GLOBALDEV

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an early stage startup developing a B2C concept for connecting service providers with clients looking for those services. This is a very broad stroke of our online business idea. I’m a co-founder of the startup, along with my business partner. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Steelkiwi?

We were at the stage of searching for an agency to help us create a prototype that could be tested on the market with customers. We needed a wireframe and design, and we wanted someone to put them together into a functional product. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Steelkiwi produced an iOS prototype for us, handling wireframing, design and development. We had them implement separate interfaces for supplier accounts as opposed to basic customer ones.

We mainly interacted with Steelkiwi's project manager and UX designer. There were also three resources with whom we didn't talk; they were in charge of designs, our logo, and the coding itself. In the very beginning, we were also in touch with Steelkiwi's principal when signing the contract.

How did you come to work with Steelkiwi?

I am originally from Ukraine, so this was one of the markets I researched. Based on references and cost, we chose Steelkiwi.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Steelkiwi at the end of September 2016. The prototype was delivered at the end of January 2017. After we've tested it, we will begin looking for a technical team to take it further. Steelkiwi will be one of the agencies on our list. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

Because the product is a prototype and not a fully functional app, we have only used it for checking the validity of our idea. In terms of the functionality of what was delivered, the feedback was clear that our user-flow needs to be simplified. The design itself was perceived positively.

How did Steelkiwi perform from a project management standpoint?

We appreciated Steelkiwi's responsiveness. The feedback and requests we shared with them were responded to quickly. Whenever we needed to have an additional call, Steelkiwi was proactive in connecting with us.

Are there any areas Steelkiwi could improve?

Overall, we really enjoyed the level of collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

MarriU is a wedding planning app. I’m the director, and I make sure it gets downloads and that we market it to the right people.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

We were trying to appoint a supplier that would be the right resource to build the app for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

IDAP Group built the whole app from the ground up for both iOS and Android. They also created all the databases. The app synchronizes across multiple devices and platforms. If a bride-to-be downloads it, she can invite her fiancé, bridesmaids, or anyone involved in the wedding planning, and it will synchronize across everyone’s devices. We needed to ensure that everything was joined up well and spoke to each other in the right way and that it linked people to one wedding experience. The app also allows people to take other roles. For example, if you downloaded the app initially as a bridesmaid, and you are also getting married, you can use the app for your own wedding.

IDAP provided all the architecture, and they worked with us to ensure that we had the best software platform in place to manage all those conversations. The app required a database of suppliers, and IDAP set up the architecture in the right way so we can add suppliers to the database on a regular basis.

They also assisted on some of the UX [user experience] design. We had some UX requirements where our designer had not provided some elements. IDAP took control of those elements themselves. They did a good job on the backend, making sure that the core of the app worked well.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

I came across them on a freelance website. I put out a brief to various freelancers, and we looked at a number of agencies that submitted proposals to us. IDAP’s proposal seemed stronger, and they had more experience. They were quick to respond, and the response was very professional. Alex, the CEO, seemed very genuine, and his team was keen to make sure we succeeded in the best way possible. It seemed like they cared about whether we were successful or not, so that’s why I chose them.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

I think we spent £10,000 [US $12,441].

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship began in May 2014, and the project was completed in January 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We’ve gotten feedback that the app is very intuitive. Our users like the fact that something like this exists, allowing them to communicate with multiple people involved in their weddings. The app is very well rated on the App Store. I don’t have the exact statistics, but I think it’s a 5-star rating.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very hands-on. There were a couple of project manager changes in the time we worked with them. Ukraine had the issues with Russia at the time, and they had to move their whole office. They did a very good job of managing an external crisis alongside working with us because we didn’t feel it on our side. Alex made sure to communicate with us. I saw the problems in the news, and I knew from talking to Alex that this was having an impact on their business. However, it didn’t impact the work, which was very impressive. That’s the reason I regularly work with IDAP, and I recommend clients to them. I know that they will be very professional.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

They’re very good at taking on any challenge and being able to find the right solution for it. Whenever I go to them with a challenge, they’re realistic about what the route needs to be to come to a successful conclusion. They’ve been very helpful and resourceful in finding available alternatives. They’re quite flexible in their approach, and they always work with me to find the right answer.

