Darwoft

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a hardware company that imports advanced security systems from China. They’re joint cameras with alarms and sensors. I’m in charge of choosing our products, speaking with suppliers, managing sales, and handling any necessary follow up.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Darwoft?

We wanted to develop an app specifically for the South American market. The platform needed a simple and clear UX design that would allow us to easily add new features.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They assisted us in building iOS and Android versions of a mobile application for our South American customers’ security systems. They continue to support our development, and they even connected us with another vendor to complete the backend build.

Once users link the app to the security hardware, they can stream audio and video content, control zoom settings and sensors, manage their memory card, send messages, add new cameras, and more. Basically, it acts as an overarching administrative system for all of the user’s security hardware.

What is the team composition?

We work with two developers.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

One of my partners works in the software business, and he recommended them. I reached out and shared the details of our project. Their flexibility and communication skills solidified my decision to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent between $10,000–49,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2018, and they’re providing ongoing support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, it was a positive experience. Before working with Darwoft, we were a bit restrained in terms of our capabilities, but with their I help, we were able to introduce new features to the market. They made us more independent and helped us achieve our goals. The app offers a wide variety of new functions. For example, the platform will send alerts if any of the cameras stop working. The additional elements give us a competitive edge in the market.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very timely. We suggested that we use Slack and Pivotal Tracker to manage the project, and Darwoft adjusted their workflow to accommodate those platforms right away. They were receptive to feedback and really listened to our requests, so we worked very well together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They offer a very personalized service, which is generally hard to find in bigger companies. They willingly adapted their approach to fit our needs and requirements. I was confident that we’d be happy with the final product because they paid such close attention to our requests. Additionally, I appreciated their level of professionalism.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We run a large consumer-facing website that generates leads for business and straddles a B2B/B2C role. The niches we fill include home services and content publication. I’m the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Darwoft?

We hired them as an external development arm to supplement our team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The content on our site includes information about thousands of services providers. Darwoft helps with ongoing redesigns of our websites, various site updates, and the maintenance of its functionalities. They are responsible for software and backend development related to custom modules in JavaScript, PHP, and CSS3 for the Drupal platforms we use, and they recently moved our backend server from Rackspace to Pantheon.

What is the team composition?

They support us with two to three developers.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

The developers we worked with previously were in the States, but they charged more than we felt comfortable spending. We decided to search for new development teams in Latin America, mostly because of the similarity in time zones. We initially contacted their sales team and spoke with one of their leaders fairly quickly. They impressed us with their presentation, so we decided to use one of their developers on a trial basis. There was a steep learning curve at first, but they worked extremely hard and we saw a lot of benefit in working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend in the neighborhood of $10,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration started around September 2016 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They help us with major redesign, and we’re still in the process of restructuring our backend server system. The work they’ve done already makes us look more professional, and we like the arrangement we have with them. If we discover a particularly challenging issue, they will call upon other members of their team and ultimately come up with solutions. We’re very pleased with the quality of their work.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Trello was the most convenient project management tool for us, and communication is good. I work directly with the developer, which is easier than working through a project manager. The only occasional drawback occurs while they are focused on solving problems and creating new functionality. Though there are occasional gaps in their responsiveness, I find this arrangement much more practical than talking through a middleman.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The biggest key strength is their commitment and willingness to work hard to meet our goals. They work late into the night or early in the morning to solve any critical issues. Even though they’re working on contract, they are as involved as any member of our internal team and put forth every effort to get good end results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are occasional communication lapses, but that is to be expected from any vendor. They’re very good, and I don’t have anything I think they should change.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a company dedicated to technology design and development—websites, web apps, etc. I’m the president, with a team of designers and coders, though we also outsource some projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Darwoft?

We have been working with them for some years now, outsourcing some of our development projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve worked on web and mobile application development. Various projects have used Drupal, WordPress, and PHP.

What is the team composition?

