Atomic Object

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the General Manager of a customer experience consulting firm.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Customer experience optimization and advisory firm that helps all businesses, from Fortune1000 brands to SMBs, turn exceptional customer experience into a powerful competitive advantage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Atomic Object to accomplish?

• Platform modernization
• Customer-facing dashboard development
• Website design refresh

SOLUTION

How did you find Atomic Object?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select Atomic Object over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned
• Other

How many teammates from Atomic Object were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Platform Stabilization / Modernization
• Modernize Meteor framwork with updated MongoDB support
• Implement proper release approval processes with internal expert validation
• Establish a reliable staging environment for pre-production testing
• Document current functionality to ensure preservation during upgrades
• Clean up development setup issues and breaking changes
• Customer Dashboard Enhancement
• Design and implement actionable customer dashboards within core platform
• Ensure dashboard insights remain exportable for stakeholder presentations including CSV format
• Website Migration & CMS Implementation
• Implement comprehensive marketing and CRM instrumentation

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have won new business directly attributable to our analytics dashboard feature.

We grew revenue directly attributable to this work!

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

Project management was excellent an admirable in a very complex, multi-pronged engagement. Atomic gladly accommodated more detailed and frequent updates on budget pacing when I asked for it, setting up a tracker and meeting that allowed us to tightly manage scope and tradeoffs across the project prongs. We delivered on budget and on time. 

What was your primary form of communication with Atomic Object?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Atomic Object's team is inherently product- and business-minded in how they approach a project, allowing their software development to sharply meet my and my customers' needs. This is not a dev shop where we lobbed features requests over a fence. We collaborated to improve my product and my business. I genuinely felt I had super smart people on their team thinking about my business beyond the scope of our engagement, taking a sincere interest in our success. 

I'd also say: Atomic tells the truth. In their estimates, their communications, and their billing. I have immense trust in this organization and its team members. 

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

Proposed timeline turned out to be slightly aggressive -- however, nature of the scope was highly ambigious at the start.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President and CEO of MISS DIG 811

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Coordinates underground infrastructure construction in Michigan.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Atomic Object to accomplish?

Create a technology roadmap with options for future years.

SOLUTION

How did you find Atomic Object?

Leadership Cohort

Why did you select Atomic Object over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Atomic Object were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Week 1 ○ Project Kick-Off & Discovery ○ Meetings to establish goals and measurables ○ Review strategic work completed to date ○ Understand business needs and current systems ○ Identify stakeholders and user base and plan any interviews
• Week 2 ○ Discovery synthesis ○ Stakeholder/user interviews ○ System data and objects map ○ Opportunity mapping ○ Generating light proto-personas 
• Week 3 ○ Continued synthesis of workflows ○ Light wireframes or context scenarios (as needed to communicate key workflows) ○ Draft of board presentation
• Week 4 ○ Continued work on wireframes or scenarios ○ Gathering feedback from key stakeholders and make adjustments ○ Continued work on board presentation 
• Week 5 ○ Final review, edits, and formalization of all provided materials to date (e.g. board presentation, context scenarios, project Google site, etc) At the conclusion of the engagement, Atomic will deliver a finalized Strategic and Technical Roadmap as a shareable artifact, along with a summary presentation designed for use with board members and internal teams. 

This deliverable will be structured, actionable, and positioned to guide MISS DIG’s next chapter of investment, development, and innovation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Defines decision pathway from Board Strategic Planning Session.

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

Atomic delivered on time and within budget. The project scope fit our needs and successfully gained traction with our board.

What was your primary form of communication with Atomic Object?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Great communication and great insights from the team.

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

I would have liked to hear more about how technology in a different industry could be utilized and implemented into our niche market.  We did briefly touch on this but would have liked to go more in depth.  Otherwise, nothing of note, it was great working with the team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder & CEO of a Fundraising Platform

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Helps non-profit reduce the time it takes to receive funds and maintain compliance, so they can focus on raising more money and scaling impact.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Atomic Object to accomplish?

• Develop an enhanced, long-term sustainable version of our software

SOLUTION

How did you find Atomic Object?

