Dot Com Development

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at  The PathMaker, LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Pathmaker is an innovative personal knowledge management app designed to help individuals achieve personal growth by transforming their experiences into actionable insights with Personal Knowledge Management, Decision Making and Self-Awareness tools that are integrated into a
single, powerful Life Book platform. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Dot Com Development to accomplish?

• The goal of this project was to design and build from the ground up an all-in-one personal growth and life management web application.
• Design and build an associated website/e-commerce platform
• Provide ongoing technology support for website and application

SOLUTION

How did you find Dot Com Development?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Dot Com Development over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Initial Project Sizing
• Requirements Support & Design Creation
• Prototype Development
• Code Development
• Systems/Integrated Testing & User Acceptance Testing Support
• Implementation 
• Support & Maintenance

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Initial Project Sizing that aligned with or exceeded expectations
• Requirements Support that enhanced the initial business requirements & a Design that enabled us to leverage the right technology for our goals
• Prototype Development that allowed us to produce updated requirements and a corresponding design to better meet our customers' needs
• Code Development that provided additional functionality and lower costs than planned
• Systems/Integrated Testing & User Acceptance Testing Support that quickly allowed an on-time launch 
• Implementation that went exceptionally well (i.e., on-time and with no issues)
• Ongoing Support & Maintenance that enables the business to focus on customers vs technolgy

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

• Overall, the PM approach followed an iterative methodology
• The DCD team was very engaged and responsive throughout the entire process
• DCD used a combination of a well designed project management portal that enabled me to communicate with the applicable parties whenever needed plus weekly meetings plus the option for in-person or Zoom meetings as needed. 

What was your primary form of communication with Dot Com Development?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Launching and growing a new App and Website required a lot of important decisions. Among the most important (and one of our best decisions) was choosing Dot Com Development (DCD) as our Technology Partner!

I had worked with three (3) prior technology companies to get sizings and recommendations before finding DCD. While these 3 companies would have likely delivered what I had put on paper for them to do, I was looking for something more and I found it with DCD. The DCD team was not just another 'contractor' to write the code (which they did) but a true Technology Partner. DCD was a patient collaborator who helped make the requirements, design, development, testing and implementation more streamlined and effective with innovative and creative ideas. They helped fill in knowledge gaps and accelerate learning curves and helped ThePathMakerApp.com avoid many costly pitfalls, delays and roadblocks that we would not have foreseen. In short, it was like having an "in-house" technology team without the overhead. 

I look forward to continuing to work with the DCD team as we grow our business and I highly recommend them as a Technology Partner. They are a rare beacon of light in the ever-changing technology landscape.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Dot Com Development could have done differently?

There are no areas for change based on my experiences. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project engineering manager at a manufacturing company for the mining industry. We also work in the oil and gas industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot Com Development?

We hired them for mobile app development to replace one of our existing handheld meters we didn’t want to maintain or update anymore. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we walked through the business proposal with Dot Com Development, and they designed some of the screens to give us an idea of how the app would come together. The team created several iterations of the screens, dialing the options down to what would work best for our customers and partners. We sought approvals for those screens. 

From there, Dot Com Development started building the different sections of the app. They tested each section and delivered a final version, which then got a couple of revisions. After we approved the app, Dot Com Development released it. 

Users can build a machine and then use our app to connect to a handheld reader that measures the clamping force of the machine’s blots. The app stores the data and any notes users have to help them manage maintenance cycles. 

Additionally, users can get measurements when they build the machine, and when it’s time to do maintenance, they can take another set of measures and compare them. The app can also take the stored data and create basic reports on the handheld device or export the data to a CSD file. 

Dot Com Development built the app for iOS and Android. However, the iOS app isn’t live because the Bluetooth technology the system recognizes has changed, so we must internally develop a new sensor for our app. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Tim (President & CEO), and we also worked with two developers. Aside from them, I’m unsure how many teammates from Dot Com Development were assigned to the project. 

How did you come to work with Dot Com Development?

I found them through Clutch after a Google search. When I contacted them, I told them about my lack of experience in this type of project. We met, and Dot Com Development’s director walked me through the process and our ideas for the app. 

From there, they created a roadmap and put together a business proposal and a quote. Dot Com Development did a really good job of laying everything down in a document I could take to my company’s management.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $90,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I contacted them in July 2022, and the app was released in May 2023. Dot Com Development will also provide support and updates for the app. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Android app is online now. We’ve been driving market acceptance by rolling out our app to our customers. Additionally, we can use the app as a marketing tool for our customers to see us in a better light and more often. 

