Brave UX

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CTO and co-founder of Armored Things. We provide a software-only cloud-based crowd intelligence and spatial analytics platform for venues, campuses, and corporate environments that anonymously shows where people are, where they have been, and where they are likely to be.

It’s like traffic in Google Maps or Waze, but showing people, not cars, and with the ability to span the big picture patterns of life to the fine-grained detail of what is happening in smaller spaces like conference rooms and concession stands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Brave UX?

We engaged with Brave UX to help us revisit and redesign the entirety of our analytics application and mobile app. They helped transition a spatial data analytics dashboard into a comprehensive application capable of actionable intelligence and analysis of people, patterns and flows.

After a discovery process, they led the effort to reimagine the information architecture and visual design. Our existing applications demonstrated the power of the data but didn't do a great job connecting that data to the needs and abilities of our users--resulting in lower than desired utilization.

And while we had good user data and feedback, we did not have the expertise on the team to design the capabilities, and we knew the existing features needed a more consistent and integrative user experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We tapped our investor networks and their portfolio companies for recommendations, came up with a short list of several firms: two small firms and one very well-known design firm.

It was in the proposal discussion with the well-known firm that they recommended we really talk to Brave UX (who was not on our original list) as a better fit for our project. Following that surprise recommendation, I met with Lee (CEO and Founder) and was impressed with his approach, team and prior work.

Followed up with a couple of conversations with former startup clients and confirmed not only that Brave UX did outstanding work, but that they were likely to be a good collaboration and cultural fit with our team.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Our project started with a five-week discovery phase. This is a key part of the Brave UX process but one we didn't fully appreciate until we had gone through it.

It was during this phase that we learned more about our product than was ever documented and were finally able--with the help of Brave UX--to have a comprehensive view of features and a common language for the elements unique to our platform.

At the end of this process, we understood much of what needed to be designed and why and had a sense of the complexity and effort it would take. The discovery process was also a chance to see how we worked together and the results of that collaboration (there is no obligation to continue into the design phase).

Out of discovery, the Brave UX team proposed a series of ten overlapping sprints across broad feature areas including asset management, activity exploration, context integration, analytics, reporting and alerts.

The ordering was based on dependencies and certain foundational elements we previously learned. At a couple points along the way, we altered the plan when it became obvious that the level of effort in one area was more than we expected or still had a lot of open questions we had to answer.

We also shifted a few sprints around to accommodate our desire to focus on a new feature area that we felt had the potential to be highly differentiating.

Jenna, the project manager on the Brave UX team, always collaborated with us and communicated across both teams to make sure these changes did not lead to budget overruns or missed deadlines.

The flexibility and creative shuffling helped us finish on time and with everything we needed designed complete.

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

There were three dedicated people on our project and two additional designers that worked with us through the majority of sprints:

• Jenna (director of UX and project manager)
• Jessie (lead UX designer)
• Hannah J (UX designer); in addition,
• Hannah B (UX designer) and
• Liv (UX designer) both worked with us during the design phase.

Our regular internal team was drawn from product management, customer success, engineering, architecture and data science.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our data and use cases are complex, and our team is biased towards technology and engineering. But Jenna, Jessie and the other designers were able to take each discussion and a lot of unstructured feedback and give it shape and meaning in a consistently thoughtful design, week to week.

We shared the design progress in feedback sessions with customer success, sales, and marketing. A few months into the engagement, we started previewing sequences and storyboards built from the high-fidelity wireframes with customers and prospects.

The initial reaction was universally positive with specific accolades for the clarity of the graphics and interactions, the consistency of navigation elements across functions, the flexibility with which assets could be managed or defined, and the surfacing and visualization of previously hidden information that helped understand accuracy, coverage and confidence in the data shown.

One of the unexpected--but certainly welcome--benefits of our engagement was a wider appreciation in the product team of what “end-to-end” solutions could be, how the user experience was as much a part of a solution as architecture and design.

A real example was when we were looking at service reliability for some contextual data sources: the engineering required designing for robust availability and failure handling, but after the entire experience considered, a better way of surfacing partial and unavailable data allows us to relax some of the availability handling and complexity--and still provide a better user experience for failures outside our control.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team communicated frequently, stayed on schedule, met every milestone and commitment, kept our team engaged through twice-weekly collaboration and feedback sessions and a shared Slack channel, and were able to flexibly shift things around when we wanted to focus on a different feature area.

