Web & CRM Development for Legal Services Company
- Web Development
- $1,000,000 to $9,999,999
- Jan. 2012 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 4.5
- Schedule
- 4.5
- Cost
- 4.5
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
"It’s hard to imagine if we hadn’t transitioned, it would have cost us a tremendous amount of time."
- Legal
- New York City, New York
- 51-200 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
DOOR3 created a contract management system, which integrates into a larger JMS application that organizes communication via email, scheduling, client services, and billing and payments.
The system created has saved numerous hours of time, and thus proved essential to the daily workflow. It saves on average 15 minutes per job, and with 100 jobs per day it adds up. They provided consistent communication on every step of the project. With DOOR3, nothing was impossible.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I work for TSC Reporting. We're a litigation support service company and hire court reporters, videographers, and other types of services that attorneys might require in their discovery phase. We cover many different depositions and arbitrations on any given day.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenges were you trying to address with DOOR3?
We needed a new system that could manage our calendar and production output, and on the other end, our whole billing and payment system. We were growing fast and living in the past as far as our systems go. Our calendar and job management system suited us fine when we were a smaller organization, but we had outgrown that. The challenge was to address the current growth and optimize a few critical workflows, and also build for the future, expecting to continue to grow. We needed a system that could handle not just the present, but the future challenges that we had as well.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
They came and listened to what we needed. It was clear that we had many challenges, and we had many ideas to address those challenges, but we needed to prioritize. They helped us organize our challenges and ideas. We picked out 1 or 2 targeted areas, and the first thing was to recreate our contact management system (CRM). The intention was that it would tie into the job management system which they would also create, and it does.
The backbone of the CRM is Microsoft Dynamics. It ties into JMS, which is the larger application and is a .NET framework. The CRM has been integrated into our exchange environment; we're a heavy e-mail organization and we use Outlook, and we handle email 24 hours a day across all teams. The CRM was tied into our Outlook traffic so that emails are tracked to the contacts in CRM database, which then we can view and work off of in our larger JMS application.
They built the JMS application from scratch. As mentioned, Dynamics is the backbone of the CRM but everything else was built by DOOR3 which includes workflows, job grids, and whole administration panel of options. I can manage the system internally, while they support it externally and it carries a lot of big features like jobs, standing orders, the client list, the client location list, and service list vendors. Then there's a bunch of logic that ties into how all those parts play together.
They also updated our website, which was an earlier project. Previously, the website had no tie into the system, and the new website it much fresher. The important piece, however, is that clients can log on and look at the data in our JMS system which refers to other jobs that they've scheduled or booked in the past. It gives them the ability to schedule online, taking into account their firm's standing orders for any given case. It all then goes right into our system and gives us an immediate alert that the client has scheduled, as well ties into our fast-paced email flow. People are aware of the bookings, any questions are being brought to the forefront, and we can address our client needs right off the bat.
What is the team dynamic?
It's been an evolution of team members, but it’s been a small group all along the way which has been good because it keeps us nimble. It allows me to really work with the developers in phases that normally a client wouldn't be involved in. I think that's been a good a good fit overall, it matches our pace. The team size is usually around 5 or 6. Izzy is the project manager. We had 1 main architect, and then we've got a group of developers and QA testers who rotate in and out of the project.
How did you come to work with DOOR3?
We had hired a small development firm in the past, and had done a very small project, but were extremely disappointed with the results. We needed to improve upon that, and time was of the essence. I looked online for others reviews, experiences, and asked around for recommendations.
We contacted a few different companies after a reasonable amount of research online. I spoke with Alex [Founder & President, DOOR3] first, and he seemed to be really in tune with our needs and how they would be addressed. It seemed like a good fit, from the way he received what I had to say. We brought in a number of others, but I felt most comfortable working with the DOOR3 team.
After several more meetings and conversations, we decided to go for a small commitment prototype launch, which gave us something functional right away. That was a good experience working with the development team, and there was never any reason not to continue forward.
How much have you invested with them?
Over $1,000,0000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We began working together in 2012, and that engagement is ongoing.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
It’s given us a huge amount of returns in terms of what we're able to accomplish with the small team of people that we are. It's definitely provided so much more insight than we had before and we were spending weeks having people divert their time from their core responsibilities to try to create a meaningful report of some kind. Fortunately, we've been able to install the systems making the whole process automatic now which has been great.
Once the client hits submit, the system is emailing us that the job already exists in our system. The information is completely there, and everyone associated with the job has been notified. The rates and agreements we have with a firm are also already linked to the job, so it’s saving us a huge amount of time. It saves about 15 minutes per job and with 100 jobs a day that adds up fast.
The new method is so much faster for us because when clients are logging in, it's integrating their firm's preferences. This means, if they are on a case for which they have a preference for a certain group of services, those services are pre-selected at the point when the client selects the case of their scheduling for.
How did DOOR3 perform from a project management standpoint?
They've been very good about communication. They were a pretty demanding client when it comes to communication and information. We prefer to know a lot more than other clients often care to, and are definitely very much involved in what's going on. That took some time for them to adjust to naturally, but they've done a great job with that. Now we've got a really good pace going with communication, and a good understanding of where we stand.
We primarily use email, and also have a weekly call with our project manager, but are still in contact throughout the week anyway. We also use Jira, so there are a lot of options. I get a good view of all the items that they're working on in a given sprint, what status they're in, and when they’re to a point where they’re testable I also have access to that. They involve us at a little bit of an earlier stage than other clients might, and it’s really helped us keep our efforts and projects at a reasonable run rate.
They definitely delivered an acceptable amount of work on time and on budget. There's always going to be challenges and unforeseen circumstances, but we have a more flexible relationship and trust each other. We’re always in constant contact and there are really no surprises when something is going to be delivered to us, which is the main point that really matters.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Often I’ve come up with these crazy ideas, but it always seems to be true anything is possible when it comes to development with them. We've thought of all different kinds of ways to address certain needs. They created a pretty massive and complex program that does a whole lot of work for us, and I’m amazed that it’s been able to come together and really work for us. It doesn’t just keep us afloat, but it's definitely transcended the way we do business which is excellent.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I don’t really have any complaints where they need to improve upon. It’s pretty much all been done.
RATINGS
-
Quality
4.5Service & Deliverables
"Our project manager has done a great job of working with the developers, to present a viable product from the first look. They’ve done a great job with that."
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Schedule
4.5On time / deadlines
"It's been nearly perfect."
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Cost
4.5Value / within estimates
"I view this entire endeavor as being critical to our organization."
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Willing to Refer
5.0NPS
"They treat us well and care about our business, and I know they will do the same for anybody I recommend.