Digers!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the digital project manager at an advertising agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to make our content from a website available on the go and to be able to be updated daily and available offline. Diges defined the functionality and worked with our designers and web developers to make a quality app for our users on the go.

SOLUTION

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

We have a relationship with Dige for previous app work and they have always excelled in this capacity. Great app developer resource!

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

We had discovery meetings for input and requirements. Dige developed the wireframes and defined the functionality. We provided the design elements and the Dige team worked with our website developers to make the app function.

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

We had a project manager as well as the developers on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had to work with the website developers to allow the content updated on the website to feed updates to the app. It was a very collaborative project.

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

Project management was great - monthly updates to start and then weekly. The Dige team was very flexible with our timezone challenges.

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

Their mobile app skills and knowledge for the app process was most impressive. Their forward-thinking of different functionality for the app was very valuable and items we didn't even think of.

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

Nothing. Excellent partner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The website (+iOS and Android app) is called Smartparagraph.com. Its purpose is to share culture and knowledge extracted from books.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digers!?

My goal was to have the application developed. Smartparagraph.com allows readers to take a snapshot of a page, paragraph or sentence using the application, then highlight the part of the text deemed interesting. Doing so, they can also add specific tags and publish the content on the website and app. Every piece of content is properly credited per legal requirements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I provided the specifications for the website and app. Digers! fine-tuned it and translated the specs into technical requirements. They took care of the design and coding of the application. They also made interesting contributions in terms of design and layout.

What is the team dynamic?

I had ideas, but Digers! asked me to hold off. They could have been nice idea per se, but wouldn’t have provided any added value for users, and would have made the platform less user-friendly. They have a much deeper knowledge of user behavior on apps and websites. Digers! was honest with me and kept me focused on how the website and app should be.

How did you come to work with Digers!?

I am a foreign citizen, based in Szczecin, Poland, and I am not fluent in Polish, so I needed to find a company with good English knowledge. I looked at a few options across Poland and chose Digers! because, they are based in Szczecin, and I had a good first impression when contacting them. In fact, despite not having signed a contract yet, they dedicated a significant amount of energy to answer my questions. They showed me some of the products they’d previously developed, and I was satisfied with almost everything from cost to competencies and how potential customers are handled. 

How much have you invested with them?

The overall cost was $11,000–$12,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Digers! in early 2016. The collaboration is still ongoing for hosting, improving products, etc...

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is currently available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. 

Digers! was instrumental in improving the website itself, its specifications and those of the app. As I drafted it, the project was not the same as what it ended up being. Digers! added value both in terms of technical requirements, as well as the user dimension of the project.

How did Digers! perform from a project management standpoint?

We met three times, but the main means of communication for co-development was Google Docs. I took screenshots, commented on them, and shared them on Google Docs for Digers! to work on and amend.

The project took a very long time to reach its final stage but, as far as I am concerned, I am not an easy client. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Digers! stood out through flexibility, and through how fast they could implement and develop things. They put a lot of energy into dealing with my requests and explaining things. They all speak pretty good English, which I appreciate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Information flow can be improved since I was not always notified of how and when things were implemented.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a well-established tax-refund company in Poland that's been operating since 1999. We assist over 2 million migrant Polish customers with claiming US, Ireland, and UK income-tax refunds. We employ 20 full-time staff members and focus on securing the highest possible tax refunds using modern technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digers!?

In late 2015, we started to experience significant growth, amounting to a 10% increase in tax-return applications on a monthly basis. Up to that point, we had been using a mix of software solutions to conduct daily operations, ranging from spreadsheets to a CRM [customer relationship management] platform. A 60% increase in our staff led to these short-term solutions becoming error-prone and high-maintenance, resulting in decreased performance satisfaction levels. This was a situation we could not allow to continue as a business, as we have a word-of-mouth model.

We started looking for a software developer with experience in finance-related desktop CRMs. We needed a provider that was large enough to provide a good level of support while keeping the cost reasonable. We had to obtain a base level of functionality under a strict timeframe, before the start of the new fiscal year.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digers! developed our web solution. There were 7–8 developers assigned to our project in the beginning, and the team was reduced to 3 people towards the end.

