DEPT®

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of a charter school. We are a homeschool hybrid program where some students are learning on-site and some are learning remotely, all of which need to be captured on a website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We needed help with custom software development. We already had a ColdFusion program before and we had several programmers work on it. It had been added onto in a lot of different codes and it was really starting to act up because of all of the different pieces that we had plugged into it. 

We decided to start from scratch and rewrite a whole new platform so our users would be able to navigate schedules, attendance, report work, and determine if funding requests have been paid. It has a wide variety of functions that we were looking for a website to do.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed a way for all parents in our program, which is about 400 students, to be able to document the work that they do every single day and then to be able to capture that work in reports that we could submit to the state. Since we don’t have students on-site, we can’t rely on the typical classroom to see if a student is present. This system provides a way to track attendance, compile reports, track funding, and facilitate communication between the students and our staff.

I really liked the way they went about it. They're in Denver and we're in Grand Junction, so they brought a team out here to spend a day with us talking about the different components we needed. After that, we scoped out what could do in a year, and what we would have to add on in later phases. They spent a lot of time trying to understand what we do and what we needed from our new platform. 

We then determined what it would actually look like for all our different users. Then they worked on the backend and tried to make the functionality work for all those pieces. The whole backend was built around Salesforce which they used for the main structure.

They have to connect with our school district's mainframe and they had to find a way to import the information from our whole school district into our site. They had to figure out how to extract the data from the district platform and format it for our platform while ensuring that we remained connected to the district platform. This way, if someone changed information, such as their address, it would change in the system.

The last step we did was load all of the student data onto the platform, including 400 current students, and 800 alumni. 

What is the team composition?

We mostly worked with three people on a regular basis. Leia (Business Analyst) oversaw the whole communication patterns and then Ben (Developer) did the vast majority of the programming. There was another person who did all of the mock-ups and all the frontend stuff.

How did you come to work with Devetry?

My assistant director conducted a really wide search from Salt Lake City to Denver, but we wanted to stay within the state if we could. She narrowed down the list to six people and then we sent an RFP to each of them. Four of them got back to us, and we went to interview them.

We drove to Denver to meet with two of them and then also met with one locally. We asked some questions and talked through the details of what we needed.

We chose Devetry because they were the best ones to deal with a project this big and see it through to the end. We knew that this was a complicated project and we needed a partner who could do the entire thing from scratch.

How much have you invested in them?

I am pretty sure it is between $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed our contract and actually started working with them in March 2019. We launched the website in July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Various staff members and families have said that they think the new program is way more intuitive and easier to work with.

To be fair, we have people that are still struggling with it because they're less familiar with the technology. But even our more technically-challenged staff members are really beginning to realize that the layout is simpler and it's easier to find things.

Yesterday a staff member discovered the reports button, and she said it was super easy to use and very helpful. It provides information that they didn’t have before. As they explore it and get comfortable with it, they are liking it.

Anecdotally, we have roughly 100 new students every year. These are people who don’t know what we do and then they are trying to figure out how to do it on a website, especially found it very easy because they weren’t trying to compare it to the old one.

We didn’t have to do a lot of training or troubleshooting to get everyone up to speed on the platform. Once people were able to access the platform, it was pretty easy for them to understand what they needed to do and move onto the next thing without getting lost in it. Overall, we are really, really happy about that.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

We were particularly impressed with project management. They kept really good notes and were good at going back and reviewing them if needed, which kept everything on track.

It was a big undertaking, but after we had that initial meeting, we had phone calls, and sprint reviews every two weeks. At each meeting, they gave us an idea of what they were doing and what they were about to work on. They had a big spreadsheet to show us how that all fit together and what would work at what times.

Once a week we would meet to look at what they had done and talk through how things were working. It was long and painful at times because there is a ton of detail and there were things that would come up as we went.

They really did a good job of sifting through all of our requirements and determining if they were within the scope of our project. They did a really good job of sticking to what we all had originally said we needed and then moving stuff off when we realized it was too complex for what we were doing for our first year. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by their dedication to good communication, meeting regularly, and answering questions. They ensured that everyone was able to participate and feel heard and that our needs were met.

We've had difficulty communicating with other developers in the past, but Devetry has been really responsive when something doesn't work right. They're able to look at a problem and either fix it or show us how to troubleshoot the issue.

Especially during the first stage when we had more challenges, they weren't defensive and didn't blame us. It's a tough time for us because we have hundreds of students and staff members trying to learn the site. It is all happening at once and it is pretty crazy.

