Appus Studio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president of an online retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appus Studio?

We needed someone to help us develop Android and iOS apps for online sales.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

They built the app from the ground up. Their team mainly specializes in iOS, then Android and targeting American users.

Our goals for final app were simple. We wanted an average blue-collar worker to have easy access and be able to figure everything out on their own. 

What is the team composition?

I had two different managers and worked with a team of 5–7 people overall during our two year engagement, including designers and data specialists.

How did you come to work with Appus Studio?

I found them on Clutch. I contacted 7–8 listed companies. Apps Studio is based in Ukraine, so I flew over to meet them in person. Our in-person conversations closed the deal. Most of their team spoke good English.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around August 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The final app is currently in beta and hasn’t launched yet. I’ve measured their success on their ability to complete tasks asked of them, and they’ve been very good about that so far. There is a small cultural barrier in the ways in which our teams think. We’ve been able to work through that by clearly explaining our needs. 

The cultural barrier may have slowed us down a little bit on delivery, but the end result is exactly what I wanted. I just had to explain the requirements to them in a little more detail. Overall, they are a good company with good people. Think their work is very strong.  

How did Appus Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, I think they are right on the money when it comes to their line of work. I don’t have an IT background, so their timelines and project management were a little bit of an adjustment.

We communicated through email and had a Skype call 1–2 times each week. They also used tools to send me their work for edits and feedback. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They truly care and want us to have success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing that I can think of. They could increase their manpower to move a little faster, but I’m not an IT guy or developer, so I don’t know if their speed is normal or not. I thought it was a little slow at times, but I could be wrong.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Most of their staff is very fluent in English, so I would advise anyone that only speaks English to use them. I visited a couple of offshore companies, and Appus Studio’s English skills were the best of all of them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Co-founder and CEO of the project.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appus Studio?

Based on recommendations from previous clients who have experience a professional service from Appus

What were your goals for this project?

To test an MVP in the market to ensure there a consumer demand to such service.

SOLUTION

How did you select Appus Studio?

Based on recommendations from previous clients who have experience a professional service from Appus

Describe the project in detail.

BoothLive Platform is a solution for both the presenter and the visitor of exhibitions, events, conferences and seminars. It’s an unconventional technology that focused on transforming the main interactions, purpose and atmosphere that happens within a booth into a virtual experience.

Given the growing demand and the fast pace of such industry, it’s inevitable that we foreseen the need of creating a platform that does help in saving cost, time and logistics of establishing an exhibition, event or seminar, by providing the core element that combines all of this… human interaction.

What was the team composition?

A project manager, developers and quality assurance

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've managed to develop a very good app that even thought it doesn't match industry standards, but it generated the enagegement from the audience and gained their feedback on the concept and futher development requirements.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective and timely responses were made consistenantly

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The fact they're willing to always be there for you no matter what you need and how they consider themselves partners not just executers.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Quality assurance needs a little improvement, it could be a good idea to develop an SOP for quality to where multiple users go through the final product to ensure it's working with no bugs or incidents.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a digital app that is a scrapbook for photo booths.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appus Studio?

We wanted to outsource the development of the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a good MVP for us, and we decided to move forward with them for all of our digital needs. They did our app development and built our website. They built the server program for us which was on a PC. They’ve also handled all the backend stuff and AWS integrations with Twilio, Stripe, and all the server work.

The app was built from scratch. They did all the designs. I worked with them on designs, but they’re the ones who took it and made something real.

The app itself has a lot of design and drawing functionalities, being that users are designing a scrapbook page. We have integrations With Apple Pencil to allow users to draw and write on the pages.

For the website, they used Laravel. The website is for our customers to be able to get an idea of who we are, login, manage their accounts from the backend, perform payments, have subscriptions, manage subscriptions, and be able to download the server program.

What is the team composition?

My initial contact was with the CEO, but we also worked with the CTO. Since then, most of my direct contact has been with their project managers. The team we’re working with has varied in size between 2-6 people.

How did you come to work with Appus Studio?

We did a bunch of research and found them on Upwork. I liked Appus Studio the best and their pricing was reasonable for the MVP. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$55,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2018–May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The scope continued to expand, and they kept building it out. Many of their solutions were better than what we originally had in mind. We’re not the first one to have a scrapbook app but were the first ones that can connect to a photobooth program. All you have to do is take the app and scan a QR code. That simplicity was something Appus Studio came up with and was really unique.

Everyone loves the product. We’ve released two versions since our initial launch. The ease of use was one of our main metrics in which we gauged success. The fact that people use it and enjoy, and customers are willing to pay us for it demonstrates the success of the project

How did Appus Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project managers have been impeccable. Their English has been great. There’s been some turnover but each person has been able to pick up where we left off. 