Are there any areas IDAP Group could improve?

There’s really nothing. It’s hard to say there’s one thing they need to improve. I’ve used them a lot, and I’m confident in their services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a non-profit classical radio station network. I’m the director of technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

I have actually hired IDAP Group multiple times. The first time I hired them, I gave them a pretty unique project. I asked if they could port an Android application that was written in Java to an entirely different language and framework—React Native. The second project, which I’m working on now, is helping me build an instrument app for kids.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ll talk about the instrument app because that one’s a little more in-depth. The basic premise is that we are making an iOS app written in Swift for kids between the ages of 8–15. I have a project manager, a designer, and then myself as a coder. We initially started doing mini sprints, trying to conceptualize an idea which eventually evolved into wireframes, and finally into an actual design composition. At that point, I reached out to IDAP Group telling them about our brand-new idea: a youthful instrument app. We are building as we go since it’s completely from scratch. We needed them to help us take our prototype and flesh it out into a full-blown application.

The key thing about IDAP that I love is that they have a very clear understanding of development and project management. When I hired them for this recent app, they found a Swift developer who I didn’t have to train. It wasn’t like I was getting a junior developer. The second thing was that I was assigned a project manager who kept the communication and dialogue open and was always on top of things, which is really what I needed. I am capable of diving deep into the code, but I’m not always going to be capable of looking at every nuance they have. More importantly, the benefit of having a project manager or a technical lead on their end is that they can be really clear on the status of the project, features, and bugs, and keep me constantly aware of the progress.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

I was looking at other companies before IDAP Group, but they came as a recommendation to me in 2011 by another non-profit that I personally know. I was looking for somebody who had experience in iOS development, specifically Objective-C. Generally, I’ve struggled with a lot of other independent teams. I’ve hired a rogue developer before where I am suddenly trying to get them to become a project manager, and they end up not doing so well. I’ve also experienced an agency-type model where they’ve got one project manager who’s great, but their developers are working on ten other projects. When it comes to me asking nuanced questions, the project manager can’t answer them, or they’re not able to have the time to get the developer to answer them. IDAP’s been pretty good at solving those two problems.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

I’m just going to use a startup range. If you’re building a prototype, they can work between $10,000 and $20,000. If you’re trying to do something bigger than that, then it’s like $50,000–$100,000, which they can do as well. I’m sure they can even go bigger than that, but this project, in particular, was in a prototype/startup range.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in late September 2016. The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I gave them a project that was fabricated from nothing, and it’s remarkable how helpful they’ve been in accepting that type of project. We were going from an ephemeral, ethereal idea to an actual product. It’s indicative of not only their company courage but also of their skill level. However, the tricky thing is that this product hasn’t yet been launched. It will launch in a month and a half, so I don’t have users yet. ​​​​​

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Since I conduct the Scrum model in a distance-managed way, one thing I can say is that they’ve been good about daily stand-ups. It’s always comforting to know that I can schedule a time to meet with them, even if it is for 15 minutes every day. They’re really good at being responsive, and they’re really good about time management and meetings.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

There are a couple of things I like about them a lot. They just know how to say “Yes,” and I love them for that. I’ll ask them, “Can you do this?” and they’ll either say “Yes, we’ll try, or we’ll figure it out.” That’s really refreshing instead of having to spend an endless amount of time either convincing them or putting hard pressure. The people who work at IDAP are very agreeable and really nice. Even when there are challenges at a technical level, they have a very positive mindset. I am an engineer myself, so I put the responsibility on myself to not set them up for failure, which I don’t know if other clients would do. That’s hands down why I continue going back to them over and over again.

Are there any areas IDAP Group could improve?

I don’t have anything off the top of my mind. They’re fine on their end. If anything, I’ve had to be aware of time zones or other things you don’t think about when you have a team sitting in the office with you.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with IDAP Group?

If you are trying to help customers or clients, it’s really important to understand what the natural challenges with distance management are. If you don’t know how to manage people remotely or don’t understand how that all works, you may get results that you weren’t intending to get.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a London- and Vilnius-based creative team with challenging and innovative projects in our portfolio. We produce tailored digital products and solutions including mobile applications, Facebook applications, and web pages and banners. We are trusted by brands like Ferrari, Red Bull, Nokia, L'Oréal, and Maybelline offering experience and reliability. I am a project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group? 

