Geek-Solutions

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO. The company is currently a small software startup operating in stealth mode and in the product development phase.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Geek-Solutions, and what were your goals?

Staff augmentation. We are pre-revenue, pre-funding and were looking for flexible contracting staff that we could hire for software development.

SOLUTION

How did you select Geek-Solutions and what were the deciding factors?

From the beginning we were interested in working with an Eastern European off-shore software development shop because we felt it provided the best balance between a cultural fit for our engineering needs due to the good reputation that the region has for a strong math and science background in its educational system, along with cost effective prices that fit in our limited budget as a pre-revenue, pre-funded startup.

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

Backend work in C# using MongoDB database and ElasticSearch search engine, among other technologies. The web-based frontend is being written in Svelte.

How many people from the Geek-Solutions team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A total a five: 1 backend developer, 1 frontend developer, 2 project managers, and one business development / account manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is ongoing. We are working towards a feature complete, fully function V1.0 minimum viable product. There was an existing codebase that we had to start with but it was very old code written in jQuery and badly in need of porting to a more modern web framework (we chose Svelte after considering other options). We are currently about 6 months into the project. The project is currently about 75% complete.

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

I write the user stories and defects and put them into Azure DevOps, our project management system. We are 8 hours shifted in timezone (between Texas and Belarus). We have a daily standup at 10:00am local time. They start work later in the morning and work into the early evening to help make up some of the timezone shift.

Along with the user stores I write Markdown documentation, also stored in Azure DevOps, I record videos on Loom to supplement the documentation and give demos, and we use Slack from ad hoc communication. The project manager also attends the daily standup. He manages the developers locally, helps them make technical decisions, and he also does testing and follow up on the project.

The system works well and the project in proceeding on time and on budget.

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

Probably the biggest decision point we had to make together was what new JavaScript framework that we were going to use to replace to old, existing jQuery code, which was in a pretty bad state of disrepair when the project started. The obvious choices were either React or Angular, the two most popular choices on the market today.

It would have been easy for them to push me towards one of these stacks, because they have existing experience with both of them and it probably would have been easier for them to use something they already had experience with. But we discussed the needs of the project and I expressed my concerns about how React or Angular might not be the best choice for this project, and how performance was a #1 criteria and I wanted a very high performance solution.

They took my concerns into consideration, researched the possible options, and in the end we chose Svelte. I am impressed that they were willing to be flexible and choose something that was best for the project. They did not simply take the easy path of something they already knew.

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

Of course nothing is ever 100% perfect and we are always experimenting with ways to improve communication given the locale differences and timezone differences. I think we have a pretty good framework in place in terms of the communication tools we use. It's as productive and efficient as I think any kind of remote development experience could be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a mobile payments company that’s been incorporated since 2012. Based in Houston, we facilitate the processing of mobile payments out of the retail fuel industry. We’ve branched out into several different industries, and in the principal architect for cloud services and identity management. I run most of our Azure projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geek-Solutions?

We were having trouble finding local talent for developing app solutions. Their team came on board to serve as a development partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engage with their mobile development group, a portal UI team, and a .NET team. That allows us to work on front- and back-end coding as well as both iOS and Android work. I work most closely with the .NET team, holding daily standups focused on processing code on the backend of the application. They’ve assisted us with web apps, mobile apps, and cloud services. We do several cloud-to-cloud services with our partners as well.

They’re fully integrated into our agile team. When we’re taking on a new project, we define stories, generate necessary architecture, and determine how many resources we need to devote to the work. Then, we put tasks into sprints. Those staffed to the sprints are both internal team members and Geek-Solutions.

What is the team composition?

On a daily basis, I speak with about eight of them. Other members of their team work on different projects with us as well. 

How did you come to work with Geek-Solutions?

One of our early hires was familiar with their team and its capabilities. At the time, they were just starting up their business as well. We reached out and engaged them right away. 

How much have you invested with them?

I don’t know the exact spend about $5 million. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together since January 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We operate through agile sprints, and our number one metric is that sprint deliverables are completed on time. They have a 98% rate of turning deliverables in on time. That’s a very impressive metrics in the software development space. 

How did Geek-Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been directly integrated into our team, so project management hasn’t been an issue. Their communication and English skills are top-notch. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The creativity is extremely apparent in their work. They never shy away from thinking critically to solve problems that we face. Having fully-empowered and capable people is extremely important for us. That’s why we continue to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have a feedback cycle, and my input is always addressed. They’re in a different time zone, but there are pros and cons to working at different times. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Explain the context of your problem and provide them the tools need to attack the job themselves. If there’s a front- and back-end team, make sure that some of the work is being completed in parallel.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Aceology, a software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geek-Solutions?

I needed to create a website relatively quickly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our website from scratch and did the UX/UI design. The website was built on Webflow. They provided perfect, excellent maintenance for the website once it was built. They answered any questions and provided any support I requested.

What is the team composition?

I worked with three developers.

How did you come to work with Geek-Solutions?

They were recommended by a mutual connection.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent $5,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019-January 2020. The site launched January 1st. It took them one month to build it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The success measurement was the amount of time it took them to deliver and the quality of the website. It was built in one month without any software bugs. I received good user feedback about the website. I asked an independent user to review it and the feedback was good.

How did Geek-Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication was excellent; we used Skype. Every time I needed to reach out and ask a question, I could. They were always online and available almost 24/7. They also had an internal project manager who was responsible for managing the status of the work who would let me know about their progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Communication is outstanding. They go above and beyond and keep me up-to-date on the status. They also ask me if I have any questions or feedback every week. I was able to see their progress myself and how many pages they created every week.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of any areas for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend them to any company looking to build a quality website in a short amount of time.