DianApps

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of Newbe Global. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DianApps?

We needed a firm to build a mobile application for us. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DianApps developed a cross-platform social networking mobile application targeted at the post-pandemic world. The app had been almost completed before the COVID-19 pandemic, but we pivoted our target market because of the changes in international travel. DianApps mapped the user experience on the existing platform and redesigned the look and feel. They also added new features to the app, including live audio streaming. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with 10–15 teammates from DianApps during the project, and I initially worked with a senior design analyst.

How did you come to work with DianApps?

I’d been working with DianApps on this app in its previous iteration, so I continued to work with them when I needed to pivot the target market. Initially, I’d been introduced to DianApps via a third party and hired them because they’d had a good portfolio. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested over $25,000 with DianApps. 

What is the status of this engagement?

My partnership with DianApps began in December 2019, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first iteration of the app launched in 2018, and the new iteration of the app is going to launch very soon. Generally, we measure their success through the quality of their development, the time it takes to get to market, and if they can meet deadlines. Overall, DianApps always meets or exceeds our standard success metrics. 

How did DianApps perform from a project management standpoint?

I can connect with DianApps’ team lead at any time via Zoom or phone despite the time differences. They provide me with a detailed review of our previous discussions and what they’re working on when we connect. DianApps stays up to date with the project and quickly addresses changes and issues with the development. Every part of the project is documented and agreed upon before moving on to the next stage. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

DianApps values our relationship and really understands our project — they invest themselves in the project to develop a quality product. They have a genuine desire and interest in my company and our products. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing for DianApps to improve — I’m fortunate to be working with them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise future customers to be clear about their intentions and product and articulate them well. Additionally, it’s important to develop a relationship with the DianApps team because project builds are a team project. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and co-founder of an aviation solutions company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DianApps?

We contracted DianApps to help us finish building our app and desktop platform. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DianApps worked on helping us build an app. They also promised to help us create our own development team. The main product was a payment processing and communication tool for business aviation.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one of their founders regularly at the onset. Meanwhile, our team was comprised of 6–12 people. 

How did you come to work with DianApps?

DianApps was referred to us by our previous developer that had gone out of business. The team then reached out to us to see if they could finish the app. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested over $100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership lasted from October 2020–October 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

During our relationship, we informed DianApps that we’d eventually transition the development resources into our in-house team. At the same time, we told them we’d continue the partnership and use them as support as we grew our own team — they agreed to it. Then, when our contract neared completion, we asked them for the support they’d promised. However, they wouldn’t do it and said that they needed another contract for a minimum of six months with at least five employees. That was double the amount of what we were paying before. Our team tried to negotiate since we didn’t want to lose them as a partner. Unfortunately, we couldn’t come to an agreement. 

Moreover, they wanted us to contribute around $75,000 to DianApps. If we didn’t, they wouldn’t let us take the resources to our in-house team as they promised. They said we weren’t allowed to have those resources unless we paid DianApps the additional amount. Because we wouldn’t agree with that, they started threatening us. DianApps said they’d come after us legally for funds that they thought they were owed. From our perspective, we didn’t owe them anything; in fact, they owed us money. Inevitably, we had to part ways.

Meanwhile, our development team members — the ones they wouldn’t transition to us — said they were being threatened as employees. The resources said people had come to their homes, asking them to hand over the assets that our company had paid for, including their laptops. If they didn’t, DianApps would take legal action against them. 

That’s where things stand; we’re currently being harassed by DianApps. They’ve called our investors to have a private meeting with them, saying that they’ll take us to court. In reality, we’ve paid them everything on time. 

How did DianApps address the challenges that arose?

DianApps addressed the problems unprofessionally. They weren’t willing to compromise on anything. For instance, we weren’t ready to enter into another contract with them, but we would if they gave us a fair price for the resources. However, they wanted to charge us $5,000 per resource. They previously told us everybody’s salaries, so we knew that what they were asking for was four times the cost of the resources. Even so, we told them we’d sign the contract if they lowered the price to $4,000 per person, which was still much higher than we expected. Ultimately, they didn’t want to negotiate. 