Referral

Why did you select Atomic Object over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Atomic Object were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope of work for Phase 1 of development includes the strategic selection and implementation of our core tech stack. This will incorporate a full-stack meta framework such as TanStack Start or React Router v7, a relational database using Postgres, and cloud infrastructure hosted on AWS with SST for infrastructure as code. We will establish a monorepo with a foundational routing structure, component architecture, and a CI/CD pipeline to support seamless deployment across staging and production environments. A multi-tenant database schema will be developed, following Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles, alongside a robust authentication and ABAC permissions system. Core platform features will include basic organization and campaign setup flows, a complete donation workflow supporting both guest and authenticated users, and integrated Stripe and PayPal payment processing. Secure file upload and media management will be implemented using S3 and CloudFront. Additionally, the portal will support full organization management including a setup wizard, branding customization, and team role assignments. Campaign management features will include dashboards with key metrics, campaign previews, and transactional notifications via MailChimp. A detailed data migration plan will guide the transition from the legacy Thrinacia platform, including staging tests, final production migration with full validation, and a clear rollback strategy with pre-migration backups and contingency protocols.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To ensure the successful development of our software, we partnered with Atomic Object to create and follow a clearly defined, outcome-driven roadmap. Together, we structured the engagement around a phased development approach, beginning with careful tech stack selection, multi-tenant architecture design, and a well-scoped feature set to support core fundraising functionality. We planned and executed the build of a new platform skeleton using modern tooling like SST, Postgres, and a React-based monorepo to support scalability. A detailed data migration strategy was developed and tested in staging to ensure a smooth transfer of legacy data from Thrinacia, resulting in over 98 percent accuracy during validation. We also prioritized the development of essential user flows, including donation processing, organization onboarding, role-based permissions, and campaign setup, and deployed continuous integration pipelines to maintain velocity. Each component was validated with milestone testing and production-readiness checks, ensuring that the software launched on stable infrastructure with the foundational features required for growth.

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

Atomic Object was diligent, professional, and timely in every aspect of project management. They consistently delivered items on schedule and maintained clear timelines with strong accountability. Their team was highly responsive to our needs, adapting quickly when requirements evolved and ensuring we always felt supported. Communication was seamless, and their organized, proactive approach gave us full confidence throughout the development process.

What was your primary form of communication with Atomic Object?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What stood out most about Atomic Object was their welcoming and people-centered culture, which reflected the kind of environment all companies should strive to achieve. From the start, their team fostered a sense of mutual respect, open collaboration, and genuine care for our success. They balanced technical excellence with a strong human touch, making it clear that they valued both the product and the people behind it. This rare blend of professionalism, empathy, and cultural alignment made working with them not only effective but truly enjoyable.

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

Not at all!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Partner / Sales Manager of an agriculture company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Wholesale provider of floral and garden products to big box stores.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Atomic Object to accomplish?

• Design the software for future expansion of business.
• Replace an existing custom software that had become outdated.
• Make improvements on our process and how employees interact with the software.

SOLUTION

How did you find Atomic Object?

Current Vendor

Why did you select Atomic Object over others?

Willingness to integrate with in-house staff.

How many teammates from Atomic Object were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Target deliverables during this engagement include a software system that:

● Regularly and automatically downloads orders from Rithum

● Regularly and automatically uploads invoices and shipping confirmations to Rithum

● Automatically produces HDO compliant packing slips

● Provides auditable logs of activities performed

● Allows manual intervention for handling unanticipated orders and potential system errors

The team will work closely with Masterpiece staff to gather detailed requirements, demonstrate working software regularly, and to adapt to changing project conditions, should the need arise.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Achievment of deliverables within time and budget.

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

They consulted on the project management and timeframe, but deferred to our in-house management.

What was your primary form of communication with Atomic Object?

In-Person Meeting

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

Willingness to adapt to our project needs and management decisions.  They have a broad set of skills for various company sizes and needs.  They are also very transparent with their capabilities.  

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

Not on this project.  Total satisfaction.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of Silly Sports. We run pickleball leagues for young adults with a unique format of skill-based matchmaking. Pickleball is a sport that's very sensitive to skill-level discrepancies, and our format solves that.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Atomic Object?

It is very administratively burdensome to run pickleball leagues, and no existing software products allow us to run our leagues more efficiently. There is a considerable administrative burden to run this type of differentiated format. This format has resulted in great success for our company, but behind the scenes, it's been incredibly laborious to manage the leagues, hence the need for custom software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Atomic Object has designed and built a custom software solution from scratch. The team and I are developing the software. They've built it based on my company's relevant pain points and our situation so we can automate admin work.

What is the team composition?

The project has three staff members: a software engineer who does the coding, a creative designer who visualizes the end product's appearance, and a product lead who acts as a liaison between the designer, the software engineer, and myself.

