hedgehog lab

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is the largest regional last-mile e-commerce delivery company focused primarily on the East Coast and Midwest regions. We have an independent contractor model for our drivers that meet at our branches, get the packages, and go out for delivery every day.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We had an older version of a mobile app that our contract drivers use and we wanted to upgrade it but decided that would take too much work, so we had it redone completely by hedgehog lab instead.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They are designing and developing both an iOS and Android app for our drivers that will allow them to find and record all of their deliveries for the day. That includes all of the backend architecture and frontend UI/UX design as well.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Patrick (Owner, hedgehog lab) and we interact with their product owner on a regular basis as well. Then they have a development team of around 5–6 folks behind the scenes as well, so the overall team probably adds up to 8–10 depending on how much work we have to do.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I found their team on Clutch originally. We had a few conversations with them and a few other companies, and after about a month of discovery, they had established a lot of confidence with us in their ability to deliver so we decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested around $500,000 in the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The discovery phase started in June 2019 and our development work began in August. The project is ongoing, and we plan to release the apps in March.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been running pilot tests over the course of this month, and so far, everyone who has interacted with the app has loved it. The app is going to greatly improve the quality of our deliveries, in terms of getting drivers out the door much faster and improving compliance with a variety of related tasks as well. The app has been very reliable, and we continue to catch and fix any issues that arise successfully.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team does a great job keeping us up to date, and we use a Monday board with them and see progress daily. On top of that, we meet a few times a week to go over any outstanding issues and make sure everyone is on the same page.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by how quickly they were able to come up to speed in understanding our business. That combined with their technical skill and creative problem solving has made the project incredibly successful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been very satisfied with all of the work they’ve done and their approach to it as well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would just emphasize how important it is to spend time upfront making sure that everyone understands the business and the core requirements that you have.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Wombat Invest is a new thematic fractional investment app in the UK - As the founder I have a passion to create my goal of breaking down the barriers to traditional investing by creating an easy to use, seamless and well designed app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Netsells Group?

Wombat Invest hired Netsells just after the company launched, to support Wombat through the complete build of their first MVP. We have continued to use Netsells for the ongoing development and build out of our products on both Android and Apple stores.

As with any start-up, the relationship between the company and its technical team are crucial for the correct build out of our mission and goal for our customers.

What were your goals for this project?

Initially, we wanted to take our idea to market and for this we quickly established a strong relationship with Netsells to start creating and building out our idea through discovery to turn the idea into a physical product.

Through the lead up to the launch, Wombat and Netsells had successfully established a strong partnership to which we have continued to use them throughout our complete journey to date.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

In choice of vendor, it was important that the vendor understood our goals but more importantly the heart of what we were trying to achieve. The Wombat team are from a range of backgrounds but all know how frustrating, time consuming working with inefficient technical teams can be, and at the end of the day, this means the wrong end product for the user.

We selected Netsells after a number of meetings with teams who were London based, we decided to venture out of London and upon meeting Netsells we felt this was a strong opportunity to build out a partnership.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Netsells built out and successfully launched our first versions of the app. Netsells have continued to make changes and product enhancements for the last 18 months (8 months of this live on the app stores).

The partnership has now extended to have Brannan as out CTO and we look forward to building upon our goals and missions of the company.

What was the team composition?

Team composition has varied throughout the partnership so far, with more dev team working on the concept pre-launch, then once live we've had 2 developers assigned through a set amount of dedicated dev hours per month. As for the next year of delivery, we plan a much greater dedication to development time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We now have over 5,000 customer on the platform which is a huge success for both Wombat and Netsells - As we build out our research and analytics on the app itself, we will start to see where the process can be improved and where customer have feedback, if any.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Contact time at the start of the journey was heavy as focus needed to be on the product and getting it in production. Contact time now is reduced to weekly stand offs and meetings set as and when we require. Communication to date has been effective and efficient.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their dedication to building a relationship with us has been very impressive. This has been crucial in communication and ensuring we all have goals and ideas aligned and are reaching one target for our end user.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No comments for areas of improvement, just to continue building out and prioritising discovery, build out and maintenance of our products and ideas.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Head of Software and we develop software for the rail industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Netsells Group?

We needed software development support to start development of a Web application for rail planning. The services included Scrum masters, Business Analysts, Developers and Testers.

What were your goals for this project?