We had a project for which an application had to be ported from cross-platform to a native solution. We needed their experience in building native Android applications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The list of services is impressive, including porting a Tinder-like cross-platform to a native app; building from scratch applications for three European news companies; ongoing design projects – mainly animations; and being involved in the development of an e-commerce project based in Shopify.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

IDAP was top rated on Elance, now Upwork. They had the most favorable client reviews.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

The total cost of the development and design services has already exceeded $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in the last quarter of 2014 and are an active client of IDAP.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The success metrics vary depending on the project. For the Heyyy application, they created a truly native experience, so the app had a dramatic shift in user engagement. For the tv3.lt Android app, there was a quick turnaround and complete absence of bugs.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

At IDAP, project managers ask good questions and listen carefully to the requirements. They foresee all the potential risks and nail down the problems long before they become severe.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

It would be the timely delivery of very clear promises.

Are there any areas IDAP Group could improve?

They should clone themselves.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

CCI is the fifth-largest bottler in The Coca-Cola Company system in terms of sales volume. CCI produces, distributes, and sells sparkling and still beverages from Coca-Cola across Turkey, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Tajikistan.

 CCI employs more than 10,000 people and has 25 plants, offering a wide range of beverages to a consumer base of 380 million people. In addition to sparkling beverages, the product portfolio includes juices, waters, sports drinks, energy drinks, teas, and iced teas. I am an e-commerce specialist.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group? 

We were looking for a software vendor for our projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope of the project is confidential information. The services provided by this vendor were related to app software and backend development.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

Their approach was matching with our strict deadline expectations. We needed a very fast solution, and they were able to deliver it without reducing quality.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

This information is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

The part they performed was completed 3 times faster than we expected. They managed to complete the project in 3 weeks while initial estimations were much longer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

 We were able to launch the application much faster than we expected.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked with us using Agile methodology. But, even within the framework of Agile, they were very flexible and understood our business needs very well. It is a reality that the client's needs may change and there will be many revisions coming even after some milestones are approved. But, they handled this very well without shifting the project deadline and costs.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

While working with them, we felt that they cared about the project as much as we did. This is what makes us confident in the success of the project. Also, with their experience in software development, they were able to give good advice on the UX side of the project. We received many good ideas on the visual design of the software that was implemented.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is a music streaming app. I am the Chief Executive Officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

I was looking for product developers, and they’re an agency that can provide everything that you need as a company in order to develop an app. I was trying to find really good and experienced app developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope was to make a music app. It has social features among other things. It’s on iOS, to begin with. They provided a full-time developer and a project manager. Over time, we added a quality assurance specialist from IDAP to the team. I switched to using their in-house designer as opposed to my own designer that I had before. It’s a nice in-house setup and they work pretty professionally. I expanded the contract over time because I was very satisfied with the work.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

I went through a few agencies and even individuals that were not agencies. What I liked about IDAP Group the most was that they were very honest and professional, and they knew what they were talking about. I was talking to Alexander, who is the CTO [Chief Technology Officer], and he was very patient and explained things so as to not have unrealistic expectations, which other developers had done in the past when trying to get the contract. I like their honesty, and to this day, I’m still getting the same vibe from them. They’re very down-to-earth.

The vetting process took over a month. Unlike the other agencies, they have a model that’s kind of unique. The CTO teaches about programming, he’s a lecturer. He is very experienced and he brings in developers and trains them. As a client, you get assigned the mid-level developer, which costs a lot less than a senior developer, but he manages them, which means he’s still on top. He gets involved in the coding sometimes. You get the quality of the senior person because he’s there managing it for the price of the mid-level or junior. I really like that and it has worked very well.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

This is a long term contract. I spend $4,000 to $5,000 a month, and it’s been over a year now. It would be in the $50,000 to $200,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We’re happy with the work.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very professional. At first, they were using their own project management software. They invited me to it so I could manage the tasks on it. It’s all in English, which is very important. When I hired them, we were using Trello. They said they can use that too. The rules changed over time and they were always adapting to it. We switched and set up new rules for project management. Every time, they adapted and they were part of the decision-making process. They’re all about making sure that we’re happy. They still use their internal management software as well; they have the whole management part down. They’re a real company. They have people in-house that are all about making sure everything is run efficiently; it’s not just a small shop.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

Their professionalism.

