Blue Tea

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a Director at AVC Wise, a fully managed service provider for pension contributions in the UK government sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Tea Software - London?

We had a fully managed service, but we didn’t have a platform that supported it, which is fundamental. Without a platform, we’d have to process everything manually.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Tea Software built a custom platform that enabled us to set our services to the public sector. We sat down with them and specced the project, addressing our requirements directly. We provided them with documentation that included what the customer journey needed to be and the usability spec. They were in charge of the technical specifications.

From there, they went away to design and develop the platform. They delivered the MVP and then continued with development. Blue Tea Software also took care of testing the platform. The solution is a one-stop shop for managing employee salary reductions for services, specifically supplementary payments into a pension. One of the major elements they added was a user record. The program supports users and administrators. 

On the frontend, users can apply for our service. The Blue Tea Software team also added functionalities for order fulfillment and payroll integration with the employers we dealt with. They also included supplier integration; they combined what could be ordered by our suppliers with the userbase we had. Users can apply, place orders, and get authorized by their employer all in one platform.

The team used a SQL database, Ruby on Rails architecture, and a standard HTML frontend. Blue Tea Software has supported the platform for the past four years and has continued its development.

What is the team composition?

We work with a technical architect, a project manager, a dev team lead, and a testing lead.

How did you come to work with Blue Tea Software - London?

I’d worked with them with a different business in another form. I initially found Blue Tea Software through a referral for some work they did for somebody else that we knew.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about £450,000 (approximately $593,000 USD). We’re currently spending around £150,000 (approximately $198,000 USD) a year with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform Blue Tea Software developed has never had any unscheduled downtime. We currently have 350,000 users, 10,000 visitors a day, and 500 orders a day — that’s pretty substantial. 

Although we knew what we wanted when we started the project, we didn’t know how it could be delivered, and Blue Tea Software made it happen. They created the platform from nothing, and now, we could earn over £6 million–£7 million (approximately $6.9 million–$9.2 million USD) this quarter.

How did Blue Tea Software - London perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered the platform within budget and on time, which is rare with providers these days. We worked with a phased approach, and Blue Tea Software urged us not to try and do more than we needed for the MVP to start with. 

Their communication is excellent; they kept us informed through development. Blue Tea Software drove us rather than us driving them. We use the Agile methodology, which involves constant communication, refreshing, and refinement in its purest form. 

We use Podio as a collaboration tool for requests and bugs. As for project management, they use Microsoft Project. They’re also PRINCE2-qualified, so they use that methodology with us. Microsoft Teams is our primary tool of communication. They work remotely, and we’ve only met up when we signed contracts and when we’ve celebrated successes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Blue Tea Software’s strong point is their interpretation of customer requirements and on-time delivery. They’re perceptive, and we don’t have to lead them; they lead us. Since we’re non-technical, we wanted to outsource that side of things. The team is very strong at the technical interpretation of functional requirements.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were more ambitious than us regarding the platform development, sometimes pushing us hard about things we could do. They wanted to develop the relationship. That’s not a negative, though; it’s more on us, really.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to be clear on what your requirements are to start with, and Blue Tea Software will develop that for you. If you’re unclear, the team will try to refine those requirements to be an MVP environment. As long as you’re clear on what you want to get out of the engagement, Blue Tea Software is great at delivering against a functional spec.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Ripple Suicide Prevention is a charitable organisation set up in partnership with Blue Tea. The technology is a custom made browser extension that intercepts harmful online content and redirects users to mental health support options.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Tea Software - London, and what were your goals?

Blue Tea created a browser extension plug in from start to finish. Their expertise, knowledge and good ethics and values attracted us immediately. Our goals were to create an intuitive, eye catching plug in that saved lives and redirected users to gain mental health support from suicide prevention charities.

SOLUTION

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

Fair costing Timeliness of deliverables Kindness of the staff Excellent customer service Technical ability and knowledge transfer

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

Blue Tea created a browser extension plug in from start to finish. Their expertise, knowledge and good ethics and values attracted us immediately. Our goals were to create an intuitive, eye catching plug in that saved lives and redirected users to gain mental health support from suicide prevention charities.

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

5 - including the Chief Technology Officer, Owner and designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our aim was to save lives through an innovative browser extension. We've done that, by saving 22 lives to date. The feedback we have received has been phenomenal and people far and wide are still alive because of this vital work.

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

The timeliness of Blue Tea is second to none. They meet deadlines but without compromising the quality of their work.

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

They have impressive people with unique ethos and values to do the right thing. They've gone above and beyond to help and get it right the first time.

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

None - a fantastic company with fantastic people. I'll forever be grateful to the team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Brandon Medical, a manufacturer of medical equipment for hospitals, operating rooms, and intensive care environments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Tea Software - London?

We needed to develop software to control the AV environment in the operating room.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Tea helped us develop a custom software. First, we looked at the marketplace and made an assessment of what products were already there. We then worked with their team to design according to user requirements, build out wireframes, and scope out the architecture of the solution. We also identified and specified the hardware the solution would run on based on the software’s actual functionalities. 

After that, we left Blue Tea to develop and test the code themselves. They did quality verification on it and got back to us with a demonstrator environment. They were involved all the way from project management to product deployment. 

As part of the scope, Blue Tea also created a cloud management system for the software. We built test labs in our facility and in their headquarters, both of which are interconnected. 

What is the team composition?

My main engagement was with the managing director and the owner. We were also in touch with one of their project managers and a little bit with their buyers. We left them to manage the coding team and didn’t get involved with that.

How did you come to work with Blue Tea Software - London?

Blue Tea was referred by a third party who said that they’d be a good development partner to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over £50,000 (approximately $66,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in March 2016. We’re still working together to this day. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measured the success of the engagement based on the functionalities developed and the value of the code. We had an intellectual property consultant evaluate the code, and it turned out to be worth $3 million. 

As for the functionalities developed, these were delivered on time. We delivered integrated AV environments worth £1 million (approximately $1.3 million USD) to hospitals. We were able to build a pipeline of 30 operating rooms that are likely to order in the near future. This will probably bring in another £3 million–£5 million (approximately $4 million–$6.6 million USD).

How did Blue Tea Software - London perform from a project management standpoint?

Blue Tea’s communication is excellent. They’re very personable and build an environment full of openness and trust. 

Our schedule is a bit fluid in that we react to market opportunities. We have a roadmap of what we want to do, but we reorganize that roadmap depending on which customer is paying first. Our timelines are not formally linear, so it’s hard to assess their team based on scheduling.

Apart from the internal project management tools that they use, we also utilize Lucid, which is a collaborative charting and drawing tool. We develop our wireframes and schematics there. We also make use of Google Docs and the Microsoft Cloud environment. We built our own cloud environment for sharing and supporting the app.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their values, ethics, and personalities really stand out. They foster an environment where we can collaborate constructively without any hidden agendas. That’s vital. Both of our teams can equally contribute and commit to developing the product because of that value-based culture. It makes so many things possible, easier, and clearer. It’s a very constructive way to work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be more proactive about managing us as a client.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to enter into an open, equal, and collaborative partnership, Blue Tea is the agency to work with. They’re enthusiastic about collaborating.