This is an ongoing project and the final goal is to have a Web application that can be used by rail operators around the world.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The vendor was recommended to us. The first phase was not just about delivering software but also assessing how well we worked together.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project started with designs that where walked through and approved by me before the development phase started. We where fully engaged with the project team at all stages, with regular weekly progress updates. The project also included a number of up front technical requirements that needed to be taken into account such as system configurability and being database agnostic.

What was the team composition?

The project team consisted of a Scrum master(s), 2 business analysts, 2 backend developers, 1 front end developer and QA.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The first phase was delivered successfully which has lead to a new phase being started. Demonstrations to a selected number of customers have been positive with feedback being included in the next phase.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was very effective, always kept up to date on progress and issues. Questions raised always answered in a timely manner. Most of the communication was done via meetings, phone or email.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The project was run more like a partnership which created a greater working relationship. The team strived to understand our priorities and what it was they where developing and why.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The project has been successful and we have now started a new phase, building on what was designed and delivered in the first phase. Netsells are located 10 minutes away from our office, so face to face meetings where always possible when required. On the very rare occasion documents sent for review missed some feedback details so had to be re-revised.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Watch Lotto, a lottery watch competition. We operate online and have an iOS app as well. Users choose what they want to win, buy tickets, and at the end of the competition, we give away a watch. It’s a nice and easy concept to understand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Netsells Group?

I needed help with development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I went to them with my idea and gave them the visuals and processes of the actual competitions. I also gave them my brand guidelines and told them how I wanted it to look and operate. They then designed and developed the Laravel platform and the iOS app.

The most significant functionality involves players estimating where a football will be. That’s our main game and competition on the app and website. They pieced all the items together to match how we wanted it to look and managed the backend side of it where all of the pixels have to be stored. They don’t see time references of the entries along with names through the backend.

I paused the Android app because I wanted to focus on iOS for now. They’re going to start doing the wireframes and putting everything together for the Android app and then start developing it.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with the project manager and an additional contact that managed the development team.

How did you come to work with Netsells Group?

I wanted someone who could understand the concept and then package everything together. I found the people I was speaking to would only do a website or only a mobile app. However, Netsells Group could do both, and they have a really good discovery team as well and have been able to map out the whole process of how it’s going to work.

I also chose them because of their affordability. They offer great value for our money. They do the task as well as any London agency would, but they are on the client’s side instead of against. I initially had a meeting with them and spoke through the processes together. I had trust in them from the get-go and knew whatever I threw at them, they’d be able to do it.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All the users are happy and have found the platform accessible. We haven’t seen many issues.

How did Netsells Group perform from a project management standpoint?

If there’s ever an urgent problem, they’re always there to pick up the phone. They meet deadlines and run things as efficiently as possible. They’re transparent and I’m able to see what they’re working on.

They’re very much an open book. If I wanted to go and see every single individual hour that’s been spent on the project, I can and they don’t keep it from me. All the information I need is there and as clear as it could be.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They care for their customers. The other agencies I spoke to were thinking about the money first before thinking about the project, whereas Netsells Group didn’t mention money until the second or third meeting. Even in the first meeting, we sat down and the initial ideas that I had for the platform were improved in that one meeting. They care for the customer and have a very close-knit working feel. They’re a familiar voice every time you pick up the phone.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing they need to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come prepared with enough information for them to work on something.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for Deliveroo, a free delivery company based in London and primary operations in Europe and the Middle East. Our department is focused on food procurement for our regional partners. We reduce the cost of our regional partners’ food by increasing efficiency in the supply chain.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

Restaurants tend to purchase food pretty inefficiently, mostly using phone calls and WhatsApp to place orders. This is a massive pain point for both vendors and chefs who often play blame games over errors and missed orders. Our goal was to provide a very basic tool that allows restaurants to quickly and easily place an order with suppliers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our solution is an app-based ordering tool geared toward chefs. When we brought hedgehog lab onto the project, we had a good idea of what we wanted. We’d actually built something similar internally that prepared us for this undertaking. They started with a few weeks of design work before jumping into the build phase. The final iOS and Android app will launch in a few weeks.

What is the team composition?