How did you come to work with Atomic Object?

They were a referral. Someone I know in the venture capital space talked to us, and we made a recommendation for Atomic Object.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent around $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since October 2024, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don't have any metrics yet. We're launching the first version of the app in about three weeks. However, I've seen many versions of it, and I anticipate that the software will probably reduce admin time by about 70%. I'm confident I made the right decision after working with them.

How did Atomic Object perform from a project management standpoint?

They've all been great. They've been very communicative, transparent, forthcoming, and pleasant to work with. We've communicated predominantly via email and Slack. They use GitHub and other platforms internally, but I requested not to be a part of those workflows. They send me weekly progress updates in PDF files.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're really good at their jobs and can read between the lines. I have never built software before, but from my understanding, working with offshore labor requires being incredibly prescriptive and leaving no room for judgment. With Atomic Object, I can give them ideas and example use cases and explain my pain points and what would be helpful in jargon-free lay terms. They've consistently come back with extremely pointed and amazing solutions and ideas. They've just been incredible, and they have a very talented group of people working at their agency.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I've only had this one experience and heard horror stories of people going down this route. I was very nervous at first, but I did my due diligence and talked to people they've worked with, and Atomic Object has certainly met my expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you are a non-technical person considering developing custom software for your business, Atomic Object is an incredible one-stop-shop solution. It's a little pricier, but it's well worth it in the long run.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at Family Promise, Inc. We're a national nonprofit organization that seeks to help families experiencing homelessness. We help to prevent those incidences and provide shelter and services for families that wind up homeless. My team works with the 200 locations we have across the country, providing these services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Atomic Object?

Our community of locations was in need of a software solution that could help the case managers track and record all of their interactions with families. We also wanted the data to roll up into a national platform so my team could see what was happening on an affiliate level at each location. We also required the solution to roll up outcomes and output data about the work we do across the country that helps advocate for families in crisis and bring more funding into our line of work.

We hired Atomic Object to do a discovery phase with us to determine the best solution for building that tool.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Atomic Object conducted a discovery phase and helped us create the stakeholder personas of our solution. The team has done surveys across our different-size affiliates and different roles. Atomic Object has worked with the national team to find out which metrics we needed to capture, what was working and not working in the field, what the best solution would be, what our pain points were, and what the reports would look like.

Atomic Object has made a discovery to see if AppSheets could be a feasible technological solution and also explored doing a more custom code solution, helping us understand the pros and cons of those two pathways, including what our budget would look like to build and maintain the tool and what we needed for staffing. Atomic Object has helped us create a project plan. 

After the discovery phase, we decided to work with a company specializing in AppSheets development, a Google no-code platform. We’ve retained a member of Atomic Object’s team to help us with project management.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with about six teammates from Atomic Object, including a technical person, a UI/UX designer, a project manager, and a few other roles. I mainly worked with Megan (Software Consultant & Delivery Lead).

How did you come to work with Atomic Object?

Our CEO had a relationship with a manager at Atomic Object because they had worked together in the community. We considered four other firms, but we chose Atomic Object because we knew the team understood our model and our mission. We also knew about their work in the community with other partners, which gave us a higher level of trust in them.

Atomic Object also came in right where we were looking to spend budget-wise. The team had answers to everything we wanted to do, and we really liked their partners and team members that we met through the process of deciding if we wanted to work with them. Atomic Object had years of experience, which was another thing that gave us peace of mind when selecting them. Atomic Object had done this type of work before.

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking to Atomic Object in the fall of 2023 but didn't formally hire the team until the project took place in May–June 2024. The discovery phase lasted 4–6 weeks, and we continued to work with Megan on project management. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Atomic Object is fabulous to work with. The team has made the process easy and always has the answers to our questions or finds them out. Atomic Object is positive and upbeat and a joy to work with. I'm thrilled that we can continue to work with them in a project management capacity, even though we've found a more nimble solution to help us save money. If we hadn't found that solution, we'd continue working with them for a complete code build. Atomic Object is excellent, and I'd recommend them to anybody. 

Atomic Object doesn't usually work this way, and we're happy about their flexibility in letting us continue to work with Megan. She has learned so much during our interactions and didn't want to lose that knowledge or go through the whole discovery process again with the other company. 

We wouldn't be able to build as quickly as we are if Atomic Object hadn't validated that the prototype would work for the case managers in the field and that it was technologically scalable. We had a prototype in use in one location, and Atomic Object validated that it could be built to accommodate hundreds of locations. The team has also validated that other locations' case management staff would be able to use the tool.