We have 2–3 marketing people in our company, but they are not IT specialists. Digers! helped us tackle markets in Romania and Germany, organizing our content for different languages.

How did you come to work with Digers!?

The software was a mission-critical part of our company, so we didn’t want to go with the lowest bidder. Any quality issue would more or less affect our bottom line. We began the search with our local market, making reference requests and conducting a few interviews. We chose Digers! because of their honest approach and reasonable cost estimate. They were eager to undergo a research phase before the actual development started, which was a big plus. The final estimate was in the upper half of the quote we received, but their post-launch service was more important than the initial development cost.

How much have you invested with Digers!?

The initial estimate was $65,000, and the project ended up costing $68,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The development work took 16 weeks. Digers! continued to work on our platform, and we will consider them for other projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

The end-result is nicely designed. Everything works smoothly, and nothing has broken down. We started the business with 100 customers and reached around 2,000 a few years ago. This increased volume became harder to handle, but now all of our work is automated. We can analyze how customers are filling out applications on our site. When we send documents to the IRS in the US or HM Revenue in the UK, we don’t receive payment for 6–8 weeks. We have a list of customers on behalf of whom we make daily calls after the payment deadlines were exceeded. Printing customer details automatically has saved us a lot of time.

How did Digers! perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered our web application on time and only slightly above budget, due to the scope changes we introduced during development. We completed the project before the new fiscal year, saving a lot of hassle and freeing us from our older makeshift system. 

As far as communication, Digers! was responsive. Their organization showed us what was going to be delivered 1–2 weeks in advance. We had some slight differences, but they were all resolved in a timely and professional manner, with clear reasoning behind each choice.

Their building is near ours, so we had meetings almost every day, as well as email and phone conversations.

What did you find most impressive about Digers!?

We initially thought that the project would take around 8 months, but Digers! ensured us that it would only require half that period. They were able to deliver the solution before our season started.

Are there any areas Digers! could improve?

We had some arguments about the initial estimate, but those only took 5 days to sort out. Digers! was able to show us how the technology and algorithms would work, and they managed to change our minds. We worked together smoothly after that.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Digers!?

If the client is specific in explaining their needs, the collaboration will work well. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a specialist working for an automotive company that provides parts and services for individual and fleet customers in Poland. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digers!?

We needed to build and run our sales website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digers! fully developed a new channel for our online sales. It’s a way for us to attract new customers and distributors. They were also responsible for the administration of the site’s frontend and backend engine, taking care of any technical issues. Marketing aspects were handled by our own team.

We have a search engine for the product page, a catalog, marketing materials, and a part-ordering functionality for customers. The sales process was the most important aspect, and it was a new approach for our company. Digers! consulted us on everything from ordering to parts departure.

How did you come to work with Digers!?

They were responsible for other programs in the company, including accessories. We asked Digers! if they could also develop our website.

How much have you invested with Digers!?

The total cost of our website was $40,000, including the main development and administration costs.

What is the status of this engagement?

The website development project was started in 2015, but our company has been working with Digers! for 10 years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Our traffic saw a 50% growth in 2016 compared to the previous year. The main benefit for us was Digers!’ good communication skills and creative ideas. They are available constantly and have quick response times. They are a useful team to us, and they’ve been responsible for all the development work done on the site.

How did Digers! perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication is excellent. We have an internal meeting once per quarter and communicate via email and phone for the rest of the time. Digers! gave us many new ideas and leveraged their experience in an area which was completely new for us. They are responsible for all the reporting of website traffic and usage, which we receive on a monthly basis.

What did you find most impressive about Digers!?

The communication and responsiveness have been the most impressive part. We had to wait 1 or 2 weeks for a response from other agencies. If we need a change on our website, Digers! will do it in 2–3 days. We have a dedicated person for communication. She is responsible for all administrative tasks and maintains contact with our suppliers and dealerships. We have a special dealer network, and Digers!’ team is responsible for answering their questions. We’ve seen a lot of positive feedback for their work from dealers.

Are there any areas Digers! could improve?

