Delta Systems

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a former website development consultant for Mayo Enterprises.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Elevato?

We engaged Elevato to create a website design that enables trade unions to advertise apprenticeship positions. Our primary goals were to target highly qualified individuals for these positions and minimize the number of questions people called in with. We also wanted to advertise these positions to a wider audience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I worked as the liaison between the nonprofit and Elevato, so I was responsible for taking the end client’s requirements and communicating them to the team. After interviewing members of the apprenticeship program from each trade union, I compiled their goals and created a presentation showing a brief overview of the site architecture and flow. 

Then, Elevato created the website using custom code, which is now open to the public. They were also responsible for the front- and backend design and the website’s backend is hosted on AWS. The website has three levels of architecture. The primary level is a general level that provides descriptions of each apprenticeship, while the secondary level outlines the details of each trade. The trades include bricklaying, electrical work, sheet metal forming, and others. 

Each apprenticeship program has different processes, geographic boundaries, qualifications, and pay levels. When users are interested in a particular trade, they can navigate to our site to figure out the application process. The team also created a feature that enables users to submit their addresses, where the site automatically redirects them to the correct union page. They did this by digitizing a combination of printed maps and putting them in a database. 

Elevato has also helped with website maintenance and hosting. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and individual developers who worked on the frontend design, backend coding, and graphic design. 

How did you come to work with Elevato?

I had worked with them on multiple projects when they were under a different company name. They demonstrated expertise in decision-making algorithms that take data and display different results, which was important for this project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $30,000 with Elevato. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–December 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Elevato met my expectations for the website perfectly and did an excellent job with the back-and frontend design and development. The frontend is beautiful and looks fabulous on mobile, far better than the initial drawings I supplied. They did a bang-up job, and we received a lot of compliments regarding the website’s ease of use and straightforward navigation. 

We showcased the website at a conference and received several dozen business cards from other unions who wanted to be featured on the site. When we presented to the unions, we thought they'd be all excited about the amount of information and content on the site, but they were most thrilled about the map and address feature because it directed users to the correct unions, which decreased call volume. We anticipate that the project will receive additional funding as a result of the excitement. 

Prior to engaging Elevato, the system to apply for trade union apprenticeships was arcane, convoluted, and manual. Those interested in apprenticeship programs would have to frequent the trade union’s office in person to speak with a representative. Now, we’ve been able to open up apprenticeship opportunities online and mirror a similar process similar to online job applications. 

How did Elevato perform from a project management standpoint?

Elevato worked diligently to accomplish tasks before each deadline. They were clear communicators, and we went through minimal revisions. I handled the QA process, and any issues I found were very minor technical glitches. I sent them a list of fixes that they executed quickly. They were responsive to my input, and I really valued their degree of honesty and transparency. We communicated via email and Zoom. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Elevato has an impressive ability to take complicated data from various sources and figure out how to execute it with code. They orchestrated fabulous solutions. For example, they found a way to create a map with more specific pins than just a general zip code. They created several algorithms and probability functions to plot pins on more specific spots of a map to show users how close they were to a certain job and which public transit routes could take them there.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were stretches of time when they didn’t respond to my emails for a couple of days due to being out of the office, so I recommend they add a backup person to respond to emails and provide status updates. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Elevato is a very sophisticated firm, so if you’re looking for the cheapest option possible, they’re not going to be a good fit. I encourage you to engage them for more complex jobs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Real Thread, a custom apparel printing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We were looking for someone to help with a database integration project to integrate our database with some of our key vendors. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them documentation to start with regarding the general language and systems. Technologies being used on the project were Ruby on Rails and PostgreSQL. The project is finished for the most part, but they are offering maintenance and taking care of anything small that comes up. 

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with an engineer. 

How did you come to work with Entrision?

They reached out to us initially over email, and we replied to the email. We spoke on the phone later and decided to move forward with the project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $80,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we’re pretty happy with everything they’ve done, and we consider it a successful project. 

