Concise Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at German Autolabs

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

German Autolabs builds voice-powered assistance products for professional drivers and couriers to do their job faster, safer and better. Our clients are logistics providers such as postal services, hyperlocal food & grocery delivery, and media logistics. 

Our solutions are developed with great attention to detail and use machine learning and human expertise to augment and improve workflows. Designed for professional users, our modular, offline-capable technology delivers a next-generation voice experience optimized for the needs of logistics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Concise Software to accomplish?

• Developing a cloud based data warehouse infrastructure based on AWS

SOLUTION

How did you find Concise Software?

Referral

Why did you select Concise Software over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Concise Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The backend team was responsible for creating integration between backend and existing Android app interface, that allows to generate the daily delivery routes for couriers based on the simple csv file received from the newspaper publisher on daily basis. 

The Quality Assurance Specialist ensured product quality. The Project Manager dealt with requirements analysis and team management. Concise Software provided us with technical consulting services helping us to overcome integration challenges that emerged during the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to launch with a new lead customer faster than we had could without Concise. The scaling of the project is still ongoing, but the foundation Concise created, we can use for more future projects.

What was your primary form of communication with Concise Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• Like every project, time and costs are of the essence.
• Concise Software managed to deliver despite those constraints.

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

Concise can reacte very flexible to changing requirements .

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

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Managing Director at Cargonexx - We are a building Transport Management Platform (TMP) - modern software technology for sustainable and resilient logistics networks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Concise Software, and what were your goals?

We are developing our software - a web app that helps logistics companies manage their operations. The Concise team helped us with custom software development.

SOLUTION

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

We found Concise due to a referral. I really enjoyed the transparent and candid nature of those I had contact with. Further, the terms, conditions and statements of work were quite flexible and comfortable for us. Finally, we found that the costs were fair given the quality perceived.

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

We were provided with web frontend (ReactJS) and backend (NodeJS) development services to assist in our SaaS application development.

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

Three backend developers and one frontend developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Engineering efficiency had increased over 50% within several months and the development services greatly improved our SaaS product offerings.

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

Project management was fully on our side. Communication with the Concise team was fast, efficient and productive. We primarily communicated over Slack & Microsoft Teams.

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

Communication and technology skills. Everyone we spoke or interacted with was responsive, empathetic, and helpful. Further, the technical skills were of great help. Even when a technological problem arose outside of the Concise team's skillset, they went above and beyond to learn and tackle the challenges regardless.

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

No – the quaility of services offered is impressive.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at an international bank.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Concise Software?

We needed help with building a back-office system for different assets.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done many projects with Concise Software. They’ve developed our back-office system as a web-based application. The first phase was to land the system, so they started by understanding the capital markets and bank infrastructure. The second step was implementing a module where we could automatically settle the transaction of the market maker for both cash and equity markets. 

Another project they’ve helped us with is automating the process of issuing products. They’ve also helped us implement a solution where we could do general meetings on Blockchain. Additionally, Concise Software has developed a website for turbo certificates where our clients can see the whole market. We gave them the wireframes and the details of what we needed. The site is an information/education platform, and the team has developed a module for education.  

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager and four other people from Concise Software.

How did you come to work with Concise Software?

Choosing a partner took time, and Concise Software went through strict procedures. For us, the choice wasn’t only about the cost but also the quality of the developers.  

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent €1 million (approximately $1 million USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Concise Software is good at what they do and very professional. The feedback from our internal teams has been good; our project manager enjoys working with them. The team working on the back-office system is also very happy with them.

How did Concise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They work in an agile way, using Jira and Slack for project management and communication. We’ve had some delays due to our projects being more innovative and not standard.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with Concise Software’s project managers — they have a lot of experience. Overall, they’re much better than other development companies I’ve worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re hiring external IT people, and we would prefer it if they hired all of their IT developers in-house.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to work with Concise Software, you must be as professional as them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive at a motor vehicle manufacturing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Concise Software?