On top of that, they also stole our code. Our contract specifically stated that anything that DianApps created during the project would be owned by our company. However, when our contract ended, they commanded one resource to go into the code base and delete all of it. 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

We had to create our own development team from scratch. At that time, we were working with a team of eight and had to outsource new developers. We were also near the end of a project for a huge partner, but we were essentially stranded because we couldn’t complete it. That was unfavorable for us. Luckily, some contractors helped us finish the project.

In the end, we were okay. However, the hardships and emotional frustrations were there. We had arguments on Zoom on a regular basis even when we were making time for them to work things out. Beyond that, their actions and threats to meet with our investors put our business in jeopardy. To be honest, they shouldn’t even be doing business in the US because they could be arrested for the things they’d done in India. 

Overall, the financial impact of this engagement was detrimental to our business; it was also emotionally harmful to us. 

How was project management handled?

For a short time, the project was managed by one of their founders, who was also busy doing other business roles. Then, they brought in another project manager to work with us for a while. That manager left for some reason, and they had to assign another one. That said, I didn’t have any major issues in project management while the contract was in effect. Some things could have been improved — they were a young company and didn’t have all the right processes in place — but we weren’t necessarily dissatisfied with their management style.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

DianApps did a great job of bringing us into the engagement. They made us feel like we were their priority and that they were interested in getting our business. Looking back, it seemed that they were motivated to work with us; they did whatever they needed to do and said what needed to be said for us to sign the contract. Then, all of their sincerity left once we were engaged with them. 

In what specific areas can they improve?

They should improve their ethics and integrity. If they want to work in the US and bring in American companies as clients, they need to understand that they must abide by business rules and laws — they broke a lot of them.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Don’t be fooled by the personalities of DianApps’ founders. They’ll be kind, friendly, and welcoming, but all of that will eventually disappear. Unless you’re interested in getting into a legal battle over products and services, I advise using another team that has a better reputation in the US. 

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on 04/02/2020.

Trina Duke

Founder, NOZL

IT Services

1-10 Employees

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas, United States (25046)

$50,000 to $199,999

Sep 2019 - Ongoing

Project summary

DianApps took over a twice-paused mobile app project for an aviation fuel startup. Their role expanded to developing web apps, including an admin dashboard and a scheduler panel.

Feedback summary

The mobile app launched two months after the client started working with DianApps, much to the client’s satisfaction. The team continues to provide development on web apps and systems. Their enthusiasm, diligence, and constant communication make them a valuable partner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of NOZL. We’re a fuel processing platform for business aviation. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DianApps?

We first needed help getting a mobile app off the ground after two partnerships with previous developers fell apart. The partnership has grown since then.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DianApps first completed our app. We had design and a little bit of coding completed, but we didn’t have everything we needed to move forward. DianApps came in, edited it, revamped everything, and got the app to a place where it was functioning properly. They also built two platforms for other users that work with desktop browsers. This included an admin dashboard for us access information and a dashboard for fixed-base operators (FBOs), who are gas station attendants at airfields. DianApps now provides marketing services and will be building a panel to integrate into scheduling software.

What is the team composition?

We speak with two people on a weekly basis. The owner is on every single call as well as a project manager. There’s a larger team working behind the scenes, but we don’t have much communication with them.

How did you come to work with DianApps?

We lost our two previous app developers to bankruptcy. The first developer we had worked with recommended DianApps to us as a good fit. Unfortunately, the price they quoted for us was too high at the time. We tried to find someone to do it for less money. That didn’t work out either. However, throughout the project, Vikash (Co-Founder) reached out to us via email to check in on our project. That persistence showed that he cared about our project and that communication would not be a problem with DianApps like it has been with previous developers. 

After the second developer didn’t work out, we reached out to DianApps. They flew from India to Houston to meet with us without being paid. They then started work, staying in constant communication and learning our product and industry. Within a couple of weeks, we were convinced to commit to a year-long contract with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We plan to spend about $50,000–$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in September 2019 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’d been without a functioning product for a year and a half and could no longer see the finish line. When DianApps came on, it took them two months to figure things out and then release the app to the App Store. That was exactly what we’d asked for and it was a huge milestone for us. 

