The App Master

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive of an artistic call platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The App Master?

We needed to create a management system. We have an in-house CTO, but decided to work with a third-party development company. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The system's UI/UX design has been created by our in-house team using Figma, which streamlined the process. When initially we contacted The App Master, we provided this design material. The process with The App Master began with a discovery process that lasted approximately three weeks. In this process, we accurately visualized all the stories that had to be worked on and the system's aesthetics. 

After the discovery stage, we agreed on the project budget, and The App Master proceeded to develop the software, which lasted approximately nine months. We've added an improvement stage that has required another three-month discovery phase. Our system has three fundamental parts. With our management system, we offer institutions the possibility to create the registration form for their artistic calls and then manage the evaluation process. 

The product has an entire system to form a jury and to evaluate the applications received. Finally, there is a marketing intelligence module with precise actions that seek to enhance the reach of a call managed through our system. The App Master uses AWS for hosting our platform. 

What is the team composition?

I've worked with around 5–6 teammates from The App Master, including Aldo (Product Owner), Luis (IT Project Manager), and Matias (CEO).

How did you come to work with The App Master?

The App Master was recommended to us.
How much have you invested with them?

We've spent $98,000 on this project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with The App Master in April 2023, and our software will be launched in April 2024.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't launched the product and don't have KPIs to share at the moment. My relationship with The App Master's team is smooth, and they're always willing to improve a budget or try to optimize work times. When we detected a story that had to be extended over time, the conversation was always in pursuit of achieving the objective in the best way possible. 

How did The App Master perform from a project management standpoint?

The App Master delivers work on time and on budget. We communicate via Figma, Slack, and Google Meet.
What did you find most impressive about them?

I want to congratulate the entire team for their professionalism. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The App Master proposed an initial discovery, which was very accurate. However, I think it would also be great for the team to generate an intermediate discovery phase for software built from scratch. 

Conducting a review every three or four months with the entire team and the client would help adjust opinions and review particularities about the product. Many times, with software developed from scratch, it's difficult to foresee everything that can happen regarding the design's usability.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Our internal previous work before engaging with The App Master was really helpful. We arrived with prepared material about our requirements; in our case, we prepared designs for Figma since it was a development project from scratch. We've conducted several product revisions to stay ahead of the tasks that The App Master has to do. We review tasks 15 days in advance to arrive at a solution or clear up any doubts quickly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of CANVS.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

CANVS is an interactive platform that's redefining art discovery through the union of street art and technology. Led by a creative team of art lovers, we are building the world’s most comprehensive street art database. Our technology powers our mobile app and integrated mural maps designed for city programs, mural curators, and art festivals. We truly believe that data is the key to elevating the creative economy and reimagining the way people consume art.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The App Master to accomplish?

Complete front-end rebuild of our mobile app

SOLUTION

How did you find The App Master?

Referral

Why did you select The App Master over others?

Built genuine trust over time

How many teammates from The App Master were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The complete rebuild of our mobile app which was originally built on iOS. This project was a rebuild using React Native. We needed an experienced front-end mobile team who could work with our backend enginneers to stand up a production ready app by the end of the year. Our goal was to create a true and scalable baseline that we can build on top for the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We launched a bug-free, high performing and functioning app that followed our design specs perfectly

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project management team exhibited exceptional communication skills, ensuring clarity and timeliness in every interaction. Their availability and responsiveness to our needs were outstanding, reflecting a deep understanding and empathy towards our team's concerns. The professionalism demonstrated through their patience, poise, and efficiency is unparalleled, ranking them among the best collaborators I have had the pleasure of working with.

What was your primary form of communication with The App Master?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The team's commitment to clear communication and punctuality was impressive. Their prompt actions and exceptional delivery of consistent clarity stood out. They quickly identified solutions to problems, demonstrating a genuine focus on ensuring we were completely satisfied.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The App Master could have done differently?

Enhancing our design team's grasp of the technical aspects of the process would be beneficial. Specifically, gaining insight into the frameworks being utilized and comprehending their technical constraints would enable us to provide design specifications that are more closely aligned with technical requirements."