How did Dot Com Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They were ahead of the game in scheduling and project management and helped keep us on track to complete the project. The team introduced us to Teamwork and used it for project management. As for the timeline, we had projected a May release, and Dot Com Development hit that. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Dot Com Development’s service was personalized and hands-on, which was exactly what I was looking for. As a smaller company, we wanted a small service provider to work with; Dot Com Development was small while still having all the resources needed to complete the project. 

I was also impressed by the business case the team put together for our second meeting, which I used to pitch to my company’s management. I’ve talked to other companies and gotten a one-page quote. Meanwhile, Dot Com Development provided a multi-page layout of what the app would look like, the development process, and the costs. This document made it a lot easier to follow through on the proposal during the process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Since I don’t know much about their industry, I can’t speak to aspects Dot Com Development could have improved. However, the collaboration worked out well for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Show up with a decent idea of your project and be ready to talk about it during the first meeting — put it on a whiteboard. From there, Dot Com Development will come back with a great business case deck that lays the project out, making it easier to move forward.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of new product development at one of the largest telecommunications companies in the Caribbean. We operate across 32 different countries, and I lead the product development group within the company’s digital team. Specifically, I oversee our digital product, which is also the biggest online news provider in the Caribbean. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot Com Development?

We’ve been working with Dot Com on a project-by-project basis. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our site and app look simple on the surface, but the most interesting features are under the hood. For context, we’re the largest news website across the Caribbean, which consists of more than 32 cultures and languages. Given that, Dot Com has created a multi-country, multi-domain, Drupal-based CMS for us. Through it, we can share content quickly from one editor to another. They’ve also integrated analytics and APIs into it and worked with other third-party providers to enable website automation, reducing our editorial team’s work. 

Meanwhile, we also work closely with an external design agency. Dot Com goes through project briefs, timelines, milestones, and budgets with that design team, which does the vast majority of the design work. However, throughout the projects, Dot Com also helps us with minor design tasks so that we can pivot quickly and move the project along without going back and forth with the agency. 

Moreover, since we don’t have an internal development team, Dot Com provides technical advice and analysis. They flag risks ahead of time, telling us what to do and consider. On top of that, we’ve used them on other client projects. For instance, they’ve done work on our behalf for a prominent pizza company in the Caribbean. They don’t put such projects in their portfolio because our name is on the contract. In any case, whenever our team has major projects, we reach out to them and give them a heads up that new projects are coming down the line. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 14 Dot Com members, and we had three main points of contact from their side, namely Tim (President & CEO), his lead developer, and his lead project manager. We also have a project manager on our side. 

Their project manager does the overall project planning, while our manager ensures we’re maintaining our timelines and keeping track of various internal departments. If we have deliverables, the managers follow up on each other. Essentially, they’re the glue that holds everything together in our projects. 

How did you come to work with Dot Com Development?

We did some research online and found them there. We had a classified project a couple of years ago and were looking for a vendor that worked with a classified technology. Dot Com happened to be one of those vendors, and they showed up by chance. After that, we reached out to them and a bunch of other vendors that submitted tenders. In the end, we settled with Dot Com. That was how we started working with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested close to $1 million cumulatively.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around February 2016, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s tough to provide quantitative success metrics because we’ve only fully rolled out the updated website about two months ago. On top of that, we haven’t started promoting it yet; the marketing tasks have been put on pause. Generally, though, we’ve seen positive signs of engagement. People have spent about 20%–50% more time on the app and website. We’ve also seen the site’s daily usage go up slightly, and we’re interested in where this can go once we truly kick things off. 

Moreover, the reviews we’ve received have been good. Launching and rebranding a mature product can go wrong; people tend to have strong opinions when something they’ve been using for years changes entirely. Fortunately, we’ve managed to overcome that. People like the product, and I haven’t seen anything that suggests otherwise. Simply put, Dot Com has built a smart website. It isn’t a regular CMS where someone can go in and publish; it’s a lot more than that.

To sum up, we’ve been pleased with Dot Com’s services. In fact, we’re in the process of reviewing our service-level agreement. That’s a good sign for them because it means we’re not pulling away after the launch of our major project. Instead, we’re doubling down and looking to get back into business with them. 

