Coding Brains

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of a digital agency that specializes in video production and website design.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coding Brains?

We were working on developing a manufacturing website from scratch with proprietary access for sales representatives and people in the field to log in to and verify inventory and shipment statuses. It was essentially a large, secure database that would allow for remote access.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We heavily relied on Coding Brains to lead the entire development process, while I was basically a liaison between them and my client. We approached them with an RFP with the client’s needs and they would interface with me for details as they created a project roadmap. I would also give them feedback from the client so they could fine tune things such as the scope of the project and the specific functionalities that were needed. There was a lot of back and forth, but they were very cooperative.

They worked with WordPress but also did a lot of custom database building. They would offer specific suggestions for changes in the functionality that made the platform a lot better. Some of the project’s key features included secure and internal logins, specific customer access, and a feature for independent representatives outside the company. The platform has a lot of levels of security based off of who is using it. It was very complex and took a long time to complete, but I am very happy with the finished product.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a project manager and two others directly, but I know there were others involved as well.

How did you come to work with Coding Brains?

They actually reached out to me while I was doing a search for developers. I assume they have some kind of lead tracking software that turned them onto my project. I tried them out on some little things first and liked their work, so I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent approximately $65,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on this project in September 2016 and finished in January 2018. I still use them for several different projects and will continue to do so in the future. In fact, we are developing a proprietary product for my own company that they are working on now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still evaluating metrics, but the product does what it is supposed to, and I am absolutely thrilled with the results.

How did Coding Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

There were some delays, but they were not always their fault. It was mostly a result of waiting for a client to get back to us over the holidays, etc.

I communicated directly with the project manager who was great to work with. We would have regularly scheduled contact and status updates, and I would also login to their system to see what they were working on. That feature was pretty helpful, but I personally like direct contact especially because they are offshore. It was helpful to have written and verbal communication over phone and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When they say they're going to get something done, they pull in all hands to do it. I saw that on a couple of occasions and it impressed me.

I also really like them because I would really push to get things done that were a little bit tight on their end, but they delivered. And when they said something was going to be a certain amount, they kept to their word.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The main issue is cultural. They tend to put little U.S. holidays on their calendars that don’t matter. They might interrupt the project on a U.S. holiday just because it is an official holiday, but not necessarily relevant to me or them. Honestly, it is a little bit of a humorous frustration, and generally speaking, they are great to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the managing director and our business center is information technology services to the west coast in the USA.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coding Brains ?

Coding Brains were able to help us with some programming, on a last minute and quick basis.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Some of the programming that they did for us were done using HTML, WordPress applications for website design.

What is the team dynamic?

We worked with three developers.

How did you come to work with Coding Brains?

I met Coding Brains thanks to someone on LinkedIn. And from there, I had a project in which I needed some extra help with because we didn't have enough people to do it.  We attempted this with one project and then one project led to another and then it seemed to work well. Now we've been using them for all of the projects related to web design and programming.

How much have you invested with them?

We can work all the way up to $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since the beginning of the year. It’s an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customers have been happy with it. Whenever there's an issue or anything they've been very responsive on getting it resolved from the time that we execute on the request or update. As long as it was done during the project phase or unless a customer decides they want to do additional stuff, then we have additional work on it, as a revised project.

How did Coding Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

We've used Dropbox to share files and that has worked really well. They have a way for us to reply via e-mail. If they have one, two or three people working on it, they can all respond to the same email thread. I don't know the exact name of what they use on their end but it's a management tool that allows us to collaborate on the same projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They speak really good English. That is kind of unique I would say, because some of the other developers can't speak English very good. I've had other projects with other Indian companies and some of them have a really hard time relaying information over to them, but with Coding Brains it seems to be easier. They seem to understand both in writing and in verbal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything right now. It's a pretty straight forward project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My core business is website and app development as well as multimedia publishing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coding Brains?

I needed to develop a mobile app for a large international client. The app would have a captive audience comprising of the organization’s 10,000 members.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For this project, Coding Brains developed a mobile app for iOS and Android. They also provided regular maintenance for it. I worked with 1 main developer, and there have been other names going back and forth on the communications. If I had to guess, I’d say that there have been 3–4 developers assigned to this project. I’m not aware of the technologies or platforms used.