They lack knowledge of the automotive segment as far as parts and technical services. We’ve had to explain car manufacturing and other technical details. Also, our site’s capabilities in terms of online marketing are less modern compared to the work of other agencies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Digers created the mobile apps of HejtStop campaign for iOS and Android. Applications allow users to send info about hate slogans in public spaces with the picture and auto-geo-localization. The reports are sent later to public authorities that takes the necessary actions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digers?

Our goal was to create a tool that would be helpful in spreading, almost crowdsourcing, our efforts. The biggest challenge was the effective geo-localization, allowing the user to find the specific address, which is necessary for authorities to take effective action. They also developed the new version of our website and acts as technical support on an ongoing basis.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digers created the app as a pro bono project, based on our concept and in collaboration with us, . They were also responsible for the testing and implementation of the tool.

How did you come to work with Digers?

Our partner from a PR agency recommended Digers as a modern company, one that is open to new ideas and feels the need to do something for the community. They were recommended as a trustworthy partner that would be ready for new challenges.

How much have you invested with Digers?

Despite it being a pro bono project for them, the cooperation went perfectly. We didn’t feel that we were treated worse in any way compared to commercial clients.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our cooperation in 2014. Today they manage updates and bug reports for the app and the website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

On Google Play store, the average rate of our app is 3.5/5–however, most of the negative comments are related to negative perception of our activities from right-wing extremists, not technical issues. 53 people rated the app as a “5” or “4”.

The apps are available to download and use. We’re using them ourselves. We would occasionally encounter problems, tell the Digers team, and they were quickly resolved.

How did Digers perform from a project management standpoint?

All works were done on schedule. The cooperation was extremely friendly and effective. We can still rely on the professional assistance for any technical issues related to the apps or the website.

What did you find most impressive about Digers?

They were always open and suggesting solutions to issues that were outside of their contract-defined obligations. Their openness and commitment was extremely useful for developing the final solutions.

Are there any areas Digers could improve?

It’s hard to tell if the cooperation was perfect. The final apps had some technical problems, but they were quickly repaired by the Digers team after they received reports from the users.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital director for an advertising agency. About 50% of our business is in the digital area, and I’m responsible for all the digital communication.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digers!?

We had a client who needed an API function between a WordPress site and a CRM [customer relationship management] system. We don’t do WordPress websites, and so we needed a partner who could set it up for us and build a specific platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did most of the preparation, involving discussions with our client, technical/functional descriptions, and the mockup for the web and mobile versions. After those iterations, we made the mockups and the Photoshop documents of the designs and sent them to Digers!. They checked them and provided us with very functional feedback. We changed a couple of things and discussed them with our client for final approval. After the final approval, they started working on the development. It’s a website platform, but it’s responsive, so there were mobile versions involved. They did the frontend and backend.

After the design process, they built it, and we only had to test and verify it. It went pretty good. We’ve done one or two projects together regarding a platform they have built around collecting stats for retailers, coffee stores, or restaurants. We haven’t sold that to any real client yet, though.

How did you come to work with Digers!?

We are in a worldwide network organization for agencies called Taan, and we know Digers! from that organization. We decided to ask them to partner up with us to do this project for that client. I've known Artur [Co-Owner & CEO] for three or four years. Artur and I share the same vision on the whole digital area, and that was the reason for us to decide to call him first. When he told me they could help us and had some good references, we decided to give them the opportunity to do the project.

How much have you invested with Digers!?

This project cost between $2,239 and $3359

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2015 and the work is ongoing. We do two or three updates each year. They are the first company we call when we need a WordPress website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We have our own developers and it’s good to see how the two teams work together because we have the same vision, but each team did things differently. We learned a lot from each other during the process. Digers! provided very good and fair feedback during the whole process and even a couple of months later. They were very helpful.

How did Digers! perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a project management tool but we decided to use our own. They were very flexible in how we wanted to handle discussions and the work list. The whole process lasted 3½ weeks, so we were limited on time. It helped us a lot that they were very flexible. We communicated via email and WhatsApp.

What did you find most impressive about Digers!?