Devetry handled that well and were understanding. They put everything in a big spreadsheet, and it was easy for us to get answers. We didn’t get everything we wanted, and they were realistic about the changes we wanted. They were very diligent in making sure that the final product resulted what we agreed to in the scope. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We were tripped up on the whole funding part of the program. We didn't understand how deep the funding issue was and how many other things it affected. For a while, they were trying to give fairly simplistic solutions to a pretty complex situation. As a result, we need them to redo part of the program.

The funding form doesn't save, so it has to to be completed and submitted in one go. If users make a mistake or stop and come back to it, they have to start again. It was just an oversight and we should have thought of that as well. They could have spent more time trying to understand how complex that task was before trying to design it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be super upfront and open about what your needs are. Diving into the details and explainging why you need certain things is well-worth the time. Don’t expect them to read your mind, but spell out exactly what you need and let them figure out how to make that work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an initiative at Arizona State University (ASU) called Education for Humanity. We offer university preparation and language courses, as well as other university-level courses to refugee learners in eight countries. I’m the assistant director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We hired them to build a portal for us so that our learners can have one central location from which to access all of the courses.

We initially wanted the portal to be a one-stop-shop for everything that refugees wanted to know, but as time went on, we realized that we were best positioned to offer courses because we’re a university.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we had design sessions so that Devetry could understand the population and the level of digital literacy the users would have. They then created a learning management system (LMS) with single sign-on capability. 

Our courses are in Open edX, so the team had to work with the company to get that integrated into the portal. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a lot of their staff over the course of our time with them, including their CEO and four other teammates during our design sessions. In the latest phase, we worked with a project manager and two other teammates. 

How did you come to work with Devetry?

They were recommended to us by another department at ASU, so they came highly recommended. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them on an ongoing basis over a few years, but we’ve had some starts and stops along the way because we were a new initiative and had to do a lot of pivoting.  This particular project lasted from September 2019–February 2020. We’ve finished the work and are now rolling it out with our learners. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re working with them to enhance some of the portal work. We knew that the integration of the English language test would be difficult because not everyone needs to take it. So we’re currently revisiting how we can overcome this issue.

The team is very patient with us, even though we sometimes vacillate on the way forward. Devetry is always eager to help us understand what they are doing and the implications associated.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is great. Devetry always meets their deadlines and has enough staff to meet our needs. They allocate their staff very well, so we never feel like we’re in a queue with them.

They have leveraged a lot of resources to spend quality time with us at ASU. We’re not communicating with them much at the moment because the project has slowed down, but they talk with our creative design lead almost daily.

The team is always flexible if timelines need to change, and they’re communicative if they can’t meet at a certain time. We have a Slack channel with them, and they always respond to us right away.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Devetry’s team members’ personalities are great. They’re very easy-going and a joy to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions. The team is very consistent, and we know what we’re going to get from them. We’re always very pleased. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Devetry is very interested in knowing your users, so have a good idea of your target audience. One of their strengths is spending a lot of time on the frontend after understanding who will benefit from your services so that they can tailor it in the best way.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

INVIDI’s proprietary technology enables television service providers to simultaneously deliver multiple and distinct commercial streams to different households or individual set-top boxes during a single commercial break while also controlling reach, frequency and separation of the commercial assets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Rocket Insights?

INVIDI turned to Rocket in order to develop a complex piece of web-based business software.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were several fold. First, we needed to coordinate what had been separate business "products" and new functionality into a single application. Second, the application needed to be able provide a clear, unified story to both internal and external users. Third, we wanted to incorporate innovative data visualizations and contextually relevant information to support at-a-glance understanding.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Rocket was recommended to us by our design partner, Craft.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Rocket provided front-end UI development and well as initial API development work.

What was the team composition?

The development team was comprised of 3 primary devs, and a product owner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Anecdotally, end users are excited to begin interacting with our services via the new unified interface. It will save time (e.g., Certain tasks today take 30hrs. The new application will allow the same tasks to be completed in 30 seconds), decrease training, and enable users to become self-sufficient in a more shorter period of time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had a formal project manager but it wasn't really needed, other than as a place to turn if things went poorly. As it was, there were no issues that the team couldn't handle on its own.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

In addition to their obvious technical expertise, they care about the work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No areas for improvement. The Rocket team was great - responsive, intelligent, and they cared about the project as if it were their own.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product manager at Vation Ventures, and we do events consulting. We have a platform that connects innovators and the market, and I oversee the development of the platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

My company initially engaged Devetry for advisory services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve engaged Devetry a couple of times. The first was for a workshop to unpack the potential of the platform. We had a ton of ideas on which direction to take our product, and Devetry walked us through the process of pulling out all of our ideas, developing a strategy, and creating a clear roadmap for the next iteration of our product.