Initially, I spoke with the CEO to agree on commercial terms. Afterward, I had preliminary conversations with the engineering director. In the design phase, I worked closely with a product manager and Steve (Design Manager, hedgehog labs). We also work directly with a scrum master in India and Craig (Senior Developer, hedgehog labs), who is our technical lead in the United Kingdom. There’s probably an additional five team members working on the project.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

In my search, I reached out to about one dozen different agencies from across America and Europe. After examining all the quotes and taking initial calls, we decided to go with hedgehog lab based on their thorough proposal. In the early stages, before we hired them, they came to our office to meet in person. No one else did that, so it stood out to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project at the end of May 2019, and we’re wrapping up in a couple of weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because we haven’t launched, it’s a little early to determine their impact. However, they’ve provided us with cost efficiency and the ability to meet in person. I’m also happy with the product and all the hard work their team has done for us. We’ve built a solid relationship and plan on engaging them in future projects.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very responsive through a combination of Slack and Google Meetups. My main point of contact usually responds to me within an hour, and we have weekly check-in calls. Our team already used all the tools they use, so that was an easy alignment as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team was motivated and showed a great level of commitment. We’ve developed a very easy working relationship, getting on well from the start. They work hard and have squeezed a lot of work into their sprints. Hedgehog labs went above and beyond what we expected them to deliver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It might be useful for them to take more of a lead on the design work, but that’s a two-way street. I really don’t have anything negative to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a collaborative team, so I think considering a partnership with them is worthwhile. My main advice would be to form a decent relationship with your product manager because you’ll be working a lot together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of a startup that offers a tax assistance application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We already had an iOS application built by another vendor, but we were looking for a new development shop to take over the Android development. We engaged hedgehog lab to create that new product and orchestrate a redesign of the iOS app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team got familiar with our current practices and our one- and two-year visions of where we wanted the apps to go. They conducted a full review of our existing iOS application and suggested some changes for the update. Throughout the Android development process and the iOS update, hedgehog lab found better ways to summarize the app’s data, along with more appealing displays and colors. hedgehog lab utilized Microsoft Azure in the backend and coded both products with their native languages.

Our application helps users who have homes in two or more states track how many days they spend at each location. If one owns multiple homes, it’s possible that you could be considered a resident in a second state by spending too much time there, which would then require paying income taxes. We help users track their days in different states, and the app produces reports they can share with accountants or attorneys while filing taxes.  

What is the team composition?

They have a pretty large team, but we only interface with two people—a frontend designer and a backend developer.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

We searched online for companies, and hedgehog lab seemed to have good reviews. We compared several new vendor options against our existing provider, but we liked what hedgehog lab had to offer. They had some exciting ideas in the first meeting, and we thought they were reasonably priced for the services they provided.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d estimate we’ve spent between $50,000–$75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in November 2018 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still in the pre-launch stages with the Android product, but so far, we’ve had a healthy working relationship with them. They’ve been collaborative and understanding of our needs.  

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very responsive. We’ve made good use of Monday.com for our project management needs because that’s easiest for them. Otherwise, we work well through phone calls and emails, as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared to our previous developers, hedgehog lab had much more experience working with relevant technologies. They knew what they were talking about.

Are there any areas they could improve?

A very small critique would be that they could offer more in terms of in-house testing, but my team also prefers to be very hands-on, so we help out with that process. Otherwise, hedgehog lab has done really well. They’re on top of everything and keep up with timelines.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take full advantage of the experience they have, and feel comfortable and confident in the solutions they recommend.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is primarily involved in reselling ERP products and developing bespoke software. As the development manager, I lead a department that’s responsible for custom software development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

In this particular instance, we were using additional resources from hedgehog lab to develop an iOS app for a third-party client.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

hedgehog lab worked hand-in-hand with us and our client to develop an iOS app. They were chiefly involved with the design, collaborating with our internal team to parse out the interface. Whereas we handled the functional aspects, they focused on the graphics and overall appearance. They also assisted in some of the development and final delivery. 

What is the team composition? 

In total, we dealt with about 5–6 resources. They provided three designers and a developer, but we also met with more senior staff on occasion.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

We’d worked with them on previous projects, though I wasn’t involved then.

What is the status of this engagement?

We embarked on this project in 2018 and consider it ongoing. Although their involvement has ended, we’re looking at engaging them again in the next phase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They performed excellently, and the designs were well-received by the client. Besides their high standard for design and development, hedgehog lab had a good understanding of our client’s requirements. They were effective at gleaning information, even when the information was a bit vague.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

I was involved with most of the work, so I handled the management. They provided a permanent team member to work with us, and I assigned tasks to him. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a modern, smart organization with employees that clearly know their stuff. Everyone is helpful and very forthcoming.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing specific to highlight. It was a very good experience overall.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have much else to say other than to recommend them. We’re a slightly special case because we didn’t bring them in to design something from scratch; rather, we joined forces to complete the project for a client.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a car distributor in Saudi Arabia. I'm our head of strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We wanted to digitize a strategic process. We currently use a cascade mechanism that all our members use to turn strategic objectives into quantifiable KPIs. This was done manually for many years, but our president requested we digitize it. We called upon hedgehog lab to come up with a solution, based upon ideas we had in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first had a six-week sprint, in which we shared information with them. It's an extremely large, complex project, and it covers a lot of subjects. After that, they proposed a system that seemed to work quite well. We worked with them for one more week to ideate a prototype.