We needed help with custom software development for our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Concise Software created an internal web tool from scratch using WordPress. The product is meant to support our dealer network within the ongoing transformation. The platform has a statistics function and an employee-specific overview of processes — it's mainly a content management tool.

What is the team composition?

There were working with two members of their team, including a project manager who was responsible for the business side and a project lead from the technical department.

How did you come to work with Concise Software?

We found them via another agency. When we started the procurement process, we had a company, and they were the company behind it. With the first company we initially hired, we had some issues regarding compliance, and we directly hired Concise Software afterward.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent about €400,000 (approximately $421,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2018–January 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I highly appreciate that it was uncomplicated to work with them. Overall, I liked working with them, and I also enjoyed their involvement.

How did Concise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was almost perfect; we had weekly meetings to discuss what was happening, what updates we needed, and what further development was required. In terms of tools, they used Jira internally, which I also had access to, but I mainly worked with them through Microsoft Teams and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I always got a response to my feedback within two hours; that's something that I appreciated. We also had easy conversations, and there was very low bureaucracy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had one last large order at the end of last year; I wanted to have concrete details of how it would look, how they would develop it, and what the final result would be, but it took quite a long time. Other than that, everything was great from my perspective.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Build a relationship with them and communicate very often about what you think is good and what it isn't.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the brand manager for a beverage company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Concise Software?

We needed to redevelop our existing website to deliver state-of-the-art solutions for our demanding segment of customers. We also wanted it to have a fully accessible Drupal CMS.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Concise Software developed our website, both the frontend and backend. They also provided quality control and were in charge of the migration to the new server. Currently, they fix the bugs and do regular optimizations. The most demanding part of the project was integrating the product catalog that we gave them.

What is the team composition?

We initially had one point of contact. However, we’re a demanding client, so we decided to broaden the number of people that we could reach. We’re now in contact with a project manager, a senior developer, and a business development person.

How did you come to work with Concise Software?

I’m sure there was a pitch for this project, but I wasn’t a part of it.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2017, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website development went well, and the fact that our engagement has lasted more than four years speaks for itself. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve always managed to find a solution and maintained a really good business relationship with them by having a partnering attitude.

How did Concise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Concise Software always offers very professional and constructive communication; they’re very enjoyable to work with. We use Jira and communicate via email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Concise Software efficiently cooperates with third parties. Our engagement has required a flexible approach from their side throughout the years. It hasn’t always been easy, but they’ve been there for us to secure our interest in working with creative teams and some external providers.

Additionally, they have a proactive attitude when it comes to proposing solutions for some outstanding issues. We can always count on them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Concise Software wasn’t in charge of the design, but they weren’t excellent with the design implementation on site either. That’s something that brought up issues in our relationship.

Additionally, the QA of the finished tasks wasn’t the best, which resulted in many escalations. As I said, the communication was professional and constructive, but it required a lot of effort from our side to get there.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Check their competency upfront and verify your expectations to avoid any kind of misunderstandings. Additionally, take the initiative when it comes to improvements and day-to-day operations and optimizations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of a cybersecurity and cyberintelligence startup. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Concise Software?

We needed help creating our website, as well as with API integration. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Concise Software did the UI/UX programming of our WordPress website. They had help from another agency, but they focused on the technical setup and site maintenance. Additionally, they built an API integration that connected the site to a two-part drive. 

What is the team composition?

My primary contacts were Jakub (Project Manager) and the head of development. 

How did you come to work with Concise Software?

They were recommended to me by an investment partner.

How much have you invested with them?

We had spent around $15,000–$20,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from December 2020–February 2021. The main scope of work has been completed, but they continue to implement adjustments. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Concise Software kept the project on time and within budget, which was important for me. They had a very detailed process of making a plan for the project and they stuck to that. Additionally, they kept to our timeline and our collaboration had been good. 

How did Concise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated mostly by video conference and occasionally over the Figma bots through Slack where we reviewed drafts. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their work had been super satisfying. They performed excellently when they interacted with our external backend provider. When they needed help with the other team, they gave me a heads up so I could intervene at the right moment. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only part where we had to adjust was with their layout design. They made some drafts that showed how the page and its design would look, but they didn’t meet my expectations. That is why we added another agency to work on the UI/UX design. 