The working relationship felt more like working with one of our internal teams and less like working with an external agency. For both the discovery and design phases, they proposed, and we agreed to the schedule, areas of focus, and sprints.

The Brave UX team met with our cross-functional team twice a week for 1.5h each session. Our team would meet informally in between each session to organize our feedback and ideas and share them with the Brave UX team ahead of the next meeting.

We appreciated how materials (Figma designs, PDFs and meeting recordings) were made available right after each session. The meeting recordings were especially helpful and allowed us to share parts of discussions with others on the Armored Things team and helped anyone that might have missed a session.

We made all materials available internally so anyone can see the progress. The team was available and responsive between sessions, often chatting with us through Slack to flesh out open questions, share examples, ideas or exchange feedback.

The channel was open to all of Armored Things, so those that weren't part of the core team could track--and participate in--the discussions.

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

The team showed an attention to detail, relevance and internal consistency that was not strictly necessary for our project--but really made it easier to share the intermediate work with others and start getting feedback earlier.

For example, early on they researched and found a campus that could provide all the types of spaces needed for different tasks and use cases. They used believable names, values and quantities and maintained interrelationships between spaces and values across features and capabilities.

This made feedback and discussions easier, provided continuity as features were expanded or connected, and made showing or explaining the work to others easier.

Brave UX understands what it takes to have a successful project: the importance of the discovery process, an agreed upon plan for organizing feature sprints and delivering results, and high expectations of involvement and feedback from their collaborators.

This last point is important: you must be willing to commit the time, cross-functional capacity, and intellectual energy to the process for Brave UX to perform at their best. This is not an agency engagement where you just review the results monthly.

I was personally grateful to Lee for working with me to find flexibility around the financial timing and terms of our engagement since the discovery and design phases straddled the final stages of our Series A fundraising.

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

No. We sometimes needed more time to gather feedback between our working sessions but realized we couldn’t do that without a longer engagement. The Brave UX team always worked with our feedback whether it was on schedule or not.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an online engagement platform for life sciences. I’m the SVP of product management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brave UX?

We wanted to take a fresh look at our UI and UX for our flagship product. We needed an assessment of our UI/UX and some design direction.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they did an evaluation of our web-based platform. The team worked with us to understand all of our user types and how they use the platform. Then, they worked through our major pages and workflows and created a mockup for the next-generation design of our platform.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from their team, including a director of design. There were also designers and UX specialists.

How did you come to work with Brave UX?

We did a comprehensive web search on different platforms, including Clutch. We narrowed it down to a handful of places we wanted to talk to them. We really liked their design work, and their cost was in our ballpark. Additionally, they fit well with our team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $200,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project began in January 2021 and ended in April 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still in the process of starting user testing, so we don’t have quantitative metrics yet. Brave UX took our feedback very seriously and made adjustments in good time. We worked really well together. By the time it was time for our executive evaluation, the full team was on board without any reservations. They met all of our goals for the project.

We really liked how everything turned out in terms of design, UX, and documentation.

We liked that the look was very modern while remaining professional. The team was very thoughtful and detail-oriented. Their documentation at the end was absolutely amazing.

How did Brave UX perform from a project management standpoint?

They were perfect. The team always met their deadlines, even when there were shifts. They were always clear when there would be changes. We always knew what was coming up in the next meeting. Their project management was wonderful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The design is really nice. Their flexibility was also superb. The team listened and adjusted when we needed to. They really delivered. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I thought they were great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set a good amount of time for reviews and discussion. It was time-consuming in a good way. If you’re not attuned to that, a lot can happen quickly. Give an appropriate amount of time to get the best recommendations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company’s an IDTF (independent diagnostic testing facility). We remotely monitor implantable cardiac devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators, and loop recorders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brave UX?

 We were building a physician-facing portal to increase engagement with those customers but didn’t have design capabilities. We needed a partner to create the platform's interface. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Going into the project, we had minimal requirements. Brave helped us paint a picture by creating requirements for what the physician portal would look like. They gathered information from us and performed market research. They then came back with wireframes and built the platform’s UI/UX from scratch. As we went along, we made adjustments.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from Brave but mostly Jenna (Director) and Jessie (UX Designer).  