I go to Coding Brains when I have a challenge or task to complete, and they will assign resources. I’ve worked with 2 project managers — Amol Pandey, their director of operations, who is in charge of day-to-day project management, and Mac Robinson, who is responsible for the financial end. Because of the nature of my work, I sometimes need people to be available during weekends or for extended periods of time. I have paid extra for this, and not once has Coding Brains complained about it.

How did you come to work with Coding Brains?

They solicited me. At that time, I had been working with a different vendor for 3–4 years who was doing a very good job. Even though I explained this to Coding Brains, they were relentless in checking back with me every 6–2 months, just to see if everything was okay and if I wanted to give them a test. The previous developer had a large turnover in its organization, which impacted me severely. Coding Brains happened to reach out to me when I was struggling with the current vendor at the time, and I finally gave them a test project. I haven’t looked back since.

How much have you invested with Coding Brains?

The mobile app project has had a cost of about $75,000, and the overall maintenance provided by Coding Brains amounts to another $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Coding Brains 1 year ago, in the summer of 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The app has been launched on Google Play and the Apple App Store. Its ratings have been phenomenal, around 4 stars the last time I checked. This is out of the ordinary for a first release, and I am about to write specifications for a second version.

How did Coding Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

I care about being on budget and on time, and developing a quality product. Coding Brains has done this so far. I’m extremely pleased with how things are going now, from the pricing to the turnaround time. I have become a cheerleader for them, even though I wasn’t one a few months ago. The initial transition from my former developer to Coding Brains was not a smooth one. I was not pleased with the quality of service provided by the person they assigned as project manager or with the turnaround time.

I expressed that displeasure and started moving more daily tasks to another vendor. I received a call from Mac, asking about the resource shift from Coding Brains to another organization. I told him the reason and got another call from Adam Thompson, their CEO. He also reassured me that I would not have this problem again.

Coding Brains assigned a young lady for daily tasks. She did a phenomenal job and turned the situation around for me. That’s the reason I gave Coding Brains another shot. After that, I don’t know what transpired internally in the organization, but Amal went from being the worst project manager I’d ever dealt with to the best one. He is extremely responsive, and the quality of the product has been tremendously improved since that first misstep.

I requested that we use 2 programs: Smartsheet and Basecamp. I don’t know if Coding Brains prefers using something else, but this is what I use internally. They were familiar with Basecamp, but I don’t know about Smartsheet. We started using Basecamp for tracking daily tasks, projects, and deliverables.

What did you find most impressive about Coding Brains?

My initial concern with outsourcing to an Indian firm was the communication process. I dealt with Mac, Amal, and Adam as the primary contacts, and their English has been very good. Most of my communications are done through Skype, where I assign tasks, monitor them, and communicate with the managers. I have had 1–2 occasions to speak to the developer as well. While his English is not as good, it’s still good enough not to lead to any miscues.

Are there any areas Coding Brains could improve?

The process was painful in the very beginning, but Coding Brains turned it around.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an online e-commerce company specializing in home decor like bedding sets, bathroom sets, and so on. We're located in Philadelphia. I am the owner and sole employee of the business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coding Brains?

We wanted to make things easier for us in terms of listing automation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When I initially contacted Coding Brains, I wasn't sure what I wanted them to do and just wanted to know what they could offer. I told Coding Brains what I was looking for and determined what could come out of it.

Coding Brains initially developed an email system which notified us when an order came through. They're working on a couple of projects simultaneously now. Coding Brains also automated our shopping feeds, which used to be a manual process that we undertook every two weeks.

I'm not sure how many developers were assigned.

How did you come to work with Coding Brains?

We use the Volusion platform for our e-commerce operations and sell on various platforms. Coding Brains was listed as one of the experts on this platform, and I sent them an email a couple of years ago asking for more information. When I started looking for more automation, an email from Coding Brains happened to come in, and I gave them a call. Their persistence got me to connect with the company.

How much have you invested with Coding Brains?

The cost of Coding Brains' work has been under $10,000. This figure could go up as we determine what additional projects we need to be done.

What is the status of this engagement?