However, it wasn’t Concise Software’s fault, because we haven’t discussed it in the beginning as we thought we wouldn’t need it. Unfortunately, it didn’t proceed as we thought it would, but their team was flexible to accommodate our changes.   

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They pretty much know their stuff. From the design perspective, you have to be clear about your expectations and communicate with them if they could provide and include it in the project. Check upfront if they can deliver a task or if a task was included in the offer. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a IT Lead in a car rental price comparison. We have more 8 platforms to support the European Market and US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Concise Software, and what were your goals?

As a car rental price comparison, we have a lot of integrations with our partners. Currently, we are migrating these integrations from a legacy application.

We hired Concise to help us in one of those integrations, and the goals was implement several use cases to help in the communication between us (HAPPYCAR and our partner). Everything based on our base project/template, to keep every integration in the same standard.

SOLUTION

How did you select Concise Software and what were the deciding factors?

We already had worked with them in the same kind of project (for another partner). And based on this previous good experience, it was easy to decide work with them again.

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

Basically, the project involved an API communication, so we provided the partner documentation and another document mapping their (partner) domain with ours. The deliverables were per use case (e.g. book, search, cancel, etc). Also, the technologies used were: Typescript, NodeJS, Jest and Google Protobuf.

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

There were 2 people working with us: 1 developer and 1 Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Some feedbacks that we can give:

1. A bug was hard to find and fix, now it is easy because the code is much simpler;
2. The deployment before took ~4h, now takes ~5 minutes

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

The project management was great. We had a developer's replace during the project, and it was transparent for us. We communicated through Slack, JIRA and Github.

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

As I worked directly with the PM and the developer, for me the code quality and the communication were the most impressive things. If they had any question, normally they tried to do something by theirself before, so when they asked us, they already had some idea in mind about how to solve the issue.

Also, we just need to explain a task once to them. The communication was really good, and our meetings normally were enjoyful.

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

There are always space to improvements, but to be honest I don't have anything in mind now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an e-health startup digitizing neurological rehabilitation. I work as product owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Concise Software, and what were your goals?

We were a newly founded startup with a small team. For our minimal viable product we needed an experienced software agency who could provide the technical knowledge and staff which we didn’t have in-house.

SOLUTION

How did you select Concise Software and what were the deciding factors?

We did an online research on software agencies within Germany and Europe. Concise Software was recommended by a close friend which was a big advantage for the agency. After conducting interviews with different agencies, Concise Software had the best price performance ratio.

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

We had a kickoff meeting to discuss our goals, our company and the product vision. We also discussed the setup of the product and decided on a progressive web application for Safari & Google Chrome browsers. Based on our mockups we also added a designer to the project.

After a few iterations we developed a first set of final designs which were then passed on to the development team. After about 4 months with continuous feedback loops between the software team, designer, CEO and product owner, the MVP was ready to be launched. In the following 8 months we added important key features in a post-mvp phase continuously improved the product.

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

A technical project manager was our main point of contact. Besides him there were 2 back-end and 2 front-end developers as well as QA and DevOps. Depending on the priorities, speed and budget we were able to reduce or expand the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team was fast with the development process. I appreciated their flexibility in terms of team setup depending on our budget and time. Agencies can be a big risk as they are not involved in the day-to-day business and might not be aware of the business context.

However, the tech project manager tried to not only complete a task but also to see the bigger picture and came up with good solutions taking into consideration the company’s context.

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

We worked in 14-day sprints and therefore had a sprint planning meeting in the beginning and a sprint review meeting in the end of a sprint.

In the beginning, I mainly communicated with the tech manager but towards the end the team got more ‘familiar’ with me and direct communication was possible. We used Slack, Jira, Confluence, Github, which worked very well.

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

I liked the precise, honest and constructive communication. Especially with remote teams with different languages it is quite common that misunderstandings occur. However, with clear and effective communication I was able to quickly understand when the team was blocked and what their questions were.