How did you come to work with Brave UX?

We had a consultant on board who was impressed with Brave after working with them on a previous project. We then met with them and went through the vetting process. Brave’s CEO showed us some of their old projects, and we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $150,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between October­–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Brave created outstanding designs. They captured our vision, which was super challenging because we didn’t have exact ideas for the portal’s design. Their team was able to talk with us and capture our dreams for the product.

How did Brave UX perform from a project management standpoint?

Brave stayed on schedule throughout the project. That’s hard to do. Their team was on time to the day. We communicated via Zoom calls three times a week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their project management was outstanding, and their design capabilities were incredible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I would recommend them in a second.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any other project, have a solid idea for requirements. Even though we didn’t, Brave did an incredible job of painting that picture for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Ascend is a nonprofit organization based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. I’m a product manager on the Ascend team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brave UX?

They supported designs to expand the Ascend Network, which is a technology platform that connects job seekers across Indiana with internships and full-time job opportunities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brave took the Ascend Network from an MVP and built an enterprise-level system that could serve a larger array of audiences. We started with a five-week discovery process to understand the product and its core audiences. Brave provided a high-level roadmap and wireframes for the redesign. At that point, we signed a new contract with them. Their team then did the full redesign, focusing on the UI/UX components.

What is the team composition?

Brave had four members on the core project team, but they incorporated a couple of other folks for specific elements of the project.

How did you come to work with Brave UX?

After beginning our search for a UX design firm, we found Brave on Clutch. We met with a host of potential partners and went through multiple rounds of calls with different prospects. Ultimately, we chose Brave because their team wasn’t fazed by our high expectations. During the proposal process, their interest in the project was clear. They took the time to understand our needs and promised to be intense because they wanted to build a great product. Their mindset aligned with ours and their approach was unique with the robust discovery process.

What is the status of this engagement?

We collaborated on this project between July–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

During the first sprint, we focused on the platform's visual direction. As we moved further into the engagement, we started seeing our screens reimagined based on that visual direction. It became clear to us that we weren’t finished although that sprint ended. We raised our concerns to Brave, and they were completely willing and able to keep the project moving forward while also looping back around to refine the visual direction for us.

We landed in a place that was warmer and better spoke to our company. They validated our visual identity through color theory, so it was intentional. Their team had an intelligent, thoughtful approach to creating this visual direction. Brave was receptive to our feedback and worked well on quick or concurrent deadlines.

How did Brave UX perform from a project management standpoint?

Their lead project manager was exceptional. She managed multiple cycles of feedback while keeping us on track. She didn’t let the project sprawl or get too far behind. They did an exceptional job of holding us accountable for giving them the feedback their team needed to move forward.

Brave was organized and shared information with us in an easily digestible manner. They made sure that we knew where the project stood by recording calls and sharing folders on the Cloud. Their team made sure that we were all on the same page every week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brave pushed deeper and asked thoughtful questions that pushed us to reach the best outcome. Their team doesn’t skate by on templates.

It was clear that they wanted to teach us the principles that their team applies to design, improving our knowledge and communication back and forth. That allowed us to create an experience that made sense from business and design perspectives. Their willingness to teach us and invest time to truly understand our business was unique.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we have nothing but glowing remarks to say about their team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There’s a lot to learn, and Brave will throw a lot of information at you. Invest the time to understand them and then follow up with them. Their team will iterate and incorporate your feedback. They throw a unique depth and volume of screens at you, so invest the time to digest them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the co-founders of Tradeswell. A platform for e-commerce brands to connect their entire value chain across marketing, logistics, and retail in order to optimize their business and grow in a healthy and profitable way.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brave UX?

We hired Brave UX because we were looking for help with our UI/UX design. We had already had an initial product in the market, we had an MVP out there, and we were finding the product-market fit. 

We were ready to take that next step and make our UI a bit more elegant and create an experience for our users that was a bit more reflective of what was going on under the hood. 

We use a lot of machine learning and AI to power insights and decision-making, and I want to make sure that we are able to communicate that back to the user in a way that isn't overwhelming, especially for customer segments in e-commerce with brands that are not as tech-savvy. 