Most communication has been over Skype through video calls or messages. Originally, I was using their internal ticketing system. However, now I just explain to my project manager my issues and she handles the tickets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have the ability to scale up when there’s a deadline. They’re always able to meet our needs. There were one or two nights where they had to work all night, and they did.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were one or two points early on where there were misunderstandings, and they weren’t giving us what we wanted. That was more of a project manager issue because since we’ve worked with other ones, it’s much better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a solid company. The value of their work is extremely high. There’s no way we could have done this with an in-house team for the amount of money we spent. You’re going to have a product you can count on and works well. However, don’t expect their QA team to do everything for you. You need to bug test.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an online fashion company offering bespoke traditional garments and lifestyle accessories. I am the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appus Studio?

They were to develop an e-commerce app and admin page to manage and sell fashion products while integrating different technologies from different companies.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal is to create an e-commerce platform that allows customers to share their sizes using AR using the API of a 3rd party. The final product would be customized and delivered via the app to the customer.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I started with 30 prospects and narrowed down to 3 based on a preset set of criteria. I then chose Appus as they scored the highest.

Describe the project in detail.

They would create an e-commerce app selling men and women bespoke traditional garments plus accessories.

What was the team composition?

We had a full team from project management to development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is in the final stage to be launched. I'll update this section after we launch.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

My App isn't the easiest to develop and isn't the most complicated. From a development perspective, they are super strong, up to date with the technologies, and offer value when it comes to UX & UI, and are very committed.

They have the right systems to manage the project, they are flexible and listens well. But I must say the strongest differentiator and what added value to me is their project management.

Kirill who is handling my project is a great and talented manager who understands my business needs and ecosystem very well. He contributes strongly to the project and makes me feel that he is on my side and has my best interest at heart while also motivating and engaging the full team in Appus. He is a true partner to both parties, Appus and my company. I would strongly recommend working with them and will surely and gladly work with them again. Thank you team, Appus. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

I faced some obstacles to reach the project manager who is currently handling the project. I worked with a couple of project managers who weren't satisfactory. I had to reach out to their CEO to resolve this. And they were cooperative.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a startup, I'm the CTO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appus Studio?

To develop an iOS and Android app, connected to a backend database for backup and sync.

What were your goals for this project?

App development of an iOS app and AWS server for a customer-facing app. Later added Android.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

A developer we worked with was at 100% capacity, so the recommended YouTeam, YouTeam proposed Appus. After 2 interviews we were confident that they have the skillset and competence that we were looking for,

Describe the project in detail.

Our team is both very good at defining projects in terms of end-user functionality and technical so defining the logic for how the app functions. We needed input from the team on how to implement in detail and feedback on the best practical solution.

For example, the app synchronization with the server and multiple devices was totally defined by Appus. If you have just a vague outline of what you want it will fail however you contract it.

What was the team composition?

iOS developer, full-stack developer, Android developer, QA and project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our iOS app was launched in June 2019, Android in April 2020. There have been several app and server updates to add features and fix bugs.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager at Appus is critical to the success of the project. We had a very good one at the start (Elena), then short term stints with ones that were very frustrating to work with, now we have a good one again.

When we had the frustrating ones we were taking steps to move to a different company, but they switched in a good project manager (Maria) and everything is going very well again.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We have tight budgets, yet we have been able to achieve so much! There were things we did not define (syncing, the web admin interface) that would have caused us to fail or struggle if they were not implemented well by Appus taking the initiative and providing advice.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We like to be involved with how things are going to be implemented because we are technical and want to weight the pros and cons of the solutions. We don't always get sufficient insight into how the implementation is was achieved. This means sometimes we have to implement, then revise later.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the CEO of I Do Recall Inc., a web platform that helps students be successful.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appus Studio?

I decided to hire an outsourced team to be my engineering department. I didn't want to build an in-house team for this project, which was just at its inception. I wanted to find a company that could build the product, handle any problems, and continue to iterate beyond the MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Appus Studio is developing a browser-based web application. It's a progressive web app so it works on mobile and computer browsers. The program uses spaced repetition flashcards to help students learn. It allows them to upload learning materials into the web app and make flashcards linked to specific concepts and facts. If they forget an answer during practice, a link opens to the exact spot in the learning materials that links to the flashcard.

We designed the UI internally and used them for the engineering. Appus Studio built the frontend in React and the backend in various Firebase services. They integrate APIs for other services so that students can upload all kinds of file types (e.g., PDFs, Word documents, etc.). There’s a viewer so students can annotate their notes as they read. 

What is the team composition?

In total, I’ve probably worked with six members of their team. There's a core group of three people that I primarily work with. 

How did you come to work with Appus Studio? 

I interviewed 8–10 companies. I was specifically looking for a company in Ukraine. In my experience, their level of engineering for the value for engineers is a good match. 