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication has been strong, and they do a good job of letting us know when things come up. There have been a  few minor issues along the way, but that was to be expected. We’ve been able to work through them, and Entrision has come up with great solutions. We use Google Meet and email for communication. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have strong communication skills, and they’ve been reliable. They’ve been a good agency to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that we can come up with at this point.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an IT project manager for an electrical construction company. We are nationwide and specialize in large-scale projects such as data centers and hospitals. I support the business technology department. We develop software applications to help achieve business goals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We needed help to develop a custom application for employees to use. We wanted the app to disseminate company information such as news items and include features such as time off requests. We also wanted Entrision to help train our graphic designer on specific tools and methods they use to increase our design proficiency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Entrision developed a mobile app for us from the ground up, and it’s compatible with iOS and Android. We had a solid idea of how we wanted the site to look and function and communicated our needs to Entrision. We provided them with our initial click-throughs and requirements documentation, and they reviewed them.

They worked with our graphic designer to create a series of mock-ups for the application design. Their mobile software developers mainly focused on UI development, and our internal developers worked on the backend. They used Figma and taught our graphic designer how to use the tool effectively. 

They also provided us with consulting services for general mobile app deployment. Mobile apps are not our competency, so we met with their Android and Apple experts, who instructed us on how to deploy the application.

What is the team composition?

We work with a graphic designer, the owner, two mobile software developers, and a project manager who facilitates communication. 

How did you come to work with Entrision?

My manager knew we needed mobile app expertise because it’s not our strongest competency, so he sent out an RFP. Entrision responded to the RFP, and we interviewed them and moved forward with the partnership.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested roughly $120,000 in the engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in April 2022, and the project end date is set for August 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure success by the percentage of stories brought to completion within any given sprint and whether we are hitting our release dates. Entrision has met each deadline, and they’re very well versed in mobile app development.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

We wasted some time at the beginning of the project, but once Entrision started working, they produced deliverables immediately. We held daily stand-up meetings and had sprints, sprint reviews, demos, and planning meetings. They meet deadlines and stay within budget. Their communication has been very effective. We have a recurring meeting with the owner to review progress; he always implements my suggestions. We use Jira to manage the project and communicate via Teams. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been impressed with their communication. Having such constant and reliable contact at the owner level has been excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing they could improve on. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend engaging Entrision when you’re ready to start the project. We brought them on before we were prepared and wasted some time as a result.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of HelpStay, a travel company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We needed some work done on the backend of our website. We needed a company that could do customized programming to rectify and make a few improvements in our backend technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started the engagement with an initial phone call with Entrision, wherein we went over the programming tasks that we needed them to do on the backend of our platform, which is a web-based application written in Ruby on Rails.

Entrision then started implementing improvements and additional features to our platform. They also offered a lot of help with server migration and database integration and upgrade. Additionally, they upgraded our server to the latest version of Linux.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and a developer from Entrision.

How did you come to work with Entrision?

Entrision reached out to us a few years ago. We decided to reach out to them regarding this project because we felt that they aligned with our organization’s values.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $15,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April 2022–May 2022.
  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were incredibly happy with the quality of Entrision’s work.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

Entrision performed well in terms of project management. They met all of our deadlines, and they did exactly what they said they were going to do. They also documented their work properly. Overall, our technical team was very satisfied with Entrision’s work and the timeframe they delivered the project.

We typically communicated through Slack, and we used Google Sheets for reporting.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with Entrision’s professionalism and trustworthiness. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we have no complaints.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CTO of a mid-sized health insurance intermediary.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

Our company had a platform that was built by 4–5 developers over the years. As a result, it was poorly architected and had quite a few bugs. As our business processes change, we needed a team to update the app to work with our changing requirements. 

To elaborate, we previously hired a different team, and our teams were trying to migrate the software to the Salesforce platform. It was a mess: we weren’t utilizing many technologies well, and only one person out of 100 people knew what the platform did. Even that person only knew the platform from a business perspective; she was frequently wrong about its functionality. Given that, we hired Entrision to serve as both our architect and developer with a high level of competency. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Entrision updated our platform using Ruby on Rails. They worked with minimal documentation, and the code was an absolute wreck at that time — I didn’t envy the job they had to do. 