The brief was to build a mobile app, but as we went through the process, we gave them our web-based platform we use to populate data. That data was typically used in the backend to provide data to the mobile app. As we dug deeper into the subjects, we discovered the scope would fit better within our needs if we included a web system to compliment the mobile one.

I know they used AWS, but I'm not sure of the other technologies they use. We've spoken about technologies we'd like to include, but not the tools they used to build the prototype.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around eight to ten people. The scope got quite large, and we often interacted with their CEO and chief product officer, as well as other team members there.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

We found them online. We read reviews and spoke with a colleague to help us manage our expectations. I contacted them by phone and chatted with them about the project. Hiring them was very straightforward.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in December 2018, with a bit of a gap around the holidays.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results are good, and we're very happy with the ideation and the process we went through. This was a great learning experience for us, and the prototype is very good. The illustrations and the interactivity helped us present the product and move on to the next stage.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Throughout the process, we used Basecamp, email, and WhatsApp. We had a variety of mediums to communicate by, which was never an issue. They're very approachable and easy to speak with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very straightforward and easy to deal with. We had a strong cultural alignment with them, and they were very attuned to what we were trying to do. We fit together very well, and that was one of the distinguishing reasons that set them apart from other providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing shouts out at the moment. Our relationship has been very good so far, and we hope to continue moving forward with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to use the culture they have to your advantage. I like to use their expertise to explore possibilities, and I would like to see how their ideas could benefit projects commercially.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a finance manager at a financial company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We reached out to hedgehog lab to develop some mobile apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

hedgehog lab is developing various mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms.. 

What is the team composition? 

I work with Darren (Senior Account Manager, hedgehog lab), Kevin (Head of Strategic Accounts, hedgehog lab), and Michael (Product Manager, hedgehog lab), as well as a team of developers based in India. 

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I'd known of them for a while and they had a great reputation.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since around January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Some of the apps they've developed are live and being very well received. Users are very pleased with the functionality and interface thus far.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive; the support staff in their India office is good about fixing bugs in a timely manner and making any changes as needed. I can also reach our account managers very easily both in person or over the phone. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm most impressed by their communications; they're very collaborative and the account managers do a good job of ensuring the developers understand our needs. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their invoicing could be more organized. We also have a few outstanding requests that we sent to their support desk, but nothing major. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to understand project goals and have a vision before going into the relationship to provide a clear direction for their team. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the product manager for CPP Group UK. We sell ancillary services to the financial services industry that engage and reward loyal customers. I’m responsible for product specifications and choosing suppliers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Netsells Group?

Netsells Group needed to build a multi-installation white label B2B mobile application. We wanted to be able to rebrand the solution and sell it to our clients.

What were your goals for this project?

The app needed to have a scalable framework that would support our growing number of services. In-app configurations needed to present propositions rapidly by bundling our services. From a process perspective, we were interested in the discovery and business analysis elements of the project. Our team wanted a clearly-defined vision and comprehensive documentation.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I knew a few developers in the area that recommended Netsells Group.

Describe the project in detail.

Our in-house UX team provided the wireframes and designs. Netsells Group annotated the documentation to detail the app’s customizable features. The team then led the discovery phase and adjusted the scope accordingly. They then developed the app for iOS and Android. The solution interacts with a third-party piece of hardware that we provide to end users.

What was the team composition?

The team comprised 5–10 people including an account manager, two project managers, separate iOS and Android developers, and a QA specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

No, because the app is still in development. Currently, the quality of its look exceeds what we designed.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We found a good working routine based on a standardized release cycle. Our team chose not to use their standard operating procedure, which may have affected the project’s early stages. However, Netsells Groups has had clear communication and timely deliveries.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team has been incredibly responsive and treated us well as we negotiated the retainer.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Visual progress updates in a single place would be helpful. Since this project is only one of my responsibilities, I find it difficult to navigate multiple bookmarked files and portals: Google Sheets, Google Docs, Trello, Specfox, etc.