Appcare

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of a travel-related start-up.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appcare?

I needed help with developing a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided Appcare with a set of wireframes to get them started. They are currently working to develop an Android app that aligns with our requirements.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Appcare’s director.

How did you come to work with Appcare?

I found them through LinkedIn. I shared a post explaining that I needed an app developer to help with my startup. They contacted me and we soon entered into a partnership.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we have spent close to $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At this point in the project, we are completely satisfied.

How did Appcare perform from a project management standpoint?

Appcare has pretty good project management skills. We have weekly meetings with their team to discuss updates and progress. They keep all relevant documentation in one place for us to review at our convenience. Our communication is mainly through Google Hangouts or other forms of virtual meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very good at understanding our requirements and managing the project accordingly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have a few gaps in our communication flow and we may run into a few issues when trying to develop new features or functionalities, but overall, we’re happy with their work.

Any advice for potential customers?

I recommend clients thoroughly discuss their requirements and wireframes to ease the process and assure it gets done quickly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a manager for alternate route to markets at Nippon Paints. My role is to explore new options for how to reach our customers through either the digital space, app-based selling, or revamped conventional methods.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appcare?

We wanted a wood and wood finishing paint delivery app that worked similarly to the food ordering app, Zomato. Our goal was to ease the delivery process and increase business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Using PHP and MySQL, Appcare developed a web, iOS, and Android app. They designed the frontend to support hundreds of people and our company call center. The web-based program allows customers to place and pay for their order. The app connects delivery partners with each order and users could track their product and keep a record of their orders. We are in the final stages of development, I’ll receive the final product in the next week or so.

What is the team composition?

I initially spoke with Appcare’s founder. A different representative acted as our main point of contact for the rest of the project.

How did you come to work with Appcare?

I posted on LinkedIn that I was looking for somebody with experience in app development. Appcare reached out and I explained what I was looking to accomplish. I liked their approach and decided to partner with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2017 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I am very happy with their work.

How did Appcare perform from a project management standpoint?

I would rate Appcare about an eight out of ten for their project management skills. There are a few areas for improvement, but our experience has been better than what we’ve had with other vendors. We planned the scope of the project over a management platform, and that data was always available. Once we started the development process, we communicated in scheduled review calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From a software point of view, the biggest challenge in any project is determining the scope. If that isn’t done clearly, then there can be misunderstandings with requirements and expectations. With Appcare, this was a smooth process. It was easy to explain our ideas and they quickly picked up our concepts. The team was very practical and pragmatic.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They couldn’t always provide enough resources to hasten their turnaround time and there were a few tasks I would’ve liked them to complete faster. We could have more tightly managed the project on both sides. Additionally, their payment gateway processes could have been quicker.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of IT at Inventaa, a multi-vertical company. We originally operated in the chemical industry, but we expanded into agricultural products and construction materials.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appcare?

We renamed our company in 2018 and needed to create a new website. We were also starting to think about developing a web application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our website was built using Drupal, HTML, and JavaScript, and is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The website is static because it’s only intended to provide information about our company.

The web application Appcare is developing will capture most of the workflow automation processes of our agricultural business. We had previously developed an app that simply stored the information from each of our mushroom farming controllers, which, in turn, each controlled a separate room. Now, the app will be able to control the mushroom farm by itself.

What is the team composition?

I’m in touch with their founder/CTO and three other people.

How did you come to work with Appcare?

We found them by word-of-mouth. After we looked at their profile, we discussed the services they could provide. They were clear about how they would produce the deliverables, and they had the necessary skillsets, so we assigned them the work.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $30,000 so far, with half going to the app and the other half going to the website.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since June 2016. The web app launched three months ago and they are continuing to address the corrections we point out to them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app fulfilled the requirements we had and there haven’t been any issues.

How did Appcare perform from a project management standpoint?

Information flows well within their organization and their response time is quite good. We didn’t use any project management tools, as this was only a small application, but we mostly communicated through Skype and email, since we were moving around a lot.

They delivered within the timelines. If and when they were unable to do this, they let us know ahead of time, and we came up with a plan of action. Their internal communication, as well as their communication with us, was also good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a time-oriented team, so their project estimations are very accurate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Offering more technologies would benefit them. They focus on web technologies and mobile applications, but we had a requirement that they were unable to address. However, they were willing to check out the requirement and see what could be done. They were very courteous in going the extra step for us.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should be precise in terms of the requirements they give out. The deliverables will definitely reflect that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Eagle Boys Pizza, which has 10 stores.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appcare?

We needed help with web and app development. I was looking for someone who made apps for online orders. Previously, I had tried to work with a couple of people who didn’t understand what I needed and I didn’t like what they delivered.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed my website and my Android and iOS app. They’ve been doing all my POS and product inventory as well. They used PHP. They created a buzzer alarm. When an order comes in, it beeps.There are a lot of tools in the backend for ordering pizza. We have a contract for support for one year with them.

What is the team composition?

The owner is my main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Appcare?

I posted on LinkedIn and they contacted me. They came to my office and told me about their business.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent ₹500,000 Rupees ($7,523 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to deliver what I wanted. Our app and website are running and we’re getting orders. Everything is working fine. My sales are picking up through online orders on the mobile app. It’s a very friendly app with simple login credentials for the customers. It’s easy for customers to understand how to place their order. I’m very happy.

How did Appcare perform from a project management standpoint?

They completed the project on time. We use email and phone calls. If they don’t respond by email, I call them to let them know I need something done immediately.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are professional. They respond on time. When we require bugs to be fixed, they fix them quickly. They are committed to their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As they gain more experience, they will become better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend them to everybody because they are good at executing the work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder of a startup called Quiklrn, a learning platform for higher-education students.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appcare?

We hired them for the iOS development of our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an existing Android app. Appcare was hired to develop the iOS version based on it. They referenced the existing app. We also provided documentation for developing similar features.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an existing Android app, which Appcare referenced to build an iOS version. We also provided the required documentation for developing features like the ones we had.

What is the team composition?

They assigned a senior programmer and two junior programmers. The senior programmer, who is also a designer, created the whole product structure and product scheme. The junior programmers coded the application.

I was their main point of contact, communicating with their project manager and coordinating directly with their founder and CTO.

How did you come to work with Appcare?

I was looking for partners to develop the iOS version of our platform. I found several startups like Appcare, and narrowed down the selection based on their geographical proximity and iOS skillsets.

How much have you invested with them?

We paid for three resources—one senior and two junior—over a five-month active period.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Appcare almost seven months ago. Development is complete and the product is in app stores. We’re currently in the warranty and maintenance support phase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first version of the Quiklrn app is available in the App Store. We are planning a second release by the end of the month.

We have been happy with the results. We're a startup, so we have experienced some minor teething issues that are common in the development ecosystem. We are absolutely fine with the engagement. They clearly demonstrated their strong iOS skillset and professional engagement style.

How did Appcare perform from a project management standpoint?

The timeline had some delays, but they compensated for those with additional services. Appcare got the work back on track and delivered within our schedule. I would give them a 4/5 on project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their agile iOS skillset is strong, and their work ethic is good. Those are my two key observations from the engagement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a startup, they could improve in certain trivial ways. They should work on more complex projects with tight timelines, like the one we gave them.