How did Dot Com Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Dot Com’s project management skills are amazing. We’ve given them a difficult time since our company has been going through a tremendous amount of digital transformation. As such, we’ve had plenty of internal chaos, changes in departments, and shifting timelines. In fact, we’ve had to reformat the project plan. Milestones have also been changed many times, and Dot Com has been able to manage all of them well.

Their team never complains because they understand our situation. Moreover, despite the changes in plan, they’ve managed to launch the project earlier than we’ve anticipated by splitting it up into phases. Overall, we’ve given them hell for the past year, but they've managed to pull the project off. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have a truly good relationship with Dot Com because we’ve been working together for years. At present, we have a casual relationship with everyone on the team. Everyone can pick up the phone and call them, and they feel like an extension of our company.

On top of that, Dot Com truly understands our business. Whenever we bring up something, they ask us about its impact on business and advertising. That has been invaluable to me. We’ve worked with other developers who only do what we tell them to do. By contrast, Dot Com raises a point and asks us to consider it. They also give us advice, which mostly comes from Tim, and that’s a truly positive attribute. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Dot Com’s services aren’t cheap. What’s cheap is relative, but when running a company or a department, it’s always nice to have lower costs. It makes things a bit easier to manage, and we get better margins. 

That being said, we’ve gained a lot of value out of the relationship. We get what we pay for, and they never haggle prices or undercut anyone. Overall, I believe that if I go to a cheaper vendor, I probably wouldn’t get the same level of service that I get from Dot Com. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be highly transparent with Dot Com. Don’t try to hide things or make up stories showing that everything is rosy when it isn’t. For context, I’ve achieved a lot of success by being frank and open with Tim. I tell him what’s happening in our company and ask him how they can help me. He’s proven time and again that he’s willing to help. 

In other words, build a good relationship with the Dot Com team. Be transparent, and they’ll give you back that level of trust. They’ll accommodate you as long as you tell them exactly what’s happening. 

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on  01/25/2018

Head of Product Development & Business Intelligence, Telecoms Firm

Publishing

51-200 Employees

Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago

$50,000 to $199,999

Sep 2016 - May 2017

Project summary

After various other companies disappointed, Dot Com Development took over all dev work. Responsibilities focused on the website, app, and backend of a news platform. Project management was a top priority.

Feedback summary

From small to large projects, Dot Com consistently impresses and delivers. They maintain constant communication, allowing for a transparent and goal-driven workflow. The team was understanding during difficulties and they actively collaborated throughout the entire process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the group head of product development and business intelligence at the largest digital media company in the Caribbean. We manage a variety of digital ad inventory for clients, and we offer about 20 different digital products across almost 23 markets. Our flagship product is a new website and app that operates across eight markets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot Com Development?

We're a pretty young company, and we’ve had a lot of growth in the past few years, but my internal team is still small. We rely heavily on outsourced development, but the past two companies were not good. We were in the market for another dev team that wouldn’t pose the same problems as the others.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dot Com functions almost like our own development team because we have an ongoing service-level agreement with them. They work on our website and app, and we work closely together on a daily basis.

We sent them a product scope outlining what we wanted to achieve, the final functionality, timeline, etc., and they did a full technical analysis. They came back and presented a breakdown of the cost, timeline, and payment structure. They did a fairly substantial web and app build for our flagship product, which has about 2 million users every month. Dot Com did all the dev, including building out the backend (LAMP stack), the iOS and Android apps, and the site (Drupal CMS) from the ground up.

What is the team composition?

I mainly communicated with three main people: the company’s owner and two lead developers. The rest of the team depended on the size of our project, and they did a good job scaling to our needs.

How did you come to work with Dot Com Development?

We had hired them to do a smaller project, and that went really well, so we considered them for this bigger task. They bid on the project with about five other companies, and they won based on their price and value they added to our team.  Having a great working relationship with them previously was a huge part of the decision, too.

How much have you invested with them?

We've probably spent a little under $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

For this large project, we started in September 2016, and it launched in May 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the challenges with launching a new application is getting people to upgrade to the new app. Right now, overall app usage is down because we haven't had our full user base migrate over to the new one yet. However, people are pleased with the new version and spend more than double the amount of time in it compared to the previous version. It’s gone from around a minute and a half to over three minutes. Our app reviews have also gone up a full point on Google Play, and public feedback is good.

We’re actually in discussion with them, on a separate contract, to resell their development services in our markets because we’re that pleased with the quality of their work.