There are plenty of UI designers out there and UI in a vacuum isn't what I was looking for; I was also looking for help with creating a UX that was more engaging and would not only keep our existing customers coming back but also appeal to new prospective customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with Brave UX on our application UI/UX. First, we brainstormed ideas of what type of emotions we wanted to evoke for the users and gave the UI itself a persona so that we could better communicate with our users. 

They then dug in and tried to understand not only what we were trying to convey, but actually how our users thought about stuff. They helped us with that research there. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with 4–5 teammates, including two UX designers, one UI designer, and a design lead.

How did you come to work with Brave UX?

I had worked with Lee (CEO & Founder) previously on a very small project, and I was happy with the work. When I needed people for this project, I called up 3–4 design agencies and ended up going with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $125,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from July–October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I couldn’t have been happier with the quality of service. Brave UX was always available and incredibly responsive when I had questions or concerns. After our engagement ended, I had one or two questions for them and they were responsive and helpful. 

How did Brave UX perform from a project management standpoint?

For one-off communication, we typically used email. We also had meetings three times a week. At the end of every week, we’d review what we had accomplished and what was coming up. The team was on top of their deadlines, probably more so than I was. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their teammates were collaborative. I’m not a designer, so when we had ideas that we wanted to bring to life, Brave UX would listen to us and pick up the valuable parts to come up with something. 

It wasn’t always what it needed to be at that exact moment, but we’d use it as a base to iterate. The other thing I liked is that they would challenge my ideas. Sometimes I had ideas that weren’t the best, and they would push to make sure that we were keeping our customers in mind. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. It was a great relationship. We even extended the scope of work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just do it because it’s worth it. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product manager of a stealth-mode startup in the Bay Area. I’m working on a core technology that is set to revolutionize the beverage landscape. We’re trying to change the way people create and consume beverages through new advances in technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brave UX?

We’ve been making some big strides in developing our core technology, but now we needed to start thinking about applications and the best way to bring this to market. Brave UX’s task was to think through, ideate, and design one of the applications and channels that we were thinking of.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They delivered user flows, as well as high-level, early wireframes. It was completely from scratch. They worked with our team to come up with the core requirements. We were targeting iOS and Android, and then we wanted to embed software on a hardware device.

What is the team composition?

The head of UX was project managing, and then there were a few more contributing to the project on their end. I think it was two full-time designers and then one lead designer.

How did you come to work with Brave UX?

I looked around and reviewed portfolios of several companies. We wanted a partner with a hardware and embedded software background. Brave UX did a small project that was along the lines of where we’re going with our project. It seemed fitting and they have the experience we needed.

We went with Brave UX over other large firms because we like the small, dedicated team. Then we liked how much they could do within our budget. Their approach to problems through a human-factors lens and that was very helpful.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started working for us in July and they wrapped up in August 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been working on several other projects, so we haven’t been able to implement the final designs yet. We’re lukewarm on the final deliverable. It’s definitely going to help us and move us forward in what we need to do, but it’s going to require heavy lifting internally in order to take it to the next level. That was our expectation because of the budget. We weren’t expecting that they would deliver something that was ready to be implemented. We wish they embedded with the team a bit more and spent more time asking questions.

I don’t think they’ve worked with a lot of early stage startups, so there was a learning curve for them to be comfortable with the ambiguity associated with that business. They’ve done a pretty good job navigating that. We shifted on what the project goal was an what we were targeting, but they managed that well.

How did Brave UX perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly calls in which they presented their work from the past week. And then I started communicating with them over email, but infrequently throughout the process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There were a few noteworthy things. I really appreciated the rigor they put into thinking about edge cases. They really tried to come up with solutions that accounted for everything.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is a caveat—they didn’t come up with anything inspiring or special. They delivered a conservative approach, but they did go through all the edge cases and had a holistic view in their designs. I would have liked a little more communication. We would have liked them to be embedded with our team. It felt like a client-agency relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re an early-stage startup, they might not be the best fit. But if you’re a larger company with a larger budget, they could be great with clear direction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide compliance, training, and technology to the energy industry. We have a SaaS that essentially allows workers that handle infrastructure, pipeline, and things of that nature to go online and qualify on various tasks by way of computer-based training or live training. We hold all of those records so that they can ensure they are compliant. Within our system, they're allowed to build custom training. We offer consulting services as needed. My role in the company is the VP of brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brave UX?