Since then, because we have something in the market, we can make plans for the next year. We have close to 30 users and 10 FBOs, but we’re still in testing. We would have given up if we didn’t have DianApps behind us. They really believed in our product and pushed us to keep making progress. This experience completely changed our minds about what developers should be like.

How did DianApps perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly catch-up meetings. Each one is scheduled, and DianApps never cancels; they show up prepared every time. Otherwise, we communicate through Basecamp, where I can request changes and get a response from the PM. We use WhatsApp for more time-sensitive issues like glitches and troubleshooting. If we have urgent issues, they’re available to call. 

At first, we thought our time zone differences would be a problem, but that hasn’t been an issue. We set parameters from the get-go and they’re 100% responsive to everything we ask of them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their passion for what they do comes across in every aspect of their work, from communication to sticking to deadlines to encouraging us to get past each tough spot. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly can’t think of a single thing. I look forward to the day when they have a team that is more local to us; we appreciate their efforts so much that we’d like to spend more face-to-face time with them.

Any advice for potential customers?

DianApps is very willing to learn your product and your industry. Don’t worry about giving them too much information; give them as much as you possibly can. They don’t want to just build what you ask for, but to build something beyond your wildest dreams. They have to understand your industry first to do so.

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 5

Cost: 5

Schedule: 5

Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Thousand Greens is a global network of private club golfers. We enable our members to play other member private golf clubs as guests. I am the Founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DianApps, and what were your goals?

We were working with a previous developer who left us in a lurch with an incomplete and non-functioning web and mobile platform. We hired DianApps to fix all the issues, complete all the functionality, and build new enhancements.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were referred to DianApps by the previous developer

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The project is a complex project with both transaction services as well as social networking services. There is a backend database (Hasura and Firebase), a any device anywhere web and both iOS and Android mobile apps. The scope of work included extensive QA to ensure that the functionality was working as designed and fixing or completing each functional piece.

Many functional modules required new design creation as well. Some functional modules were completely redesigned for UX reasons. A lot of the backend needed to be refactored for performance and stability.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There was a project manager, a lead solution architect, two backend developers, a front end developer, and a QA engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The DianApps team is very competent technically. I found their attention to detail impressive. Given that they picked a troubled project in mid stream, they did thorough QA testing, identified issues that were not even user visible, and methodically fixed them including refactoring where necessary instead of simply band-aiding. Five months into their involvement, our platform is functioning flawlessly on the core functionality, and is delivering to performance and stability expectations.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We have a 1xweek or 2xweek call with the team which involves the project manager and the solution architect. In addition, we use Basecamp, WhatsApp and Jira for communication and tracking. The team is responsive and available for ad-hoc calls as necessary.

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

I've worked with three other development companies in the last four years, but DianApps is by far the most competent. Their grasp of development principles is strong, they take a "do it right" approach as opposed to "do it quick". Their QA and scenario analysis is impressive and they think through edge cases that even we hadn't thought about.

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

The time zone between India and the US is less than ideal, since it introduces a 24 hour lag in responsiveness. That sometimes becomes a challenge when we encounter a P-1 system or user down issue.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Co-Founder of a real money gaming startup. We develop own games based on skills where you can win real money.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DianApps?

We wanted to create skill based casual strategy games for android, but we were unable to hire an experienced in-house team. We hired DianApps to make the most important module - the game module. The aim was to create the entire module within 2.5 months.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We started looking out for a competent tech development firm to get us started with our game module. We got a call from the co-founder Parag who explained to us on an introductory call how DianApps was exactly what I was looking for.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

They created the game module in lesser time than expected. They were quite thorough and meticulous in building each section of the game module carefully. They built the backend along with the matching algorithms, the withdrawal, payment gateway integration and finally, integrating it on the frontend and delivering the entire game module.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with 3 positions. 2 backend developers and 1 android developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They completed the project even before time and it was very efficient. The codes ran well, because the logic was flawlessly executed.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project management was efficient. We used to have daily updates and we charted out the workflow for each sprint. We used to communicate using various tools for workflow management.