How did Dot Com Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Compared to our previous partners, Dot Com has been fantastic. The other agencies had poor communication, but Dot Com took communication and project management very seriously. They were meticulous in tracking progress, using project management tools, and sending written updates about areas of concern.

We used a support dashboard to manage tickets formally, and we also communicated on Skype throughout the day. They responded to anything we needed, and we had two weekly project meetings that were agile and goal-based. They provided updates, current work, and checkups.

Dot Com was well-organized and well-trusted.

Tim (Founder and CEO, Dot Com Development) was hands-on and talked to us daily, which was nice because it always helps to have a direct link to the person in charge of the company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Tim and I have developed a good relationship over time. Internally, we’ve been going through a large company-wide transformation with our parent company, and that has caused some issues. Tim has been patient and willing to work with us even through the difficult times. He’s understanding and focuses on building positive business relationships, not just a vendor-client one. He almost seems like he’s part of our team, and we appreciate him.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Dot Com wasn’t the cheapest option, but their work ethic and services were worth the price. We had a few issues with some technical stuff, but the support team was always willing to help, so I can’t say I have any major complaints.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Get on a call with Tim before a project kicks off.  He's easy to talk to and knowledgeable. He also won’t try to oversell you; if he thinks you're looking in the wrong direction for something, he guides you away from it. He's not afraid to tell you his opinion.

Star Ratings 

Overall rating: 4

We had our initial problems, but we may launch a longer-term contract, and everyone here is pleased with them.

Quality: 4

I'm pleased with their overall service, but the language barrier did cause some requests to be lost in translation.

Cost: 4

They're not the cheapest, but they offer a good ROI.

Schedule: 5 

It's one of the areas that they excel at.

Willing to refer: 5

I've already referred them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an application development lead at the Arizona Kidney Disease and Hypertension Center (AKDHC). We’re a nephrology medical practice. I lead up the software development team for any software that’s required by the practice and our in-house product called Doc Talk. It’s both a web application and a mobile application on iOS.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot Com Development?

We brought them on to create an Android solution for our product that looked and behaved exactly the same as the iOS app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had to call our existing web service back in to get all the data and interact with our service. Then, we integrated calling and emailing features for the app. We had to integrate live calls within the app when it was needed to get certain data pushed from the app to the service so we could pull data that was recorded on the device.

There are different ways of displaying data, for example, a list view. There are also different ways of doing data entry like filling out forms and capturing data from users. The data can also be filtered and the app features different options for the user to sort through to review data.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with a technical lead and Tim (President & CEO).

How did you come to work with Dot Com Development?

We conducted an online search and came across them. They had very positive reviews for their services. Additionally, we liked that they were local to us. Having someone close brought comfort to know we could meet in person if it was ever needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $95,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in February 2020. We’re currently tying up loose ends.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been a positive and straightforward relationship. They’ve made everything easy. We’ve received a lot of compliments from our upper management that they’re happy this has finally happened. This is something we’ve been working towards but was never able to get to.

I’m glad Dot Com Development came through and delivered exactly what they promised. Also, the pricing was on point with the quotes. They delivered exactly what they estimated and there were no hidden fees or anything like that.

The biggest measure of success was if the app could pass a side-by-side comparison with its iOS counterpart. We had a timeline established covering when different functionalities would be delivered. Dot Com Development met those milestones and target dates. We worked in two-week sprints.

We took time at the very beginning of the engagement to create a detailed test case plan for every piece of functionality in the existing app. That helped us make sure we weren’t missing anything and that everything that was supposed to happen was working.

How did Dot Com Development perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Teamwork, a tool that allowed us to send files and messages as well as review the milestones. They stayed on track. We occasionally communicated through emails when we wanted a quick turnaround for something. We held biweekly phone calls for sprint planning. When the project became more critical, we switched to weekly calls so we could stay on track.

Communication has always been perfect. Their team is very forthcoming in explaining issues and telling us why they can’t do certain things or providing alternative approaches. They kept communication channels open. Their team worked very hard to resolve any problems or roadblocks in a timely manner. It’s clear that they were focused on keeping us on track and delivering the project on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Dot Com Development is very technically versed in the technology they chose to implement. They gave us options when it came to implementing the Android app. They were great at using that technology and toolset to develop and make an app behave exactly the way we needed it to as well as emulate the iOS app.