It’s very important to partner up with companies we can trust, and that’s one of the most important things regarding Krzysztof [Founder & COO, Digers!] and Artur. We did two earlier projects with other companies, also based in the east of Europe, and it didn’t go very well. There were a lot of struggles and it cost us a lot of money. But with Digers, it went very smoothly. I think quality and trust is the most important.

Are there any areas Digers! could improve?

They may be a little more direct in their communication. They need to say what’s on their mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Elysium Apps is a startup in Germany for life advice. I’m the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digers!?

We needed to build two apps for iOS and Android, and a web backend for our service. We didn’t have the capabilities in-house to develop these. We have more experience in the conceptual and communication work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app registers users that want to receive tarot or psychic messages which have been channeled from angel mediums. Users can request messages without in-app purchases. The premium service has three parts to it that deal with all the information. We already had the wireframing and prototypes, and Digers! co-developed the API for the whole service together with our backend developer. Digers! also provided some consultancy for usability purposes and design for the apps. It was a collaborative effort and we’re happy with the results. The basic functions for both apps are similar. The Android app was released last year.

How did you come to work with Digers!?

I had some past experience with Digers! and had already met Kristoff, the founder and CEO. I was considering some other agencies but in terms of ease of communication, flexibility, and team size, Digers! seemed perfect in their setup to work with a small Agile team like ours. From my experience, when you have different team management structures on two remote teams, you can get in trouble because they’re working at different speeds and patterns. Digers! was very capable of adapting to what we needed. The other firms we considered were using different tones on how they could deliver the project, but Digers! was really down to earth and had a very realistic view on how the project should be managed. They are very flexible and patient with their customers and that’s why we chose them.

How much have you invested with Digers!?

We spent between $10,000 and $15,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in December 2015, and most of the work was completed in December 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The App Store reviews` have been positive. The feedback on the design, look and feel, and usability from partners and colleagues has also been delightful. The pros were positively surprised because it was a small project but it still turned out really well. The app had some minor hiccups when it first launched but those have been resolved pretty quickly because we’ve been in direct touch with Digers! and they were great at providing patches and fixes really quickly. That is part of their quality assurance, which is another positive fact about them. They care about having a working product out there which is why they’re still supporting us today with quality assurance sessions.

How did Digers! perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very professional but not too process driven. They use a solution driven management style but still are very structured and clear in terms of communication. They’re doing a great job formulating scopes and letting customers know in a friendly and patient way the best way to proceed. They have a thorough opinion on how things should be done but they are very good at communicating that in a professional way. They are a service provider and that’s how they see themselves as well. I know from earlier projects that they are also capable of setting up tool-driven processes and project management skills. We didn’t need that for this project because the team was really small and we communicated by email. We used JIRA a bit but it wasn’t that necessary. For the design phase, they provided a tool for us to see the templates and we were able to comment using that tool.

What did you find most impressive about Digers!?

I have worked with many other firms but Digers! is outstanding in the fact that we have one major contact that we work with. That makes you feel like you’re working with one person while you know there is a whole team working on the project. I seldom see that with other agencies. For large projects, I’ve seen many people involved on a project and things can get fuzzy because you can’t monitor what’s going on between everyone involved. They had a lot of patience with us as a small team, since we don’t have anyone in-house working on it full-time. They have provided great help and kept the ball rolling even though there may have been some phases where we weren’t rolling the ball back. They were also concerned about getting the project done on time, which is a very positive aspect for the product itself because if the product is delivered, conceptualized, or developed in a rush, then people make mistakes. It’s always good for the product to have time to ripen so that all the ideas and all the questions get sorted out.

Are there any areas Digers! could improve?

It could’ve helped to have more of a visible plan on how the project was planned internally to know which stage comes after which and what information is necessary at which point. We had 80%–85% of that sorted out anyway, but that could’ve helped just to avoid some discrepancies in expectations and delivery. I know that’s part of Digers! plan when working on larger projects. I was pleased that we had such an easy relationship in this project which didn’t have as many processes and tools, but on the other hand, maybe at some point, they could’ve had a guiding plan.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Durszlak.pl is the biggest culinary website in Poland. I am the product manager of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digers!?

