Apptension

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Partner / Associate Director of a consulting company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Management consulting firm

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Apptension to accomplish?

• Develop frontend and backend of a digital banking app
• Support onboarding and upskilling of full-time employees
• Support QA, Product and Design

SOLUTION

How did you find Apptension?

Referral

Why did you select Apptension over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Apptension were assigned to this project?

25-50

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

Digital banking app build (mobile and web frontends using React Native, backend in Java) encompassing standard scope for a modern banking app for everyday users: New customer onboarding, current and savings accounts, payments and transfers, cards, loans, investments.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application was largely developed to scope, budget and time constraints; delays and/or scoping-out were never caused by Apptension's engineers, but other shortcomings (e.g., in product definition or client's on-prem architecture).

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

Realistic effort estimates, on-time delivery based on these estimates, accommodated changes in scope/timeline/etc.

What was your primary form of communication with Apptension?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Hard-working ethics, attention to good software design principles, highly-competent team leads. They were determined to make the project and collaboration a success.

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

Nothing major - we could have benefitted from early input/support from them on tooling and process (Jira setup, Azure DevOps pipelines, QA processes) - this wasn't part of Apptension's original mandate, but in retrospect they probably could have contributed a lot there as well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Head of Production at an independent creative agency that operates at the intersection of storytelling, technology and culture.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We chose Apptension to support the development of an eCommerce platform for a luxury beauty/fashion brand. The cooperation with the client has lasted for a few years already, working on their launch of an eCommerce website to the market. During the cooperation, we were dealing not only with development but with design, business strategy, creative approach, and further maintenance after the launch.

The help that we got from Apptension was essentially to let us scale our resources, mainly on the frontend development side and project management.

SOLUTION

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

When we decided to hire an external company to help us out, we started investigating a few companies. We were looking for someone with not only strong technical expertise but also someone used to working with agencies like ours. On our way, we faced a lot of IT corporations that didn't connect with us the way we expected. They were too rigid, without much flexibility. With Apptension, we saw that our needs were being seen and understood. It was also a 'click,' an instant connection between us.

We noticed that those guys understand who we are, what we do, what we need, and how agencies like ours generally work. At the same time, they had strong technical capabilities and knowledge. We've done a few interviews between Apptension and our team members: the technical director, tech lead, etc. So it was a joint decision in favor of Apptension to start the cooperation.

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

The main challenge we encountered as a global independent creative agency was the lack of our own resources. We strive to use the resources most efficiently, thus, we decided to hire an outsource IT development company to power up the delivery regarding our client's project. It was important to us to find a company that we could trust and feel as an extension of our team. In the end, a few developers from Apptension collaborated closely with us.

They were fully integrated into our team and even communicated with the client directly regarding the project. The leading technologies they used in the project were frontend technologies - Nuxt.js, Vue.js v2, and SCSS.

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

Apptension provided 2 frontend developers and 2 project managers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Apptension, we managed to launch several local and global rollouts and release products with features unique to our client's industry. Apptension completed everything within the timelines and with great attention to detail.

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

We had a transparent, honest, and clear conversation at all times. Our main point of contact, Kamil, is responsive and focused on providing a solution as quickly as possible. Sometimes we asked for extra allocation, changes, or resources, and he always strived to suggest a few alternatives so that we could evaluate the options. The whole team was also professional and open to improvement and adaptation. In general, Apptension showed that they share the same values when collaborating, which was extremely important to us.

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

Apptension showed great flexibility, having deep technical knowledge and understanding of how our industry works. As a result, I would recommend them to anyone looking for development services or a team extension.

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

There wasn't a lot of friction during our collaboration. There was one specific profile that could have been adapted better, but we immediately discussed it to start acting and improving as fast as possible. Overall, our collaboration went smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Engineering Director at a management consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We approached Apptension with the idea of creating a mobile application that would help users with their home management.

SOLUTION

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

I’ve already worked with Apptension in the past and previous cooperation turned out well, so we decided to trust the project to them.

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

Apptension had to create an Android application consisting of 3 main submodules and an online marketplace for purchasing and managing household services, electricity, and home security: The home services module would help you coordinate various services from providers in your area. The electricity module helps you to organize the process of pre-paying for electricity with a layer of gamification on the UX And the Security module makes various security services available for your home.

The application was created using a Microservices Architecture; the backend was written in Python; React Native and React were used as frontend frameworks. The key deliverables were product releases in certain stages: Closed beta of the online marketplace Open beta version Introducing more services to the application Purchasing electricity module.

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

Apptension team consisted of: 6 Backend developers, 5 Frontend developers, 2 Quality Assurance engineers, 1 Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The mobile app was a big success, it got 15k of downloads in the first month after release. It is also being developed further, and a lot of features are being expanded.

