ImageX

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of financial learning solutions at Stanford University.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ImageX?

I hired ImageX to redesign a very large and complex university website. The Gateway to Financial Activities website (aka Fingate) is an essential platform for information dissemination to staff, faculty, students, and suppliers in support of executing financial activities efficiently, correctly, and within policy.

Fingate is a high-traffic website averaging 1,500 user sessions and 5,000 page views per day. The overall site design hadn’t changed since the initial release in 2007, and web technology has dramatically changed since then. The original site, built in Dreamweaver, had reached its limit in terms of ease of site maintenance and adding new features due to its magnitude. It didn’t support robust analytics, industry tools for search engine optimization, or rapid feature development either. Additionally, the lack of a database-driven system presented challenges and risks for managing more than 1,000 pages of complex content. A 2018 client satisfaction survey validated that Fingate was no longer meeting the needs of campus users. We hired ImageX to help us redesign and build the site using Drupal 8.   

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The redesign of Fingate was divided into two phases. Phase one was discovery and design, and phase two was development and implementation. ImageX was our partner throughout both phases, providing a dream team that stayed with us throughout the 20-month long project.

Phase one included user-centered discovery and design activities (led by ImageX), content planning (led by us), and phase two definition. It was comprised of five user studies with more than 60 participants representing 17 Stanford business units.

After budget planning and approval, phase two included Drupal development (led by ImageX), content development (led by us), user testing, site launch preparedness, and launch. A large part of phase two was porting the content from our old site, and we determined the pace of that work, resulting in a longer timeline compared to phase one.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a number of people including Brent (Account Manager), Samantha (Technical Project Manager), Laura (Director of Digital Experience), Mahya (Lead UI/UX Designer), Bryan (Lead Drupal Developer), and Richard (Sr. Digital Strategist).

How did you come to work with ImageX?

ImageX was first recommended to us by a third party. We were working on a small Drupal implementation project with another vendor that went off the rails, so we engaged ImageX to help us finish the build. We were very impressed with their Drupal technical expertise.

When we went through the proposal process, I reached out to another company, as well as to my internal web team for guidance on vendor selection, and their advice proved itself. ImageX was larger than the 1–2 person shops without a lot of expertise or Drupal-certified engineers, which was a big selling point, but they weren’t so large as to be uncomfortable.

We received 12 responses to our proposal, and while other vendors presented better than ImageX, we took extra time to vet them. Some of the other vendors came off as only providing smoke and mirrors.

What is the status of this engagement?

Phase one started in December 2018 and concluded in April 2019 as planned. Phase two started in August 2019 and concluded in August 2020 as planned.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of success factors, we went live with absolutely zero downtime. We usually average 5,000 page views a day and 1,400 users. On day one, we had 10,000 page views. In the first 30 days, we had 40 contacts (questions, issues, and feedback) and that low number spoke highly to me. It wasn’t 40 issues; some were questions. It was like a non-event, and I think that speaks highly to the quality of the transition.

ImageX partnered with us to develop a robust set of KPIs and Success Measures. One measure of success was quantified in the results of a pre- and post-launch survey.

How did ImageX perform from a project management standpoint?

The ImageX project manager kept us on track via regular project status meetings, Basecamp communications, and RAID logs. Their team used Smartsheet to host the project plan, which we use internally. Basecamp was very helpful throughout.

One of the things that I really valued was that ImageX used all the right tools, and we had all the right protocols to manage the work with them. We had our own internal project manager for everything that we needed to do, and our project manager worked very closely with theirs.

When it came time to share design mock-ups, they used a whole suite of tools in tandem with us, and it worked quite well. They leveraged those while hosting one-on-one user demonstrations, as they captured everything that was necessary.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have great skills, and it was very easy to work with them. We felt like one project team. If you are going to embark on a 20-month long project, then you want to like your service provider. While the search process was exhausting, we had fun with ImageX; they’re good people.

Breaking the project up into two phases was very smart for us and smart for ImageX because we really knew what we were building by the end of phase one thanks to the focus on scoping phase two.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only part they could have done a better job on was selling themselves and their capabilities. In the RFP process, they didn’t say too much about their user-centered design approach, and we didn’t have any experience with it. Because we liked them so much, however, we dug into their offer and gained confidence that they could accomplish the entire project. I have nothing else but great things to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Remain engaged with them. They were present, and we took advantage of that.