We have a very talented development team and technology side of the house. Unfortunately, unless you fully commit to updating your user experience and UI/UX, it ends up just slowly getting out of date, and then very rapidly, you find yourself upside down. That’s where we ended up; we were dated, and I didn’t feel that we could fix it internally with the scope of work that we already had. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When I initially reached out to them, the scope of work was a new logo and brand persona. That was the immediate driver; after that, we were going to move quickly into a UX discovery, which would decide the path we were going. The endgame was to get a series of mocks and overall schema templates to jumpstart our team to be able to implement that, and that's ultimately what they delivered.

We were leaning on them to bring a fresh set of eyes to the project and help us with what we didn't know. The industry that we service somewhat lagged compared to other industries. We were able to offer quite a bit of insight to help them; however, we knew they were the experts based on their portfolio and case studies, and we felt comfortable with them injecting what they do. We're a firm believer in doing what we do well and working with folks that do what they do well. 

What is the team composition?

Even before deciding to work with them, the interaction on some of our initial calls was great. We worked closely with Jordan (Director of UX), Jenna (Director of Design), and Lee (CEO & Founder) to figure out what we wanted to accomplish. Once we decided to go with them, they brought the human resources to accomplish the work.

Right from the jump, we know we had made a great choice. They were very knowledgeable. They came out and visited with us in person. Our leadership and their team met to really nail down our goals and give them a window into who we were, so that they could better develop and design the UX.

How did you come to work with Brave UX?

I did a search. I narrowed it down to 2–3 potential partners that I got a good vibe from. I did some R&D with each one. We partner with people that are very much on the same page as us: we push innovation, doing the right thing, and partnering with the right people, and I got that vibe right off the bat in some of the initial calls. Unfortunately, some of the other people I was going through the vetting process with did not put out that vibe. 

How much have you invested with them?

It was around $300,000–$350,000 for the 5–6-month engagement. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial engagement began in February 2020. We started with that discovery phase to go through brand, personality, and values. After that, we went through a discovery portion with our system itself, so that they could get a better understanding. Then, we kicked off a third leg to this engagement: UX templating, which lasted about 13 weeks.

We just wrapped up yesterday and did the official handoff. I believe that will probably be the breadth of what they do this year. If all goes well, we may re-engage in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first deliverable from them was really a new logo and brand personality, promise, and value. We have begun to implement that internally, and it’s been met with open arms. It's an excitement within our company that honestly has been lacking. We have a very young group in general, and they were really keen on the fact that our image and industry were dated. 

All of our teams are excited about upgrading. It's a huge undertaking for my team, in particular, to roll this into all of the collateral and assets that we currently have, but seeing that refresh come alive has really just motivated our staff beyond belief, even further than we hoped. 

We’ll know the full scope and breadth of their work once we release it to the public October 1. As it stands now, we're already seeing the results internally. The amount of engagement with our folks and the excitement is definitely through the roof. It will take us the better part of a year to roll the complete redesign out to the system itself, but I think we're going to be met with success on that.

How did Brave UX perform from a project management standpoint?

Their management style was very similar to ours, and that's with full transparency. You could tell they had a talented team and that they focused a lot of time on that side of it. They immediately set up a cadence of meetings twice a week, pulled in the right people, set expectations, and had a full schedule; all of the key elements from a PMO standpoint were in place. Again, that gave us confidence, because that's how we run our house as well. That was maintained throughout. They planned the work and worked the plan, and that's what we saw from day one all the way through to the final.

In terms of project management tools, we used DropBox to share things, and all meetings were recorded. We communicated probably daily through the project. There was a lot of communication, which helped the project move along.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Honesty comes to mind. There were plenty of times when we had to have tough conversations. In particular, around the beginning of March, I jumped on a call to deliver some tough news that they needed to process, and they were open to that. When there were things that we simply couldn't do because of time or cost, there was always a level of transparency and honesty that I respected. I've done business with a lot of people, and when it comes to sales, people often over-promise and then pick up the pieces along the way. I never got that vibe from Brave UX. 

