Cicada Technologies

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is Hirschmann Automotive, located in Austria. We produce connectors and other things for the automotive industry. I’m part of the supply chain team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cicada Technologies?

We needed help with our SAP ERP system; all of our warehouses are connected to the SAP. There were still some products in the prototype stage that are used by our engineers and needed to be tested.

At the time, we still didn’t have a SAP number and were searching for a warehousing and platform solution to store it. The platform had to give the engineers the ability to check what parts were in the warehouse, as well as the ability to order parts from the warehouse.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cicada Technologies worked on a platform that manages the non-inventory materials used by our engineers. The main functionalities are: ordering and registering materials, managing the orders, and having an overview of the status through a dedicated Dashboard.

The development process was oriented to offer a friendly user experience so they delivered mock-ups of all the functionalities using Figma, prior to any implementation. They created a software specification book and brought us the proposal. In the weekly meetings, we discussed any changes or new mock-ups, and we proceeded to build the foundation.

What is the team composition?

We were mainly in contact with the project manager and the CEO.

How did you come to work with Cicada Technologies?

They had already done a project with our company in Romania. Our IT team is always in contact with our colleagues in Romania, and they recommended Cicada to us.

How much have you invested in them?

It was between $50,000– $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in December 2021, and it is still ongoing.

We have been collecting feedback from our users for the last month and are now discussing the next phase, where we will implement those small requests.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been perfect. Cicada has reacted very fast to provide solutions to all the questions we have. After the implementation, they’ve been available if we have any questions. They’re always very supportive.

How did Cicada Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything has been delivered on time and within budget. We have weekly meetings through WebEx.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Although I didn’t know them from the project they did with the team in Romania, after my first meeting with them, I had the feeling that we’d known each other for years. It was really a nice atmosphere between us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For this project, everything was perfect.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Generally, we would recommend them as a company because they are always open to finding a solution for our requests, and I think it will be the same with new customers. When we brought the proposal to them, they came back with many ideas and solutions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Head of IT & Digitalization Department in an Automotive company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cicada Technologies, and what were your goals?

We had untraceable parcel deliveries between our 4 locations and we hired the Cicada Team to help us trace and organize better the Warehouse deliveries between our plants.

SOLUTION

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

We found them through one of our vendors of IT Warehouse Equipments. They also worked with them in the past.

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

After several workshops, workflows design and mockups checks they designed an Android app for our Mobile Scanners and also a Web interface that can be used on our endpoints. The final solution automated an manual process, adding traceability and transparency in the same time!

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

There were three people in the team , one project manager and two developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After the solution went live, we received positive feedback from our users, especially from the warehouse employees. We can now rely on the transparency and timestamps of the solution.

Overall parcel delivery performance increased by 70% and all the employees can receive their parcel from another location in less than 4 hours. After presenting the improvements of this project to the Top Management from the HQ, we already started a new project with Cicada , dedicated only for the Headquarter in Austria.

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

Project management was great , deadlines met all the time. We communicated through Cisco Webex and registered every step in Jira.

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

The flexibility and patience in understanding our needs.

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

User documentations were missing , but we worked together and we finally finished them and informed the users.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are the largest polymer processor in the east of the European Union. I deal with the trade marketing field in our company, I make sure that both our partners and colleagues benefit from marketing support to increase sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cicada Technologies, and what were your goals?

We wanted to offer an easy to use solution, several calculation applications through which the user to know the properties and reactions of the materials based on the regulations in force.

SOLUTION

How did you select Cicada Technologies and what were the deciding factors?

They were very prompt in offering suitable solutions and they understood exactly what we needed.

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

Cicada Technologies team built for us a custom web application composed of a set of specialized calculators for water installation systems, assisting our clients with finding the best technical solutions for their projects. We were very pleased with the process employed because they developed the project using a Design Thinking approach, keeping tight interaction with our team.

The main steps of the process were: Business analysis discussions ,  UI/UX design + feedback and changes, and Development The 3 steps presented above were reiterated for each screen of the application. The result was a product that feted our needs and vision, while providing a premium user interaction. The technologies used were Python for the backend and React for the frontend part.

How many people from the Cicada Technologies  team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The team consisted of 6 people including a product owner, 2 backend developers, 2 frontend developers and one UI/UX designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We managed to launch the project on time, everything was perfectly integrated visually and technically with our site.

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

Project management was perfect, communication was very efficient whenever needed.

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

Although it was very technical information and graphics in the field of construction, they were adaptive, and together we managed to get the desired result.

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

It was a successful project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-founder of Techsylvania, a technology event based in Eastern Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cicada Technologies?

For everything related to the visual identity & implementation related to our events.

What were your goals for this project?

Improve the current look and feel of our online identity.

SOLUTION

How did you select Cicada Technologies?

We did a test project with Cicada and a few others and we felt that we resonated the best with them from a working and cost perspective.

Describe the project in detail.