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a company that provides a video assets feedback platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The App Master?
We needed support to develop a mobile application that would complement our web experience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
The App Master has designed and developed our mobile application, working closely with our internal design team. Initially, we had discovery meetings to define the project's scope, and after that, we've worked through weekly meetings to measure the project's progress. The App Master has delivered the app's MVP after 3–4 months, and we've requested a couple of modifications before releasing the app, which is compatible with iOS and Android devices.

On our app, users can upload their video, image, and audio files and enter specific prompts to request feedback from their end clients. Then, our app generates a link for users to share and gather that feedback in real-time. The App Master will provide maintenance and support after launch.
What is the team composition?
We've worked with Aldo (Product Leader) and a project manager, who are my main point of contact. A bigger team of specialists is working on our project, but I don't have direct contact with them.
How did you come to work with The App Master?
The App Master was referred to me by a colleague.
How much have you invested with them?
We've spent around $50,000 on this project

What is the status of this engagement?
We’ve been working with The App Master since April 2023, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Although The App Master hasn't launched our application, around 25–35 of my premium customers have used the app's MVP and provided positive feedback. We previously had a web application, and our mobile app has more tools for our customers to engage better.

Overall, The App Master has exceeded my expectations, and I'm very happy with their work. The team has taken a weight off my shoulders, and I go to sleep at peace. The App Master addresses issues and questions quickly and has become an integral part of our company.
How did The App Master perform from a project management standpoint?
The App Master delivers work on time and on budget, following the project's scope and ensuring we don't exceed budget or ask for something outside the initial scope. We have weekly meetings through Google Meet and communicate via email. We use Trello for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We're in different time zones, and The App Master accommodates our schedules. I also appreciate the team is fluent in English and Spanish. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything for The App Master to improve. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
I recommend potential customers to have a clear idea of their project's objective. If they're unfamiliar with the technical requirements, The App Master's team will help them define their project's scope, but the customers need to know what they want to accomplish. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CEO and founder of RogerThat, a technology company that provides remote training for deskless workers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The App Master?
We hired The App Master to help us develop the first version of our app. They worked on upgrading it with the goal of scaling our business to another level. For context, we had a pretty solid platform and had thousands of users. However, we suffered from not having a great performance because of the technology we were using. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
The App Master built an app from scratch for us, although we had an existing version of it. However, the previous version didn’t allow us to scale. They used what we had and upgraded it as they built the new app, which was meant for Android, iOS, and desktop devices.
 
For features, the app ran on Unity so that we could build video games. It was also similar to Netflix in that we could host internal videos on it for people to watch offline. There were also analytics on it — users could see who watched the courses and content on the platform. Questions were tracked, and users could see how many questions were answered by the viewers alongside their points and rewards.
What is the team composition?
We worked with a project manager, a senior engineer, and a mid-level engineer.
How did you come to work with The App Master?
A friend of mine recommended us to The App Master.
How much have you invested with them?
We invested around $80,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
The project lasted from March–August 2023. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Before, an administrator had to wait for 8–10 seconds to bring up the app’s backend and access information as they dealt with more than 5,000–10,000 users — this was the biggest pain point we had as we tried to give our customers a better and faster experience. This went down to less than one second after The App Master upgraded our app.
 
Overall, The App Master exceeded our expectations. Compared to what we had with our previous contractors, our experience with The App Master was truly amazing.
How did The App Master perform from a project management standpoint?
Their project management was great. The team delivered on time because they had senior resources, and their project manager had a lot of experience. In terms of tools, we used Trello to manage the project and had a lot of Zoom calls for communication.
 
The entire team was amazing. They not only gave us the IP rights to the app and the code but also provided us with documentation on how everything was built. If anything happened and we wanted to use another provider, everything would be clear. This added value to our engagement, and it was useful because we gained access to the right information.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The App Master did what they said within the agreed-upon time and budget. That was the most important thing for me. I heard a lot of stories about software developers with delayed deliveries or who asked for more money because they made a huge mistake while doing the project. We didn’t experience that with The App Master.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, there weren’t any. In fact, our team even learned a lot from them about the development process.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Know that The App Master delivers what they promise on time and within budget, so they’re great if you’re a startup with a tight budget. You don’t want to spend more money because of a mistake by a third party. Moreover, if you don’t have an entire IT team, The App Master will bring a lot of knowledge to you. They’ll add value to your project or service. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a training development company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The App Master?