The other thing I would mention is the amount of over-delivery provided by Brave UX was impressive. That’s something I picked up on early, and that's something we’re passionate about at my company as well; we don’t over-promise, but we tend to over-deliver when given the opportunity.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are so smart at what they do that sometimes, what they said went over the heads of some of our executive leadership. That almost created surprises and backlash because people didn't really know what they were talking about in the moment. We’d have to meet afterward to catch them up on what everything meant. They could be more relatable to some companies that don’t have the same level of skill or understanding. We did address that as soon as I realized it, and they adjusted. Overall, I think as the project went on, they got better at that.

Any advice for potential customers?

I was honest up front regarding what our goals were and where we wanted to be at the end of it all. I provided anything I could to help Brave better craft what it was that we needed. I’m blessed to have a technology background, so that probably helped, but providing as much information as possible helped a lot as well. We did a lot of internal, passionate debate to decide we were going to do this, so we had a very clear vision of what that looked like for us; we just didn't know how to get there. That might be the hardest thing for some organizations to be able to provide, but I think it was vital to the success of this project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a government contracting firm in the intelligence community. This company is a spinoff of an existing company that we have. We are developing a project management and accounting tool specific to our industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brave UX?

Ultimately, the industry is entrenched in some fairly Jurassic platforms. We were looking to take existing tools and apply new technologies to them. We felt that the biggest weakness in our industry was poor design and less so functionality; our goal was to enhance functionality a little bit, but mainly to really overhaul the design that our industry is used to. We wanted to catch our industry’s design up to what the rest of the market or world is dealing with.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was very design-centric. We looked at some of the tools that exist in the marketplace and discussed their functionalities. Then, we did several deep dives into what we’re trying to accomplish and what the issues are. They did ground-up design with the idea that the backend would eventually be developed around the design.

They teed things off and looked at things from a universal design perspective, which was key for us. We didn't want to get bogged down with our way of thinking, which was helpful; they really introduced a fresh set of eyes to how humans work in general, not necessarily how we're used to working in our industry. We were able to liberate some of the constraints and in-the-box thinking that we had been taking in our approach while keeping the components and functionality that we needed. 

Ultimately, they did take the lead on the design, and they took a lot of input into things we liked and didn't like. We leaned on them to educate us on how this was going to be designed, and they leaned on us regarding what the product was supposed to do. It was a fairly strong collaboration, and I think we've gotten a lot of success out of their approach.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 3–4 people consistently, including a project manager, a chief designer, and a lead architect, who laid out how the infrastructure would look per our discussions. They also brought people in, as needed, to address specific things like colors.

How did you come to work with Brave UX?

We shopped around. Because we were focused heavily on design, a colleague who used to work with Lee (CEO & Founder) highly recommended Brave UX. After some interviews with other candidates and companies, we decided to go with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We did a 3–4-week discovery process in August–September 2019. We brought them on and kicked things off officially at the beginning of this year, and we ran through March 2020 on the design process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The response from a design perspective has been very positive. We’ve received a lot of great feedback. It’s a huge step in the right direction for our industry; even our developers were impressed by how well it was designed. They thought it was very thorough, straightforward, and considerate to design requirements. Overall, I don’t think I can point out anything they missed or that is lacking; they really just did a fantastic job on everything.

How did Brave UX perform from a project management standpoint?

It was exceptionally efficient. They were highly organized, which allowed us to just dive right in. I’m used to leading these types of things, so it was nice to sit back and lean on their organization, structure, and processes. This is an industry and sector that they had no experience in, and their process allowed them to come in and get educated very efficiently on our work. 

They did a really fantastic job of getting what they needed to develop a really strong understanding of the project and then develop something that was more or less right on with what we needed. There were a couple of times when something didn’t work, and they were quick to realize they should flip their process around for that phase because they weren’t moving at the pace they wanted to be. They were quick to adapt and adjust.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re just really smart, and they know what they’re doing. My biggest concern ultimately was cost. I did get cheaper estimates, but I was consistently impressed with Brave UX during our initial meetings, the discovery phase, and throughout the design process. I don’t think I’ll come across a better team – they were really wonderful to work with. 

I often tell people that they actually educated me on my own product. They forced us to consider things from a different viewpoint, which ultimately made us smarter when we were discussing our own product and more intelligent to address concerns, questions, and challenges proposed by clients and customers. That was really where it became an impressive experience to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No; I generally like to give one thing, but I think it was an exceptional experience and service that they provided.

