DECODE

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Bizzon is a SaaS company that has built a series of market leading capabilities to support merchants in their pursuit of having loyal, happy customers. Bizzon brings buyers and sellers together, building long term, loyal relationships. My role is to make sure that the tech team both internal and external help with achieving our strategic business goals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DECODE HQ?

We hired DECODE to help us develop iOS and Android applications for our platform. One of the key challenges was application’s communication with an external receipt printer and DECODE had a good track record of hardware-related projects.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to create a modern application as a front end to our platform with an excellent UX and ease of use, that would enable merchants and their customers seamless payment process experience. The application was one of the key factors for the uptake of our platform.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

DECODE came highly recommended by trustworthy business associates. I got to know the founders, spent some time talking to them and their staff and they were able to demonstrate their expertise and reliability through references and domain know-how. We personally selected DECODE’s engineers for the project.

Describe the project in detail.

One of the project’s main goals was to add receipt fiscalisation and printing capabilities to our platform by the means of the mobile application, turning the phone/table into a POS device aimed at restaurants.

The application is a native iOS and Android app. DECODE also needed to develop drivers for low-level communication with fiscal modules and printers. These needed to be adjusted and tweaked for different countries and hardware manufacturers.

What was the team composition?

DECODE’s team consisted of 1 iOS and 1 Android engineers that worked closely with our UX designer, hardware providers and the platform engineering team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Application releases have been happening according to the plan, even ahead of it, enabling us to roll out new features frequently. The usability was very good so we were able to onboard new users easily.

The short time to market also allowed us to enter new markets so we are now present in over 300 restaurants across Europe.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

DECODE’s developers were very autonomous and standalone in their work, demonstrating great seniority in communication, especially with the device vendors. We used productivity platforms of DECODE’s choice and the communication in the team was just swell, no matter what channel was used.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were impressed by DECODE’s technical expertise and in-depth knowledge of mobile app development. Over time we also got to know them as a reliable partner, the one that delivers and is transparent in their communication.

Their staff shown broader engineering skills, beyond just “mere” software development, like analytical approach, diligent troubleshooting and the willingness to learn fast.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Looking back at the collaboration with DECODE, there’s nothing specific I could single out as a problem or challenge.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are one of the longest-lasting telecom software vendors. We are powering more than 1,000 service providers globally, including tier-1 telecom operators. I am a director of engineering in charge of client products for mobile phones and desktops.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DECODE HQ?

We hired DECODE to work jointly with our in-house engineering team on improving the existing and develop new mobile products for Android and iOS platforms.

What were your goals for this project?

Our mobile communication clients had to provide carrier-grade group communications services to network operators by blending the native dialer of the smartphone with network-based voice and messaging, multiple personas, unified communications, and collaboration. Mobile apps complement our backend platforms enabling us to offer an end-to-end solution to our customers. We want mobile clients to be state-of-the-art, having superb UX and quality of service.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We compiled a list of potential vendors for the project, based mostly on referrals and previous experiences from our organization’s members. Initially, there were 3 vendors which we contacted and reviewed, 2 of which went through a thorough selection process involving senior members of the engineering organization (VP level). Decisive points for choosing DECODE were their agility, previous experience in similar projects and expertise demonstrated in the selection process.

Describe the project in detail.

DECODE were responsible for design and implementation of enhancements and features of Android and iOS apps based on specifications and UI/UX designs provided by us.

What was the team composition?

Changed over time depending on our demands - 1 or 2 leads, with 3-7 engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We managed to have the first version of one of our new apps ready for commercial trials in well under a year of starting to work with DECODE and maintained a steady release cycle over the next year adhering to the highest quality standards. The UX and the overall usability of our apps increased significantly as a result of DECODE augmenting our development capacities. We are seeing low numbers of bugs and issues in the apps and DECODE are addressing them promptly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

DECODE team members are embedded in our engineering process, using the same development and collaboration tools like our staff (e.g. Jira, Slack, etc.). Inter-teams' communication was smooth and effective, especially between our designers and DECODE’s developers. We held regular conference calls and face-to-face meetings when needed. DECODE engineers’ work attitude and professional ethics met our expectations, very similar to our own and we experienced no cultural or any other discrepancies. With DECODE being based in mainland Europe, we only had 1-hour time difference which posed no practical problem.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

DECODE are one of our most trusted suppliers and we’re pleased to have them as a partner. They have built a reputation as supplying quality code at the exacting standards we expect of our own developers. Working with DECODE is a pleasure. Their expertise on iOS and Android is excellent and as well as working well with my team they’ve also presented workshops on mobile development to help train up my less experienced engineers.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Our collaboration with DECODE was excellent. One area that we’d like to extend is testing and we’d like to see DECODE taking on more responsibility for not just unit testing, but fully owning functional testing as well and we are already working with them on making that happen.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of Vitastiq Inc, an Indiegogo-backed lifestyle product startup from Zagreb, Croatia. Vitastiq is a company behind the world's first personal gadget that helps track your vitamin and mineral trend using a smartphone. Vitastiq provides information about 26 vitamins and minerals and their natural sources.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DECODE HQ?

A companion mobile application is a crucial part of our product that is based on the vitamin tracking device. As a consumer product startup, we didn’t have the needed software engineering capabilities in house, so we hired DECODE to build the mobile application for us.

What were your goals for this project?

As a startup, we wanted our innovative product to grow fast. A mobile app is the only way to consume the device’s readings and derive value from them, so it was of utmost importance for us to be simple, intuitive and superb in usability and UX. The mobile app development project had a major impact on our company’s overall business, right next to the device itself.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found ourselves in a position where we had to disengage from our initial app vendor on account of their inability to deliver such a demanding project. DECODE came highly recommended from our hardware platform vendor, who had done business with them before and were convinced in their capability. It was DECODE’s agility, overall technical expertise and previous experience with mobile-connected devices that made our core team decide to go with them.

Describe the project in detail.

We had the hardware figured out but we were looking for a dependable partner to develop the app that would sync with the hardware pen that scans vitamin and mineral levels. The goal of the app was to display and track the data from the vitamin checks and help their users make educated decisions about their health.

Accurate and reliable communication between the mobile phone (app) and the pen was one of the key technical requirements. In addition to implementing native mobile applications for iOS and Android, 3 different versions for each platform, DECODE also worked with our team on the backend web system. DECODE also provided consultancy on all technical aspects of the product.

What was the team composition?

DECODE’s team consisted of 1 Android, 1 iOS developer and a technical lead that managed the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first app versions were more than good enough to attract early adopters, technology enthusiast, and journalists - WIred named us “the coolest thing in their office” at the time. Based on that initial feedback and learnings, we worked with DECODE on quickly releasing subsequent versions with improvements and new features, which led to thousands of downloads in the first months.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Working with DECODE was no different than working with our own staff. The communication was very open, both ways, which enabled us all to be very efficient. Our offices are literally “across the street”, so most of our meetings and workshops were face to face. DECODE delivered on their promises, making set deadlines with no exceptions and being much more than “just” a vendor, a true partner.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

While working on Vitastiq, DECODE pulled all the stops. Of course, they delivered the project, but what’s also important is the relationship with us and the way they work. Their communication was highly responsive, they were proactive and had that youthful zeal. I don’t know how they did it, but the whole time we were working together, we felt like we were their only client!

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only thing I “regret” about working with DECODE was not knowing them earlier so we could have hired them from the very beginning.