It depends on the project. For example, a WordPress project may involve two developers. It’s different according to the needs of the project.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

They were recommended to us by a freelance developer we used to work with. We worked with them on one project, and as we got to know them better, we began to trust them with larger tasks.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve been working with them for so long that it’s hard to remember. It’s around $15,000–$20,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them 10 years ago and our collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their engineers are very well versed in several technologies, which has helped us a lot in our projects. They’re great at adapting to different projects and are very flexible. Their commitment is important to us—they’ve never let us down during any of the projects; they’ve done everything to make them work.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s improved over time. When we started, it was a little informal, but we’ve since started using project management tools. Though they weren’t very organized at the beginning of our collaboration, we’re now very comfortable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Often with technology projects, plans are made but end up getting changed. That causes troubles with resources and budgets. However, Darwoft has always been able to adapt and help us find solutions. We solve problems together, which I find really valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could still improve on their project management and communications skills.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Project Manager of Leonisa

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Marketing and production of lingerie.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Darwoft to accomplish?

• Support us in all the life-cycle of development and design thinking for early stages
• Development in our APP

SOLUTION

How did you find Darwoft?

RFP

Why did you select Darwoft over others?

• Company values aligned
• For the experience and knowledge about mobile applications

How many teammates from Darwoft were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The main functionalities are the following (MVP): 

• Login
• Country Selector
• Onboarding
• Lateral Menu
• Campaign Dates
• Type of order
• See Balance
• Share Catalogs
• Create Clients
• Import client
• Customer payment management
• Seeker
• Order tracking
• Grades
• Notifications
• My Networks
• 3 Recommenders
• Progress bar
• My order
• Audit
• POL-MAP order synchronization

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We implement a Scrum methodology, and each sprint, we have a Review meeting. In those meetings, the team showed the increment of scope and functionalities progress, and they were accepted or refused by the Product Owner. We had a timeline and due date for our APP launching, and we accomplished this.

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

Yes, Always. The communication and time of delivery the expected and planned in our project.

What was your primary form of communication with Darwoft?

Virtual Meeting

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

The human quality. They were always involved in our commitments and found the best option to help us with our challenges. More than a provider, they are a partner.

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

No… just Keep doing a very good job and maintain a good relationship with their customers.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an Executive at Qtalent

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A talent discover app that matches employers and top technical talent in the food & beverage manufacturing industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Darwoft to accomplish?

Build a web app for two user groups - Job Seekers & Employers with a smart algorithm recommender matching tool

SOLUTION

How did you find Darwoft?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Darwoft over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

What was the size of Darwoft’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

Build a two-sided web app talent discovery tool with functionality for job seekers to build a profile and be matched via a smart algorithm recommender to employers. Search for jobs and companies via map search and filter / boolean search. And allow Employers to find and source and be matched to relevant job seekers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sprints were on time and within budget.

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

Yes, very responsive. On time, on budget. Well organized, communication and follow-ups.

What was your primary form of communication with Darwoft?

Virtual Meeting

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

Talent of their team, culture fit, and performance drive. Fun and easy to work with at the same time a high performance culture delivering great products and ideas and solutions beyond our product.

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

Nothing stands out.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The company is a software development center specialized in security. My role was manager of the team were the Darwoft members joined.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Darwoft?

We are a QA team for company, we focus our activities in manual and automation testing. We were in a peak of work and we need to add capacity to our team.

What were your goals for this project?

Improve quality and reduce the amount of manual intervention required to integrate various products.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We receive feedback from others colleagues so we requested a quotation from different vendors and choose Darwoft due to the feedback received, the price and the availability.

Describe the project in detail.

Darwoft was responsible for analyzing the existing code and to provide the changes needed to migrate from Python 2.7 to Python 3.0 Deliverables

What was the team composition?

2 resources with knowledge in QA, QA automation and Python Development

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work between the teams was fluent and there were no distinction in knowledge and priorities. At every step of the way, members from both sides worked as a unit, aiming to the same direction, sharing information, and learning from each other.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We requested that the resources joins our team physically to speed up the rampup. So the communication and workflow was effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Open communication, open to get feedback, company compromise.

Are there any areas for improvement?

N/A