We normally rely on in-house development, but we ran into a challenge that went beyond what our resources could handle. We needed to build a robust mobile solution for an end client; we hired The App Master to take on this challenge of creating the online component of our database and the server logic that was needed. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first step of our engagement was a discovery phase, where we created documentation that ensured we were all on the same page. After that, we started building an MVP, adding in a few additional features that we weren’t initially expecting to include. The solution was built from scratch. 

The iOS-based system is a complex multiplayer game used in live events via cell phones. In addition to the gaming experience, the MVP has client-server applications that give real-time rankings and multiplayer comparisons that occur on a separate device. The App Master team also created server architecture that gathered the information from different mobile devices. 

What is the team composition?

I had weekly meetings with three individuals, including an account, product, and project manager. I also know an architect, developers, and a QA team were working behind the scenes. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $70,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between January–October 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have any concrete metrics, but we were highly impressed with the work from The App Master. Our company does not normally leave reviews for companies, but we were so impressed with them that we were more than happy to do so. We will certainly hire them again in the future. The App Master was able to deliver exactly what we asked for, and their team was 100% committed to the project. 

How did The App Master perform from a project management standpoint?

They communicated effectively, and our project manager was excellent. The App Master team delivered within deadlines and ensured that if they were running behind, they had everything completed when promised. We communicated via email and phone calls and met weekly. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We are a development company, and are always wary of using third-party developers, but by the end of the engagement with The App Master, our fears had completely dissipated. They took the time to understand best practices and knew the deadlines that we needed to work within. The App Master team went above and beyond to ensure they delivered what we needed. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We wish that they used a different bug-tracking tool, but that’s a very small thing. We have nothing to complain about regarding the quality of their work. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t skip the discovery phase because that is a crucial step in discussing the different issues you might encounter during the engagement. The project will be more successful if it’s planned out in advance. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at Care Assistance, a healthcare company specializing in corporate wellness. Basically, we’re a B2B company, so we work with other companies that offer our services to their employees. We also work with multiple insurance companies. These companies offer our services to those who contract their insurance policies with them.

We’re a tech-heavy company, so we use different channels to provide our services, which include on-demand video calls, scheduled video calls, and phone calls. We always offer remote attention, never in person.

Our company was born in Chile, but nowadays, we have a presence in Chile and Mexico. Within my company, I’m the technology manager for both locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The App Master?

When our company was smaller, we used different service providers for our various needs, such as our CRM and centralized communication systems. These systems weren’t so much hosted in the cloud but in our on-premise data servers.

When our company started to grow, we decided to start using world-class systems, so we started searching for service providers who could manage both our communication and CRM systems. After looking through various options, we ultimately decided to use Salesforce for our operations, which offered us a lot of pre-built solutions and data security warranties. We also decided to use Twilio for our omnichannel communication.

Once we had implemented those platforms, we decided to develop and launch new web and mobile apps to replace the old apps that used our legacy systems. Our goal was to implement the new apps using our new platforms. Therefore, we decided to look for two different companies that could help us build these apps. We hired a local company for the backend implementation of Twilio and Salesforce into these apps, and we hired The App Master for the frontend development work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During the discovery process, we worked with The App Master to decide how to approach this project. We had to choose from two options. Our first option was to develop a single adaptive web app that could also be used on mobile devices. Our second option was to build three different apps: one for iOS using native language, one for Android also using native language, and a web version using React.

We ultimately decided to build three different apps, so The App Master has developed those for us. When we defined the scope and started this process, The App Master assigned a dedicated team to the project.

We had various discovery and design meetings with The App Master to define the apps’ functionality and aesthetics. Throughout this process, their team used Figma to create various design options.

They also allowed us to review those designs and request changes to both the designs and the functionality, including the user stories. Due to our lack of app development experience, The App Master guided us throughout the entire development process.

The App Master has worked very closely with the other company that is in charge of the backend Salesforce and Twilio implementation so that everything works well and the changes are effective when made. The team has also used AWS as part of the technology stack. As a note, using Salesforce and Twilio has required adapting a lot of the work around the established functionality of those technologies.