Since the beginning of November, we’ve engaged them to help redesign our platform. This entails UI/UX design and enhancing existing features and functionalities. We’re redesigning the way search works, implementing a new dashboard that will roll up a lot of the functionality that we have on the site today, and going through every page of the platform and giving it a completely new look and feel while also focusing on the user experience and usability. Logan (UI Designer, Devetry) is doing the full design of the reskin of the platform. Much of the brainstorming and decisions happen on our side, while they work with us and provide a lot of mockups.

What is the team composition?

We work closely with Logan, who has been great. We’re also working with Allan (CTO, Devetry) and Stephanie (Business Analyst, Devetry), who is helping us think through some of the functionality. From what I understand, they can bring in more people as needed.

How did you come to work with Devetry?

One of our partners found Devetry, and I believe he was recommended to them by one of his peers.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our workshop was in May 2019, and then we started working closely with them on the redesign in December 2019. The engagement is ongoing and should continue for at least the next six months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been awesome working with them. You can tell that they’re really thinking about our business problems and how to solve them. Our scope has changed considerably throughout the process, so them always being flexible and eager to take on bigger challenges has been really valuable.

We’re still in the early stages and haven’t really begun implementing it yet, but based on all of the feedback that we’ve gotten from some of our partners and customers, everybody is really excited about getting the new UI. The platform will be a lot smoother for our users.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent and on top of it. They’re doing a great job of leading us through the process, and they’ve been easy to work with. They’ve been really responsive. We mainly communicate via email, and we also do quite a few Zoom meetings. They use a program to show us their mockups.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do a really good job of listening to our needs and doing the best they can to really identify and solve the problem. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m not sure I can come up with an improvement. They’ve been great.

Any advice for potential customers?

If it’s a workshop engagement, be ready to answer a lot of questions. They really like to dig in and get into the details. Be willing to collaborate.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of the employee assistance program provider network for a health insurance company. We contract work with mental health providers who offer free counseling to our employer groups.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We wanted to develop an app that would help members connect with mental health providers in a more efficient manner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devetry is building a custom web app from scratch with various search criteria and integrating the solution into an existing platform. Users are able to search based on symptoms and geographic area. The app then displays a list of healthcare providers who meet their criteria. Users can then request an appointment and providers can confirm when the appointment has been accepted.

What is the team composition?

We communicated directly with Brett (CEO, Devetry) and our project manager, Leia (Business Analyst, Devetry). They then had a team of four working on our project.  

How did you come to work with Devetry?

They have a good reputation in our area for developing bespoke software and web application development.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in July 2019 and it is ongoing. We anticipate completion in the first quarter of 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thus far, the app appears to be functioning the way we designed and the way we hoped it would. It hasn’t been implemented yet, but we anticipate that it will decrease account operation and have a growing impact on sales. Our users have difficulty finding mental health providers and scheduling, but this solution should make that process more efficient. Devetry’s team has come up with creative solutions.  

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very easy to communicate with via email. They’re great at keeping us updated on next steps, tasks, and asking us questions. They were very collaborative during the design phase and implemented a lot of our input. So far, everything has been delivered on time and in budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re able to develop a custom solution that is going to be very valuable for our company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

So far, I don’t have any negative feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Open lines of communication as early as possible.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Digital Engagement B2C as part of Global Offer Development for Universities/Schools. At Sodexo we provide a wide range of on-site integrated services ranging from dining solutions to facilities management. I am responsible for managing our 700+ partner websites and digital property providing information and e-commerce enhancing our onsite services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Dept?

We were transitioning from a vendor after a new upgraded version was implemented for our CMS and e-commerce applications. Due to the large scale project and unforeseen complications we were experiencing less than ideal performance issues, lacked the full implementation on some deliverables and felt there were some foundational issues that needed to be assessed for us to reach our longer term goals for the application.

We hired Dept as an expert in the CMS to assess and review the installation, setup and performance of the application with consideration for our business objectives and future roadmap.

What were your goals for this project?

We expected to learn where there could be stabilization and enhancement opportunities while also determining if the setup of the system was optimized for our scale and future integrations.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We requested proposals from several consulting groups, including the software professional services team, and after considering the experience and high recommendations for Dept we decided to proceed with their services. Their reputation as a problem solver and experience with a similar large scale implementation influenced our decision.

Describe the project in detail.

