appwise software house

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Ecommerce manager of Oh!Zuza

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We manufacture and distribute clothing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire appwise software house to accomplish?

• Audit our ecommerce website
• Fix faulty solutions on our ecommerce website
• Improve the quality and speed of our ecommerce website
• Ecommerce website maintenance

SOLUTION

How did you find appwise software house?

• Online Search
• Referral
• They reached out to us as well.

Why did you select appwise software house over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Trustworthy and honest sales person.

How many teammates from appwise software house were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Our ecommerce website was working slow. Appwise was asked to verify what are the reasons of that. They began with an thorough audit, which included examination of: CMS, website code, safety precautions, passwords management, hosting quality of service and safety. They followed-up with recommendations of improvements, speed enhancements and diposal of obsolete or unwated plugins. All of that was described in form of a report which was then discussed. 

Afterwards,the changes were implemented according to the aggreed-on schedule. First invoice was sent to us after a month when most of the tasks had been already completed. The set goals were met - our ecommerce is working much faster and gained many new features and fixes. Currently, Appwise is reasponsible for maintiaining and improving the website on a daily basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The speed of our website measured by Page Speed (mainly, but not only). Positive feedback from our customers that the website is now more user-friendly. Many of the opinions were said by the phone,ut are visible also here: https://www.ekomi-pl.com/opinie-ohzuza.html The website became also easier to maintain for you employees.

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

We always agree on a schedule and the work is always done within the given framework. If the matter is urgent they react instantly. With the developer we have only email contact. If required we can always call an assigned project manager who can speed up or alternete development priorities. 

At the end of the year they asked of how they can improve, which was a nice touch. One of the improvements was impletmented after a few days. We had a totally opposite experience with our former web developement company.

What was your primary form of communication with appwise software house?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Engaged team consisting of: web developer, project manager and a sales person who drops up onto meetings from time to time (to check if the cooperation is working smoothly). The meetings were usually very specific and well-organized.

Are there any areas for improvement or something appwise software house could have done differently?

Recently, they asked this very same question and wehad made an improvement. Iasked if I can add tasks to their system (Jira) myself, because I sometimes forget to mention everything during the meetings or in a single email. Now, I can just add a new task in Jira and nothing gets lost and it is easier for me to track where we are at.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a project manager of a rum producer with a worldwide distribution in almost 80 countries. Our main product is distilled rum, and we also have an NFT.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with appwise software house?

The challenge was to connect digital and analog payments for our NFT. For our clients, who are mostly analog, we had to make a bridge to allow our clients to pay in euros for something which is in Ethereum. We hired them to develop a tool or a mobile application for this purpose.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

appwise software house built an IT solution to help connect digital and analog payments. First, we provided them with some documentation and two external technologies to combine into one. We proposed connecting the whole project using cryptocurrency technology. For the KYC technology, they used Shufti.

First, they built a minting feature. Underneath that feature is our NFT; to pay for it, customers can use all currencies using their credit card or MetaMask wallet. appwise software house’s main task was to connect these two possibilities. They also added affiliated links to enable us to check how many NFTs we’ve sold from our workplace.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 4–6 people, including a project manager, several developers, and a financial person.

How did you come to work with appwise software house?

An internal project manager recommended them to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around €15,000 (approximately $15,000).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2022, and they finished the project by August 2022. However, we plan to work with appwise software house on our next project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our cooperation with appwise software house was excellent. During the process, we found some bugs, did some tests, and found that something was not 100% done. appwise software house fixed it in one day.

How did appwise software house perform from a project management standpoint?

They didn’t exceed the budget we had planned. Although deadlines were sometimes extended by at least one week, this was acceptable for us. We used Jira for project management, and our communication was mainly through emails, Google Meet, and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed with appwise software house’s expertise; they were able to develop this tool from scratch. Moreover, they are affordable, and the communication with the project manager and developers was good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Any advice for potential customers?

I recommend you have summary updates of what happened the previous week every week — this will help your cooperation. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager of an outbound sales platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with appwise software house?