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

The product was developed in the Scrum framework. We used Slack, Zoom, and Google Meet for communication.

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

The dedicated team was professional, responsive, and proactive with the solutions they offered for our project. The final product came out without bugs and was delivered perfectly on time.

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

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Magic Dusk is a beauty brand incubator. We work with influential individuals to transform digital identities into real-life indie brands. Logo design, product development, packaging engineering, website creation, warehouse fulfillment, retail partnerships, social and beyond. I am the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I had a very specific goal in mind when I reached out to Apptension. I wanted to create individual ecomm stores within one marketplace on Shopify. The intention was to make it appear as if each store was freestanding, but have one centralized operational flow (aka checkout and fulfillment).

SOLUTION

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

I found them through a string of friends. Deciding factors were 1) willingness to work with a startup 2) creativity in solutions 3) pricing

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

This is hard to condense because there were MANY project steps. We started with several calls and created a SOW. The milestones and timelines were mapped out and the pricing was determined. Apptension requires that every client execute an on-site workshop to drill into every detail of the project. I flew from LA to Poland and worked with them for several days. It was a wonderful experience and yielded a solid plan for the project/product.

They utilized programmers, UX/UI designers and project managers. Shopify was the base operating system and we utilized various apps when necessary.

• Basecamp
• Jira
• Slack
• G Suite
• Invision Studio
• Sketch
• Zeplin

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

I worked with 6-10 people throughout the project. The CEO, a sales person, project manager, designer, and many programmers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Apptension delivered exactly what I wanted and you can't ask for more than that! The site was beautiful and functioned very well.

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

Communication was VERY strong. They utilized various project management software(s) for daily tasks. (Listed above in technologies used). The timelines were extremely clear left no room for confusion.

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

The organization and ease of communication were very impressive. I also appreciated how reliable they were. Apptension is probably the most reliable agency I have ever worked with in my 15 years working with various agencies.

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

No. I have many things I would have changed on my end, but nothing on their end!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Head of an E-commerce site that sells contemporary art online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We first brought Apptension on board to create our MVP, which we successfully launched in May 2021. But we decided to prolong the collaboration with Apptension for further development and maintenance. We've also engaged Apptension in a separate scope of work in terms of UX research. Apptension had to build the not-so-simple product in a short amount of time, with strict, inflexible deadlines. The actual challenge was to get meaningful results on a limited budget.

SOLUTION

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

When we initially looked for developers to work with, we knew the factors we would consider. First of all, I wanted to work with a team that has good references, and somebody had referred us to Apptension, which was indeed helpful. Secondly, we needed to ensure that they could work in the coding languages consistent with some other projects in our "umbrella" organization. Moreover, we were looking for specific processes to be present. Those indicated the ability to meet deadlines and professionalism. Lastly, we were constrained by budget. So, we were looking for a good fit in that capacity, too.

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

Apptension had to create an online store that would give buyers a chance to experience the process of buying fine art through the website.

The key deliverables were:

• A customized front-end store application based on the BigCommerce engine
• Wagtail CMS for the content management of the store Gallery panel for partners Integration with the 3rd part applications, like Art Shipper
• Omnisend (for marketing campaigns)
• BigQuery (for SQL inquiries)

Technologies that were used on the Back-end:

• Django 3.1.12
• Django Rest Framework
• Python 3.8
• Wagtail 2.12.4

Database: MySQLclient Technologies that were used on the Front-end:

• NextJS extending
• ReactJS framework
• NodeJS (Javascript server to support server-side rendering)
• ReduxJS (State management system)

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

We had a team consisting of a team leader, a front-end developer, a back-end developer, QA specialist, and Project Manager devoted to this project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The initial goal was the MVP release. For ongoing development now, there isn't a specific result yet. We’re developing new features.

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

It was a challenging project to develop in such a short time frame. To get the MVP launched, there were some moments where the team fell behind, and I had to rally them to catch up, but, in the end,, we met the goal.

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

They've integrated very well with my internal team, and they are also able to scale up and down to suit our needs.

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

I would say there were several minor issues there. And not all of them were Apptension's faults. One of them was the project escalation. I think Apptension could have handled the communication better. But, on the other hand, that has become learning for how we work together in the longer term. The issue on our end was in the clear communication of requirements. And lastly, the estimations were ambiguous. And I would say that was more on the Apptension’s side. We've had two front-end developer changes in the last six weeks, and there have been more bugs and costs spent as a result. Over time, we have developed a system for getting better estimates, making more thorough discoveries, mapping everything out with a lot more precision, and coming up with new processes to escalate issues. There's a reason we've continued to work with Apptension - it’s because we feel them as an extension of our team. Dedicated back-end developer really helps us think the problems through, and we just enjoy working with him. And Marta, the project manager, is really committed to the project. Partly because she cares about art and about what we're doing, but such an attitude makes a big difference in a way that they do feel like our partners. And that really helps.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I manage the software engineering team in a diversified cannabis company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Apptension has been selected from the large pool of vendors who participated in the official RFP process. Their proposal met all of our requirements and we have decided to assign our project to Apptension's frontend team of developers. The goal was to create a frontend for an internal business management tool. Following this, after a few months of mutual work, we came across an additional need for technical support in a different, unrelated, project - hence, Apptension was very important to our business, since its work had to be aligned with Canadian law and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.