Website design for all pages:

• Header image or video
• Resources Speaker photos (only necessary if we decide to apply a filter to it) - approx 50 Partner logos - approx 100 agenda icons
• Event presentation and partnership packages (ideally in the keynote, so we can easily modify it afterward, but not a must)

Online advertising banners for different campaigns over a period of time:

• Facebook and Google special sizes banners for media partners (e.g. 200x200, 300x300, 264x312, 150x150)

Social media resources:

• Approximately 10 Covers for Facebook medium, Twitter, Youtube
• Event announcements template with 20% text (for Easter, ticket campaigns - Early Bird/Regular/Last Minute, Christmas, etc)
• Image for ticket integration on Xing Events with logos of top partner companies

Print (approximate list - depends on the location and activities):

• Poster (flyer will be scaled down)
• Speakers program
• Stage banner
• T-shirt design
• Mesh banners
• Signage for workshop & other rooms
• Volunteer t-shirts
• Car stickers
• Participant badges
• Speaker badges
• Plane ticket for SA winner
• Photowall Event

Brochure Videos:

• Speaker intro
• Teaser partners during breaks
• Background video for the main stage

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with the UI/UX designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Very happy with the results and chose to continue the collaboration in the long term.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Weekly meetings + Asana & Slack communication.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

A fresh perspective, flexible, and really good quality.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am managing director of a trading company. We build injection molds for our customers in China and deliver the free house to our customers in Europe. We have a sister company in Hong Kong.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cicada Technologies, and what were your goals?

The customer wants a part made of plastic. We supply the required injection mould. During the course of the project, data, information and images are exchanged. The exchange takes place from the supplier via us to our customer. Currently this is done via e-mail, webspace and chats.

The projects have a duration of four to 24 months, so it is sometimes difficult to retrospectively understand who released what when or why a problem was solved in this way. This is where our platform should support us. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

SOLUTION

How did you select Cicada Technologies and what were the deciding factors?

We looked around for potential suppliers. The deciding factor for Cicada was that they understood our requirements immediately and thought along with us. In addition, you were able to promise us a timely realization, while other competitors only promised us a project start in several months.

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

Cicada Technologies implemented a web based platform for project management and complex interactions between entities during the process of injection moulds manufacturing.

The project was implemented using agile technology with iterations of the corresponding steps for each developed module:

• Specifications gathering
• UI/UX design
• Implementation
• Testing

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

Team of 6 people:

• Scrum master
• Product owner
• 2 x Frontend developers
• 2 x Backend developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

still in work, Update comes

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

The project management is very good. We communicate with e-mail, slack, regular Video-calls and video-meetings when needed.

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

We had direct contact to the whole team! perfect to get a good resulte.

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

We are happy with the way they did their work and still do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company was founded in 2009 and currently has more than 25 employees in 2 branches: one head officed in Cluj-Napoca and one in Arad city. During the years, VESNA became an important seller&supplier of automotive batteries and one of the biggest collectors, transporter, and recycler of scrap batteries. My name is Robert Szekely and I am the General Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cicada Technologies?

Custom software development, Solution Engineering

What were your goals for this project?

An automated system for a better and more efficient working process.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Due to their excellent reputation. We received good recommendations about Cicada Technologies services.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We collaborated several times with Cicada Technologies. They implemented a customer satisfaction module to monitor the quality of services offered to our clients. Another completed project was about finding the best solution in keeping track of stocks of sold products.

What was the team composition?

The team was composed of two developers. One focused on the backend part of the platform and the second one focused on the frontend part of the platform

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because the platform implemented business automation flows, the impact was on the speed the paperwork needed for managing the recycled materials was elaborated. There was no more room for human error.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project implementation was managed by Cicada Technologies. There were recurrent meetings with the team in order to see the project status and be able to give feedback and ask for change requests if new ideas came in. This was possible because they were using Agile development techniques.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The fact that it was easy to transmit to them our vision of the product and the close relation that we've built together.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director at a specialized network operator. We work in several European countries, providing networks to large enterprise customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cicada Technologies?

Our business requires specialized information systems to manage the workflow and configurations we provide. It’s very specialized, so you can’t find anything like us on market. The systems we provide define our business. To relieve pressure from our internal development team (they like to focus on the backend) Cicada is developing our frontend using modern technology like Angular JavaScript. Right now, the solution is only for internal use, though it may shift to customer-focused in the future.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There’s certain amount of workflow and visualization of complex objects functionality. There’s considerable graphic design involved, though its focused on providing clarity and structure, not aesthetics. Typically, we’ll give them a specification (a visual representation) that they’ll turn into a wireframe.

What is the team composition?

I’m not quite sure, but we recently brought on a consultant on our side to handle the project management.  

How did you come to work with Cicada Technologies?

A number of our team members had studied in the same area where a number of Cicada’s people had been teaching and got to know them. Now, we have other team members working in Cicada’s area, so it’s been quite convenient.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking about working with them about two and a half years ago, and the work began several months after. The project we’re currently working on (which started a month ago) is the third of our partnership. If you combine all the projects, we’ve worked together for around 12 months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Cicada Technologies has provided development skills and the motivation for frontend work that we lacked internally. The frontend isn’t where our engineers enjoy themselves. Per results, Cicada has followed our instructions and done what we asked them to do.

How did Cicada Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We manage everything in GitLab. In terms of day-to-day project management and communications, they were fine. We realized that we weren’t being precise enough and that our goals may not be reasonable enough, so we brought on our own consultant. We’ve learned a fair amount, and Cicada has been very patient with us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their patience, dedication, flexibility stand out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve shared our experiences with them about having to react to our project management not being enough. I also asked if they’d thought about bringing on that capability on their side. Planning the scope, resources, and deadlines requires an understanding of business goals, so I quizzed them as to why that isn’t something they provide.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There’s a certain amount of navel-gazing necessary to understand your own goals and how to achieve what you want.