Devx

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Blackfish is a group of people in Copenhagen, Prague, and Ostrava creating digital products and bold brands. We collaborate with various companies such as Trustpilot, Société Générale, BCG, Meneto.com, SAS Automotive, or Ageras.com. Since 2018, we've snowballed to a team of 8 and counting. Simply because of our values and ethics towards clients and each other here at the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devx?

We've partnered with Devx to have a stable development partner for an upcoming project called Indigo for one of our clients. The challenge was to deliver the same experience as an in-house team.

What were your goals for this project?

David and his team helped us to define the whole structure of the projects, came up with several solutions to challenges we came across and, last but not least, to deliver the product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have had a chance to collaborate earlier on another project and we really liked the approach and human communication which is not the standard in the tech industry.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They helped us to define the project and its functionality as they were part of wireframing and brainstorming with the client. It was super helpful to have them on board at the beginning. The team had good points we would probably miss, and that's why the collaboration was so kind and successful. They built the whole project from the ground up and brought it to life.

What was the team composition?

There were around 4-5 people always around the project, either actively developing it or ready for consultations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Being successful with bringing the whole project to life before the deadline brought us many other clients who have heard about the ability to ship & deliver. Really appreciate it.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

David and Michal (Tech lead) are machines and know what they were doing. They were always caught up with what's going on and having the processes in place (e.g. writing tech specs into every little detail, so everyone was on the same page with expectations) was useful. We could see these guys went through a lot of projects and know what they are supposed to do.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Open and human communication. Being always around and ready to help or jump on a quick call in no time. Last but not least: ability to deliver.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I am not aware of any right now. They did an outstanding job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of HypoGO, a financial services company. We buy online leads and sell them to banks and financial consultants.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devx?

Because of our initial CRM, we weren’t as effective as we wanted to be, and we were unable to solve some problems quickly in terms of delivering leads to our partners. We wanted to automate the whole system and our process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the front- and backend of our CRM, using React.js and Node.js. We talked through the process with them and they explained how to automate the delivery of the leads. The main feature we were striving for was this automation of the whole process as delivering leads to our partners is time-consuming when done manually.

What is the team composition?

I spoke with the CEO and another person, and there were two others that I didn’t converse with.

How did you come to work with Devx?

They were recommended to us by a partner of their CEO. He’s empathetic and by the end of our meeting, had solved our whole problem. We had communication with two other agencies, but they weren’t people I wanted to do business with.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent 80,000 euros (approximately $90,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between summer 2018–February 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve grown two digits from last year to this year. Last year, we did 500 million euros of inquiries per year and this year it will be 1 billion euros.

How did Devx perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is a 9 out of 10. Sometimes, small things like emails were sent to us a few hours later than we expected but overall, it was very good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a small boutique agency and I like that as they’re really personal. With some agencies, it never changes from feeling like we’re just a bill at the end of the month, but Devx really focuses on the results and they feel like a true partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we had no problem launching the website.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t go to Devx with a project that’s tens of millions of euros as they’re a small team. Communicate what you want delivering and they will understand your needs and meet them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'am COO Renderwaves, which is a young company developing its own game engine for mobile platforms. I'm responsible for IT management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devx?

We were looking for a partner to consult and help us with tests and development of 3D application in mobile platform environment. Devx offered its reach, experiences, and development/testing capacity with mobile application development.

What were your goals for this project?

The project was designed as a proof of concept (POC) to validate our technologies on mobile platforms.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We compared Devx offer to at least four other companies. We were looking for references with a similar profile to Devx. The key role in our decision was played by the fact of direct contact with the Devx developers and our previous experiences with the company.

Describe the project in detail.

Within the first month, we had as many meetings and brainstorming sessions to specify the key functionality and process of collaboration. The application was developed for Android platform, which was our primary target. Nevertheless, the core technology was also tested in a web environment. The result of the development and tests was reflected in our internal documentation for future use.

What was the team composition?

The team was composed of four developers and testers and one UI designer. Partially, other team members worked on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are a technological company with own innovative product which we plan to release in near future. For this reason, we can not publish the output. The result of the project was implemented in our core product, which is till now not released.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project was managed on our internal communication platform where all members had access. Our CTO managed all the tasks and specification with Devx very smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We particularly appreciated their experience with mobile platform development, where we were not as sure as Devx was. They'd already made several mobile apps, so they are definitely more experienced.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think the cooperation was beneficial for us, and we managed to meet the deadline even though, as usual, we encountered unexpected technical problems, which we managed to solve quite quickly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing and sales at PFP, an insurance comparison website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devx?

We wanted to simplify the quotation process and the closing of contracts. The main challenge was to make the calculators from scratch. Our goal is to be technically prepared for further expansion, so we wanted to have brand new technical assets that are reliable and able to make fast changes; we need to shorten the process from idea to market-ready product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Using React, they did the frontend development for the calculators for car and property insurance. The huge size of the calculators presented challenges. They have 20 questions per client with multiple options. Devx had to do it as fast as possible, which is why they used React. However, React is not visible for the robot that screens our website for SEO, so they made a duplicate of the webpage in HTML, and they did some integration of those two parts. One is important for the robot and SEO, and the other is important for the client.

What is the team composition? 

I worked with a junior programmer, a senior programmer, and the owner. If we had issues, it was best to negotiate with the owner.

How did you come to work with Devx?

The main reason we tried them is that they did an internal project that was similar to what we are doing. We chose Devx because they’re smaller, less expensive, and more hands-on, and the people were nice and humble. I read an article about a project they did developing a chatbot for car insurance. In the beginning, we tried to cooperate with them on a small project to build a chatbot for us. The cooperation was nice and took only one month. We tested them with this project and decided to continue using them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in summer 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The cooperation has been good.