Also, it was very helpful for the collaboration that the agency is very structured, has clear processes and communicates those to the client. They delivered a high quality product.

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

The final costs exceeded the original cost estimate. This was partly due to our own changes in strategy and requirements. However, several bugs and their fixing also added up to the total costs. Concise’s development process, including Q&A, can increase costs while pivoting quite easily, and needs to be considered especially when building an MVP with several iterations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Industry Sales Lead at a German consulting company. My experience consulting unit designs and develops digital products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Concise Software, and what were your goals?

We were developing an after sales knowledge system for one of our clients as a web application. Goal: Deliver the client an easy to use solution which will be responsible for keeping all of the procedures, processes and company internal information in one place. Once digitised, these different procedures and processes will be always up to date and available for all employees across the world.

SOLUTION

How did you select Concise Software and what were the deciding factors?

It was another project in which we worked together. We had good experience and the new projects matched their abilities.

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

Development team prepared an architecture of web app, focusing on business needs requirements, data integration & security, and application quality. The team has built the application and is still maintaining it.

The Quality Assurance Specialist ensured product quality. The Project Manager dealt with requirements analysis and team management. Concise Software provided us with technical consulting services and also advised us which web technology will be the best choice for this kind of application.

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

3. Senior Web developer, one quality assurance specialist, and one PM.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The software product was delivered and accepted by the client, met all requirements. We went over budget. On a general scheme, we calulated efforts, then client cut budget, but we did not reduce the effort enough. So we ended up with nearly the same budget like planned originally.

From a project management point of view, this is something to improve. Deliverables were generally within our quality standards.

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

The project was managed by me & our Product Owner and Tech Project Manager from Concise’s side. The style was very pragmatic. We got fast replies to our request and we could rely on the fact, that they never would bury important topics. Timelines we mostly accurate.

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

Their fast answers, can-do attitude, easy setup, and good quality were traits of an amazing team.

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

Calculate with more reserve. And find ways to offer agile packages (I want to buy sprints).

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a former Chief Marketing Officer of Rambus - American technology company that designs, develops and licenses chip interface technologies and architectures that are used in digital electronics products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Concise Software?

We were developing Pay&Go mobile apps - users could collect all goods and with the app (by scanning barcodes) make a payment and leave the store. No store member interaction was needed. Scope of another project which we developed together with Concise was a cross platform SaaS solution to be integrated by 3rd party merchants into their e-commerce websites and if applicable mobile apps (iOS + Android). Goal of this solution is to allow online payment combined with a loyalty program.

What were your goals for this project?

Enabling retailers to create a unified payment application for both online and in-store payment through a single secure mobile wallet, our team creates a frictionless shopping experience for consumers. Main goal: making the in-store and online payment check-out and payment process hassle free by digitizing payment, gift, loyalty cards as well as coupons and receipts. Once digitized, these different payment currencies can be unified into a single transaction.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were advised to work with the Concise Software team by one of our partners.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

First project: Mobile Development team prepared an architecture of mobile apps, focusing on business needs requirements, data integration & security, and application quality. The team has built the applications and maintained them. Second project: Web team prepared an architecture of web app (Angular), focusing on business needs requirements, data integration & security, and application quality. The team has built the applications and maintained them so far. Quality Assurance Specialist ensured product quality. Project Manager dealt with requirements analysis and team management. Concise Software provided us with technical consulting services helping us to overcome integration challenges that emerged during the project. That team built the Android and iOS native mobile applications, integrated it, and ensured its security on time.

What was the team composition?

First project: Two senior Android developers, two senior iOS developers, one quality assurance specialist, and one PM. Second project: Four senior angular developers, one quality assurance specialist, and one PM.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our engagement accelerated time to market and enabled us to deploy live at scale.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was managed by our Product Owner from our side and Tech Project Manager from Concise’ side. This was a very effective set-up.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Development seniority level, communication skills, ability to travel (they were able to work from our Rotterdam office many times).

Are there any areas for improvement?

We have already recommended Concise Software, so they only should keep up with the good job they are doing.