It also put us in a good position for the future to potentially retire our iOS app. Dot Com Development achieved everything we needed them to within the toolset and without and compromises.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing they could improve. However, it’d be beneficial if they had a better way to provide a guest account or read-only account for Instabug that’d allow us to access the bug data. As it stands now, we can’t see where new bugs are being reported. Therefore, we must rely on Dot Com Development to tell us and share public links to the bugs. That’s not something they need to improve on, it’s more feedback about the tool they choose to use.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’ll make everything easy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for a landscaping company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot Com Development?

We needed to rebuild our website completely.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a discovery phase to discuss our needs and our challenges. We talked about the goals that we wanted to accomplish with our website. From there, their team went into the design phase and created the wireframes. They based the website in Magento and built the product using JavaScript. Their team created different functionalities to make us a multi-store functional website.

Essentially, they built a global website that rolls down into individual store websites, so products are displayed by location. They also built multiple APIs that connect with Google’s mapping products. Their team integrated the website with HubSpot, our POS, and inventory management systems. They used multiple different channels to turn the website into three different types of websites: a product display website, an e-commerce website, and a catalog-style website.

What is the team composition?

I worked with designers, the owner, and the lead developer who’s based in India.

How did you come to work with Dot Com Development?

An agency that supports our PPC and SEM initiatives referred us to Dot Com Development. We vetted three different companies for technical abilities and price. We also felt that working with a local agency would be beneficial, so we settled on them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $280,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project launched in February 2018 and wrapped in November 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The overall feel and functionality of the website’s better. The website functions the way that we wanted it to but the frontend’s more difficult to use and employees had difficulty with certain functions too. There are a few bugs to work out. It’s hard to gauge traffic because it decreases immediately after a new website launch. The pandemic also makes it hard to measure.

How did Dot Com Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well but their disclosure of how they operate and utilize products was a little lacking.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team includes one of the better programmers that we encountered in our time building websites.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Occasionally, it can be difficult to work with the owner.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to know exactly what you want and follow the program to a T.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an operations manager at Flora and More. We sell flowers and greens to restaurants, hotels, weddings, and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot Com Development?

We needed a vendor to help us create a mobile application for Android.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built an Android application that allows our clients to create an unlimited selection of albums, add favorites, classify the albums however they wish, and send them to their customers via WhatsApp or email. Dot Com Development managed both the design and the development and integrated the app with third-party APIs.

What is the team composition?

We mostly worked with our account manager and a developer.

How did you come to work with Dot Com Development?

A colleague of mine found them on Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in December 2018, and the project was completed in May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered everything we had asked of them and we're happy with the results.

How did Dot Com Development perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly meetings and they were very flexible. There were some issues on our side because we wanted to add many third-party integrations, but they were very patient and handled everything successfully.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have affordable rates and they're pleasant to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’ll give you the whole scope of the project, so you'll know exactly what you're getting into.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and owner of Schalawn, LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot Com Development?

I’m a flight attendant, and, prior to the app, I’d produced a book containing valuable information for flight attendants. I was struggling to update it, and doing so via a paper version was costly, so I decided to make an app and a business out of it. Without a tech background, I needed a partner that could navigate different development languages.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I produced 14 e-books for the iOS and Android app, aimed at my target audience. They act as resource, guide, and networking books in a time when so much of what we were doing twenty years ago as flight attendants has changed. When a user clicks on a book, they can either read it themselves or have it read to them.

Dot Com interviewed me to see what my wishes were, took note, and then held subsequent meetings to determine a project plan and the app's design and layout. They then proceeded to develop the apps.

What is the team composition?

Tim (President and CEO, Dot Com Development) was my principal contact, and I met with two other team members at their office.

How did you come to work with Dot Com Development?

I was initially leaning toward working with a Los Angeles developer since that’s where I’m from. When I met Tim, I’d only been in Arizona for a month, so I was uncertain about it, but I read a review of them online that I liked a lot. Additionally, I felt comfortable talking to Tim, which was not the same feeling I got from other companies. Tim was much more focused on customer service than they were.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent $45,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with them from October 2018 until February 2019. The Android app is live in the Play Store, and we’re waiting for the iOS app to be approved for the App Store.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Dot Com has given me a foundation for generating a comfortable profit. They advised me on user engagement and growing my base and helped me appreciate how designs change when transitioning from PDF documents to an actual app. I also learned the value of different visual layout elements.