How did Devx perform from a project management standpoint?

The specifications of the project that we gave them weren’t detailed enough. After a few months, we focused on giving them better descriptions, and the work improved.

What did you find most impressive about them?

If there was a problem or we wanted to communicate something, the owner took time to solve the problems quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’d like to be more educated as clients on what is good, what the trends are, and to have more know-how.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No, I don’t have any advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder and COO of PFP. We do online insurance comparison and we also sell insurance over the phone.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devx?

We started our business and our software was very old. We wanted to upgrade the whole system and rebuild it from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had some documentation, but we later realized there were many undocumented features. The documentation was far from perfect and things were changing. We worked using agile methodology.

They developed the front-office and back-office calculators for insurance. The customer can input some data about themselves and their car, and the software will provide the client with several offers from different insurance companies. It’s also connected to web services from those insurance companies.

Devx developed the frontend and React application. From the client point of view, there is a price comparison aspect, but there is also a back-office aspect which is used by our call center and is more complex. They have more options for the calculator and can add extra offers for clients and add extra features. It is also connected to a CRM.

What is the team composition?

We had three or four people from their team over the course of the development. We worked directly with the developers, and there was one lead developer.

How did you come to work with Devx?

We had worked with them before and had a good experience, so we decided that we wanted them to do the frontend part for us. We previously had good communication with them, and they fulfilled our previous demand. They were flexible and the price was good.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent between $100,000–$150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in November 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are close to going live. The software is definitely more flexible than the calculator that we previously had. The solution is modern, fast, and user-friendly.

How did Devx perform from a project management standpoint?

They have good communication. They stick to deadlines, and they are friendly and flexible. They always try to satisfy their customer. We used Easy Redmine for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are located in a small town. They have a stable group of developers and they are like a small family company, whereas other agencies may have a lot of movement when it comes to staff.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We probably should have agreed on documentation on a deeper level prior to starting programming. It wasn’t their fault, as this was on both sides.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Specify what you need and let the developers do the work without extra management. They are professionals and know how to do it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was one of the owners of the streetwear store, Woodies, and was responsible for development and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devx?

We rebuilt the entire e-shop in a few months and we needed the company for the frontend development.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed the world-class frontend development with many animations and a responsive interface as in e-commerce, speed is everything.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I knew the CEO of Devx, since we worked together on another project.

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

They coded the whole front-end including the design part of our CMS using JavaScript. They delivered the designs quickly and tested the UX/UI. Then, we worked on specific landing pages for our campaigns.

What was the team composition?

The project was led by the CEO, with one senior JavaScript programmer and one junior front-end developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their speed of development was stunning and they created everything in a month.

And since this cooperation, they are my number one go-to developers.

​​​​​​How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I have worked with many developers before but this experience has just the best.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to deliver the following key factors: the quality of code, price, and speed of development impressed us.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I thought that they should've taken more notes during our meetings but that's was the only thing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and senior PPC specialist of Firemedia, a digital marketing agency that primarily focuses on the performance channels of digital marketing, their automation, and the efficiency of their operations. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devx?

Our clients wanted to build a website or mobile app for their campaigns. We wanted to deliver both marketing and development services.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to find a reliable partner for long-term cooperation. We needed to build a lot of microsites and code some landing pages.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We previously worked a project with Devx. 

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

They developed an e-commerce website from scratch. Using our business analysis, they implemented marketing features such as Google Tag Manager and an AdWords automatization script. They also made changes based on our feedback and launched the site.

They are currently working on various projects and providing technical support.

What was the team composition?

The project team consists of four developers and the CEO, but fluctuates depending on the project.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has a huge impact on our business as they allow us to offer website, microsite, and mobile development services. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We are communicating directly with the CEO and have yet to encounter any problems. Our cooperation is fluid and they run projects smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They impressed us with how quickly they can grasp concepts and effectively cooperate with us. We are quite lucky to come across Devx.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

No, there are no areas for improvement. Perhaps, they could be cheaper, but the quality of their work is definitely worth the price.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of Proboston Creative. Our marketing and advertising agency has a strong digital background.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devx?

We hired Devx to provide frontend and backend development for microsites and campaign websites.

What were your goals for this project?

We were in the process of creating a 360 campaign. Our agency needed a skilled supplier who aligned with our ideologies.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Devx through a word-of-mouth referral. My friend who works at a different agency recommended using them.

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

Our engagement involved both front-end development and programming basic backend features.

What was the team composition?

We worked with project managers, creative content producers, and three development resources from Devx.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Devx worked quickly and efficiently on the requested deliverables. The developers keenly noticed and resolved bug fixes.​

​​​​​​How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used Basecamp to manage the project. This tool helped lower the costs and let us manage the development team directly. It was very effective for our planned methodology. I appreciated how well the developers communicated with us.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They offer a great value for the investment. Devx has a positive, confident, and hands-on work perspective.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

Devx needs to focus more on hiring skilled project managers. There’s currently a lack of skilled management resources on the market. As an advertising agency, we’ve experienced comparable issues internally.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the in house interior designer and marketing manager for a fine dining restaurant with 3 units in Europe. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devx?

Website design and development

What were your goals for this project?

To produce a visual driven, current, easy to navigate website for desktop and mobile applications, focusing on the user's experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Well welcomed recommendation.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Covered all stages of designing the technical specifications and system architecture to application development and maintenance.

What was the team composition?

Excellent!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is a representation of our high-quality product for our customers to preview.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Worked directly, closely and extremely effectively with David, the team leader of Devx.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Received top-quality work, enjoyed working with a really responsive team leader and when curveballs were thrown or unique functionality suggested. Their responses were always quick. They delivered the results needed to stand apart from the crowd.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None, per se.