In terms of functionality, the platform could help insurers fill out the right paperwork for them to get licensed and become our ready-to-sell agents. The platform would also check whether the insurer had the right licenses. It automated these processes, and our team simply needed to ask insurers to provide their national provider number. The system would automatically determine whether or not the insurer qualified for our program. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Derek (Founder) and a project manager. Derek served as our main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Entrision?

I had a list of companies that might fit the bill in terms of the code we needed, and I contacted each of them. When I contacted Entrision, the experience was so seamless. Their website had a chatbot that instantly brought me to a sales representative, who took my call right then and there. 

That representative also talked with a high level of confidence around the problems we had, what it might take to resolve them, and what our next steps would be. Within 15 minutes, we determined exactly what we’d do. That experience spoke to me. The efficiency configured within their business processes ultimately sold me to the partnership; it proved to me that they knew what they were doing, so I hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested over $10,000–$20,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in March 2021, and I left the company in September 2021. As far as I know, their engagement with my previous company is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The developer from Entrision was highly competent. He sat down with me, and we spent a good chunk of time talking through the code and discussing its functionality. In the end, he was able to correct the platform’s features and fix bugs. 

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

For project management, I asked Entrision to operate in a unique way and I was thankful they accommodated it. We spent 15 hours a week sitting and discussing our time constraints, the bugs we needed to fix, and what we could do to fix them. Their project manager worked closely with me to ensure the project kept going and that the developer was doing a solid job. 

Moreover, the project manager ensured that we stayed on budget, determining whether or not we needed more resources to accomplish our goals. From that perspective, the Entrision team was phenomenal. To communicate, we used Google Hangouts, emails, phone calls, and texts. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their competence and communication were the best part of working with Entrision. I had to explain myself to other developers and architects 2–3 times on average. By contrast, I only had to explain myself once to Entrision. Once they understood our needs, they flew with it — that impressed me the most. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There might have been a billing error at one point. However, to be fair, I couldn’t even remember what it was about. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let Entrision lead a little bit. They’re a team that can lead the conversations and designs to better alternatives. In other words, they’re good from a true consulting perspective; they’re not just developers, and that’s why I recommend them.  

BACKGROUND

ntroduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president & CEO of a software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We were trying to develop a faster, more reliable solution for customers to communicate with law enforcement sources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve built a communication software solution from scratch. We brought in Entrision to develop the messaging, onboarding, and billing systems. They’ve used Angular, Firebase, Node.js, Lookback, SerialTree,  MQTT, and .NET.

We do our hosting with AWS.

What is the team composition?

I believe five people are involved: a web developer, a project manager, two app developers, and an architect.

How did you come to work with Entrision?

We had a significant bug that we couldn’t fix. Someone referred them, and they came in and took care of it.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent close to $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2017, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We took it to market last May 2021, and we’re very close to closing two major deals. Moreover, the response towards the software has been great. Since we’re a safety and security system, we don’t usually hear much until a tragedy happens, and we haven’t been involved in any yet.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive, and the team works hard. Overall, they do a pretty good job. We use Slack and their basic architecture as tools. For communication, we typically use phone and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re excellent at personal communication. We get to speak with the developers; it’s not like they’re passing the message between people. Also, we work directly with the principal of the company, the project manager, and the developers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re always willing to improve, but that’s something that we have to work on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared with what you want them to do, and they’ll get it there.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are primarily a fuel wholesaler, which was what the app was for. We also sell petroleum products, and we own retail gas stations. I am the software architect here, and I primarily focus on our website development and general IT work.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We wanted to develop an easy-to-use app for our customers to be able to place orders.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Entrision built us an app for Android and iOS. They started with a blank slate and completed the whole process. To give them an idea of our vision, we first presented the team with some screens and templates to show them how we wanted it to look. They then set up the wireframes. Eventually, they were ready to jump into the actual development process. 