Any advice for potential customers?

What it takes is commitment from the end-user. You can’t just go in there and expect them to do everything; they need you there. If you walk out of those structured meetings with a little bit of homework to do, such as delivering answers or samples by a certain day, you need to commit to that. If you’re not willing to commit, you’re not going to get the results you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a software company that makes data science products so that the world can better utilize AI and machine learning. I’m the chief data and analytics officer here.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brave UX?

We were creating a new product, and they helped us design it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were doing a screen design, and they spearheaded the UX/UI project around it.

What is the team composition?

A team of 5­–6 design professionals helped us with the project.

How did you come to work with Brave UX?

I consulted a number of sources, but I believe that Clutch was among them. I also considered their portfolio of prior work that's showcased on their website.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together in April of 2020 and the project wrapped up in June of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did a phenomenal job. Their work was very high-quality, and the speed of their turnaround was also great. They demonstrated their ability to understand the customer and the space they operate in.

How did Brave UX perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great — on time for everything they did. We had regular touchpoints every couple of days.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The speed at which Brave UX understands their customer was better than that of any other company I’ve worked with, in this space.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They work very quickly. Be prepared when you engage them because they’re easily able to outpace you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

JP Bourget: We are Syncurity, a security orchestration, automation, and response company (SOAR). We facilitate analyst workflow to handle alerts and respond to incidents. We also speed that process up with automation. I’m the chief security officer.

Brad Chiappetta: I’m the VP for customer success.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brave UX?

BC: They re-evaluated our platform’s interface to make it more modern and feature-rich.

JP: We went five years without a UX person and had a stale and dated interface that caused a bunch of challenges. We outsourced to speed up the process of leveling it up and building something more pleasant to spend your day in.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BC: Frist, we did a discovery period where we talked about our space, its challenges, and our competitors’ UIs to set the stage for what we wanted to do. Then, they submitted a proposal for the redesign.

JP: There were two large stages: discovery for one month and then a 15-week design phase. Through these, they created a set of deliverables we could implement into our products.

What is the team composition?

JP and BC: We had regular contact with five or six people throughout the project. Jordan (Director, Brave UX) was the technical expert. We also worked with Lee (Founder, Brave UX) as well as three resources that handled design mock-ups, research, and general support.

How did you come to work with Brave UX?

BC: We interviewed several organizations and chose to go with Brave because of their portfolio and the expertise they had in the area.

How much have you invested with them?

JP: We spent about $750,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

JP: We worked together from June until December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

BC: We’ve had success in showing the mock-ups and talking through the new design with clients, prospective clients and investors. Their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Everyone is excited about what we’re doing with it and the changes to the product we’re going to make based on the design Brave made.

JP: They haven’t left me much to be picky about. Their aesthetics are great and they addressed all my concerns.

How did Brave UX perform from a project management standpoint?

JP: We met with them twice a week for two hours. I’ve worked with a lot of outsourced companies and third-parties over the years and I can’t of anyone that’s been better than Brave UX. They kept the momentum, hit delivery targets, and ensured everyone was on track.

I’ve been a part of silly projects that failed because of bad management and accountability, but Brave was very professional. they were solution-oriented and never tried to move blame around. I actually learned some techniques from them about how to keep projects on the rails.

BC: We had daily emails and validations. They’d present their work during the first of our two weekly calls, and then we’d offer feedback during the second call. Overall, they drove us and kept us on schedule, making sure we set deadlines and kept a cadence. They even prodded us the appropriate amount. They never lagged behind on their side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

JP: They were able to dig into a set of complex topics, understand them, and create a simple interface that allows the average user to be productive.

BC: They’re the overall package. The team was full of unbelievably smart people who were very dedicated to learning our space through research into competitors. They also brought their own knowledge to the table.

Are there any areas they could improve?

JP: I can’t think of any. If I had another million dollars and a problem to solve, I’d go back to them.

BC: In all honesty, not really. It was a smooth process and we’re happy with it. There weren’t any roadblocks.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

JP: Stop looking and start with them tomorrow. They blew my mind.

BC: You need to be committed to the project. Doing an extensive design can’t work with partial commitment. It takes time and resources with constant interaction with the design team. They need your feedback on mock-ups.