We had had our website for eight years, and nobody had ownership of it. There were some things we wanted to fix, and we didn’t have anybody in-house to do it, so we reached out to appwise software house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

appwise software house provides us with web design and development. They’ve merged three of our WordPress domains into one. The team has also migrated the site to a new hosting platform and has added third-party plug-ins. As for technologies, they’ve used JavaScript, PHP, and SQL for the database.

What is the team composition?

I mostly work with a project manager, though I also have contact with developers. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $5,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2022, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since appwise software house merged our domains and changed our hosting platform, the site is working faster from an administrative perspective. As a result, I can add new pages or edit more quickly, reliably, and without fear of something going wrong. 

How did appwise software house perform from a project management standpoint?

At the start of the project, they gave me a timeline estimate. Whenever something goes south, and they know a task will take longer or cost more, they call me and ask whether that’s okay with me instead of simply invoicing me. 

We use Jira and Excel for project management. Additionally, we have a communication thread through Gmail and hop on calls when needed to discuss things faster. Sometimes, I test the project manager when something is urgent. Whenever I want to have a call with a developer, they schedule it with no problem. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate appwise software house’s transparency. For example, I have access to their Jira, so I can see all the developers’ tasks and comment on them. They also provide an Excel document with the tasks and their prices. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They may have too many projects on their hands, which is something they could address.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be afraid to express your concerns every step of the way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a foundation that prepares movie subtitles and audio descriptions for visually- and hearing-impaired individuals. We have a specialty video-on-demand product called Adapter. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with appwise software house?

We brought them on to support Adapter. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our product had a very simple frontend infrastructure on WordPress, and the backend had 2–3 servers that supported movie streaming. appwise software house helped us update the product by creating new functionalities, including a members club. They also organized new features to help log new members and provide them with services. For the development, they used documentation and information about the product's status and our goals. 

What is the team composition?

I'm not sure exactly how many teammates were involved in the project. I worked with five teammates, including 1–2 developers, a project manager, and two teammates supporting special product features.  

How did you come to work with appwise software house?

We found them online, and I reached out to them. They were from our city, so we were able to meet face-to-face. We determined they'd be able to deliver what we needed. After looking at their portfolio, I was convinced they'd be a good partner. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement was from November 2021–August 2022. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since the functionalities are new, they haven't been published yet. We're first trying to first identify any bugs through testing. We plan to promote and roll out the new functionalities in September 2022. 

In general, the employees running the testing have praised the quality of the deliverables from appwise software house. However, until we get feedback from users, I can't say whether or not the partnership was a success. 

How did appwise software house perform from a project management standpoint?

The project went very smoothly. I could contact the project manager whenever I needed to; they were responsible for managing the developers and coordinating project changes. Usually, we communicated through Google Meet, email, or phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was a very small project, so there isn't too much to say. I appreciated that the collaboration went smoothly — they delivered successfully without delays. Their team was always ready to invent new solutions to our problems, even if it required new code. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing for them to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd recommend appwise software house because they're reliable, friendly, and willing to solve complex problems. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I am the founder of a pregnancy healthcare company based in Poland.       

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Appwise?

I was looking for an app that would be able to host numerous videos and display them in very specific ways. Our new product had about 120 videos in it, and we wanted to display them in a very usable way on our website.   

Therefore, I looked for apps that worked in a similar manner to this goal, and an application that Appwise had created caught my attention. I contacted them and asked for their help. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They're developing an extension to our WordPress website — a new application that displays all 120 videos leveraging four different displays. 

What was the team composition?

We work with a project manager, who is our main point of contact. We are in constant touch.                                    

How did you come to work with  Appwise?

I visited a website that I really liked and found their name in the footer. After checking their website and reviews on Google, I scheduled a meeting with them to talk to them about our project. They then made a proposal and offered a potential budget, and we decided to work with them.  

How much have you invested in them?

We've around $6,000–$7,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2022, and we're currently doing maintenance and updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Both our product and the way we're displaying it are very innovative. In the first month after the launch, we were able to increase our sales by 50%. The web app has been great for our business. 

