Because the project seemed relatively simple they kept the right balance in communication. We were always up-to-date, yet they involved us only when necessary and we felt progress is being made without too much work from our side.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were able to start the project quickly, they know good UX practises for both mobile platforms and came up with a few very constructive suggestions before the project's start. Overall, they're willing to share knowledge and care about the end result. Technically, the apps they delivered were flawless.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can hardly think of any.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former IT legal counsel at Tesla.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Angrybuilds?

We needed help with development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our company had an internal software that we used, but the nature of it is proprietary and confidential. It had a few components, including the mobile app and backend & frontend components.

Angrybuilds developed our iOS and Android app. The backend was developed with .NET. It was also hosted with Amazon and a suite of Microsoft solutions.

What is the team composition?

The founder was our main point of contact. There were four or five people.

How did you come to work with Angrybuilds?

It was a meticulous search. Their founder had extensive training in the field of AI and the inner working of neural networks. We needed someone who wasn’t only managing the team but had hands-on experience in the AI field. It’s not easy to come by, but they seemed like the perfect fit for the project we wanted to work on.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $100,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Angrybuilds in June 2018, and the engagement ended in March 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re extremely happy with their professional work. I had initial reservations about working with a dev shop, but they came through. Angrybuilds helped us think about things we didn’t know about, which showed us their expertise in the software development field.

How did Angrybuilds perform from a project management standpoint?

The team at Angrybuilds helped us scope better, giving us a nice schedule of deliverables and expectations. They did everything like clockwork, following their plan until the deliverables were met.

It was a fluid collaboration because we knew what was expected from them and us. Their communication was robust and professional, allowing them to adhere to deadlines. Angrybuilds helped us wrap our heads around the entirety of the project. We understood the steps in which the software was going to be put together. Everything was broken down into a well-thought-out presentation.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical expertise is unparalleled. It was very impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In a few instances, there were some challenges with communicating with a few team members. The point of contact was great at that, though. I have nothing negative to say; It’s all positive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Head of Platform Development at Talent Alpha which builds a Human Cloud solution for IT recruitment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angrybuilds?

One part of Talent Alpha Human Cloud platform is a set of tools that would allow us to learn about the skills & experience of IT specialists joining our platform.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed the help of software development experts (of different specialties) to prepare questions that would help us to understand and measure the skills & experience of IT experts joining our platform.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We knew they have experts (seasoned devs) in a bunch of technologies we needed help with.

Describe the project in detail.

The expected outcome was a set of questions for specialists of a given role (or technology) that would allow us to understand their skills & knowledge.

What was the team composition?

Few development experts working individually on each skill form (set of questions related to specific role and/or technology - e.g. "C++ Developer")

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team delivered exactly what we asked for.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I really enjoyed the communication between us — it was always quick and to the point.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

That I talk with domain experts.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Hm, not really.