Are there any areas IDAP Group could improve?

No. All around, I’m satisfied. We have a very good relationship. We’ve been doing this for a little over a year and we get along really well. I’m happy with them and they’re happy with me.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Kimetrica is a consultancy firm that provides decision support services to companies or organizations largely working in the social sector like NGOs [Non Governmental Organizations] and bilateral aid agencies. I’m the Chief Information Officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SteelKiwi?

We do software development in-house. We use Django, which is a web development framework. Sometimes we have a client that we don’t have quite the right skill set for, so we have resource constraints. At other times we don’t have programmers available to work on things at a particular time, and we use SteelKiwi in both of those situations. When we don’t have resources available, we contract it out to SteelKiwi.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

My internal team is 10 to 15 programmers plus 5 other IT staff. We use SteelKiwi by and large for Django development and sometimes for AngularJS development. We have worked with the same people on multiple projects. We talk to their sales manager. When we start a new project or a new piece of work, she gives us a project manager to start with. Sometimes that’s somebody we have worked with before. It depends on the availability on their end. Then once we start a conversation with the project manager about what our requirements are, they then put together a team on their end that has the skills to meet those needs.

How did you come to work with SteelKiwi?

We originally found them on an outsourcing website called Elance. The original requirement was for a Django software development, to do a Django content management system implementation. We looked for people on Elance that had that specific experience on Django CMS and had good reviews. Then we interviewed three or four of them, and we picked SteelKiwi.

How much have you invested with SteelKiwi?

We have invested between $20,000 and $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them one to two years ago. We are still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

They’ve done many things for us. The first thing they did was implement our website using Django CMS. That was the initial piece of work we asked them to do. We’d had a design done by an external branding consultant. They were the technology implementer, and we wanted somebody with Django CMS to translate that design into a working website. They did that very successfully. The communication was generally very good. Our communications team internally talks directly to their project management team in terms of deciding what requests and alterations need to get done. They’re very good at talking to the business team and understanding what is required. That was the first thing we did. That was very successful. We still give them pieces of work where we need to make a change to the website, and we have no familiarity with the back-end technology. 

How did SteelKiwi perform from a project management standpoint?

I think internally they use JIRA to do their project management and their timekeeping. We use a tool called Redmine for our internal software development, and one of the things that has been a very big win for us is that SteelKiwi has been very willing to and very successful at adopting our project management procedure. They were happy to accept work and requirement documentation and those sorts of things allocated to them through our project management software, Redmine. That means that I can split work easily across SteelKiwi and our internal software development team where we have work going on and a mix of skills.

For example, at the moment we are building a single-page JavaScript application which acts as a visualization for a data warehouse. The APIs [application programming interface] that are being used to access that data will all be written by my internal team, and SteelKiwi is doing the AngularJS front-end for us. We have tasks being assigned within that project, some of them to SteelKiwi and some of them to my internal software developers, and both sides are using the same project management tools to review the work and track who’s doing what. Beyond Redmine, there’s the version control system. We use a software control system called GitLab, and once again they are committing directly to our GitLab and integrate it into our software review process. That’s been very successful with them in a way that it hasn’t always been with other subcontractors that we’ve worked with. They’ve tended to want to do it on their platform or not at all. SteelKiwi has been very successful at adopting our processes and our programming service.

What did you find most impressive about SteelKiwi?

I think their client communication is really good. For every piece of work, there’s always repeating in the chain. There’s the initial contact with the sales manager, and then for every project, we are assigned a project manager. Their project manager basically makes sure that the work is going on and satisfied properly, deals with any holdup, and acts as the client’s point of contact to make sure that the client is happy.  However, many technical resources are required to implement whatever it is that we’re asking. The communication from those project managers in terms of keeping everybody on the same page and up to date is really good.

Are there any areas SteelKiwi could improve?

No, to be honest, I am delighted with their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a global engineering consultancy working on a wide variety of projects. We’ve built railways, designed buildings, and conducted ecological surveys on animal habitats. I am a part of the UK consulting team that provides digital solutions to clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SteelKiwi?