We had a very tight deadline, as Mother's day was approaching; it's a very strategic day for us. Our goal was to have the site ready by then, and appwise took the job very seriously.

How did Appwise perform from a project management standpoint?

Having worked as a frontend developer myself, I am very demanding. I knew this was a hard job to do in such a short period of time but it was very easy to work with appwise. Communication was always straightforward, and we didn’t waste any time.

I used Asana as a project management tool and communicated with the developer via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From my previous experiences in IT development, I knew where to look to know if a specific vendor was good for me. I knew as soon as I found appwise that they were the right choice. Seeing their portfolio was enough to know they were skilled and knew how to do their job. 

Another great thing was that, when we finished the development, we had a meeting to identify any areas of improvement, and the only recommendation was that we do testing prior to launch. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their work was excellent, so, no. I don't know anything they could do better. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be specific with your requirements from the beginning.       

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the growth manager of Lekko company; we sell CBD products and wellness stuff, like cosmetics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appwise?

A year after putting our company on the market, we decided to revamp our web store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Appwise helped us program and redevelop a new e-store from scratch — we had an existing website, but this was a totally different one. We changed the front- and backend, but we still have the same engine as the previous site. Regarding technologies, they used WordPress and WooCommerce to build the website and accomplish our requirements, which were basic e-shop stuff because we don't have many products in stock.

They've also helped us with SEO, analytic tools, and integrated marketing engines.

What is the team composition?

I worked with five people from their team, including a project manager and a content developer.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started around June of 2021 and is still ongoing as we have just started developing new features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is great; I've had the opportunity in my career to work with several software houses, and I think they're the best one.

How did Appwise perform from a project management standpoint?

They meet deadlines and lead good communication. Also, I feel they're involved in our project — they care about us. In addition, if I have a problem, they fix it quickly.

Regarding tools, we use JIRA for product management and phone calls to reach out to each other.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They care about the project, not just for clients but for themselves, leading to a great partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on — they're one of the best software houses.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I owned a Polish design and branding studio Pragmatic.Studio. During the project with Appwise I focused on customer communication and management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire appwise software house, and what were your goals?

We hired Appwise to build a web app for our Stanford customer. Our goals were to develop a more flexible and polished solution than the original MVP which Appwise maintained for our customer at that time. Over time according to Appwise it became difficult to introduce even minor changes in the app. We agreed with their suggestion to rebuild the app and motivated our customer to take that step with us and Appwise.

SOLUTION

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

We had a history of cooperation. We were looking towards different contractors due to numerous delays and system issues in prior projects. We are all about building relations and partnerships, so when Konrad (Manager) promised us things will be different this time around we took the leap of faith and signed the contract.

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

It was a fairly simple project. It was supposed to take 10 working days. We were about 30 working days in the project when Appwise declined to fix system issues and demanded final payment. Wordpress based web app coded with PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS and JS. Key deliverable was the same MVP with minor changes and better code optimisation. Solution was a simple step-by-step surveying tool with scales in the form of toggle bars on each step. At the end of the sequence an algorithm would give an overall score for that specific sequence.

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

One coder, two different PM's (they changed during the project) and one business rep.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A measurable outcome was a lost client and, about 50 000$ in lost projects, sleepless nights and a lawsuit. Solution itself was plagued with issues Appwise could not fix. Once my customer refused to pay the final invoice before conditions in agreement were met, they seized all work and threatened us with lawsuit. We were open to doing so provided they would guarantee that they will fix remaining issues. They declined. You can read the rest of the story in "areas to prove".

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

Chaotic. Staffing often changed mid project. During this particular project PM's changed. This didn't matter much since PM's didn't play a big part in the process anyway. Most of the communication was done by business rep and coder. We used emails and zoom for communication. We had no access to any workflow/process/schedule management tool from Appwise. We tried to track progress on our side on Monday.com.