We needed to develop a mobile application and website for Durszlak.pl. We had a mobile application which had been developed by a previous company, but we were disappointed with their level of service.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digers! rebuilt our native iOS and Android app, making substantial changes to it. This involved refactoring the code, as the previous version had very low quality. It was a challenge for both our groups, proving more difficult than building it from scratch. Digers! had to use the code provided to them in order to make enhancements to the app. Digers! also helped with the development of our website, to a smaller extent.

The design was mostly imported from the previous version, so Digers! didn't have an involvement here.

The app allows our members to explore the culinary recipes on our main site, which are aggregated from multiple Polish blogs. Users can create custom cookbooks and can subscribe to various blogs, filtering out the most interesting ones through our search functionality. We are responsible for the copy part of the application.

How did you come to work with Digers!?

I knew their founder from other projects on which I'd worked on. Our previous experience with another developer had been pretty poor, so we saw the need to pay a bit more for a better collaboration. Digers! had a good quality/price ratio, and their communication and project management were much better, compared to our previous firm.

How much have you invested with Digers!?

The cost of the work has been between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Digers! in October 2016. The app has been launched. We plan to develop the next version of the app using Digers!, but we've had some ownership changes within the company, making these decisions more complicated.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We've seen much lower crash statistics for the version of the app built by Digers!. There have been many iterations of it over time, using different developers, so I couldn't pinpoint a single jump in popularity.

How did Digers! perform from a project management standpoint?

Digers! performed much better than our previous developer, who only had email-based communication and didn't provide a development status for our app. Digers! gave us access to Redmine, through which all our feature requests were recorded. Digers! also provided in-house testing, making our iteration time much shorter. We have a Slack channel which also makes a substantial difference in terms of communication. We also use phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about Digers!?

The mobile app development market has a huge spectrum of prices and quality. There can be up to a five times difference between the cheapest and the most expensive option. The pricing that Digers! offered was affordable, and they remained accountable for the work, providing detailed reporting of what we were paying for. If we had any concerns, they were easily resolved.

Digers! has also done proactive research on our behalf, in order to find out what the industry standards were for our type of app, especially whenever we were unable to provide detailed scopes for certain functionalities.

Digers! took the time to understand our business and the objective of the app. We could tell Digers! what we wanted to achieve going forward, and they would provide a solution.

Are there any areas Digers! could improve?

I know that Digers! has worked on much more difficult projects, but in our case, the collaboration was perfect, and we're quite happy to have chosen Digers!.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

‎Spotbeans is a software and product house. We're an angel-funded company with two major products in our portfolio, namely a Saas [Software as a Service] solution for dieticians, and a marketplace for that same field. We were founded in May 2015, have 15 employees, and develop most of our solutions in-house. I am the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digers!?

We were trying to leverage the help of an experienced development team which knew how to build a marketplace.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought our platform designs and feature requirements to Digers!. Their team helped us trim down the feature set, and provided a person for technical guidance, working with our lead to build up the stack and infrastructure. Digers! was an active partner in every decision we've made, outside of product management issues. They took over the backend development, as well as parts of the frontend elements. Digers! created clickable frontend versions for us, with a few functionalities underneath.

Our solution will function as a SaaS enabled marketplace, similar to Zocdoc.com. It features dietician profiles, with whole calendars, opinions, and blogs. More than being a site, it's a complicated engine featuring SMS notifications and APIs for the dieticians' mobile application, which Digers! also developed.

How did you come to work with Digers!?

I'd known Digers!' principal for some time, and observed that they were a talented software house. I reached out to him and found a model through which we could combine their skills and experience with our imagination, in order to rapidly build a platform. I chose Digers! because I knew they could handle the work, and I trusted their owner.

How much have you invested with Digers!?

The cost of Digers! work has been between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Digers! in mid-August 2016. We've had a fast development start. Digers! started the work one week after our first talk, and finished things much faster than I expected. By the end of 2016, we finished most of the development. Currently, we're mainly polishing things. Digers! continues to support us but in a core capacity. We are planning to launch the platform this week, after taking care of some marketing work on our side.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I've appreciated Digers!' ability to write clean code and test it from the beginning. Digers! has a built-in qualitative approach which ensures that the work is done right the first time. We haven't had to come back to the code written by Digers!. We had a very short handover between our developers and those from Digers! occurring in less than a day. Digers! wasn't simply hacking things to finish the work, which means that the maintainability of our code will be much easier.