As for the app features, we initially came to the table with a very large project. Therefore, The App Master coached us and taught us to refine our ideas. For example, they told us about the MVP concept, telling us that it was more convenient to launch an MVP version first and grow the product from there. This would allow us to have an operational app before the comprehensive end product was ready.

The MVP version of our app includes essential features, such as secure user registration using Amazon Cognito. This MVP also includes the home section, featuring a calendar, a scheduling system for users to connect with healthcare professionals, and a notification system with on-screen notifications and links to other events and information. Other features include phone, messaging, and video call capabilities.

Currently, the three versions of our app’s MVP are up and running. Now, The App Master is working with us to create the first version of the comprehensive product, which will have a lot more features related to complex customer service tasks, documentation, and dynamic surveys. These dynamic surveys will use the customer’s answers to direct them to different materials, information, or interactions based on the information provided.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Luis (IT Project Manager), Milagros (Former Product Analyst), who helped us throughout the design process, Pablo (Android Developer), Lara (Former iOS Developer), and a web developer.  Although some of them no longer work for The App Master, they were the core team throughout the development process.

I know that other team members have been part of our meetings. For example, the salesperson whom we originally contacted has frequently joined our meetings, showing care for the project.

How did you come to work with The App Master?

We were originally working with a local company, which was responsible for developing our legacy systems and app. When that company closed, we had no options at hand for a new service provider, so we started looking online for a new service provider, using websites that ranked different mobile app development companies.

We looked at 5–6 different websites that ranked different development companies, and The App Master appeared on various of those sites with high rankings. Therefore, we chose them as one of the three companies that we ultimately contacted to get quotes from.

After the vetting process, we decided to hire The App Master for multiple reasons. These reasons included the budget, the way they talked about their services, the details about their package services, the staff members who would be involved in the discovery process, and their work methodology.

As mentioned above, this project would require The App Master to work alongside the other company that would be in charge of the backend migration and implementation process. For service providers, working alongside other providers is usually difficult.

However, one of the things that made us choose The App Master was that they had experience working with other teams. We had already had bad experiences working with multiple service providers, but no one had given us the security that this would work out like The App Master.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2022, and our engagement is ongoing. Now, our goal is to launch the first full version of our app in December 2023. Once we release this version, we’ll still work on other pending features we want to keep adding to the product.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app developed by The App Master helps us provide a better service to our existing clients and be a step ahead of our competitors who don’t offer apps as comprehensive as ours. Ultimately, this product also helps us offer a better experience to the end customer.

Currently, 80% of our users use the web app version, whereas 20% of users access our services via our mobile apps. This result is logical considering that one of our major customers is a large insurance company that prefers to offer services to their end customers via their website, so they don’t leverage our mobile solution.

How did The App Master perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve had 3–4 weekly meetings throughout the process. As promised, The App Master has been excellent at working collaboratively with the other service provider involved. The team is very adaptive and works very well with the third-party service provider.

Besides our scheduled meetings, we also communicate constantly with The App Master via Slack and use Jira for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Comparing them to other service providers we’ve worked with, one of The App Master’s strengths is their availability. They’re always present and contact us via virtual meetings and messages. Moreover, whenever we ask for a meeting, they always answer immediately instead of making us wait. I consider that availability to be very valuable.

As mentioned above, I also consider The App Master’s flexibility and ability to work with other service providers to be very valuable. This is usually very difficult because egos might get involved, and accountability might get compromised. This skill of theirs helps the project flow seamlessly.

Moreover, The App Master is very adaptive to changes. We’ve sometimes made changes on the go, and they’ve always been willing to work on those changes. They also provide us with suggestions to make our product better, and most of the time, those suggestions are very positive. Thanks to their approach, we’ve always had the feeling we’re going the right way, ultimately giving us peace of mind.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I haven’t noticed any areas of improvement for The App Master. Certainly, no one is perfect, so we’ve obviously had some misunderstandings along the way. However, they’re always willing to move forward and provide their input to solve issues instead of seeking culprits and going for a confrontation.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to go into the project with a deep understanding of your needs. We came into the project with a very vague idea of what we wanted, so The App Master encouraged us to dig deeper into what we needed to create.

