CookieDev

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of BLACKDOT. We are a social media mobile application featuring location based stories and posts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CookieDev?

My company hired CookieDev about a year ago and they have been my one stop shop for every service I could have imagined, related to mobile app development. From UX/UI to development and backend, they are very well versed in this field!

What were your goals for this project?

My goal was to develop BLACKDOT. This app was built to solve a huge problem faced by social media users which is the ability to search locations they’ve visited and to view the content they posted while at that location, all on an interactive map.

SOLUTION

How did you select CookieDev?

I selected CookieDev through UpWork. I interviewed a number of companies and between experience, price and receptiveness, Stepan stood out the most. He, being the CEO of the company, was very easy to talk to and gave me the confidence I needed to move forward.

Describe the project in detail.

I have been in contact with the CEO of CookieDev, Stepan, who has been heavily involved in the project every step of the way. We have daily meetings via Skype, five days a week, to go over the progress as well as address any topics that need to be discussed.

Between Stepan and his staff, they’ve not only provided the services that were expected, ie. the development of the app, they’ve tested the app, sent test builds to me for my approval, walked me through the entire process from obtaining different service providers needed within the app, ie. email and phone verification providers, etc. and have been very insightful along the way.

After discussing the project and providing initial designs, CookieDev took over and put those designs in digital format. BLACKDOT in particular required unique features which integrated various SDK’s and API’s all of which the team was able to implement seamlessly. We created BLACKDOT in both iOS and Android platforms as well as created a landing page.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of the CEO, his assistant, Android and iOS developers, web developer, designer, and a team of testers. The size of the team never changed, in fact, they added more staff to ensure the project was released on time and efficiently.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have successfully launched BLACKDOT! It is now available on App Store and Google Play. The success of the app has been amazing! We have exceeded our expectations with the number of users we gain each day. Since the project in still ongoing, we are improving the app and adding features every week!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow is effortless. We are in constant communication between our daily calls, group chat and emails. I live in New York and they are in Ukraine, having that said, I have never felt that there has been a hiccup in communication or project management.

In fact, CookieDev has made themselves available during odd hours of the night, since there is a time difference, to ensure that I was satisfied with the progress and direction we were going in. Aside from normal communication, we used a program called Figma which had the wireframe for the app as well as Trello which held cards for various stages of the project.

During our daily calls, feedback was received very well, in fact, their feedback was very valuable and helped me make the right decisions on other aspects of the app that they were not tasked with being involved in such as which cloud service to choose for the stage of the project I was in.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I love that Stepan and his team have worked tirelessly on ensuring the success of BLACKDOT. They not only look at me as a client, but a good friend. After a year of constant communication, how could that not be possible!

What I found to be most impressive is how well the entire team is experienced in what they do and sometimes, without having mentioned what I expect, they delivered! They listen, they understand! You will get a lot of people who treat you like clients, but very rarely would someone advise you on places to cut costs. They have been that for me as well.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not at all, they know exactly what they’re doing! I am glad I had the opportunity to work with CookieDev on my very first mobile app venture. They have made this an amazing experience! We are already discussing our next project together!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a mobile app development firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CookieDev?

I was looking for staff augmentation and outsourced development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did native app development in Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android. They also had project manager that worked with me directly. The team also worked with me on design.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two project managers and three developers.

How did you come to work with CookieDev?

I’ve worked with 15 different agencies over the years so I’ve developed a skillset for weeding through them. I talked with their founder and they had great development skills, clear communication, and they really understood my problems right away. Their attention to detail was great.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $30,000–$40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019, and we wrapped up in May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to get things that I’ve described without having me to explain it in depth. In the app store, they got 4.7 out of five-star reviews. Our team internally is very happy with the apps that we’ve delivered. Customer feedback has been pretty great as well.

How did CookieDev perform from a project management standpoint?

We have daily standup meetings that we use to touch base. We use Slack for communication and Trello for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It feels really hands-off working with them. They really understand the problem set we’re working with. We tell them where the pain point is and they take it from there to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no. I’ve had a great experience with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Like working with any development agency, understand what you’re trying to accomplish. The more clearly you can define that, the better results you’re going to have with the team that you work with.