One of our clients was looking for a platform to manage the training of their delegates on internal standards. We've done work previously in the renewable industry and were asked to help out. We enlisted SteelKiwi to assist with the development of the platform itself, primarily because they do a good job of custom coding. Also, it wasn't our core business so it was necessary to partner with someone who could successfully build the solution. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SteelKiwi developed a solution that allows delegates to register, obtain a profile on the site, and view a history of their training. Employers can search for delegates on the site, verify that their training is up-to-date, and that they're compliant. Training providers can issue paperless accreditation to delegates throughout the world. We provided requirements for the functional and static aspects of the system. These included wireframe sketches of the user interface along with what elements were needed on specific pages. SteelKiwi designed visual collateral on top of this as well as the actual implementation of the system itself.

SteelKiwi worked on another project in the UK. They assisted with an internal application for managing traffic surveys. People were out on the road counting vehicles, classifying them, and collating the results. The information was used over time to form trends and determine where certain roads needed to be built. The work was done for another client. It was intended to replace a heavily manual process that involved an amalgam of spreadsheets. Our solutions were based on the Django Python framework, using MySQL as the database back-end, integrations into Amazon Web Services S3 for file storage, and SES for email delivery. The technologies were based on our requirements.

SteelKiwi provided between 8–10 resources for our project. We worked with a project manager, QA people, 2–3 developers, and a designer. We've worked with SteelKiwi on similar projects using similar teams. We didn't choose our team specifically, but it was successful in the past.

How did you come to work with SteelKiwi

We posted a request on Upwork. After advertising our high-level requirements, we vetted the replies and found SteelKiwi to be one of the most qualified firms. SteelKiwi proved to be a good fit for the job. We initially transacted through that website but have come to have a direct relationship subsequently. Upwork is not the best website to use.

How much have you invested with SteelKiwi?

The total cost of their services has been between $25,000 and $30,000. [20,000 to 25,000 GBP]

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SteelKiwi at the middle of 2015. We have some ongoing projects with SteelKiwi as well as others which are in the pipeline. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement? 

SteelKiwi has provided a professional service from top to bottom. They are excellent in terms of quality, software engineering, and following requirements through to delivery. The team has been responsive, helpful, and quick to resolve any issues that we encountered. They have been able to adapt to all the new technologies and environments which we’ve requested thus far.

How did SteelKiwi perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been straightforward. We communicate with one contact on SteelKiwi's end. Every week or fortnight, we have a show-and-tell-style review of the content being worked on. Jira is SteelKiwi's primary tool for tracking tasks and everything else. They use it extensively on an internal basis, but we haven't used it as much. Everything we needed was provided by email and other communications. During the project development life cycle, SteelKiwi has remained on time and kept us up-to-date with what was happening. The only lack in responsiveness came after the project was completed, in the bug fixing phase. This is to be expected.

What did you find most impressive about SteelKiwi?

It's neat to find a team that can adapt so well to a variety of business requirements and have the level of consistent quality offered by SteelKiwi. Plus, they deliver results within budget and on time. We've looked for this elsewhere in the market. Usually, developers are able to deliver within the right price, quality, or time. It's rare to find all 3 at once.

Are there any areas SteelKiwi could improve?

Nothing springs to mind at the moment. We've had the usual bug fix cycle, but this is normal.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company that I collaborated with developed a social networking site aimed at filmmakers. It had numerous features like payment gateways. I was the project manager in charge of hiring an outsourced developer. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SteelKiwi?

We wanted to improve the site by adding Skype, PayPal, and email integrations. It wasn't possible for us to do it alone since we don't have those technical skills. Thus it became necessary to partner with another company. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SteelKiwi played a part in every aspect of the project, but their main contribution was in the back-end development. I was partly in charge of the front-end design, but SteelKiwi made a lot of tweaks in order to make the site mobile-responsive. The site had been built using Python and Django so it was necessary to have a working understanding of the language, its strengths, and limitations. 

How much have you invested with SteelKiwi ?

The total cost of SteelKiwi's development services was around $17,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SteelKiwi in the spring of 2016. The project duration was more than 2 months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement? 