The team collaborated with us to help us decide whether to work with them in the first place. Atomic Object has helped us define the questions we should ask if we were to use a different firm and has been a super helpful partner. 

How did Atomic Object perform from a project management standpoint?

Atomic Object is excellent to work with. The team is always on time and always has the answers to our questions. Megan manages our development backlog, what gets done when, and pulls in any additional members or resources that we need to keep the project moving on time. She's working with me to find out what the reports look like that we need for this new system and the forms that the case managers will need to fill out.

We have many video meetings and also use Google Suite to communicate, including Google Chat. We've also communicated via phone and had one in-person meeting at the kickoff.
Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Megan is the person we've contracted to continue managing our project and work with regularly. She has an incredible skill set for project management. She's always looking 10 steps ahead of what’s coming next to ensure we have everything we need to meet the deadlines. She does a great job.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Atomic Object has a general and authentic interest in the projects and the people they work with. The team makes relationships flow easily, and working with them is easy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything Atomic Object can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Outline all the project's criteria ahead of time, and be honest and upfront about any challenges you may encounter or limitations of your project, whether it's budget or timing. This way, Atomic Object can manage the project appropriately on their side.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product owner at Shoshana Technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Atomic Object?

We had legacy software that had been around for about 30 years. We wanted to move it into a new phase of existence, and one of the things we wanted to do was design the UI/UX of our software’s new version. We engaged Atomic Object for this. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We laid out an MVP that included scheduling management reports and a dashboard, and Atomic Object worked on them. We also gave them additional designs for the software’s frontend. Scheduling was at the product's core, so we had many scheduling-related screens, including a calendar and a planner view. We asked the team to modernize these using tools like Figma and Miro. Moreover, Atomic Object did some research to figure out the best way to modernize our server stack. 

What is the team composition?

I mainly worked with Ian (Software Consultant & Designer), and around 3–4 other teammates rotated in and out of the project. 

How did you come to work with Atomic Object?

We did nationwide research and interviewed many companies to do the project for us. Atomic Object was the most communicative among them and had a clear vision of what we were trying to accomplish, so we ultimately decided to go with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from March–July 2024. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received all the completed design work we requested. Atomic Object even delivered a bit of extra work, which was wonderful. The amount of work and thoughtfulness they put into how users would interact with the product was better than expected. The team took the time to learn about our specific niche and market, which had many legislations and intricacies. They came up with great ideas and took our feedback while considering the bigger picture. 

How did Atomic Object perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is wonderful. Our engagement was the best interaction I’d ever had with a vendor. When I asked him for details, Ian provided me with updated budgets and charts. I could present these to our executive team to ensure the project was on track. Moreover, they delivered deliverables when they said they would be done. 

Everything was beautifully communicated and organized. I never felt confused about where we were in the process, and we always hit every single deadline we laid out. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their partnership-centric approach was impressive. They truly viewed us as partners instead of customers they wanted to please. They seemed to care about our business and wanted to help us invest in our future and think critically about the best way to do that. They not only gave us what we asked for but also offered incredibly helpful suggestions. Overall, they truly partnered with us; we weren’t just a customer to them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come with a clear picture of what you’re trying to accomplish and include Atomic Object in the bigger conversation. Don’t just tell them what you want to design but also talk about your goals. That way, they can truly help you get there.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a visionary at Awayster, a startup that offers a travel-planning app that allows users to collaborate and plan their trips in ways they haven’t been able to in other apps. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Atomic Object?

We hired them to create our custom app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Atomic Object developed the first iteration of our custom app. We had 5–6 initial meetings before the project started. The team found a product fit on a nationally listed website, and then our company pivoted and acquired that existing app. The app hadn’t been appropriately maintained for three years, so Atomic Object made improvements, changes, and fixes. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with five teammates from Atomic Object, including Meg (Software Consultant & Delivery Lead) and Kyle (Software Consultant & Designer). 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $260,000.

How did you come to work with Atomic Object?

We were referred to them by a mutual acquaintance who had worked with Atomic Object extensively over several years. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The first phase of development lasted from October 2023–May 2024. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Atomic Object had a positive impact on driving our business’s pivot. They were instrumental in providing subject matter expertise and finding a good product fit. They partnered with me regarding vision casting and product market fit. Our success would have been more difficult without the pivot they helped us make. Although we’re pre-launch, based on that pivot, I feel confident in our company. 

