Cultum

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

skefto is an Australian based company that delivers software products and services focussed on enabling improved performance, strategy and planning. My position is the Director of Innovation and Strategy at skefto leading the product strategy and development of the platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Cultum to deliver end to end software development services for the group-up development a strategy, planning and performance platform - skefto.com. Key services included:

• System architecture
• System design
• Web development (React)
• Backend components (Node - API Architecture (GraphQL, RESTful API)
• Database architecture
• Deplyoment and infrastructure support Our goals for the project were to:
  • Build minimum viable product to enable the sale of a strategy, planning & performance solution that is able to be used enterprise wide
  • Build minimum viable product that addresses a range of non-functional requirements such as usability, user experience, security, availability, scalability and performance
  • Provide an MVP analytics solution & reporting capability through integration with common 3rd party reporting tools

SOLUTION

How did you select Cultum and what were the deciding factors?

We selected Cultum after a rigorous interview process that was facilitated through upwork. Cultum presented many benefits however the key deciding factors included:

• Cultum's focus on innovation and use of the latest technologies
• Demonstrated experience and capability working on large complex projects
• High quality language skills
• Willingness to work with other 3rd party agencies involved in the project
• Professional, punctual, and organised
• Mature software development processes and in particular in Agile/SCRUM
• Having a pool of technical resources with a diverse set of skills
• Commitment (they often worked after hours and on weekends to meet deadlines)
• Transparent and open

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

Functional deliverables include:

• Build an enterprise software platform based on a series of user stories in an agile environment
• Build a series of end user and administrator web screens and functions
• Build a set of web-services/APIs that for communications between the web and database
• Database design and build
• Built prototypes for demonstration & review Non-functional deliverables include:
  • - Deliver Solution Architecture design
  • Deliver Web Services / API architecture
  • Enforcing best practice design patterns (e.g. single-container, sidecar, ambassador etc)
  • Enforcing security controls for use in application (e.g. encryption)
  • Ensuring the platform is build with strong scalability, resiliency and performance
  • Ensure responsive design is used when developing the platform for cross browser and multi device compatibility
  • Source code control and versioning
  • Deployment into Development, Testing and Production environments
  • Unit, security, scalability and performance testing Core technologies utilised include:
    • JavaScript
    • React.js
    • HTML5 / CSS3
    • RESTful APIs
    • NodeJS - Agile / Unit Testing
    • GraphQL - DevOps / Docker
    • GIT lab
    • Trello
    • PostgreSQL
    • Power BI Embedded
    • AWS, Azure and Digital Ocean

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

Worked closely throughout the project with a dedicated project lead. Overall, there were 3 full time staff working across this project. Their details include:

• 1 x project lead and full stack developer and DBA
• 1 x front end web developer
• 1 x back end/API developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Over a 2 years period we adopted an Agile methodology to incrementally build and deliver improved versions of the platform. We exceeded our core projects goals to deliver a minimum viable product that met our customers functional, non-functional and analytics requirements.

Key results that our project is delivering for our clients include:

• Providing a platform that provides a basis for improved performance, strategy and planning.
• Providing a state-of-the-art user interface and a highly engaging user experience.
• Providing a platform that provides both insightful and engaging visualisations, reports and dashboards
• Providing a tool that allow for high levels of configuration
• Providing a robust security model
• Providing a system that is scalable and performs well under heavy load

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

We adopted and Agile SCRUM project methodology and scheduled formal virtual stand-ups meetings 3 times per week. In between the formal meetings we also connected with various team members as required during each sprint.

We used Trello to manage the product backlog and drive the SDLC which included design, build, testing and release. Gitlab was used to manage source control. Most importantly the team at Cultum was willing to meet at any time and work above and beyond their call of duty.

We often collaborated and worked after hours and on weekends to meet project deadlines.

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

The thing that impressed me most about Cultum was their ethics and commitment to keeping their promise to us. Throughout the project Cultum maintained a strong commitment to meeting our project goals within the allocated timeframe and budget.

They were extremely transparent and always collaborated effectively often raising issues, opportunities for improvement and associated solutions. In working with many developers over a 20-year period we can confidently state that Cultum is well placed to deliver great results across any software development project.

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

Whilst Cultum provided a high-quality solution architecture we were required to refactor some of the database queries to improve performance and system response times. When opportunities to improve performance were identified Cultum delivered a solution in a timely fashion.

The result was 4 times the speed of the original solution. In the end if we had spent a little bit more time on solution architecture at the beginning of the project it may have alleviated the need for refactoring down the track.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m VP Services of a B2B web platform that helps advertising and marketing agencies attract new clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cultum?

We engaged Cultum to develop a React-based website for one of our clients. The first development team for this project did not meet expectations for optimal architecture.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to set up a new system architecture to support a fast and responsive website. The site needed to be easy to maintain and expand.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found them through a recommendation.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Cultum focused on the system architecture and frontend development. For the latter, they created responsive page designs for a variety of devices and resolutions.

What was the team composition?

We worked with two-full time developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team was highly experienced and able to deliver within reasonable timelines. As a result, the improved site increased our client’s conversion rates and sales. Communication between teams was seamless.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The staff was exceptionally qualified and extremely dedicated. We interacted directly with the software engineers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The code quality was consistently excellent.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

We haven't been able to identify any areas they can improve on.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of an e-commerce marketplace

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired cultum to build the front-end for our marketplace mobile app.

SOLUTION

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

We have worked with Cultum previously in the past and we love their quality of work, attention to detail, and price point. We love working with them.

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

We provided their team with designs and requirements. They delivered a working prototype in a few weeks and we continued to flesh out the rest of the application. React Native was the primary technology

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

2 Lead developers and 2 engineers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The deliverables were exactly what we wanted.

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

Communication and project management was excellent. They're all fluent in English so there were no pains there.

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

Their development skills, in general, are exceptional.

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

None that I can think of. It was a smooth journey