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

They understand the human side of development. They see our projects as their own, and they have a dedicated team of genuinely capable individuals.

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

An extremely minor suggestion - Dianapps can work on formalizing their workflows with clients.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of a telecommunications company that provides SMS & voice services to customers worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DianApps?

We were facing technical challenges with respect to scaling up & development of new features on the panel.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Our primary criteria was to get an experienced engineering team on the project who have prior experience of scaling systems & also experience in building saas products. It took us a month to do our checks and have them onboard.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

They handle the entire tech infrastructure and make sure the system is up 99.99% of the time. They also are responsible for building & maintaining an architecture which works at high scale.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There are 2 resources on the project who look after the panel.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team is very receptive and completes work on time. This is evident from the sprints that are help and completed every 2 weeks.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have weekly discussions on tasks & project wise discussion with individual members. The engineers assigned to us are very committed to there work and we are happy with the experience.

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

The quality of engineers they have is better than what we have found from tech agencies. They have been very supportive in every aspect of the project, which is turning out to be a great experience.

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

Nothing comes to mind as of now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a social media start up. Our platform brings together every one in sports to help create revenue for women’s pro athletes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DianApps, and what were your goals?

DianApps helped us with the development and design of our app. Our goal was to create a professional yet attractive app that users would feel safe using and would come back to use frequently.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Parag reached out to us. His intelligence and drive was a huge factored in deciding to work with DianApps on this project.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had a kick off meeting to discuss our goal and objectives. From there the team created our first wireframes to go other before starting the development process. We are currently in the development phase and hold weekly demos to go through what is being accomplished.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Our team consists of a product owner, quality analyst, a UI/UX designer, and two IOS developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We are currently still in the development phase but are looking to launch our product at the end of September.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We have constant communication with the entire team. We communicate through WhatsApp and Basecamp. They outline the entire project in detail using a shared spreadsheet.

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

Their professionalism and knowledge has been key for us. They are able to execute and provide valuable feedback on all tasks that we ask them about. They are very organized and transparent on the process.

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

Things have been great so far in preparation for our lunch in the upcoming month.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the project manager for a business management SaaS company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DianApps?

We needed to outsource two parts of the backend and frontend of our mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we gave DianApps a project plan. It was a detailed product requirements document with what we wanted and what we were trying to build. Within one week, they gave us project estimates and the cost breakdown. We signed an NDA and started development.

We provided design, and DianApps helped us with the front- and backend development for an Android MVP. The backend stack was in Django, and the frontend was React. After establishing the parameters, we launched the iOS and web versions as well.

We started with an MVP phase. Then, we marketed it for our user base and got 1,000 users. Thanks to this, we understood which other features we had to incorporate to have longer user retention. After the feedback, we launched the second version of the Android app. We launched the iOS app on phase three, and phase four was the web application.

The app is for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in India to help them manage their workforce. They can create a profile of their staff. Other features include online salary payment and calculation.

What is the team composition?

We have four backend developers, four frontend developers, three QAs, and one product owner.

How did you come to work with DianApps?

I found them on Clutch. It was very helpful in finding the right vendor.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2020, and we have an ongoing engagement with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They had projected three months for development, and they delivered in two and a half months. The product had a 99.9% crash-free use, and we were able to scale up pretty fast.

Moreover, the app has a total active user base of over 5 million and almost 3.5 million monthly active users, so the reach of the product is around 45% of monthly active users. Until now, we’ve processed about $200 million of salary payments in total.

How did DianApps perform from a project management standpoint?

They meet the deadlines and explain what they’ve accomplished. We have daily calls to discuss our plan for the day. We record all sessions and use Confluence, Jira, and Notion.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do proper tech solutions. They have a backend developer who is a senior architect, and he always runs the solution through one of our co-founders before starting development. They take ownership of the project and work around the clock when it’s needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m happy with the way they handle things. They’re great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and co-founder of PharmAssess Diagnostics. We build software solutions that help pharmacists conduct their billable clinical services such as prescribing medication for patients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DianApps?