SOLUTION

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

Apptension took part in a RFP process and we decided to choose them among other companies. The main deciding factors were good references and price (matching our budget).

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

We had a kick-off meeting to discuss our goals. From there, the Apptension team did some research to find a solution that would bring our ideas to life, creating the whole frontend of the application. During the development phase, the team was suggesting improvements and spent a lot of time on Quality Assurance to ensure the project was in accordance with GMP standards. Furthermore, they added a few design tweaks in order to improve the user experience and application interface.

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

A project manager was our main point of contact throughout the process. There were also developers, QA specialists, and a designer working behind the scenes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, the business has very well received the designs. End users were engaged with the upcoming changes and excited to be part of the process. QA coverage was great and the demos provided by the team were very insightful. Moreover, the development team worked incredibly fast which was crucial for us.

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

Weekly catch-ups with the entire team. We used email, Slack, Jira, and GitHub to coordinate, and they worked well with our team.

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

They gave us clean code, great reusable design components. They worked proactively giving us a lot of improvement suggestions. They integrated very well with our internal project management processes and our teams had excellent synergy.

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

It is not Apptension’s fault, but the time zone difference can be both an advantage and disadvantage. It sometimes was a disadvantage as it made our communications more asynchronous, but this was compensated by the fact that our team was now able to run almost 24 hours a day.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CEO of blkbx. the simple mobile checkout platform for DTC brands, agencies and influencers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

blkbx. is a startup and we needed to create our MVP product. Given we were just getting going we didn't have our own development resources and needed to outsource. Our MVP had to be transactional, account based and provide performance analytics to the vendors who signed up.

We also needed to be able to take service fees and provide rudimentary integrations into our partners ecosystems. Our goal with the MVP was to get something to market that we could onboard vendors onto and begin making revenue, in order to test learn and iterate.

SOLUTION

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

We interviewed a number of product development firms. Each had its pluses and minuses. We considered the team, size, skill set, location and most importantly comprehension and response to the brief. Apptension came out out ahead on every count and presented themselves as the best partner for the job.

They dedicated a team of skilled experts, proposed a tight timeline with rigorous project management and through their communication and response it was clear that they understood what we wanted to achieve with blkbx. There was also a sense of genuine enthusiasm for the project, which showed up in their responsiveness and overall attitude.

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

The initial scope was four 2-week sprints, which kicked off with a research and planning phase. We then got on with the development of the existing design system.

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

The core Apptension team was comprised of 2 project managers, lead front end and back end developers and QA. Other experts were brought in as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered the MVP to the specification required, at a very high standard that mirrored the overall design intent. Our design language is very precise and any deviations are very apparent.

Across both front end and back end the Apptension team exceed our expectations and managed to improve upon an already tight UX and UI, with a very performant and stable MVP.

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

Project management was crisp, confident and transparent. Meetings started on time, issues were raised in a pro-active and informed way and there was never any panic moments, even when we reframed the scope or asked for a change in development priority. It was one of the most professional PM teams I've ever worked with and we would not be where we are without them.

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

Apptension do a great job of internalising the development challenge to the point where they view the product from the clients' perspective. They are a true partner in the evolution of a product from concept to finished app out in the world. They all work very hard and yet they are humble, friendly and quick to smile.

There is also, a razor sharp confidence, based on world class skills and expertise that shines through in every interaction and outcome. They deliver. They are a joy to work with.

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

Nope.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a company that has created a place for informed fashion users. We have our headquarter in Wrocław (Poland). Our team is over 20 people and we are growing constantly.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Apptension?

I started the company with a great idea and a head full of concepts. I needed to achieve my goals. The goals were to create a place on the web for aware users of fashion and to build a community around it. They helped me to achieve this goal.

What were your goals for this project?

The main goal of the project was to build the MVP application as soon as possible, market it, develop it based on user feedback.

SOLUTION

How did you select Apptension?

I chose their team on the basis of the clutch review and interview with them

Describe the project in detail.

The scope of the project included branding, design, development, maintenance, and development of new functions after the production launch. The team used only my vision and ideas to generate a backlog. No other services were provided.

What was the team composition?