How much have you invested with them?

They charge $25 an hour. We’ve spent in the range of $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in February 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This was a challenging web app to build. I'm amazed at what a great job they did for the price. I've worked in the technology space for quite a while so I know what quality engineers go for. 

I see all of the all the pushes of code to GitLab. Along with their team, I do QA on our dev server and our staging server. I’m involved every step of the way so I see how long it takes them to develop features. Their speed and quality of code is quite excellent. 

How did Appus Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m thrilled with their project management. They provide more than just engineers. They also provide two QA engineers at no additional charge. I meet with a project manager twice a week, and they meet on my East Coast schedule. I also speak directly with the lead engineer. We meet over Skype or chat within Google Docs to go through any issues or bugs that come up.

The most crucial deadline was the MVP launch date in July 2018. They hit that, and have continued to reliably meet our deadlines. I expect that I'll use them well into the life of the company. At this point, I have no urge to build my own in-house engineering team.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

If I had picked any other firm, the most I would have gotten was my web app built. Appus Studio has been able to move into the future with me. They continue to maintain the web app and provide emergency services. Students depend on this app always working, even on weekends. If something happens and a server goes down, we have an arrangement so they can fix it. They really function as if they were my engineering team. I don't think I could have found that elsewhere based on my exploration of the market. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. If I thought of ways that they need to improve, I’d tell them and they’d do it. They're extremely interested in being the best possible partner they can be. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If possible, meet with your project manager before you start. Make sure that you're happy with the level of communication and any language barrier. The project manager is central to how well you work with their team. It's key that you develop a good relationship with the project manager right away.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a small company that provides analysis, programming, and project management support to other businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appus Studio?

We had an idea for a new product that we could market directly to end users. While our requirements were very well-defined, we did not have the expertise to build a mobile app.

What were your goals for this project?

Our app had to be technically reliable and sound. Since it estimates future income based on a number of variables, it needed to be extremely accurate. We’re making a new product, so we only have one chance to make a good impression. For this, we needed a developer who could follow our exact specifications while helping us navigate the world of app development and deployment.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Appus was recommended by a colleague who used them develop applications for his business.

Describe the project in detail.

For the initial development, we divided the project into five parts. The first part involved establishing the framework and providing simple input. We provided wireframes and detailed descriptions for each input field, including validations and the formulas to generate output. This process allowed us to establish a working relationship and determine what other details needed to be included in our specifications. Our relationship and process improved greatly as each part was developed and tested. We released the app in 2016 and have since made some significant upgrades, including optimizing it for iPad and iOS.

What was the team composition?

Their project manager handles all communication between us and the developers and QA team. It's very helpful to work with just a single contact person who can coordinate the process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just recently hit a milestone for the latest improvement—making the app available on iPads. While we are still very much in startup mode, we already have over 3,000 downloads and a rating of 4.9 stars. Our product has a high degree of accuracy and stability, which is reflected in the rating. We could not have achieved this without Appus.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Overall, it has been great. They have always been receptive to improvements and quickly respond to any issues. As with any project, communication can be difficult when collaborating with a remote team. Fortunately, Appus provides several ways to communicate, including Skype and their message board.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their enthusiasm and professionalism are exceptional. The Appus team is very quick to respond, which we really appreciate. Although they are outside the U.S., language and time differences have never been a problem.

Are there any areas for improvement?

the product turned out great, they should spend more time identifying UI issues such as alignment, font size, consistency between controls, etc. This does not require special knowledge about the product, but we regularly found issues in this area and reported them to Appus.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the director of Business Process Solutions, a small consultancy that provides expertise for applications developed by SAP and MYOB, an Australian accounting and business software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appus Studio?

The challenge was to develop an idea for an iOS application called Faves to store all of someone’s “favorite” things, i.e. lists of favorite movies, recipes, websites, etc. We hired Appus to develop the app and make it come to life.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to see a fully working app mainly for iOS. There was no other app on the market that stored all your favorite things in a single place. Appus made this happen.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

A colleague initially recommended Appus and I knew they could deliver a great outcome after our initial meetings. They were clearly technically competent, asked all of the right questions, and were keen on working with us.

Describe the project in detail.

The project was to simply take the UX designs and prototype and bring it to life. Appus developed all of the core features on iOS. They provided mockups, a fully functional prototype, and a MoSCoW prioritization spreadsheet with the required functions still to be built.

Appus built features including the ability to create a favorite with a description and assign it a category and multiple hashtags, the ability to take a photo through the app using the native camera, the ability to add sub-favorite sections, and a quick-add function for categories and hashtags. I was particularly impressed with the thumbnails of the photos and weblinks on the app.

What was the team composition?