How did Dot Com Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Because I’m a flight attendant, they had to accommodate me flying to Brazil and other places, but they handled it well, always remaining professional. They responded to emails immediately, and we had weekly communication. Their CEO made himself available to talk on the phone whenever I needed, which helped transparency.

Rather than treating me like a source of revenue, they acted like they wanted to develop a long-term relationship. They never dropped anything on me without warning. Instead, they gave me milestones and deadlines to familiarize me with the development process. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Beyond their development skills, they also excelled at explaining what they were doing in laymen’s terms without making me feel as if I was being a burden. They double-checked all their work to ensure I had a superior product and were highly attentive regarding testing. They monitored user interactions with the app and resolved crash issues immediately.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of one at the moment.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions; they welcome them. In the end, it will produce a better product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of Karlie Colleen Photography. I recently developed ScoutIt, an app to help photographers and videographers scout shooting locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot Com Development?

Location scouting is a time-consuming chore for photographers and videographers. I brought in Dot Com to help design a mobile solution that allowed creatives to store information on past locations, record field data, and browse new sites from home.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dot Com Development provided a detailed project proposal that included a clearly defined goal, task deadlines, and corresponding costs. Their team prepared the app for initial beta testing and made the necessary tweaks in preparation for its release in the Apple App Store.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the owner and two different project managers over the course of the project.

How did you come to work with Dot Com Development?

I did a quick google search and shared my idea with a few developers. Dot Com responded immediately and we set up a meeting for the next day.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $52,000, including the additions to our initial contract.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership lasted from January 2017—April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After successful beta tests, I shared the app with a few colleagues in the photography industry. We received responses praising the app’s performance and usability. I am hopeful for its market launch.

How did Dot Com Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Both project managers followed an extremely detail-oriented workflow. They constantly reviewed their own work before moving on to the next task. The team provided weekly progress updates that often included additional materials to help me understand any industry terms.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Dot Com followed a very hands-on approach to app development. The owner directly informed me of all updates and changes to the project plan. The team was responsive to feedback and readily clarified any confusion on my end.

Any advice for potential customers?

Creating an app is a lengthy process. I would recommend that clients set aside an appropriate amount of time to really get the most from Dot Com’s services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the director of product development for Storm Products. I focused on chemical and mechanical engineering, and I designed the bowling balls produced by my company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot Com?

We were trying to introduce a complicated algorithm for the design and layout of a bowling ball for competitive bowlers. The project involved a series of physics problems. I engineered it, and I created an Excel spreadsheet that solved these problems.

That spreadsheet told bowling pro shop teams, with only a basic knowledge of physics, how to drill a bowling ball precisely for the customer. We called it “The Vector Layout System” and shared it for free. The positive feedback we received convinced us to create a more professional product, one that would be expected from a very large multinational company. We started to court different cases.

I’m very good at Microsoft Excel, I have a lot of experience with Visual Basic, and I understand how dot modules work. I made the complex equations on Excel. Given the nature of our business, however, we wanted something more professional than an elaborate spreadsheet. We asked Dot Com to create a clean, sleek-looking mobile app that anyone could use.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After we started working with Dot Com, the project was turned over exclusively to me. At that point, we went back and forth with basic API coding. I worked with their crew to simplify very complex physics formulas into an app that allowed customers to input easily understandable values—such as how fast the ball was thrown and how much rotation was put into it—simply by moving some toggles with their thumb. We simplified some very complex mathematics and physics into a straightforward, intuitive graphical interface.

They took my spreadsheet and input, coded them into a tight package, and converted it to Android and iOS apps.

We created a database to track customer input feedback and variables. The original spreadsheet included some encrypted coding, which didn’t allow users to see exactly what it was doing. We created the app so that user inputs would cross our servers, with the complicated algorithmic math being done on our side and the results being delivered on the user side. The proprietary technology is kept secret, but the app is still available to anyone.

Bowling can be reduced to physics, such as how fast the ball is released from the player’s hand, how many revolutions per minute are imparted, and how many degrees the axis tilts. Depending on the orientation of the weight block, the internal component of every high-end bowling ball, it will either go dead straight, crosswise, or somewhere in between. Professional bowlers use different motions. We might want to hook a ball as early or as late as possible. More likely than not, the ideal is somewhere in the middle.