We initially ran into some hurdles because we were using an IBM database, which wasn’t the most common. The team had to find a workaround to get our database connected, but they managed to set it all up for us. They also built an API along with the mobile app. 

Once they finished the app, Entrision handed over all the code and ownership to us. The project is complete, but we still reach out to the team for support. The internal testing process isn’t finished yet, so we haven’t pushed it out to our customers yet. The main functionality of the app is the ordering process. After ordering, our customers can also view invoices and track their order status. 

What is the team composition?

Initially, we only worked with Joan (Software Developer), and then we started working with two developers. Throughout the rest of the process, we only interacted with the developers. 

How did you come to work with Entrision?

We put out a job notice on a website, and they responded to it. There were four other development firms who we talked to, but Entrision stood out. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $54,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2019–May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app was great. Entrision was highly knowledgeable about app development. Whenever we had any questions, they gave their expert suggestions without being pushy. They always left it up to us to decide what direction we wanted to go in, so the app was how we wanted it.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

Entrision was a very flexible team, especially in terms of timelines. We had to put things on hold because of issues on our side, and they never pushed us to continue. Instead, they remained patient and understanding, keeping themselves readily available. They were also easy to communicate with and were quick to respond. Our communication was mainly through Slack, but we also had regular meetings on Google Meets for updates and issues we needed to with through. We shared screens a lot because they had to walk us through some things. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise was invaluable. The team always gave us genuine feedback and was transparent throughout. We appreciated how easy and convenient it was to work with Entrision.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they could’ve done differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend Entrision; they were great to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive of State Affairs, which is a media outlet that does journalism covering the state houses of each state.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We needed to build a frontend site so that consumers could log in, subscribe, and read content that they found interesting; it would be a newsfeed format. Then, we also needed to build a backend CMS for journalists to create, edit, and publish content.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Entrision built everything from the ground up. On the consumer version of the site, they built the backend architecture and then the actual UX. They helped build out the algorithm for what populates the newsfeed. The team put all of that into a data architecture that we can run analytics on and update as time goes by. They built in a testing component where we can A/B test different site features and functionalities to understand what consumers like the most.

On the backend of the site, they developed a content creation system. Beyond that, they created functionality that enables us to manage an editorial process with a fully remote newsroom. For instance, we can take an article in draft form, do multiple versions of edits from different user levels (a journalist and multiple editors at multiple different locations and with different permissions), get the piece approved, and then live on the site.

They built the data architecture that we can create analytics off of. This allows us to see what type of content works and understand different correlations between the type of content and links, how consumers are engaging with content and the likelihood of them finishing the article, and so on. 

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with the two co-owners of Entrision.

How did you come to work with Entrision?

Our head brand designer had worked with them before and spoke highly of their ability to scope things out and deliver on time and budget. That’s very difficult to find in the engineering space.

How much have you invested with them?

We scoped it out at $90,000, but they ended up doing it for $72,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in July 2020, and they fully delivered the work by November 2020. The goal was to get the project done in less than four months, which they did. We have built out additional scopes with them since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our satisfaction was based on whether they could build what we wanted to spec, on budget, and on time, and the answer was yes to all of those. Ultimately, that’s why we decided to move forward with additional scopes.

We haven't actually gone live with the site yet; we're still hiring a bunch of journalists to populate it, and they're creating content. We’ve been able to recruit multi-decade experienced journalists largely because of the site — they have seen that it functions, and they’re excited to put their product on it. The site will go live in the next two months.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

They did terrific on project management. To communicate, we used email and also had a standing weekly meeting. I believe they used project management tools internally. They also used a Gantt chart format, which we loved. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The thing I liked about the collaboration with Entrision was their organization. We spent about 4–6 weeks building out a very detailed scope between our design and UX team and their development team — and that was worth it. We didn’t pay for that, but it gave us a very clear understanding of what was going to be built by the time we began putting time and money into actually developing it.