Before using SteelKiwi, I had worked with many outsourced teams in various countries. In comparison, SteelKiwi was very pleasant to work with. Everything was very smooth and they communicated well.

How did SteelKiwi perform from a project management standpoint?

I know that there were more than two developers assigned to the project, but I only kept in touch with SteelKiwi's project manager. Everything was delivered on time and all the major milestones were reached. SteelKiwi communicated clearly whenever we encountered any issues. We used GitHub for our collaboration and SteelKiwi also had an internal project management system. I also received updates on the number of hours spent on each task, which I appreciated.

What did you find most impressive about SteelKiwi?

I was impressed by our collaboration. SteelKiwi did everything that they were supposed to do. It seems that this should be true for everyone, but it isn't. With groups from Ukraine and India, there will always be complications. SteelKiwi was my favorite team to work with in a remote capacity.

Are there any areas SteelKiwi could improve?

Not that I can recall. I had a pleasant time working with SteelKiwi. There was no language barrier, and SteelKiwi was always straight with me when I had unrealistic expectations.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with SteelKiwi?

Any clients should allow some time for understanding how SteelKiwi's system works. If they try to implement their own processes from the start, things may start to get muddy. When we first started working together, I imposed my own way of keeping things together. SteelKiwi was fine with this. After finding that SteelKiwi was already very organized, I was eventually able to scale it back a lot over time. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Tech River LLC is a custom software developer, web developer, and online marketing firm. The side that I’m most associated with is the custom software development. It’s pretty much all web based applications and we’ve now branched into app development as well. I am owner/partner. My official title is Director of Customer Solutions and it includes the technical management of all the products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

We had a contract to develop an iPhone application and we had no in-house experience developing iPhone applications. We looked for a contractor that had that capability.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is iOS only. We actually utilize their service in three areas. One is we had them do the UI/UX design because we didn’t have that design capability in-house in terms of the actual user interface look and feel. We had them do the frontend implementation and the actual iOS development for the app. The app itself utilizes a backend database as well, so we had them develop that capability. That’s something that we could’ve done in-house but it seemed like it would cut down on a lot of the communication hassles if they were developing that as well rather than me trying to communicate the backend API to them.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

We found them through Upwork. My business partner who is the president of the company was the one who did that. I didn’t locate them. I can’t really speak to the vetting process. We had a limited budget to work with so we had to consider what their rates would look like and their existing reviews on Upwork. In this particular case, we were looking for a team rather than an individual. We would’ve subbed it to an individual, but we were looking for a rapid turnaround so we didn’t want to lay that in one person’s hands.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

We have spent between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Version one of the iOS app is complete and we’re starting version two with them now. We closed the version one contract and immediately opened up a version two contract. The version one contract was closed on Upwork last week although it was effectively done in the middle of August.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We have nothing yet. Even though it’s on the app store, it’s for association members. We’ve actually only done a soft release. In other words, it’s there if somebody looked for it but we’ve really only alerted about 100 members of a focus group. Within the last week or two, we haven’t seen any activity yet. It’s only been a week and a half. Understand that this is a contract that we’re subbing out to IDAP. In my opinion, I’m very pleased with what we came up with while working with IDAP. The association that wanted this app is happy with it as well. It’s going to be an ongoing thing. It’s probably going to be three years of development to flush it out to the level that they want.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

I have never seen better.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

First of all, when we started looking for lower budget contractors, we looked overseas. Oftentimes there’s a tradeoff between what we come to expect as US developers in terms of communication versus solo contractors that are out there. The IDAP team provided a level of communication that I was really blown away by. I wish I communicated as well as they do. When I say communication, I don’t mean just English skills, which were excellent by the way. I only dealt with one person directly at IDAP even though there was a team of five or six. He had excellent English skills, and in addition, he kept me moving because he would get back to me with questions. Everything was kind of a continual flow to make sure that the project kept moving. He didn’t make assumptions and made sure I was in the loop on everything.

Are there any areas IDAP Group could improve?

I couldn’t come up with anything. It’s a limited data set right now because that project took about three months. We’ve got other projects going with them now - two other projects in addition to version two of this app. I couldn’t come up with anything yet. I know that several of the programmers rescheduled vacations around getting this app out in a timely manner. I don’t wish that on anybody but I did appreciate it.