A number of Appus staff were involved in the project from start to finish including developers and testers. However, the project manager served as our single point of contact, which I thought was very helpful.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Appus proved that the Faves app could come to life exactly as we wanted it. The app successfully stored all of our favorite things in a single place. It was professionally built and tested thoroughly to a high standard. We did have one bug upon release, however Appus quickly resolved the issue and impressively turned around the bug fix in 24 hours.

We have a number of users and feedback has been really positive. They love using the app and especially enjoy the available search features. Appus built the app over and above our expectations. It was a great experience. I have a few other app ideas and plan on using Appus to develop them.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication of the Appus team was fantastic throughout the 5-week project. In particular, the project manager, Diana, was outstanding and regularly communicated progress updates. Diana asked questions in order to make sure what was being built met our expectations. We had a regular weekly discussion during the project and, as this was our first iOS application, Diana was really helpful at assisting us with using the Apple Developer framework and with general iOS queries.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was seriously impressed with the team’s technical abilities and communication throughout the project. The feature estimates were realistic and not over the top in order to guarantee a huge profit margin. Appus provided a clear and concise report on the functionalities being delivered right down to what would and would not be shown on every screen. This was great, as we fully understood what the app would include right from the outset. Appus was always attentive at responding to questions and assisting in other areas where we lacked knowledge.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only improvement I can suggest is offering a better overview of the testing process. I could see in the management software that tests were being performed, but I had no idea of their framework, who was doing the actually testing, or how the tests were preforming. It would have been helpful from our end to understand this a little more. However, Appus was an excellent partner overall.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a developer within a small consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appus Studio?

We were looking to develop a tool that would allow us to interact with the data that we were managing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed the right expertise for iOS. They helped us build our app from the very beginning and have maintained it since. Most of the backend technologies were developed in-house.

What is the team dynamic?

We've been working together for a very long time, since back when they only had only 1–2 developers. Throughout our relationship, I’ve worked with about 10–15 developers so far.

How did you come to work with Appus Studio?

We were working on something small and thought that we could take a risk and see if we could leverage some outside expertise to build it instead of trying to do it in-house. We found Appus in an old marketplace platform and did a test run with them, in which they did a fantastic job. We even tested them against two other developers in our search for the best partner. They definitely fit our criteria regarding cost, skillset, and time availability.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2009 and our engagement continues today.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve done such a good job at maintaining the collaboration and the quality of the work. They’ve built trust with their reliability and we can count on them to keep doing their job whereas other vendors just do the project and are done with you. The fact that we've been working together since 2009 speaks volumes.

How did Appus Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

It has been my responsibility to take on project management and provide direction regarding the day-to-day tasks. However, the tools they’ve given us are adequate enough for assigning tasks and getting status updates. If I have a question or need a response fairly quickly, there are different channels that I can use for that. They're certainly very responsive even though we're in completely different countries and time zones.

We’re able to accomplish a lot just by text messaging back and forth but we also do Skype calls. Their English is very good, so there really isn’t a communication gap.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There are a lot of positives aspects about Dmitry [Founder & CEO, Appus Studio] and of how he’s maintained things. If I ever need help with doing something or need somebody to step in and take over a task, they're always up for the challenge. Trust is a big factor in why I continue working with them. We’ve had a tight relationship since starting out in 2009 and our trust has extended into the whole company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think there's always room for improvement. I think the most important thing is just making sure that they continue to grow and develop their skills in the technologies that they offer. I don’t know what’s on the cutting edge of various the technologies that I may need, so I would look to them to have that knowledge. They should also evolve in finding better ways to do things since we often continue to do the same thing because it's worked in the past and maybe there's a better way to do it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m in the radio business and wanted to launch an iOS app in China. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appus Studio?

I needed to build an app called Quaner. It’s a social network where users can post about an area that they like. Appus normally works on English projects, but our APIs are in Chinese. That was challenging for them, but they handled it well. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were responsible for the development of the app until it was published. The process was pretty good for me. I didn’t need to worry about anything. The app was built for iOS only and matches a post with the location that users like. It had to be integrated with WeChat, Weibo, and AMAP. They didn’t do any marketing.

How did you come to work with Appus Studio?

I’d worked with other development teams before. I hope to have a long-time partnership with Appus.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2015. Right now, they’re updating the app.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At first, I was nervous because the product uses a lot of Chinese APIs. However, Appus finished those tasks without any problems. I’m confident they can finish any project and give 100%.

When I had other requirements to implement on the app, I did not hesitate to contact Appus. We are working on those new requirements in a second phase now, and they’re still the best.

How did Appus Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They have their own emailing system. I hope that I can always get the best price as a returning customer.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very good at developing and managing the project. They finished close to the deadline.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could give return customers a coupon. Also, the 10% QA fee is high. Every time they delivered something, I needed to test it again. I don’t think I should have to pay extra for that.