Digis, a Fiverr company (NYSE: FVRR)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

B2C company in the transportation field, with millions of active users per month.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

Our data Engineering team had growing challenges and needed backup for reducing backlog, moving forward with strategic projects.

What were your goals for this project?

- reducing backlog - moving forward with strategic projects quickly - increase our stakeholders' trust in our ability to deliver

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We chose this vendor as another team in the company had worked with them and good recommendations of them.

Describe the project in detail.

Essentially, we added two additional engineers to our team, onboarding them for a couple of weeks and then slowly beginning to give them tasks to perform, explaining the context along the way. Slowly but surely, these individuals were able to take on more and more responsibility and independence. Today, 8 months in, we count on them for bigger projects than short term tasks. They talk to stakeholders on their own, and fulfill all the teams rituals as part of the team.

What was the team composition?

The team is composed of 6 data Engineers, as two are focused on the data collection aspect, another four are focused on BI and ETLs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within a couple of months we could see that our backlog was reduced, and our time to deliver projects was reduced.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was effective as we brought the individuals over to our offices for two weeks to onboard to the team. The workflow after that was effective, as they participated in all our meetings and communicated when stuck.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I feel that the two individuals are team players on one hand, and are able to work remotely from the core team on the other hand. They are communicative when they are stuck, which is very helpful.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very satisfied with their work overall, obviously working remotely and in English isn't easy for everyone but they made it as comfortable as possible, adjusting to our hours and joining our rituals.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are full-cycle software company and I'm responsible for all Human related issues in it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

We worked with DIGIS's developers for few Health Care projects.

What were your goals for this project?

To set up the connectivity between a custom cloud infrastructure, mobile component and a custom smart device.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Before choosing developers we have conducted extensive interviews with different vendors. DIGIS's developers showed themselves like real professionals, repeatedly confirmed this during the project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

DIGIS applies a whole bunch of technologies and is good in each of those. DIGIS software engineers can work on multiple projects in parallel and have no problem with switching between them as they are aces in their technologies. They place right emphases on right things and set proper priorities to right tasks and components. That's what we call "correct workload balance'.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one Backend (node.js) and one React Native developers on two different projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There was very important for us to make this projects thorough and in time. With DIGIS help we done it.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

In addition to our project manager and DIGIS project manager, there was a dedicated person on the team whose task was to keep track of everything and report asap as something occurs. Communication promptness: we were very pleased to have almost immediate feedback from DIGIS even during the weekend or non-working days. There was a dedicated PoC to address our inquiries and transfer them to proper person in charge.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

With that being said, DIGIS people are very proactive: if they see something undesirable or nonstandard, they will not wait until the next meeting/telecon with you, they will let you know about it immediately and even start resolving the issue.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I'm sure there is no limit to perfection. But throughout all cooperation with DIGIS we didn't have any issue or bad remarks.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We offer a live chat & messaging solution to our customers. My role is CTO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

We are growing our development team and mainly work with remotely. Digis helped us by adding parts of their people to our team. They are part of an ongoing agile/kanban project. Main skills are NodeJS, Native Javascript, Angular and HTML/CSS.

What were your goals for this project?

To expand our team with good quality developers that are used to working remotely.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

By internet search. Then interviewed each candidate independently. Did a month of trial period for each suitable candidate. We did this for multiple companies. Digis provided us with some 'winning' candidates.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Digis helped us by adding parts of their people to our team. They are part of an ongoing agile/kanban project. Main skills are NodeJS, Native Javascript, Angular and HTML/CSS.

What was the team composition?

Approx 10 remote developers, 1 CTO, 1 Product Owner, 1 Scrum Master, 2x Q&A, 1 Designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are very happy with the candidates provided by Digis and their quality. We are also happy about the communication with the Digis management team and project managers.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was arranged on our side in Agile style (Product Owner, Scrum board, Scrum Master, etc).

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality of the developers stands out to us. They also are open to improving their performance.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It took a while to get to know each other. Could have been more easy. But it's no longer an issue.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a stealth startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

We have a group of technical founders, but we needed more hands to work on the project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are building a mobile app for iOS and Android. DIGIS provided a team of backend engineers to support development and they work with MongoDB and AWS. Our technical founders manage their team in-house. Now, they’re helping us find an Android developer.