PM, TechLead, BE Senior, FE Senior, BE Mid, FE Mid, QA, UX/UI Designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application has been downloaded more than 300k times during the first 3 months from the launch. The commitment of the team allowed me to achieve all the challenges presented to them.

Users very much praise the design and usability of the application. When the first performance problems appeared, the team quickly worked out a recovery plan and implemented it. Like every application that hasn't come out of MVP yet, a startup has its bugs.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Transparent communication was a routine, there were exceptions, but this did not cause major problems. Project management and all tools for this purpose were on their side. Every attention and feedback from my side was taken into account and the things that concerned were corrected.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive was their flexibility and the unconditional way to face all challenges and problems. The professional management and documentation of the project are also worthy of mention.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a strategic producer and new business development manager for pro(u)d Solutions, a consultancy company. I’m responsible for all the business coming from new areas, such as digital footprints, developments, new programming, and so on.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apptension?

I received a brief from a big multinational company in my home country. They needed to develop a new app based on insights they’d identified from the consumer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apptension developed a mobile app that will provide a solution for regular consumers. It comes under the scope of a fast-moving consumer good (FMCG). So far, we’ve done the discovery phase.

What is the team composition?

The team varied depending on the phase of the project. We were working with 3–4 people in the beginning, and there were 10 people involved in the workshop. I’ve worked with 10–15 people from Apptension at our peak, but the range was 3–10, depending on the phase of the project.

How did you come to work with Apptension?

I searched the market for a development partner, and Apptension came as a recommendation from a previous connection, who’d worked with them and was very satisfied. I briefed them and another three development studios, and they won the pitch.

How much have you invested with them?

For this project, we’ve spent roughly $50,000–$100,000, and the next phase will be $500,000 or more.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Apptension in November 2019. The collaboration is ongoing for other projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Apptension has provided a very good solution. Most importantly, they’ve been able to incorporate the client’s feedback, even if that meant doing a pivot on what we’d done or if it required extra hours. They have a very constructive approach to client feedback and were always willing to come up with new solutions.

I was so satisfied with the results that I’ve continued to use Apptension as my partner for both development and design.

How did Apptension perform from a project management standpoint?

They were on time and were able to provide me the feedback I needed in time for me to prepare for client meetings. They were also able to incorporate my change requests. I have only good things to say about them, not only about the project manager but also the creative and strategic teams. I’m really pleased to work with them.

In the past, I’ve worked with other companies who develop big egos when talking about big clients, but I never felt that here. They’re very good in terms of both IT outcomes and client management, which are both skills that aren’t found easily in development studios.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re really competitive in terms of price and output. They have fair deals, and they make us aware of what they’re delivering and for what amount. As an intermediary to the client, that also gives me a good perspective on what to sell or not to sell. Apptension is a good partner to have.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some of their members need to improve their English.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’d suggest being open with them, putting the challenge on the table, and being open to try new things. In some of the projects we’re working on now, I sometimes thought that their approach wasn’t what I briefed them for, but then I understood why they did it, and the outcome was even better than I would’ve thought. Trust the team and giving them a bit of space. If you’re not happy, say you’re not happy, and they’ll come back to their initial ideas.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an interactive producer for The Mill in London. We’re a visual effects company specializing in visual effects within the advertising realm. Our department specifically focuses on interactive and digital projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apptension?

We needed assistance in building a CMS that catered to an app and website that we built for a major sporting event.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apptension helped us create a CMS that serves our app and website. The CMS caters to a large gallery, localizations, and copy within the app, which is interactive for users. The product comprises eight challenges and rewards. There’s gameplay and then a filter, which is shareable. The platform also has a gallery and text that’s controlled by the CMS. Their team provided maintenance for a period of time too.

Our team developed a small, one-page website with limited interactivity that services the gallery and all localized text within the app. Both the app and the web are localized into six different languages. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with five people from Apptension including a project manager.

How did you come to work with Apptension?

Our resource manager, who heard of Apptension from other companies, recommended them. Their team actually worked with our LA office on a previous project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in November 2019 and completed in January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product doesn’t go live until the summer. All of the testing results are positive. There were no issues from a frontend point of view. All of the servers set up that they helped us with were good too.

How did Apptension perform from a project management standpoint?

Day to day, we communicated through a Slack channel that included both dev teams. Their project manager and I had daily stand-ups via Google Hangouts. Any initial documentation was done by email. It was really easy to communicate with them. All of their communication about what they required from us was clear. If there was anything that they weren’t sure about, their team also made sure to clarify. They were also quick to respond.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team communicated clearly and remained on top of their assignments. They even reminded us about events such as bug fixing sessions, which was helpful in managing such a large scale project on our end. They were also flexible when we needed them to be.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear on what it is that you need. They were responsible and outlined their needs, so there wasn’t any ambiguity.