We were looking for efficient developers so we hired DianApps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DianApps provides us with a full stack development team consisting of a couple of frontend developers and one backend developer. There's also one member who checks the quality of the whole product and creates documentation around it.

What is the team composition?

I work with Vikash (Technical Co-Founder) who is the project manager and allocates the developers. There’ve been two backend developers on this project, plus a third one who works in and out. Of those three people, we now only retain one. I’ve also worked with four frontend developers, two of whom are still working with us. 

Two of the three QA analysts are still on board, but we hired the one who left DianApps for contract work simply because he was really good. 

How did you come to work with DianApps?

The original company that we were working with didn't do a good job so we went to look for another one. I've been in touch with Vikash since September 2020 and he’s been messaging and emailing me about different opportunities. After about four months of silent communication, I decided to give DianApps a shot.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $70,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership in January 2021 and it is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Through this engagement, we’re able to hone in and rotate talent quickly and efficiently rather than going through the standard recruitment and interview process. DianApps is able to provide additional resources as required.

How did DianApps perform from a project management standpoint?

For the most part, DianApps meets the deadlines and objectives for what we’re looking to implement. Their attitude is good, too. They're honest workers who are quick to respond and get things right. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The developers from DianApps are smart and talented. We've worked with other developers who are good on paper and able to do some coding, but they weren’t as diligent with the required work as DianApps. We’ve had to explain things a dozen times with the previous service providers, but DianApps only needs to be told once or twice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be more flexible with their payment method. The channel we're currently utilizing for transfers charges us sending fees, which is sometimes a lot. Ideally, we should be splitting those fees between us, but DianApps does not currently offer that option.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as communicative about your needs as possible, especially with the project manager. You’ve also got to be quick at filtering developers. Don’t be afraid to get rid of some resources since it is a normal part of the process. As in our situation, having four developers is good, but having just two could be substantially better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a transport provider. I work across various areas of the business, but mostly I'm an IT manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DianApps?

Our initial provider went out of business due to some legislation changes, so our application was half done. No one was really prepared to take on the project, and people didn't want to get into it because someone had already done half of it and there’s always issues around that in software.

The application was very critical for us to get online. We needed to have tracking capabilities for our drivers and gather a lot more information for deliveries and such.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DianApps actually took over the project to finish and deploy it. They were involved in the whole development process. They did the backend in PHP and the two native apps for iOS and Android.

Basically, the app is a tracking and billing platform. We use the app to send jobs to our drivers, and drivers use it to start and finish their job. Customers can log in and see the proof of their deliveries, tracking, and more. We do our processing in terms of customer billing and so on, so it’s a full, end-to-end system.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with a few people, but the team has been generally small. We have 3–4 people workign at a time. I basically deal with the main technical lead. We also work closely with the senior developers, and sometimes with the QA people.

How did you come to work with DianApps?

The only specific thing was that they were willing to do the job, and we were desperate at that point in time.

How much have you invested with them?

We've probably spent around $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with DianApps for at least three years, and it’s an ongoing partnership. Nowadays, we engage a bit less because the system is in production, but they provide regular maintenance and updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the main criteria was to actually have the app in production and replace the billing system. We had to do that within a certain time limit, and DianApps achieved it.

Overall, we’re satisfied with the quality of their work. The team leaders that we’ve dealt with have been fairly invested in trying to figure out the business requirements and use cases. When we discuss something with them, they come back to us and ask if there’s a better way to do it, whereas our previous provider only did what they were told. There wasn’t a lot of thinking or analysis behind it, and we've found that with DianApps. Thanks to them, we’ve managed to get the application to work.

How did DianApps perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management is good. We have regular updates and in terms of development cycles, we have regular releases. Although things can always improve, we’re satisfied.

