Eclipse

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a small (yet ambitious) eCommerce site called Mix.co.uk. We range a variety of goods from small household electronics to garden buildings and generators.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We'd previously tested a woocommerce platform and found that it was not suitable for the number of products we aimed to sell. We've got previous experience with Magento, so we knew that it was the right platform. We aimed to have a platform that would allow scale and ensure that we were doing things properly the first time around without cutting corners.

SOLUTION

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

This is actually the second time choosing Eclipse. In a previous role, I was in charge of finding a partner to build a fairly customised Magento 2 Enterprise (Commerce Cloud) store. Eclipse was straight away in line with what the business wanted to achieve and proposed cost-effective and time-efficient ways of hitting the goals.

With Mix, we'd tried (and failed) to build with an individual freelancer. I reached out to Eclipse for their support the week before Christmas and had significant support from them immediately.

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

We wanted a stable and fast Magento 2 site that integrates well with our PIM. The initial brief to Eclipse was simply for the Magento 2 store, however through discussions, they're now supporting our PIM too which has been a significant improvement in the overall process. We now have a site that is properly utilising various caches/content delivery networks to load quickly and I have no concerns regarding reliability.

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

We've got two main points of contact within Eclipse, being the Magento Lead and Senior Analyst/Magento Developer. Both are key in achieving the success we've had so far.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a site launched that is stable and fast. It's everything I've asked for to date with a solid plan of work to continue for the future.

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

We use their Jira to create a backlog of tickets for issues/feature requests. They're very communicative over Teams. Communication (by my request) is ad-hoc however in previous roles during the build frequent meetings were scheduled.

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

Honestly, just their ethos as an agency. Many times, they could've charged significantly more for particular work, and I would've been none the wiser if it were required. I have always felt that I have been treated with respect. Deadlines that have been agreed have been hit, and they've been flexible with working with us as a small business.

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

As someone who is normally able to criticise processes and I can comfortably say there's very little I would change in the way that we work with Eclipse. As with every agency relationship, there is learning how to work best together but with Eclipse the process was smooth and quick.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the directors, and lead on marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Eclipse?

We wanted to improve our conversion rate, and engagement metrics.

SOLUTION

How did you select Eclipse?

We researched some brands online and found Eclipse - we were very impressed with the businesses they were working with and the performance uplift their work provided.

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

Their team conducted thorough research and planning, leading on customer surveying, user journey mapping, and storyboarding. They supported us throughout the design process, ensuring we were together on the objective.

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

I worked with an account manager and UX lead.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're really pleased with the outcome - we have a beautiful fresh design that receives many compliments from both customers and suppliers. Our performance has been incredible since rolling out the changes, with a definite increase in conversion rate, and onsite engagement metrics.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The support from the eclipse team is second to none. We felt extremely well informed and looked after by their entire team.

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

They have skilled individuals which helps - but their structure and approach to working with a client is impressive. Their communication and support throughout the process kept us informed, often answering questions before we had them. Very impressed.

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

Honestly no, they've ticked all of the boxes for us, we're very satisfied and would happily recommend them to others.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm HR GO PLC's Group Digital Product Manager. HR GO is one of the UK's leading recruitment agencies. We’ve been connecting clients and candidates across the UK since 1957. We provide temporary, permanent and contract jobs across various sectors to thousands of jobseekers every day.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had recently added online timesheet functionality to our candidate portal, allowing candidates to submit the time they had worked that week online as opposed to a paper timesheet. We didn't have any designs to build from therefore the UI was quite basic and not eye catching for the end user. We hired Eclipse to redesign and rebuild this functionality for us, especially with the mobile user in mind. We also required Eclipse to build brand new functionality for us which allowed both our candidates and clients to see the details of their past, current and future bookings with HR GO.

SOLUTION

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

We chose this vendor based on their past projects, UI/UX knowledge and the skillset of their developers matched the technologies we had already implemented.

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

We reviewed what worked well and what didn't with the current online timesheet functionality and obtained user feedback to direct us with our future design. From those discussions, the Product Designer then put together mock-ups and wireframes which we reviewed and iterated until sign off. We had a meeting with the Business Analyst, Developers and QA to talk through the designs and what was required. The BA then created the relevant tickets in Jira in the order they needed to be worked on and then the developers started the rebuild.

Once each ticket was ready to be tested, the QA then started their testing and worked closely alongside the developer to discuss and fix any fixes or improvements that needed to be made. A similar process was followed for our Bookings work, however instead of reviewing what was working well and what wasn't, as this was brand new functionality, we worked closely alongside the BA and designer at the beginning to discuss what we wanted the end result to be with this project and what success looked like. After that discussion, they then came back and proposed their solution to us.

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

We worked with a Business Analyst, QA, a designer, 2 front-end developers and 2 back-end developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a larger uptake of candidates completing their timesheets online since the redesign as it was far easier for them to do so than it had been before, especially as we focused on the mobile responsive element. All expectations were met and delivered.

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

We had daily stand ups with the whole team and worked in 2 week sprints culminating in a sprint review meeting and a sprint retrospective that again everyone participated in. We used Slack to communicate throughout the day and Jira to manage the tickets. Any problems or delays were always raised to me immediately either at stand up or on Slack. Adhoc calls were always welcomed to discuss, queries further and offer any support required.

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

It was a pleasure to work with the team from Eclipse. Communication from each team member throughout the project was fantastic, not only with myself and the status of the project but also with each other which really helped us all work as one team. Each team member put suggestions and improvement ideas forward when necessary which were always appreciated.

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

There is nothing I can think of.