Due to our inexperience, we omitted some of the preliminary work. Still, The App Master asked us a lot of questions to help us complete our idea. We still made the mistake of not following their advice despite their recommendations to invest more time initially to develop our idea further. Thus, we eventually found out that they were right.

If we had listened to The App Master’s suggestions from the start, we would have saved time and made the initial process easier. Follow their advice; they don’t suggest things without a reason. They have a lot of experience, so they provide suggestions based on that experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of business development for Touch To, a custom software design and development company. We build mobile apps, websites, and other products requiring custom software development. As we’re a somewhat small company, I also have other roles beyond my title, including project manager, product owner, account manager, and recruiter.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The App Master?

I’ve worked with The App Master for over six years across two different organizations. Originally, I hired them to be my exclusive near-shore development partner at the company I previously worked in. During that time, I worked with them on around 20 different projects. When I joined my current company, I brought them again.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The App Master has helped me with two different backend development projects for Touch To: a financial services app and a golf technology product. As for the technology stack, we’ve used AWS, Node.js, AWS Lambda, Firebase, and MongoDB, and they’ve helped us build a Plaid API integration to connect the financial product to other financial institutions. The App Master has already delivered their work for the golf technology product, and the other product is still in development.

What is the team composition?

We’ve mostly worked with one senior software engineer from The App Master, but we recently added two more senior software engineers to the project.

How did you come to work with The App Master?

One of the co-owners of The App Master was a friend of the CEO at my previous company. When we needed to scale up our internal development team, we reached out to them, and we established a fantastic partnership. When we needed development support for my new company, I contacted them again.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since June 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure the success of our engagement with The App Master by evaluating their deliveries, their competency, and the satisfaction of our end clients. So far, their performance has been excellent in all those areas.

How did The App Master perform from a project management standpoint?

The App Master’s project management has exceeded my expectations, and they’re very proactive. For example, the engineer we’ve been working with the most has taken ownership of the projects, creating tickets as needed even before I get a chance to circle back and create those tickers. Additionally, when we required two more developers, this person took upon himself the onboarding process and got those resources up to speed in just three days. We use Jira for project management, Confluence for documentation, Zoom for video conferencing, GitHub for code repositories, and Slack for daily communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The people working at The App Master, especially their leadership, are very trustworthy and reasonable. For example, If I ask for additional resources, they put a lot of effort into getting us highly qualified senior engineers as quickly as they can, which generally is very quickly. Additionally, the contracts we sign with them are very reasonable and flexible, which makes it very easy for us to onboard resources and get them started quickly.

In addition to that, The App Master’s resources are very experienced. They’ve been able to provide us with senior software engineers with 5–7 years of professional experience. Moreover, these resources speak American English very well, allowing them to have conversations with our team very easily.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They do a great job and constantly exceed our expectations — that’s why I’ve continued working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about the resources you need, understand the technologies you will need to use, and be clear with them about the English level you require from those resources. If you set the appropriate expectations, The App Master will provide you with the right resources for your project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a social e-commerce startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with The App Master?

We needed to escalate quickly because our requirements changed fast. We contacted them to help us with staff augmentation services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

We initially provided The App Master with all profile requirements. We needed senior software engineers with particular skills. We also provided them with all the information regarding our project's scope, and they searched for suitable candidates for us.

What was the team composition?

We’ve hired 15 people with their services; 70% are software developers specializing in JavaScript, Node.js, and React. The rest are QA and scrum master specialists.

How did you come to work with The App Master?

We’d worked with them in the past. They were service providers for another company I worked at, so I knew their work personally.

How much have you invested in them?

We spend about $90,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2022, and it’s an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our main metrics are based on the speed of each team member. The velocity measures the expectations set at the beginning of the sprint against the achieved results. Overall, the developers have an excellent performance of about 90% on average.