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

1. They always responded fast to any issues. They were always available for contact, a call etc. That's honestly impressive given how many issues there were.
2. They were very price competitive.
3. They were very engaged and tried hard.
4. They were solid with simple websites.

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

• Project management: Project managers were a bit lost and pointless at times. I was confused about what their role was.
• Customer management: They tried to change the rules of engagement after we signed an agreement. The PM and business rep tried to force me into signing a letter of acceptance. At that time the project was plagued with issues so I refused. You can’t do things like that. It puts customers into awkward positions and strains relationships.
• Quality: I would happily pay more to get my product according to specs. Every platform, system, web app we did had progressively more issues which were harder to fix.
• General knowledge: They could invest time and get some basic knowledge about the environment in which their solutions function and what to be mindful of.
• Example: Once they allowed robots while building out a new version of the website for our customer. During the design process we replicated URL structure 1:1 in order to avoid drops after the move. This caused Google to index the entire project which generated SEO issues for both the new and original website. They fixed robots.txt but forgot to open it back once they substituted the old website with the new one. This caused massive drops in Google rankings and over 80k$ in damages over 2 months before things went back to normal.
• Rotation: They need to keep their team together for longer. People coming and going mid project is a recipe for disaster. Stay in your lane: We could have avoided MANY problems if Appwise was honest about the limits of what they are actually capable of doing within a specific budget.
• Don't lie: Off the top of my head. In our last project we were told 4 times in 4 different situations how a simple algorithm worked correctly, despite the fact that it took 10 seconds to prove it wasn't. It took about weeks of back and forth communication before they caved in and finally looked into it. It turned out there was a mistake in class description which prevented the algorithm from working.
• Overall attitude to responsibility: We all make mistakes, no one is perfect. Once you make a mess, take responsibility and fix it. Don't catapult and leave your customer with issues to solve.

At one point Appwise asked me if they could send me a final invoice despite the fact that work was not completed. We agreed to pay once fixes were introduced on time. They were not. Appwise requested money but my customer declined payment due to fixes being weeks overdue. We both saw it as a breach of trust and good will.

Upon hearing this Appwise seized all work and demanded payment under the threat of lawsuit. My customer agreed to pay if Appwise would provide a web app according to agreement issues free. They declined. My customer severed our contract and removed us from coming projects.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on July 8, 2021.

The client has requested building a small platform on WordPress (around $1500 in total value). Due to the pandemic, we made team adjustments to make sure the project runs as smoothly as possible. Our team created the platform and agreed to implement the final changes as per the project acceptance agreement. The client refused to pay the final invoice (which he requested) so our team was not able to implement the final changes. The client allowed 3rd parties to access software without transfer of IP rights (after payment), violating agreement terms. On previous projects, he withheld payments for months without any reason. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

MobilGO is a platform for shared taxi journeys. An innovative application where we pay one fixed amount for the ride. CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire appwise software house?

Designing the algorithm and application of the driver and client

What were your goals for this project?

Create a solution that allows you to travel together by taxi, booking a ride for the hour you want to be in the designated place.

SOLUTION

How did you select appwise software house?

After the first call, I knew it was a good company. After the first meeting, I was determined to work together. Great commitment and energy.

Describe the project in detail.

The principle of operation of the application reverses the commonly known way of ordering a taxi ride. We order a ride for the hour we want to be in a given place, e.g. at 8:00 am to work. Orders must be placed at least one hour before the arrival time (e.g. 7:00 AM or earlier). The algorithm will group people going in a similar direction and send information to drivers and customers.

The passenger will be informed about the driver's arrival time and will be able to follow the vehicle on the map. The user can be sure that he will reach his destination at the appointed time. Similarly, the system works by implementing the recommendation after the selected full hour.

What was the team composition?

AppWise director was involved at every stage. Each shift was consulted by a client manager, I also had the opportunity to work with each of the team members, even after hours.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have already implemented our solution and we can see that it is met with great interest. Despite the small budget, AppWise prepared a great solution and technical support.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great! Many ideas proposed by the contractors themselves have been implemented. They always answer the phone and reply to messages quickly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team's execution time and software quality are impressive. Nobody on the market wanted to undertake this budget. AppWise did a great job!