Over the years, I’ve found that developers often just jump into the project, and then things take much longer and go over budget because nobody had a full understanding of what was going to get built. They did a terrific job of working with us to get everything scoped to a very specific level. That’s how they got everything done on time and under budget.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can't really think of anything. The scoping could have possibly gone a little bit faster, but we came out on time and under budget because we did that. Scoping was tedious, but it was the right thing to do.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be patient while scoping is happening, and believe in that process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of production of a video production platform. Our product is a web application with iOS software pairing. The entire purpose of our application is to create a video production and then be able to send briefs to people in the field who have an iOS device. After that, enable them to capture video footage that is then moderated and downloaded to the web platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We needed an iOS developer, specifically with AVI foundation in the iOS camera.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There were several scopes throughout the project. At first, we wanted them to work on camera updates for the iOS camera app that we have, and the main goals were getting that app as next-gen as possible, working on a couple of things that we worked on with previous developers, and getting rid of some bugs in the app. Entrision’s team mainly added a zoom wheel, the ability to record with different zoom frames, and a couple of onboarding and sign-up screens. They provided those efforts using technology like Swift, AVFoundation, and a few other iOS libraries. They essentially enhanced some features and built some screens from scratch.

What is the team composition?

Derrick (Founder) was our main point of contact, but we also worked with Brian (Lead iOS developer).

How did you come to work with Entrision?

We used Clutch and a couple of different sourcing platforms to try and figure out who could be the best fit for us. We narrowed down the options, and we went with Entrision because they had the most experience and foundation.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2020–May 2021. We went with another partner because we needed to keep the velocity of the project going. We wanted someone who could do a lot more work with an almost full-time engagement rather than a part-time partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the QA stage, it’s easy to find edge cases or issues that get in the way of having a solid product before releasing it. With that being said, we measured the success with how well the app was built, how much extra work was required in the QA stage, and how long it took the app to release.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great; we used a project planning software called Jira for everything regarding technological progress and lines of codes. What we did was that we scoped out the sprint that we were about to do and break those down into individual Jira tickets. After it, we pushed that through the development cycle once we got done with the design and all of our requirements.

In terms of day-to-day communication, we used Slack, emails, and Zoom meetings with Brian and Derrick. They were very responsive whenever we had an issue, even on things they didn’t primarily work on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Entrision handled an amicable relationship and they were easy to work with. There was an occasion where we had a bug with our deep linking system, and they were able to go in and help us out on a day off, even when they didn’t even touch our deep linking system before — that was the main benefit of the working relationship we had with them, which was very nice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Entrision can improve on defining the scope of the timeline. Stating when something’s getting done with the turnaround time for it would be helpful for sure.

Any advice for potential customers?

Define the timelines, make frequent check-ins, and provide detailed tickets to them as you’d do with any other working relationship with a developer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager for a music and fitness app. With our product, customers are able to access thousands of DJ-curated mixes that operate side-by-side with our personal trainer sessions and workouts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

They’ve played a large role in the development of our iOS app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After providing them with a high-level overview of the project, they took over the development of our iOS and Apple Watch mobile application. At this point, they’ve built our app and handle any technical upgrades to it.

Additionally, they constructed two white-label apps from the ground up, implementing functionality changes along the way. We’re building Apple Watch components for the white-label apps as well.   

What is the team composition?

We started out working solely with Brian (Lead iOS Developer), another team member works with us now as well. 

How did you come to work with Entrision?

Our team connected with them on Upwork initially. We talked to them on the phone to evaluate what they could bring to the project. Based on a strong conversation, we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $158,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2018, and our collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re a pretty small company, so they’ve been super helpful in answering any questions we have along the way. They’ve been able to get everything done in a timely manner. Outside of testing, there have been very few bugs. When issues with the app pop up, they get right on it.  

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

I speak with their team almost daily through Skype, which has been helpful in our remote partnership. They’re both very responsive to tasks. If they’re unsure of something, they ask good questions. I always know that they’re making progress. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re great at communication. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re working together to be more accurate with timeline estimates. As the project manager, I’ll be able to help reel that in.