The concept behind our app was to input how we would like the ball to change direction using a sliding bar that charted both sudden and very gradual changes. A user won’t necessarily understand how concepts like moment of inertia, radius of gyration, and center of gravity cause the ball to do what it does. They just throw the ball down the lane and watch it hook.

We created a user interface that was simple for the average person to understand. When inputting all their information, they can affect the weight block orientation inside the ball. Given that we can’t physically see the inside of the ball, this is something that no one thinks about.

As the math person, I gave Dot Com’s team all these formulas. Tim [Founder and CEO, Dot Com] was not a bowler, but basically understood the sport. We sat down and talked through these concepts. He and his team created an interface that a non-engineer could comprehend. This was important, given that—even though I could speak all the math and physics I wanted—the vast majority of bowlers don’t understand these concepts.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Tim and three other members of the company, who assisted us with the user interface, math model, and database. Tim was responsible for delegating the entire project.

Using a dedicated team, Dot Com also worked on troubleshooting and bug finding. They put together a professional report listing both critical and minor bugs.

How did you come to work with Dot Com?

I had devised a better way of customizing bowling balls, designed a proof-of-theory, and given it to my team. After it was circulated, we decided to create a better, more professional-looking version for the public. Our vice president of marketing made a web query and found Dot Com. We chatted and were impressed with how professionally Tim handled himself. He could provide good real-time answers, so we decided to give him the entire project.

We considered three other vendors, including a more cost-effective option. Many college students are bowlers, and would have done their best for free bowling equipment, but we wanted a level of professionalism which they might not have been able to deliver. Between three other professional developers and a few miscellaneous company friends or associates, we decided on Dot Com. They interviewed well and their website was professional. They also sent over a presentation showing their previous clients and projects. One of those projects was an app for a larger airline company. Given that all of us travel a lot, we’d used that app quite a bit. It became clear to us that Dot Com was a professional option.

How much have you invested with them?

For the initial version of the app and an upgrade, we paid between $65,000 and $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Dot Com in late-2013. The app was delivered at the beginning of 2017. It had been finished before that time—probably in late 2016—but the company wanted to hold a large seminar tour and explain how it works before releasing it.

We got the app approved and working on both platforms. After the launch, we encountered some bugs coming from general operating system updates, so we had to send it back to them for a quick cleanup. It was operational within a week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Analytics are a marketing function, so I don’t have a lot of insight into them. I received multiple emails and feedback from pro shops, saying that they love the system and are having more success than ever before. The app took all the guesswork out of their jobs, enabling them to ask customers for some feedback and deliver accurate products.

How did Dot Com perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly check-ins during the initial phases. Once the work started winding down to bug finding and troubleshooting, we spoke on an as-needed basis. Once the final product was delivered, Tim also followed up once every couple of months to make sure that everything was good. He provided a bit of after-the-fact customer service. He wasn’t obligated to do this, but he wanted to make sure that we were happy and that there were no bug reports for his team to address.

I couldn’t be more pleased with their performance. My normal job description didn’t include app development, but I spent very little time working with them, following up on their work, or sending them reminders. Dot Com quickly and cleanly delivered an app of the highest quality. That’s why I was happy to do this interview.

What did you find most impressive about them?

My company focused on bowling ball manufacturing, so we weren’t really IT people. We very much appreciated having a complete team that could transform a spreadsheet formula into a clean iOS and Android app. I give Tim and his crew a standing ovation for their ability to complete most of the work. As our team lead, I had very little to worry about when it came to getting the ball rolling.

It’s fairly common to receive good customer service when there are still several thousand dollars pending payment. In this case, even after the bill had been completely paid, Dot Com continued to provide customer service. This was done with no promises or illusions of a future project. They continued to treat us with the highest level of respect and professionalism. To me, this is Dot Com’s most impressive aspect. I am starting my own business, and I foresee hiring them for my own app development.

They kept the timelines they set, delivered good quality, and provided everything we asked for. For world-class work, their prices were also reasonable. There were some hiccups, but they came from internal changes on our end.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important for clients not to limit themselves. After getting a grand idea, we may be afraid that it will cost too much, be too difficult to build, or require API functions that don’t even exist. I’ve let Tim shoot for the stars, hoping that he may actually get me there. Anyone looking to work with Dot Com should have a truly good idea, and let them do their best to bring in to fruition. They could take a fairly complex spreadsheet and turn it into a streamlined product. None of the API programming for incorporating complex engines into a slider bar had been done before, but he did it without a problem.