How did The App Master perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s easy to work with them. Everything has come up as expected. We have different work teams called squads, and every squad uses scrum methods. We’re very specific about our requirements, and they always meet them. We use Jira, Trello, and Google Slides as project management tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to provide great candidates in a short time frame and the quality of their selection are outstanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their invoice expedition could’ve been managed better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re looking to hire highly qualified technical personnel and don’t have much time, don’t hesitate to work with The App Master.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of a company that produces medical devices for people with disabilities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The App Master?

We wanted to make changes to our mobile and web applications. Additionally, we were looking for an ongoing development partner. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The App Master is implementing significant improvements to our app.

What is the team composition?

We are working with a product manager, an iOS developer, a web developer, an Android developer, and a designer.

How did you come to work with The App Master?

The App Master was recommended to us. We interviewed various vendors before deciding to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $70,000–$80,000 so far.   

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our users are very excited about the app’s new features. 

How did The App Master perform from a project management standpoint?

The App Master is fantastic at project management. They’re easy to work with, extremely nice, and very competent. They quickly understand tasks, and they’re able to work swiftly even with little guidance. 

We do bi-weekly stand-ups with the project manager. For more technical and in-depth conversations, we meet with the team through Google Meet or Zoom. We also keep a Slack channel open for immediate communication. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The App Master’s organizational skills are impressive. The project runs smoothly because they communicate well and have excellent project management systems in place. They efficiently handle backlogs, bugs, and questions. Overall, they’re very pleasant to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re too early in our relationship, but so far, everything is going really well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Black Sand Software, a software company. We do turnkey projects, consultations, project segmentation, and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The App Master?

We didn’t have the right team to go through a client project, so we reached out and did the entire discovery phase with them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The App Master handled the discovery phase for a new project and its UI/UX. They helped us scope out and define the project, its design and architecture, and all the different integrations required.

They also helped us build a combination between a social media and e-commerce platform. It had many different moving parts, including influencers and various topics and brands as part of the ecosystem. Each of those roles had a different scope of what they could do within the application, so defining the project was an interesting process. In that sense, The App Master brought many ideas to the table on how to implement everything.

What is the team composition?

We had 5–6 people involved in the project and worked with an architect and different analysts. We also had meetings with many more people, including their CTO and another person with a high-level position.

How did you come to work with The App Master?

We’re in different groups in Argentina, Mexico, and the US. They’re consulting groups with different CEOs from different companies and industries. We ask for referrals all the time, and someone recommended The App Master.

They were in the same city as us, so it was really easy for us to communicate. We met with them, and they explained their processes and background. It was a right fit for us, and they provided an excellent service. We were really satisfied with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $20,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It all started around March 2021, and the discovery process ended by the beginning of May 2021. We spent about one month on negotiation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unfortunately, the product didn’t go through. When we tried to go through the development phase, we didn’t have the backing at the time. We had the first mockups and deliverables, but we never got to create the whole platform.

However, we went through the project in a very nice way, which isn’t common with software companies. They completed the deliverables as promised, even surpassing our expectations. At the beginning of the process, we had four lines, but we had a complete document with the specs, an architecture proposal, and cost estimates at the end of the discovery phase.

Overall, we were really satisfied with the outcome, and they look forward to revisiting the project once our client has the funds.

How did The App Master perform from a project management standpoint?

They outperformed. In just one month, they did all of the discovery for the app, including different features and integrations. The App Master even proposed a payment gateway for the US and Mexico, as well as the delivery logistics available in other cities.

We shared the same platform to track and deliver any documents and mockups. It was all very organized, and we kept a tight schedule for our one-month sprint. We had weekly meetings with all the results and retrospectives, as well as daily meetings to see any issues that we needed to solve. Overall, we worked well together and had dynamic, back-and-forth communication.

We used the tools in the Atlassian suite, including Trello and Jira. We had meetings through Zoom and shared documents through email and Google Drive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Communication with The App Master was impressive. We don’t see that in every provider, and they stood out for that.

Also, they didn’t just stop with the scope of the project. They went above and beyond with the integrations in Mexico, which weren’t part of the project. We delivered more information than the client asked for, which will save months for the implementation process when the time comes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t find anything that they should improve. It was a great project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as clear as you can, engage with them, and challenge them with questions. Also, having an open mind helps a lot because they can bring much more to the table than just their development skills.