The app they found was a good acquisition for us, even though some parts made it harder for Atomic Object to work on. The team shined through and delivered the product we wanted despite those challenges. They provided us with a world-class quality product that put us head and shoulders above the competition. We’ll be launching our product soon. 

Ultimately, we were so thankful to have been referred to Atomic Object. Every person on their team was phenomenal. 

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

Meg was our amazing project manager; I would hire her at my company in a minute. Atomic Object delivered the project under the budget. 

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I want to give a shout-out to Kyle. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

This isn’t my first software development project, and Atomic Object was by far the best provider I’ve had. From their project management to their developer to the designer, the whole team was extraordinary. If I had to pick a team to hire at my company, I’d hire every single team member from Atomic Object. They delivered what they said they would when they said they would. 

Beyond the product, their updates, invoices, and expectation communication were outstanding. They went above and beyond asking what else they could do to help us, even asking if we needed referrals to ensure we were successful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If there’s an area for Atomic Object to improve, I can’t think of it. Anything I could say about areas of improvement would be nitpicky. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have those initial conversations and build a relationship with Atomic Object before the engagement starts. We had 5–6 critical conversations with Atomic Object before signing an engagement letter; I quickly learned I could trust the team. 

There were times during the process when there wasn’t a right or wrong decision, but one had to be made. Although I may have had a different opinion initially, if the Atomic Object team had a different point of view, they weren’t bashful about vocalizing that. They were the experts, and their opinions didn’t change our company’s vision, so I trusted them. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CFO of Champion Force Athletics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Atomic Object?

We needed help with custom software development. We wanted to create a more aesthetically pleasing parent portal for the customer-facing side of our business. In addition to that, we wanted to implement a shopping cart checkout. Given that we provide both services and goods, that feature was complicated. Overall, we wanted to improve our customer experience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Atomic Object provides us with custom software development services. We have an existing parent portal, which we've broken into three different customer journeys. Parents need to go through three different checkouts in order to get our three different goods and services, which makes it complicated. Therefore, Atomic Object has helped us rewrite our software. Their work has also included design, as their team has helped us rearrange our idea to make the product look the way we wanted it.

The project started with the design process first, as we wanted to change our portal's look to match our branding. Our branding was already implemented on our website, but the customer-facing side of our business didn't look like our website. It looked more like a developer database rather than a modern UI. Kimberly (Design Practice Lead) used Figma to redesign the website.

During the development phase, Atomic Object realized that they wouldn't be able to leverage the existing code due to the infrastructure and the way it was written. Therefore, we had to rewrite the code. The project is now around 99% completed, and Atomic Object has been providing continuous maintenance as well.

What is the team composition?

In addition to Kimberly, we've worked with Dre and Kendra (Software Developers & Consultants). During the software rewriting process, Atomic Object also brought Drew (Software Development Practice Lead). Moreover, Meg (Software Consultant & Delivery Lead) has worked with us as the project administrator. Occasionally, other team members have been brought in due to their expertise in backend development and testing, but the people mentioned are the core team.

How did you come to work with Atomic Object?

Our internal developer referred us to a few local companies, and Atomic Object was one of them.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $400,000–$450,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around August 2023. The project started with the design and project scoping, but we've added things to the initial scope as things developed along the way. Since things have gotten expensive in general, we're facing a financial constraint.

Since March 2024, Atomic Object has provided us with continuous maintenance, and in April 2024, we will continue with that agreement. Unless something happens that pushes us in another direction, we'll enter on an on-demand maintenance agreement after that. Still, there are other things we might do as well if financially possible, so we will definitely continue working with Atomic Object.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we started this project, we didn't go to Atomic Object to generate new business nor we had the intention of saving money. This project was an investment for our company to bring our UI to nowadays, make the customer experience better, and provide our customers with the opportunity to check out goods and services for multiple students at a time.

Although it's still early to see results, any benefit we get down the road from doing this redevelopment work will be ancillary, as we didn't do the project with any other intention than to make our company better. As we continue to grow as a company, we suspect that our phone administrators won't get as many calls from users to get support on how to get around our site, check out, or reset their passwords.

How did Atomic Object perform from a project management standpoint?

Atomic Object has met and exceeded our expectations regarding their professionalism, communication, and end-result work. Still, we've had a few changes along the way, including the budget. Although I wouldn't say that they haven't met the budget, we could have done better in that area during the project scoping. However, what we've asked them to do has been a bit challenging. Both of us have learned from what we've done because our business model isn't common.