People sometimes assume that the vendor is going to do everything for them, but we knew going in that we were going to play a very important role. We stepped up to the plate and took responsibility for the tasks we needed to, like content development. Establish clear roles and responsibilities for what each side is going to do. Projects like ours oftentimes fail because there aren’t clear roles and responsibilities for all the different deliverables. Remain engaged with them and take advantage of their presence.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Vice President leading Marketing and Communications for the YMCA of Greater Dayton. Since 1870, the YMCA of Greater Dayton has contributed to the lives of hundreds of thousands of boys and girls, and men and women of all ages, races, religions, and economic backgrounds.

We are a not-for-profit organization with the unique opportunity to touch the lives of infants through seniors throughout the Miami Valley.

With twelve facility locations and numerous program sites throughout Montgomery, Greene, Preble, Auglaize, Mercer and northern Warren Counties, as well as YMCA Camp Kern, a large year round resident camp located in Warren County, the YMCA of Greater Dayton serves approximately 200,000 people annually through membership and programs.

We provide programs for youth and adults, swimming, gymnastics, aquatics, sports programs as well as child care, preschool education, and summer day camps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ImageX?

The focus of our work with ImageX is to partner with a full-service digital agency that will work with the YMCA of Greater Dayton to update and manage our existing daytonymca.org website, developed on the OpenY platform using Drupal, that integrates seamlessly with our current CRM/ecommerce platform (Daxko).

The vision of our website is to be on the cutting edge of OpenY website technology that creates an amazing user experience for our members and guests.

What were your goals for this project?

1. The facilitation of acquisition and retention of memberships through any and all digital connection points, including but not limited to, web, apps, and kiosks.
2. To ensure that our members and potential members experience an inviting and cutting edge digital experience when visiting the YGD website. This is accomplished by ensuring that Security updates, Drupal Core updates, Upgrades to the latest versions of Open Y, roadmap execution where budgets and prioritization allow are executed in a methodical and routine basis.
3. To enable a friction-free method for all YGD customers to interact with the organization for services such as child-care, camps, donations, and all other programs offered by the YGD.

SOLUTION

How did you select ImageX?

We created an RFP and distributed this to several qualified companies that had been working on OpenY Websites. We then compared the proposals from five companies and ultimately selected ImageX.

The factors that we chose to use to make this decision were as follows:

• The proposed solution meets the needs and criteria set forth in the RFP
• The proposal shows expertise in recommending and communicating appropriate technical and aesthetic solutions
• Prior work demonstrates artistic, innovative, and user-friendly interfaces that engage communities and viewers
• Candidate has successfully completed similar projects and has the qualifications necessary to undertake the project
• The price is commensurate with the value offered. As a non-profit, the Y can accept pro bono services and recognize the provider to the full extent allowed by the IRS, including naming the proposer within the web site and other collateral as a supporter and partner
• The candidate firm has appropriate staff to develop the site in the time frame needed
• The information is presented in a clear, logical manner and is well organized

Describe the project in detail.

Primary Goals

• Execute a one year agreement for website maintenance and other related tasks.
• Maintain our current UX and design from http://daytonymca.org by working collaboratively with YGD to keep a simplified navigation structure and work within current website design branding guidelines.
• Assist in improving current trajectory of primary KPIs (traffic and leads) by assisting YGD in monthly measurement and improving our SEO capabilities resulting in improving the amount of organic search traffic that is finding daytonymca.org.
• Ensure high quality relationship and project management collaboration between YGD and Digital Partner.
• Perform required website maintenance and bug-fixes.
• Manage and give guidance to YGD on upgrades to latest releases on Open Y and Drupal.
• Install security patches as needed.
• Available to answer questions / technical support / technical consulting.
• New feature development when CDA budget allows or creation of separate Scope of Work proposal to add new features to the website. Secondary Goals
• Establish a long-standing relationship with a full-service agency of record for continued website improvements as we progress towards fully establishing OpenY capabilities.
• Receive strategic guidance to the YGD on, but not limited to:
• Drupal capabilities and the latest Open Y capabilities/recommendations
• Which elements/features of the current site should be prioritized for improvement.
• Which elements/features on the OpenY roadmap for 2019 and beyond should be prioritized differently than they currently are to ensure we are achieving the maximum ROI on our digital investment.
• Suggestions for future elements/features to include on our roadmap for 2019 and beyond to further drive growth associated with our primary goals and objectives.
• Give guidance and support with A/B testing functions to enable further iteration aimed towards KPI improvement.