We've had a few months of very rapid work, during which Digers! built a whole platform. It had many features and was done excellently. Through my partner's company, we've tested it heavily from stress and functionality standpoints and have been happy. We didn't need to rework anything.

The business case is my idea, and it remains to be seen what the impact will be.

How did Digers! perform from a project management standpoint?

Digers! has a self-driven team. They were proactive and worked with our developers at a good pace. I've found Digers! to be responsive in our collaboration. We communicated daily via Skype meetings and also used Slack channels. Redmine was used for issue tracking, and designs were shared through Google Docs. We could easily make a phone call in the case of any problems, and we also had a bit of on-site work with Digers! during the kick off. After that, we were able to trust Digers!' team enough for remote collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about Digers!?

It was important for me to have Digers!' developers understand that they would be a part of my team during the project. They've put their heart into the work, and became involved in the process, beyond treating the project as just another deal. Digers! was proactive in terms of providing ideas for designs and features, and really wanted the project to work. It's important to have people on a team who go the extra mile and build things which are very useful. In my experience working with Digers!, we've felt that we didn't have to worry about the progress. I've worked for some big software houses and can say that this type of collaboration is not very common. They usually want to finish the work and send an invoice. With Digers!, the invoice was usually the last thing we spoke about. The contract was there just to ensure that everyone felt safe, but we never had to go back and discuss it.

Are there any areas Digers! could improve?

Digers! did make some suggestions for tracking tools, but we initially used our system. Digers! could have been pushier at that point, but really it's an improvement point for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is a membership driven global network of independent communications firms that has been around since 1936. We have 50-plus members around the world and Digers! is one of the members. I’m the president, so I run the educational elements, the meetings, and the coordination of the organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digers!?

We needed help revamping our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They revamped an existing website we had, built mobile applications, built things to experiment with, and ran meetings. We wanted to change the functionality of how we use the website for our organization and focus on the internal part. There are 50 different organizations that must input the content for the site, so it was a huge task that Digers! coordinated. Digers! worked with the governing board to develop and approve the scope of work. Digers! worked with one of our members in Europe to develop the design and functionality of the site. Then Digers! implemented it in WordPress and coordinated the ongoing updating of information on the site. The team on our side was a committee of four or five members around the world who coordinated with me as well. We work mostly with the principal of the company.

How did you come to work with Digers!?

We found Digers! because they were a member of our organization. I worked with Digers! about ten years before that and we’ve seen the work they were doing and believed in their intellectual capability. When the time came for us to come up with a new site, we asked Digers! if they would help us. Digers! was able to demonstrate to the membership the quality of work they did.

How much have you invested with Digers!?

The project cost between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on the website September 2014, and the project was completed August 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

In my opinion, design and functionality go together, and I would say that’s very good for a European looking site. It was not a commerce site but more about information flow. The design was clean and simple to navigate. The difficulty we had was the ability to update it across many channels. It’s a site that needs to be updated every week, and that became an issue because only certain people had the ability to make the changes. We had great responses to the website, but it was not as SEO [search engine optimization] compatible as we had hoped. That was our fault. Digers! was easy to work with. The language barrier was not an issue. Digers! created elements outside of the website without us even asking. That helped facilitate getting things done. Digers! is not afraid of failing for the sake of trying to find a better solution.

How did Digers! perform from a project management standpoint?

At first, things were slow but once everyone understood how it was working, Digers! assigned more people to solve the problem. Digers! made sure everyone stayed on task. We didn’t have any issues with the time difference.

What did you find most impressive about Digers!?

Digers! was always willing to experiment and try innovative solutions that they’ve never done before. That was one of the best attributes of working with Digers!. Many of the digital firms I work with are the exact opposite.

Are there any areas Digers! could improve?

Digers! is popular in their marketplace because of how good they are and they have a lot of other work that interfered with our project. We gave Digers! leeway because they were part of the organization and, in the end, we’d rather have the quality than timing.