As for collaboration tools, we've used a lot of those, depending on what makes more sense at a time. For example, they use Pivotal Tracker for project management, on which they break down user stories and all the different project stages. We've also used Google Docs, email, Slack, and text messages when appropriate. Atomic Object is open to all lines of communication as needed, which is very helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would like to congratulate Atomic Object's whole team. We've gotten exactly what we wanted from our portal's design and functionality. Both sides aren't mutually exclusive; they rather go hand in hand, and it has taken the whole team to get us where we wanted to be.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn't anything specific on which Atomic Object could improve. The only challenging part of our project has been the budgeting. Still, we've dialed our budget in, and their team has made some accommodations, which we really appreciate. The scoping of the original project could have been better, but in the end, we all made it work and made the accommodations to finish the project.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Atomic Object did a good job accommodating how we wanted to communicate. Initially, we experienced a bit of overcommunication and too many meetings, so we dialed that in a little bit better to suit our needs and allow them to keep moving efficiently.

If you're building custom software and working with a service provider, it's important to be able to shift and pivot to accommodate your needs to the point that it makes sense. You don't want to change things in a way that creates inefficiencies. Atomic Object did a good job accommodating our needs, but we also had to push back. Both teams need to be open to adjusting communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a national provider of commercial cleaning services. We're a franchise.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Atomic Object?

We were trying to solve what we call a revenue program, which helps with our accounts receivables and also ensures that our franchisees are being paid correctly. We had around 20 markets to address, and Atomic Object helped us create custom software. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Atomic Object designed and developed custom software from scratch for our business accountability for our receivable and payable sides. Initially, we shared the system we had with the team, and Atomic Object built the new software based on it using Heroku. We shared information about what we were trying to achieve and built the software collaboratively with Atomic Object. 

Atomic Object's project manager addressed the project's technical side, and I oversaw the program's structure. The team gave me access as a user, and I was focused on the software's usability rather than on the backend development. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with 5–6 teammates, including Joe (Accelerator Manager), Jeff (Manager Partner), and Justin (Software Consultant & Designer).

How did you come to work with Atomic Object?

We searched for service providers online and had interview calls with several different companies. We chose Atomic Object because their structure, company culture, and presentation seemed the best fit for our business.
How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $1.2 million on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Atomic Object from October 2021–January 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Atomic Object's work was fantastic, and we were incredibly happy with the software delivered. The new program streamlined our company's operations, and the team made it easier for users to use the platform. 

Our previous system was antiquated and only allowed specific teammates to handle the bulk of the work. With Atomic Object's new software, we can focus on revenue-generating activities with the ability to bring more teammates into the fold. We had multiple users who could use it. Our new system was more time-effective and cost-effective, giving us visibility into our work. 

How did Atomic Object perform from a project management standpoint?

Although the project timeline and budget were more than expected, this was due to our requests to add functionalities and benefits. We decided to add features we initially set out to have a better final product. We understood why the project's budget increased by 30%, and Atomic Object discussed with us throughout the course of the project, letting us know what would happen.

I used the analogy of building a house because construction projects usually take longer than anticipated. We added more benefits to have a nicer range; for instance, it was like choosing marble over quartz.

Atomic Object also looked for ways to save up costs regarding staffing, for instance, having a developer take a break here and there. We maintained structured communication and transparency on both sides via Miro and Zoom, resulting in a good partnership. Atomic Object's communication was solid and impressive. We had a good cadence of stand-up calls.
Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I want to highlight Joe, our lead developer, who did a wonderful job. Jeff came in on the management side towards the end and was fantastic, too. Lastly, we were delighted with Justin's work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I liked understanding how the team worked through Miro boards. Atomic Object had a good onboarding process, and we built a good relationship, which is usually hard to do with teams that never meet in person. A cost was associated with that, but it was the right thing to do. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The design was a tad heavy at times, and I think we could've expedited and probably saved some cost on that. Overall, the actual software development was excellent. The team built a complex system, and we were happy with the finished product. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I suggest having a dedicated project manager on your team who is capable and tech-savvy because it's important to understand the product Atomic Object's team is developing. The project manager needs to be present on all the calls with Atomic Object, and I recommend ensuring you invest in that. For us, it was very helpful that we singled out a teammate who had technical ability on the backside and was the lead project manager.