Our engagement included virtual interviews as well as an in-person meeting where our remote team met with the lead consultant on this project. User groups, dev and strategic leaders were asked to participate in the analysis to assess how well the existing implementation of the applications were meeting our needs as well as to gain an understanding of our future business goals to ensure we were setup for future enhancements and functionality. The technical team was also given access to our hosted environment, met with our internal dev team, had access to the application and met with our implementation managers, as well as our BAU vendor to complete the overall technical assessment.

The vendor then supplied us with a summary presentation that was easy to follow with multi parts identified for issue remediation and opportunities for enhancements in a phased in approach. In addition to the summary report and virtual presentation we were supplied with a 100+ page report that provided the analysis and technical documentation about each area reviewed. This provided a recommended strategy to proceed with changes to improve the applications.

What was the team composition?

There were three primary people involved in this engagement including our account manager/consultant, lead architect and infrastructure architect.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are starting to engage Dept to act on areas most important to our business strategy and the stabilization of the platform. Their detailed report and ability to bundle efforts into smaller projects is appealing for us to begin work and schedule against priorities and budget.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team was very responsive and conducted a very comprehensive report in the expected timeline. We had several special requests for support during the project and Dept showed their willingness to go above and beyond during the engagement to support us with other business critical needs and requests for service. Communication was easy and they made extra efforts to meet during our availability.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

There is a distinct confidence that we observed during the engagement about how to solve for and improve our current situation. One thing that really stands out from our engagement is their genuine desire to help us achieve our goals. They were concerned for our situation, timeline, and budget while remaining adamant in their approach to proceed in a way they feel is proven to meet our goals even at the risk of not getting additional work to complete a temporary "workaround".

Are there any areas for improvement?

All of the resulting presentation and documentation was great and somewhat beyond expectation for the detail analysis. However, additional work could be done against cost/benefit analysis to help business owners understand the recommendations for change and immediate benefits gained for each phase of implementation and future projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the senior director of customer success at Cloud Elements, a company that helps organizations connect customer data to their platforms. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We reached out to Devetry for custom development for our professional services side of our business, including API integration projects for customers. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devetry provided custom software development services, working on client projects that involve JavaScript, Node.js, React Native, and Angular.

What is the team composition? 

We mostly worked with Brett (Founder and CEO, Devetry) and Daniel (Senior Software Engineer, Devetry).

How did you come to work with Devetry?

We actually share a workspace with their company and their CEO is good friends with our CEO, so we just naturally turned to them when we needed development services. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested over $250,000 over a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them at the end of 2017 and wrapped up the work about a year later.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Devetry enabled our business to serve more customers without having to hire additional internal resources. Overall they provided quick and reliable, quality service.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

They did an excellent job of working with complex requirements, driving projects to the finish line with accuracy and attention to detail. We generally held meetings once a week since we were in the same office, but also utilized Slack for daily communications. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and professionalism set them apart. Our customers don't always know exactly what they want, so Devetry's ability to work in that grey area was very helpful. They were also transparent about cost and schedule.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Since they're not experts in our industry, specifically integrations, it would've been better if they didn't try to answer those types of questions during meetings with some of our clients. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear understanding of project goals and provide as much information regarding the scope of work as possible. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the VP of engineering for a software company. We provide SaaS products to the energy sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We try to keep as much of our software development work in-house as we can, but there are times when our development responsibilities exceed our capacity in the short-term. We turn to Devetry in those cases to fill that role.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have worked with Devetry several times, usually as supplemental engineers for web development projects ranging from 1–5 months. The extent of their involvement varies depending on the project, but they largely work with frontend applications using JavaScript, React, Node, and Python. 

What is the team composition?

Devetry’s CTO is always available to provide technical direction and oversight if need be. The staff of engineers varies based on the project size. We supplement those teams with our engineers to create a joint team that delivers each solution. 

How did you come to work with Devetry?

We got to know Devetry due to the fact that our offices were in close proximity to one another. During that time, we became familiar with their competencies, and it was obvious that they hired well. They take a lot of responsibility and ownership of their role and the work they produce. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship began in 2017 and remains ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been critical for us to have a partner like Devetry, who can step in to help on certain projects when we don’t have the internal resources. I’ve had a lot of varying experiences with consulting companies and professional service companies. It’s reassuring to know that we finally have a development partner we can trust to deliver high-quality results, especially in short-term engagements. 