Are there any areas for improvement?

You can always be better, but they know it perfectly well and raise the bar all the time!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a branding and marketing studio made up of a team of two freelancers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with appwise software house?

We were required to outsource the development of the website we designed. We have design capabilities don’t have an in-house developer at the moment. So the idea was to employ appwise to help us sort it out.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

appwise coded the WordPress site we designed for our client and added specific functions that we briefed them about. It was a very small website with only five pages, and they delivered excellently.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people. There was a business development representative who contacted me, a project manager, and a developer.

How did you come to work with appwise software house?

I found them on Google. I got the majority of their information from their website. They had really good projects featured on their site and I was able to look them up myself. I was able to contact them and they answered all my questions. They were very approachable and their price was satisfying, which is what sealed the deal.

How much have you invested with them?

Since it was a very small project, we invested only around $500.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted only two weeks in October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main objective was for them to code our designs exactly the way it was and they delivered. On top of this, the client was very satisfied because they got exactly what they wanted which they signed off after seeing our mock-ups and visuals. Overall, a very successful project in the end.

How did appwise software house perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed very well despite minimal communication. They don’t normally use Trello but they adjusted to us and used it. In terms of deadlines, they had a bit of a slip for a couple of days due to one of their team members getting sick, but I don’t consider it to be a delay. Everything was done by the time they said they’re going to do it so overall, we’re very happy with it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by the speed of the development. They said they were going to do it within a certain number of days and they did. There was no lagging, no deadline changes, and no falling behind deadlines. They were very quick and once they started, they did everything from the beginning to the end within a couple of days.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was satisfied with the services so I don’t know what else they could do. It was the first time we worked with them, so we asked a few questions in terms of improvement and communication, which they answered. I don’t think there are any other things based on my experience to improve at the moment. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make a brief that includes everything you expect, be very clear of the results you’re expecting from the beginning, and be realistic. Ask questions when you don’t understand something, or if you’re not sure if it’s going to work or not because they’ll be able to advise you. This way, you can avoid the things you don’t want to happen.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are creative agency working on Digital/Offline campaigns for brand operating in Poland. I'm strategy planner who is also responsible for management of digital projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire appwise | software house?

Our challange was to deploy website in very short time. It was small but quite complicated. It was a campaign landing page containing product configurator.

What were your goals for this project?

It was a contest, so it was highly important to give users a good experience. Smoothly operating tool was crucial. Appwise advised us how to restructure some UI elements to gain best effect. Second thing was to give our marketing team a tool, that will enable quick respond time to submissions. So it was important to have a customized CMS solution.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Business dev contacted us on LinkedIn few weeks before this topic occurred. So when we kicked of the project we interview 3 software houses. Budget was not high, but all the vendors fit in. The crucial factor was the first attempt to understand our challange and need. Appwise treated us professionally from the early beginning. Probably because of contact with the CEO, not typical salesperson. Who not only want to sell, but understand business challenges well.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

1) Back-end development 2) Front-end development - visualization of contest mechanism + animations - configuration of 1000 product variations - contest submission 3) CMS customization - intuitive viewing, verification of contest submissions 4) Improvements after deployment - UI changes due to heat maps analysis

What was the team composition?

5% CEO (business development in this case) 5% Project Manager/Account Manager (one person) 90 % Developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

First of all backend solutions allow us our agency team to conduct the marketing activation smoothly. It shortener time to view and respond to our users contest submissions. Of course smoothly operating website front gived user good experience and allow us to reach high conversion (7000 submissions after 3 of 8 weeks) - which is a great result for our client.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was very simple project in terms of management. That's why 2 Hangout meetings where enough to kick of the project and control it. 90% of the contact was the contact with developer.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Relations. With CEO, account manager and most important direct contact and relation with developer, that speeded up the process.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Considering fast pace of the project due to deadline, Appwise did the best they can to support us.