What is the team composition?

We work with two backend developers.

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

One of the co-founders at DIGIS was my classmate at university. I just reached out to him and explained my needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019 and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We only have positive feedback. Everything works well. They pulled together the team together quickly.

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been integrated into our internal systems, so we use GitHub, Jira, and Slack. We manage the development schedule on our side, but they have an assigned person who can answer our questions. They work quickly, communicate well, the documentation process went smoothly, and we haven’t had any payment problems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everything they create works. We haven’t had any problems working with them. They’re an outstanding company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t had any negative experiences with them and don’t have any constructive feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just read the emails, respond, and speak with the people you need to get things done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creator of Vseakcii, a stock screener for beginners and advanced stock market enthusiasts who want to achieve great results in the market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

I was searching for an agency to make a product MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the MVP of my investment management platform. Prior to our partnership, we'd been working with another service provider. So, we first provided their team with the unfinished version of the MVP produced by them. I presented them with the intended designs for the app, and they got to work on the backend. They used Laravel on the backend and Angular.js on the frontend of the project.

We have documentation and source code for the MVP. However, they’re still working on the project as we make some last-minute changes.

What is the team composition?

I work with a project manager and have direct contact with the lead developer. It’s easier for me to work directly with them. When they were producing the MVP, there were 3-4 guys. At this point, we still have two developers on our account.

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

I found them on Upwork, choosing them based on their strong internal ratings. We decided that DIGIS would be the best match because they were willing to take on a rescue mission project. Not all teams are okay with finishing other code.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $50,000-$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are bugs with all development projects. However, they're able to fix the bugs once they're located. I don’t have any complaints about their work. The MVP has about 200 registrations, and I’m testing its capabilities each day. When I find bugs, DIGIS corrects them in 1–2 days.

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

They've provided the best project management I've ever experienced with a partner. We communicate via Skype and Trello, which has worked well for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They respond to our questions and concerns very quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I’d have them improve. I’m more than happy with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you're aiming to create an MVP at a moderate price, directly hire this agency. They make things happen.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager for a virtual assistant company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

They developed an iOS app for us.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built it pretty much from scratch. We had requirements in terms of the idea of design, but they executed it and created the code and the app itself. They also helped launch it. This first app allows you to modify the bass level of music you’re playing on your phone. They’re currently developing other iOS apps for us.  

What is the team composition?

We normally work with three of them. They might have added more during the bass app, but I’m not sure.

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

We hired them thru Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $25,000 so far.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re working on other projects with them now, but the first app development ran from the middle of March 2019 until August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have set milestones, and whenever they were reached they sent their progress. We would test it and provide feedback, going back and forth until it was completed.

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done very well. We had a lot of feedback but they implemented it. There were bumps in the road at some points, but they delivered everything we needed by the end date.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of the job stood out to us. With them, once we give them instructions, they follow them, especially when creating the code.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There could a little bit better communication. There have been a few times when it was hard to get a point across, but that’s on a small scale. Everything has been accomplished.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them clear guidelines and instructions and they’ll get the job done.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO and founder of Opsly. We're a startup developing a self-service web platform that helps other startups use Azure cloud platforms simpler and faster because it generates infrastructure-as-code scripts and drag-and-drop architecture within the cloud best-practice framework.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

We hired DIGIS to improve our self-service platform from the frontend perspective. 

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to create a fully functioning platform with a nice UI and a display of information on pop-ups/different screens. DIGIS would develop the AngularJS components and write the majority of the code on the Rappid framework. The solution would also include a login/register UI flow.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found DIGIS through Upwork. They had a lot of reviews and a good reputation. Also, Nick (Managing Partner, DIGIS) was quick to find me an affordable front-end engineer in one day.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Digis developed our frontend Angular components using HTML/CSS/TypeScipt for various features such as creating a drag-and-drop functionality for cloud services. Working with our developer, they retrieved data from APIs and displayed it on the GUI, which they styled using a color theme. UI screens were created for all of the various features (e.g. architectures and environments). During the development process, they added custom widgets to solve complex logic, such as creating widgets that could handle the parsing logic of JSON schemas. 