We communicate 2–3 times a week and use Jira to track all items and requests. It’s our main communication tool. We live in different countries, so we have specific meeting times.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As I mentioned, DianApps stands out for being engaged. Also, their eagerness to be part of the business, understand it, and add value is one of their best qualities.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything at the moment. Most of the issues we’ve had have been related to time zones and availability rather than anything team-related.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and try to explain the actual business process and issues that you’re having. I’m not a developer by any means, but you should think about how your application should work and behave because it’s highly likely that you’ve got it wrong. You need someone to actually have a look and critique it, so you have to take suggestions from the team and not be rigid about it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a SaaS provider that offers scheduling software to fire departments. I’m the owner and product manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DianApps? 

We were working with a company in India to build an app to support and add extra features to our existing web application. That company struggled to keep up resources during the pandemic, and we eventually ended the relationship. We then looked for another company to complete the app and assist in development of the web application. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Essentially, the application DianApps is working on is a scheduling system that deals with a lot of management policies and union rules. Essentially, we’re filling overtime spots, but rather than hand them out ad-hoc, organizations have to call individuals in a particular rotation. It’s fairly complex, and the result has to be usable by hundreds of people while also being fairly intuitive. We have to specify the work very clearly. 

DianApps builds development teams and completes projects, breaking them down into a couple of weeks or months' worth of work. They do the development, testing, and delivery of tasks into TestFlight or one of our testing environments.

What is the team composition?

I’ve met with the owner — both in person and over the phone. There are also two development team leaders that I’ve met with. Finally, I meet with the five individual developers weekly. 

How did you come to work with DianApps? 

Their sales team reached out to us as a small technology company that they felt would be a good fit for them. I was in a bit of a bind at the time, and I was eager to call them back. 

I was happy to try out a few development companies, so I handed them a few small projects to see how they went. We ramped up over the next six months to where we are now. 

How much have you invested with them?

We pay by the hour, rather than by the project, and we’ve paid for around 300 hours to date, totaling around $20,000. We’re going to ramp up in the second half of the year, however, so we’ll probably spend 2–3-times that amount again by the end of 2021. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2021, and I’m going to continue using them as our development company, assuming things continue to go well. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I measure success by judging if the development work meets specifications, as well as how quickly we’re able to move it to a live environment. We don’t necessarily have firm dates because the work is done by the hour; it can change quite a lot during the development work and testing. 

I’m very, very happy with DianApps. There have been occasions when I wished they could have delivered a bit earlier, but that's almost as much our fault as it is their fault. I don’t think things could have gone much better. I’d rate them as an 8–9 out of 10 at this point. 

The quality of their work is excellent. There’s a couple of developers that I’ve been very impressed with, and I’ve specifically asked for them to remain on the team. DianApps will move people around depending on the requirements of other customers, but I’ve been told that the one person I requested to stay on our project isn’t going anywhere. 

How did DianApps perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ll have a weekly meeting, and there’s a project lead that’s less technical than the developers, which I prefer. His job is to keep track of the deliverables and any issues we’re having. He’ll submit a report immediately after the weekly meetings with an update on the hours used. 

There has been a slight language barrier, but they are very understanding and it hasn’t been much of an issue at all. They use Jira to manage the work, and it’s very structured. DianApps has a bunch of protocols that determine which tools they use. I’m comfortable with how the project management is going. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The skills of the developers themselves stand out. I’ve worked with companies in the past that pick up as many developers as possible as quickly as possible without regard for their experience or skill level. I’ve been very impressed with the knowledge and skills displayed by the people that DianApps have selected. They get things done efficiently. 

The owner himself, Parag (Co-Founder), is very willing to chat when necessary. He’s very responsive and a nice guy. We have a great relationship. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

If I would improve anything then it would be their responsiveness. They usually get back to me within a day or two, but a few things have fallen by the wayside and been ignored. That’s very unusual, however. I’ll follow up in a few days if something isn’t taken care of, and then it will happen. There are no major issues. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you understand what you’re taking on when you start working with a development team in India. The biggest issue that is unavoidable is the time difference. There’s only a short overlap — my early morning, which is their early evening — but they’re very good about staying available late their time. This may be difficult for companies on the West Coast, however.

Because of this, make sure communication is tight. Plan ahead for meetings. You have to stay up on communication or things will trail off and be forgotten.