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent. They attend all of our stand-ups, and my team has offered nothing but positive feedback regarding Devetry’s sense of responsibility and technical abilities. The fit nicely into our team and our culture. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team has little trouble mastering the technical complexities of our projects, which speaks to the level of talent they hire. Further, they are also business-minded and easy to work with, which is not the case for all developers. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. We have a transparent relationship, and Devetry has delivered on all of our expectations. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise future clients to be very specific about what success looks like, what you hope to get out of the engagement, and what you are willing to be a little more relaxed on. Both parties will benefit from having more information out in the open from the beginning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager at ITA Group, Inc. We’re a performance and incentive marketing company for events from user conferences to small meetings, as well as incentive programs and awards.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

In order to grow with some of our clients, we needed newer, scalable technology. The internal resources that we had weren’t able to take on that much extra work, so we needed to outsource some of it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started by walking through all the use cases of what we’re trying to do, the goal, the first MVP roadmap, and our longer-term vision so that they understand where we’re going.

It requires three major elements of technology: The main UX side of it, the frontend, and a lot of the middleware technology needed to power that frontend. We’ve extended the relationship for another six months, and we’re adding another developer.

What is the team composition?

There are three developers, a business analyst, and a senior developer. They brought in a QA resource as well.

How did you come to work with Devetry?

I worked with them in a previous job, so I trusted their work and knew they’d be able to put together what I needed. We looked at a few other options, but the thing I love about Devetry is they’re truly flexible and really augment our staff. It’s simply adding more people to our team.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We released our MVP in March 2019. There was a trust issue in the technology vertical of our company with the other business units, but we have probably the strongest relationship with Devetry out of our stakeholders, which promotes trust.

Overall, they ask really good questions. They’re trying to learn and understand everything. I can really rely on them.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

They participate in all of our standups and we do sprint planning with them. They’re extremely flexible. If something changes, they’re willing to change with us.

It’s a really good relationship, and they lead by example. They’ve become the glue for all the resources as they’re great communicators. We lacked that internally, and they ended up being the leader of the technical side of things. Our team really looks up to them and reaches out to them. They even help design and architect other projects outside their core scope of work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re just great people and are extremely open and flexible. Their CEO is great and asked if we felt we were at the point in our relationship where they can provide candid feedback. They care a lot and aren’t just there to build the technology. They’re there to be a part of the entire strategy.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’ve worked with a lot of outsourced development resources and Devetry is lightyears ahead of them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them provide their expertise. Be open, flexible, and have transparent communication with them. If you do, you’ll get the best value.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the manager of multi-platform content for a television network. I oversee digital initiatives within our marketing department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rocket Insights?

We were looking to bring our brand to Amazon's Alexa AI voice services platform. Our goal was to create an Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) that stood out on the market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the start of the project, Rocket reviewed our product requirements and scoped out the project. Their team designed the ASK from scratch, providing wireframes, user flows, and suggestions for added features throughout. They built out voice commands for scheduling information of shows, special network updates, a help menu, and subscribing to our newsletter. We have a decent idea of what our fans want to hear, but we relied heavily on Rocket's team to address other topics we may have missed.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with three members: Dave (Managing Director, Rocket Insights), Jesse (Co-founder and Developer, Rocket Insights), and Joshua (Co-founder and Designer, Rocket Insights). Dave acted as our main point of contact and Jesse developed the majority of the technology. Joshua spearheaded much of the editorial half of the project.

How did you come to work with Rocket Insights?

Our VP of operations and digital marketing was at the Consumer Electronics Show about a year ago and spoke to someone working on the Alexa platform who referred Rocket to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested around $150,000 thus far on phase one of the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since April 2017 and we're just entering phase two of our work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The ASK has been accepted with full approbation and delight within the company; our internal stakeholders are very pleased with the overall product and its performance. We're eager to see where the technology takes us in the coming months as we continue to build and optimize it.

How did Rocket Insights perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a very symbiotic process. Despite being on opposite coasts, their team is available to us any time of day through Slack and email. While we utilize Jira for ticketing issues, most of our communications are on an ad-hoc basis as we tackle each new feature separately either via email, instant messages, or phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm most impressed by their high degree of flexibility and, unlike other vendors, they're receptive to our ideas and provide invaluable feedback. When it comes to Alexa AI, they're leaders in this space.

Their communication is also fantastic—we can reach them at almost any time. They're just great guys to work with in general and very understanding of the nature of our industry.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I would encourage them to continue doing exactly what they're doing: building great products.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a good sense of what you want to build and create a bucket list of actionable items. I definitely suggest working with Rocket, because they're incredibly informed on the latest technologies in the market. You'll get a high level of follow through, project scoping, and flexibility by working with their team.