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of one frontend/Angular developer. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product they developed is the main part of our business. It has now allowed us to start selling the solution to consumers in the market. My expectations were to have several more features done by this time, but due to complexity from unexpected issues, we didn't finish them.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We did daily standups on Skype, and we used Google Cloud Platform source repositories to store our code. The engineer was always responsive and very friendly on the calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It was impressive how fast they matched us with a developer. It was a friendly team, and there were no complications.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Yes, for the market rate I paid, I should have expected a more experienced developer.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the conference organization team lead for Jazz Do It. Jazz Do It Conference is a conference for IT people who like to spend their holidays in style—enjoying the sun, the sea, good music, and the best speakers from around the world. We talk about web and mobile development, neural networks, cryptocurrencies, AI, and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

We founded this niche conference for IT industry workers to move serious talks and panel discussions from gray-roofed buildings out into the open and fresh sea air. We wanted to set up a new tradition by combining serious IT discussions with sunny, cheerful vacations on the beach. 

The challenge was to develop our conference site, including its server and CMS, that would match our philosophy and vision. We wanted to hook up multiple integrations/functions such as payments, email and messaging connectivity, and easy sharing to social networks among others.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to get an attractive, non-overloaded website with an efficient CMS system. This meant having maximum security due to the online payment system integrations, proper content visualization capabilities, and an infrastructure that could withstand high visitor inflow.

Additional features we wanted included the ability to monitor site-wide statistics and generate reports as well as integrating the system with email/messaging services and social networks.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found DIGIS at a Ukrainian IT resource called Dou.ua. The idea was to find a local web development company as we wanted to visit their office, meet them in person, and discuss all the working issues with developers and project managers. We shortlisted several companies, but DIGIS offered the most cost-effective approach. They weren’t the least expensive, but they guaranteed the best quality.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

DIGIS developed our conference site, including its server and CMS. Initially, they collected all of our requirements for the site’s design and functionality as well as the CMS, noting how each should behave under certain circumstances.

From there, they scoped out the project. They drafted a comprehensive, in-depth specification document and conducted a presentation of their vision for our product’s architecture, structure, and design. To work out the schedule, we broke down the project into trackable milestones.

The team then created the site design for us to markup before developing an MVP version to test run its performance and behavior. Next, they built the CMS and linked it to the website’s frontend, integrated email and messaging services, and linked the system to social networks (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, VK, LinkedIn). 

Finally, they ran tests and fixed all bugs before releasing the final product.

What was the team composition?

They assigned a project manager, an architect, a technical writer, a team lead, two developers, and a QA resource.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The developed product allowed us to attract over 2,000 leads, 300 of which purchased at least one full-event ticket to our conference. In addition, we received multiple visits from users outside of Ukraine, helping us attract some of our most respected sponsors.

The site also cut the time it took to share conference information to social networks by more than 200%. This was because we were able to send emails and text messages to specific visitors directly from the site’s admin panel. Moreover, the CMS allowed us to easily create, edit, and publish various information on the website.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our teams are located in the same city, so it was possible for us to meet quite frequently to discuss all issues related to the project. We had the chance to talk not only to DIGIS’ management but also to their designers and developers. This helped us better explain our vision and requirements to avoid certain misunderstandings. 

Nevertheless, we saw outstanding friendliness and respect from DIGIS’ side. Their management team was very attentive to our expectations, immediately addressed our desires, and communicated our requirements to the development team. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We appreciated that we could talk to the developers in person to discuss any issues. We were also very impressed with the quality of the product and its speed of implementation. Another thing we liked was the strict adherence to the schedule—there were no delays in terms of software or document deliverables. 

When the website was ready and released, we were absolutely happy and, after discussing certain technicalities with DIGIS, contracted them to deal with the conference brand development. This also resulted exactly as we expected. DIGIS, in turn, saw that the conference could become a player on the market, so they decided to become one of our sponsors.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We didn’t find anything that would need any enhancement or improvement. It was an absolutely perfect project from DIGIS’ side.
 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of AS Legal. Our main goal is to provide high-quality and timely legal assistance to corporate clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

We had a large number of requests from clients, which was constantly increasing. We wanted to simplify and automate the workflows to manage the huge number of records and files. We needed a sole system that could work as a database, contact list, document repository, and reference guide.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DIGIS assigned a product owner who spent some time onsite in our office to get familiar with our processes. They conducted a viability analysis and prepared detailed specifications, which we reviewed and approved. They provided us with the software architecture so we understood what it would look like. Then, we drafted a project schedule broken down by milestones.

