Fuse IQ, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I work for a software company that specializes in creating point-of-sales software for the restaurant and hospitality industry.

What is your position?

I’m the technical writer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you began the relationship with Fuse IQ?

We were interested in updating our website, which had begun to feel outdated and obsolete. We wanted to refresh our brand because our website wasn’t reflective of our current capabilities. We didn’t have the expertise in-house to make the transition, so we knew we needed to find a partner to handhold us through the process.

SOLUTION

On what platform was your new website built?

We used Drupal 7.

What was the rationale behind selecting Drupal rather than alternative content management system solutions?

I don’t know the answer to that question because the actual selection process occurred before I joined the team.   

How did you select Fuse IQ as your solution partner for this endeavor?

Our leadership team conducted some preliminary research into potential vendors and sent out a handful of RFPs [request for proposals]. They evaluated the proposals that were submitted and selected Fuse IQ based on their Drupal capabilities. They had a very good track record with implementations.

Could you describe the scope of the project? For instance, did it involve custom visual design, backend development, training, or support?

In general, they worked with us in a very close consulting role in order to help us plan out the site content and architect it from scratch. That included but the visual design and the functional development. They also trained our staff on best practices using the administrative system.

Could you provide the sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms?

It cost between $30,000 and $50,000.

When was the implementation complete? 

It was launched in August of last year [2013].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they’ve delivered?

I can share some user feedback and anecdotal evidence. Overall, people have been very pleased with the new design and the performance of the site. Our customers and dealer communities were impressed with the new site. I would say it was very well received on the whole. There weren’t many malfunctions or defects. The site has also definitely increased our process efficiency and productivity levels, too. It used to be quite difficult to track all of our important data, but now it’s not only much easier, we can also use analytics tools to look our performance on a granular level.

When working with Fuse IQ, is there anything you’d consider unique about their approach or methodology that distinguishes them from other vendors you’ve worked with?

I can only speak from my personal experience with other vendors in the past, but I would say that I found them to be extremely collaborative and very helpful in approaching our challenges as a partner rather than simply a vendor. I thoroughly enjoyed working shoulder-to-shoulder with their team. They’ve been very responsive to everything that we’ve needed and asked for. That kind of accessibility is really hard to come by, especially in the tech industry, and it’s the kind of thing we don’t take for granted, which is why we continue to use their services.

In retrospect, are there areas that you think Fuse IQ could improve upon as a service provider, or are there things you’d do differently as the client before initiating a project of this nature?

As the client, it would have been a good idea for us to think more thoroughly through our content and the type of messaging that we wanted to convey to our customers. Certain things came up along the way that we didn’t expect, and having valuable content ready for deployment is always important.

Some feedback that we shared with Fuse IQ, and that they’re working on now, is that it would have been nice for them to have initiated more conversation around SEO practices, and how to address maintaining our SEO ratings. Earlier in the process, it would have been beneficial to initiate those conversations, instead of looking at them later on in the process.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

We are a protection and advocacy organization that’s federally mandated for Washington state. In every state and territory, there is an organization that is mandated by Congress to advance the issues of human rights for those with disabilities. That’s our primary role. We do that in a variety of ways. We have a legal team that deals with class-action litigation. We have a smattering of individual cases, but we don’t really have the capacity to pursue all of them. We try to focus primarily on systemic advocacy. We do a lot of work within the legislature around policy and regulatory issues.

What is your position?

I’m the director of community relations. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were trying to address when you initiated the relationship with FUSE IQ?

We had a very old website on an obsolete platform. We had a ton of archived information that was buried in the bowels of the website. It was all very hard to access. We wanted to redesign our site so that users could locate the valuable information they needed without having to deal with the frustrations of an archaic system. We wanted something that was state of the art. We knew we needed a platform that would allow us to distribute relevant and valuable information in the most simple and dynamic way possible. That platform ended up being Drupal.

SOLUTION

What was the rationale behind selecting Drupal compared to alternative content management system solutions?

We had conducted some basic background research, and we felt like an open-source solution would best fit our needs. Drupal also happens to be the real bread and butter in the FUSE IQ wheelhouse. They had some deep expertise with the solution and we were confident that they’d be able to rebuild our new site using it.

How did you select FUSE IQ as your solution partner for this endeavor?

We drafted a preliminary state of work and sent it to a handful of Drupal development shops. We received a fair amount of responses from potential vendors and vetted their respective proposals. FUSE IQ really shined through in that process. It was clear to us that they had some considerable experience implementing Drupal across numerous industries. After we were introduced to their team, we made the decision to move forward.

Could you describe the scope of the project? For instance, did it involve custom visual design, backend functional development, training, or support?

They helped us develop the organization of the site. They did the design. We hired an independent consultant to review the site usability. The deployment itself required a lot of backend development rather than visual enhancements. It was very collaborative effort. Our teams worked closely together on each stage of the implementation. They also instructed our team on best practices and basic troubleshooting. They continue to provide ongoing support on a case-by-case basis.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms? 

Our range was approximately $25,000 to $30,000.

When was this site launched?

October of 2012.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or anecdotal feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they’ve delivered?

Our email list has tripled. Our unique monthly visitors and page views have probably quadrupled since we launch. Those figures continue to grow at a steady rate. A good portion of that is the result of more social media interactions, but I credit that to FUSE IQ, too, because they helped us integrate our site with all of our social channels.

When working with FUSE IQ, is there anything you’d consider special or unique about their approach or methodology that distinguishes them from other vendors you’ve worked with?

They were very conscientious about delivering exactly what we wanted, even if it meant completely reworking solutions. They knew the accessibility and usability components were absolutely essential to us. They went to conferences to collect more information and went out of their way to meet our expectations. They were a real pleasure to work with.

In retrospect, are there areas you think they could improve upon, or are there things you’d do differently as the client before initiating a project of this nature?

We really didn’t know what we were doing when we first began the project, but it worked out quite well. I can’t really think of what we would change in retrospect. I don’t really have criticisms of FUSE IQ. Deploying and utilizing new technologies is always a challenge but, overall, I think the entire project went well, even if it didn’t always go according to plan.