I first called Coding Brains in January 2017. It's an ongoing project, and I definitely see using Coding Brains a lot in their future, because I've understood their value.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Our email notification project saved me some time from constantly having to go online and see what orders were coming in. It's a bit early to have a good gauge overall since Coding Brains is still working on two of our big components.

How did Coding Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

I would say that, in the beginning, Coding Brains was having a busy period, so we needed some time to get organized. After the first two weeks, the process was improved. I was assigned a project manager who has been on track, contacting me with questions and things of this nature.

What did you find most impressive about Coding Brains?

Coding Brains' team has the ability to listen. When I first spoke to their principal, he didn't try to sell me anything and only listened to what I needed. I also appreciate Coding Brains' promptness in getting back to me.

Are there any areas Coding Brains could improve?

I'm more of a phone person, rather than email or Skype. I can see the need for organizations to have things written down, but I prefer doing everything over the phone. It can resolve things a lot faster. This has been a gripe with numerous places I've used, some of which don't even offer a phone number. Coding Brains is good in this regard, and they've called me after I mentioned it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an importing company focused on consumer goods from Asian countries, including China, Japan, and Taiwan. Our products range from auto parts to home electronics and cell phone accessories. I am a managing partner in the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coding Brains?

We deal with clients from both Asia and the US and needed software which could help us better manage them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coding Brains set up a program which allowed us to merge shipments from clients from all over the world and streamline the process. I believe that our solution is hosted on Azure. Coding Brains assigned 6–8 developers for our project.

We had been using many different types of software for managing clients and shipments. Coding Brains merged the interfaces between multiple software programs, creating a clearer visualization. Therefore, we can get a better sense of our inventory and can provide information to clients more readily.

How did you come to work with Coding Brains?

A friend recommended Coding Brains. Their company has a separate division for data entry and customer service, and we had used them for this area before our development project. Their founder offered to let us try out their engineering team at a discounted rate. We checked them out, and Coding Brains was great.

How much have you invested with Coding Brains?

The cost of Coding Brains' work was between $70,000 and $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Coding Brains in the summer of 2015. The project was completed in early 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Coding Brains was extremely easy to work with, provided great communication, and were available 24/7. Whenever we had a question or experienced a glitch, Coding Brains addressed it immediately.

Our clients love the ease in which they can see shipments, as well as reach us when things go wrong in our supply chains. I'm not a technical person, so I couldn't say if the code was efficiently compiled or not, but it works, and we're happy about it.

How did Coding Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly communicated via Skype and used Team Viewer if everyone needed to see how the software was working.

What did you find most impressive about Coding Brains?

Coding Brains' team is great at communication, they're efficient, delivered the final product in the timeframe we asked for, and we found them to be reasonably priced. Their ability to work within our time and schedule was critical for the project's success.

Are there any areas Coding Brains could improve?

I can't think of anything off the top of my head. We were very happy with Coding Brains' services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

LA Command is a Los Angeles-based company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Coding Brains?

We needed to build a mobile platform for the company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coding Brains developed our platform using 2–3 developers. It uses MySQL as a database.

How did you come to work with Coding Brains?

My brother had used Coding Brains for previous work and was very happy with them. Coding Brains also shared their previous projects, and I contacted the clients for some of those, who were happy and satisfied.

How much have you invested with Coding Brains?

The cost of Coding Brains' work was between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Coding Brains in November 2015. The project is ongoing; we are moving to phase two.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

They proved to be very efficient and organized in responding to our needs. They seemed to have a good foundation for working on projects. Coding Brains understood everything we needed to achieve and put together work samples which were on target.

How did Coding Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

My project is big, but it only requires basic work in terms of coding. Coding Brains is a very organized group.

What did you find most impressive about Coding Brains?

Coding Brains stayed on top of everything, communicated well, and were conscientious of the customer. They went the extra mile in ensuring that I was happy, even if it meant providing extra work at no charge.

Are there any areas Coding Brains could improve?