They gave us UI wireframes to confirm the logic, and we made final designs based on those. After that, they developed a prototype, which we tested and approved. They identified every bug during testing and fixed them all.

They made integrations with email and messaging services, and they linked the system to social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook, which we use to promote our services.

Based on the test results, they updated the system and made the final build. They were involved in all the stages of the development lifecycle.

What is the team composition?

The team included up to 10 people. They provided us with not just project managers but also a product owner. We also had a technical writer, who put everything into proper English. They assigned an architect, given that it was a complex project. We had a team lead, three developers, and a QA specialist. The QA person also created some automated regression tests, which saved us time when implementing certain functionalities.

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

We screened 18 companies with our main focus being to find one that could learn our process and care about the project. We wanted a small- to medium-sized provider, similar to our company. We found DIGIS on a freelancing platform and looked at their feedback. We requested a quotation, which was agreeable to us. We’re also based in Ukraine so we went to their office in Odessa to meet them in person and signed the contract during this meeting.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of the deliverables was $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with DIGIS in August 2016, and the project ended in October 2018. They continue to maintain our system.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I would recommend this company, and I’d give them perfect marks for quality. Everything was as we required and expected, and they adhered to the schedule strictly. The final deliverables were provided on time, and they met the budget as well.

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated by phone on occasion, but we mainly used Skype for communication. We also created a Slack channel. We had meetings with the project manager a couple of times per week and with the team once a week when they provided us with a presentation. 

We had a Scrum-like process. We suggested using Jira, but they convinced us that Asana was more flexible. I’d never heard about it, but we started using it and I liked it. They created a board for us in Asana, where they assigned tickets. We started with Skype chats and Slack, and they convinced us slowly that it would be better to leave our feedback directly in the tickets.

They used another tool for time logging but only internally on their side. They extracted the data into a Google spreadsheet and sent it to us. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everything was organized. We were able to discuss technical issues with all the developers assigned to us, and the quality and speed of work were impressive. They adhered to the project schedule. They are a loyal partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would advise them to introduce more procedures, but that could reduce their flexibility. This is something we weren’t looking for in the beginning; we just wanted to find an agile team.

I only hope that they’ll continue to provide the same level of dedication to the customer after they’ve grown to twice or three times their current size. For now, they’re doing great.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should be well prepared for the communication with the provider. We had an idea and plan in the beginning, but we would’ve probably saved some time if we described what we wanted in more detail. DIGIS helped us with this, but we should’ve tried to describe it better. We had some contradictory requirements coming from our side, but DIGIS had the right experience and helped us resolve this conflict within our team. I saw the system one way, and I eventually found that my partner had a different view. It’s better to be on the same page before hiring someone.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a senior manager at PwC. I’m responsible for digital services and software development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

DIGIS was hired for staff augmentation to support our software development project.

What were your goals for this project?

We were developing an application for managing contract information. It was a CRUD application with additional business logic for validation.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We requested their services after a web search and looking through their staff’s descriptions.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

DIGIS supplied two of their team members to create a distinct feature within the software. Their work included D3.js reports, information listing, rendering PDF.js, filtering logic, and configuring the design of screens.

What was the team composition?

Along with their two developers, we used a tester, a product manager, and two developers from our team. As soon as the product stabilized, we scaled to only one of their developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product was launched on time and implemented in various scenarios. DIGIS managed capacities and reacted quickly to requests.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our side managed the entire process. Their developers needed our clear instructions and requirements to handled tasks. Unfortunately, developers were replaced without our consent at the time, so productivity was affected. Thankfully, this didn’t impact the results overall.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their team was concerned about the success of our project. Our business partners were friendly and helpful. If we had a chance of a higher workload, we knew we could scale up if needed. DIGIS provided us with a confidence boost.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sometimes during our calls, there were instances of background noises. The scrum calls were better when they talked in a private area or had headsets. Although their team is trained from a technological perspective, their staff should focus on collaborative and communication skills.