Blackburn Labs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of platform development at Wealth Council, a company that builds software for attorneys. I manage the platform’s development, QA, network, and design.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blackburn Labs?

We’re currently in the process of building and releasing a new product and needed additional development resources. We were looking for someone with senior-level experience to jump right into product development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Rob (Founder, Blackburn Labs) has been helping to develop our online application. He’s assisting with the logic for many of the product’s significant features. He’s been primarily working in Vue.js and has utilized HTML, CSS, and XQuery on the backend.

What is the team composition?

While we initially had 3 teammates, we’re just working with Rob right now. We scale our resources depending on how the project scope evolves.

How did you come to work with Blackburn Labs?

We had a job posting for a senior developer, and upon receiving Rob’s application, we extended an offer to him. While that didn’t materialize, Rob offered to be a consulting resource to us. We’ve had a support relationship ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work began in October 2019 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Rob has the phenomenal ability to understand very sophisticated requirements and create logical pieces of development work to execute them. Our product is significantly complex, and without his help, we would not be able to complete the product or be where we’re at today. He’s just had a tremendous impact on our product, which we can attribute to his extensive experience and ability to implement.

How did Blackburn Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

While I handle the project management for this product, Rob has been great from a management perspective. He provides estimates and details, accepts responsibility, and is overall willing to take on tasks. His follow-through is fantastic. We use our internal JIRA to communicate, and he also partakes in our scrum calls and meetings. He’s deeply integrated into our team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It can be a challenge to find a developer that can jump in feet-first and quickly understand the requirements. Rob’s thoroughness in understanding, revising, and developing is practically unmatched.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m very happy with Blackburn Labs.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give Blackburn Labs the time to really understand the scope of work. Give them an overview or documentation—whatever’s necessary. Rob is extremely thorough and will come back to you with questions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of a 10 year old web property that has global reach.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blackburn Labs?

Our website had been created 10 years ago and was showing it's age. There was no associated app with the website, which was desperately needed as most of our users were using a mobile device.

What were your goals for this project?

A functional, modern app and website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had met Rob at an event. I spoke to him about my project and he had a few unique and interesting ideas, so when we were ready to move forward I reached out to Blackburn Labs.

Describe the project in detail.

Blackburn Labs created a new web app and mobile app for the web properties.

What was the team composition?

Mostly we dealt with Rob.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app was developed quickly and efficiently. The app was approved in a timely fashion.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Rob and his team were extremely effective communicators. They have a system that was easy to use and enhanced our ability to keep the project moving forward with transparency.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We have dealt with other developers over the past 10 years. Every one of the interactions was fraught with over promises, under deliveries and poor communication. We didn't have a single one of those problems with Blackburn Labs. Their work ethic is extraordinary and they deliver what they promise, when they promise. I cannot say enough good things about them and we will never use another developer. In addition, Blackburn proposed unique, innovative solutions to problems that had plagued us for 10 years.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't believe I am saying this about a development team, but not a single thing. Blackburn Labs is exceptional.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the current director of CV Innovation Group, which is an extension of Cardiovascular Medicine—one of the largest cardiology divisions at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blackburn Labs?

We hired Blackburn Labs to help build a web-based healthcare app for the newly formed CV Innovation Group. 

What were your goals for this project? 

Our main objective was to create a home-grown, EMR-agnostic (electronic medical record) app that could capture healthcare data in accordance with HIPAA. This involved creating a frontend user interface and a backend database.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

An enterprise-level IT service provider referred us to them. 

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail. 

Blackburn Labs designed and developed a desktop and web app to help us to better capture medical data. This involved coordinating with our internal team (e.g., project manager, medical staff, senior leadership, stakeholders) to drive department goals and objectives. By gathering input from subject matter experts, they were able to create proprietary healthcare algorithms that allowed us to calculate specific disease states. Finally, they developed training documents and videos to walk us through the app’s functions. 

What was the team composition? 

We mostly communicated with Rob (Owner, Blackburn Labs), who was a one-man army. There was also a team working in the background, but I didn’t interact with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

By switching from a completely paper-based process to the new app, we’ve been able to scale our services to better care for our patients. The app features a user-friendly frontend, and we can collect data through the backend. There’s also an algorithm calculator for specific disease states. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it? 

Rob worked side-by-side with our internal team and was super flexible. He wore many hats depending on the task at hand, serving as an independent contractor, a manager, and a trusted confidante who could shed light on large, strategic build concepts. 

What did you find most impressive about this company? 

Blackburn Labs introduced us to several industry best practices, including agile/Scrum methodologies, test-driven development (TDD), behavior-driven development (BDD), and continuous integration (CI). They were very professional and often went above and beyond the scope of work.  

Are there any areas for improvement? 

No, there’s nothing that I could suggest.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder & Owner of Yarde Holdings LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health field

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Blackburn Labs to accomplish?

• Data analysis of insurance in the state of South Carolina in the county of Beaufort

SOLUTION

How did you find Blackburn Labs?

Clutch Site

Why did you select Blackburn Labs over others?

• High ratings
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Blackburn Labs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

They were amazing in researching data as far as insurance in the state and in the county and in individual households in the county that I live in

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were exact in finding everything I was looking for with this project!!

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

They delivered everything I asked for on time.

What was your primary form of communication with Blackburn Labs?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

How knowledgeable and attentive they were with all my wants and needs

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

None!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of an integrated marketing company working with clients internationally. We work with high value clients to assist them in communicating their special value proposition for their products and services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our company comes across specific projects that require a higher level of planning and execution for a number of Fortune 500 companies. Our goal is to continue to provide best in class products and services to all of our clients.

SOLUTION

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

Blackburn Labs came to us through an intermediary that had worked with their team and they were highly professional and solutions oriented.

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

The Scope of the Project although being extremely confidential, involved numerous milestones that were expertly executed working with all of our technical staff.

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

We worked with several of Blackburn's staff including both owners and several specialty programmers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project came off without a hitch and we continue to work together with Blackburn on added updates.

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

Highly Communicative

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

They strong industry knowledge and are also well-versed in marketing project management and nuances.

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

Top Performers....could not say anything but positive

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the COO of an Orthopedic Surgery company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We faced challenges maintaining a single source of truth and training employees on an ever-changing set of insurance guidelines and doctor preferences. We wanted a step-by-step interactive guide that would be employee-facing and could help walk employees through insurance and scheduling rules to ensure patients were scheduled correctly and data inputs were accurate.

SOLUTION

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

I worked with Rob at Blackburn labs on a prior project and found him easy to work with and fairly priced.

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

Rob and his team did a detailed analysis of our needs and determined they could be met using adaptations to a tool they already had in their development pipeline. As the development of that tool (iHelp) progressed, we were able to shape the design and functionality to meet the needs of our project.

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

There were around 5-6 people in total - Rob, his assistant, a project manager and several developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The tool was exactly what we needed. Rob's team helped us to set up our initial use case and trained us on how to build our own "guides" to meet additional needs. We were able to develop a comprehensive set of interactive guides to cover all the key content areas needed. The interface was well-received by our team and saw significant use.

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

I was the main point of contact for the project at my company and I interacted with Rob, his project manager, and his assistant throughout the course of the project. The team was generally responsive and addressed feedback and enhancement requests in a timely manner.

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

They understood our needs and incorporated a solution into a tool that would have otherwise been outside our budget.

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

There were times that we needed to be patient as the iHelp platform was in development when we approached Rob and his team, but the wait was not unreasonable.