Improvements are needed mostly on my part, with regards to communicating what exactly I need around particular parts of the project. Other than that, I was able to send mockups to Coding Brains' team and have them understand my needs well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

BidAmerica is part of a group of companies focusing on construction, real estate, and other markets. We're located in Marietta, South California. Our services are offered on the West Coast, while our self-storage real estate is located across the country, in Florida. Our employee size varies depending on what we're working on. Domestically, we typically only hire managers and outsource other resources through 1099 contracts.

I am the owner of all companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CodingBrains?

I needed to develop an electronic lead generation service for the construction industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CodingBrains developed a backend data-entry research platform, as well as a front-end interface which allowed customers to research information. Our database is Microsoft SQL Server, and the pages calling to it are ASP.NET.

There were around 6 developers assigned, given that it was a large project. We worked through a fixed fee, so the actual number of resources was not a great concern.

How did you come to work with CodingBrains?

I started working on web projects since the internet became popular, in the mid-90s. I would typically hire my own coders, building an entire staff at one point. I didn't enjoy that approach because I like to focus on creative aspects, rather than labor issues. Once I figured that out, I decided to look offshore for people who knew about this area better than I did. I worked with freelancers for a number of years. Working with non-managed resources means that they will work on what they want when they want; I was lucky to receive a finished product.

I found CodingBrains by chance and gave them a small initial assignment. I was impressed with the results and with their management, especially after all the hardships I had trying to get people to work. The projects grew from around $2,000 to tens of thousands of dollars. CodingBrains grew and was able to take on larger and larger ventures, so we fit in nicely.

How much have you invested with CodingBrains?

The cost of CodingBrains' services has been between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with CodingBrains in 2010. The initial project was completed, but we've moved on to many different assignments.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

CodingBrains is better than most in terms of remaining accountable. If something is not right, I can share it with the team without seeing backlash or additional costs. CodingBrains offers an all-in-one service including coding, management, and quality control, which is something I've appreciated.

How did CodingBrains perform from a project management standpoint?

CodingBrains typically works during the night on US time, so I can see completed results by the morning. We use Skype for communication, which is a great tool. It allows us to have screen sharing, voice calls, and text. It also has a nice history of our past discussions, which can be used as a reference, allowing CodingBrains' team to be more consistent in their work.

We have a mix of hourly work and fixed fees. The former is done through a service called Hubstaff, which is a time-management software that tracks work and handles the accounting at the end of the week. I can generate a report every 2 weeks and pay the bills. We've also started using Basecamp as a project management tool.

What did you find most impressive about CodingBrains?

Development stands out from normal work through something called debugging. A company can spend a fortune trying to debug, and if coders did their job correctly to begin with, we wouldn't need as much of it, and not be billed as much. When we started working with CodingBrains, we noticed that the debugging work done by the team is minimal, which means that they do it before submitting projects to me. By the time I see results, they're fairly complete, without many bugs. Whatever accountability processes CodingBrains has in place seem to work well.

Are there any areas CodingBrains could improve?

Nothing strikes off the top of my head. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Winners Edge Trading is a financial education and software company. I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the challenge that you were trying to address with Coding Brains?

My challenge was getting the web work I needed to be done quickly and at a good price. I was working with a WordPress website that had a lot of articles and tools that needed to be implemented, and the goal was to have a nice-looking website.

My company business goal was to create a more efficient website in order to have more traders sign up.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coding Brains set up a spreadsheet for me so that I could monitor all the work being done. They were working on module basis from one group of tasks to another. They would keep me updated, and anytime I had questions they answered them fully. They worked using open source technology including WordPress as CMS [content management system] and PHP as the base language. There was one developer assigned to my project.

How did you come to work with Coding Brains?

I used a freelance site called Upwork to find them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in June and continued until December. Coding Brains completed the task successfully. The relationship is now on an as-needed basis.

How much have you invested with Coding Brains?

The total cost was around $10,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The web design work was completed within the deadline.

How did Coding Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

Adam [CEO, Coding Brains] managed the job, and anytime I needed something I just had to call him, he was good at communicating. The part I love about this company is they worked in my time zone. I don’t have to wake up early or stay awake late to be able to communicate with them​

What did you find most impressive about Coding Brains?

Yes, they worked in my time zone, and I loved it. Coding Brains are nice hard working chaps.

Are there any areas Coding Brains could improve?

I can’t think of anything for now.