What was the team composition?

As a full service digital agency, ImageX has provided us with a dedicated Account Executive, Lead and Support Developers, SEO Team Lead and other support staff when requested. Thus far our entire team has stayed intact and has been a very beneficial component to our work with them to date.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The overall service that we have received from ImageX has been great! So far in 2021 we have seen a decrease in our bounce rates, an increase in engagement and increased online sales through the website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Project management and communication has been exceptional!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I have been most impressed with the knowledge and insight from the staff team assigned to our account.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None so far.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of enterprise systems for a maritime academy. I oversee the website, our ERP, admissions CRM, and basically all our websites and systems.

We’re a small, specialized state school. Our majors all specialize in going into the maritime industry. It doesn’t mean that our students will necessarily go out to sea. We have two majors, marine engineering and marine transportation, where students will have their careers out on the water. Our other majors are related to the industry in general.

We have 1600 FTE students in undergrad. We’re a regimented school so our students are in a regimen and wear uniforms. There’s no military obligation for them when they graduate, but it does feel very military-like on campus, so we’re very specialized in that way.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ImageX?

We did a big move to Drupal from ColdFusion about five and a half years ago with ImageX. Just recently, we brought them on to redo our website and migrate it from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 with all of our new school branding applied to it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We went through a planning stage with ImageX. We created our own design with a graphic designer that we work with separately. Our team supplied the design work to ImageX and had some discovery calls with our internal constituents at the academy to decide what would be the best method of delivering that with Drupal 8.

Next, we created a number of custom blocks with ImageX so we would have a lot of flexibility in using different design pieces on various pages. Even though we have a template, it’s really flexible for us because they created all of these different blocks that we could add to pages. There’s also the flexibility to use a layout builder so not every page has to have the same layout. It was a lot more flexible than our Drupal 7 build.

From the discovery session, we moved pretty quickly into the development sprints. We took a piece at a time in the build and reviewed it at the end of each sprint. Once we felt there was enough in place, we started moving our content over ourselves. We did a huge content overhaul. Part of the goal of the new website was to eliminate anything that was outdated or unnecessary to show to a prospective student.

We were moving away from the idea that the website was also a repository for our current students and staff and wanted to use it as a marketing tool, first and foremost, to prospects and alumni. On our part, we had a lot of work to do to massage all of that content and put it back into the new site.

After launching, we still have some development pieces and features that we decided we’d like to continue working with ImageX on. There were things that came up in the project that we thought would be nice. Things like additional ADA compliance or optimization would make it easier for people using adaptive or accessible technology on our site. We did sign a service agreement with ImageX after the launch so that we could continue doing these second-phase development pieces.

What is the team composition?

We had a large team to start with during the discovery phase. ImageX has specialists in everything like business analytics and UX. The main players on our team were our project manager, a financial controller, and lead developer. There were some other developers, but I didn’t correspond with them much.

How did you come to work with ImageX?

Five or six years ago, we researched a lot of different companies. Our team created an SOW with about five Drupal firms. We ultimately went with ImageX because of their positive reviews and wide folder of working with higher education institutions. It was such an easy choice to go with them again because the Drupal 7 launch went so well.

How much have you invested in them?

The new launch was around $125,000. Annually, we spend about $7,500 on our service agreement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them for six years now. We started the ongoing engagement in October 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our launch was in December 2020, and it was very smooth. The call to action that we wanted our academy to be easier to find definitely has been accomplished. We get more clicks on the things we want people to click on. We’ve seen an increase in engagement on our pages for majors and how to apply depending on what applicant type; we have numbers to support that.

How did ImageX perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive and dedicated to making sure the client is happy. I consider myself to be a somewhat difficult client, and they always deliver. ImageX is always accommodating to new requests. I say I’m difficult because I’ll add new requests throughout the project as things change, are revealed, or develop.

They’re very responsive to change, which is excellent. ImageX is very open to adding pieces to our phase two and very easy to work with. The lead developer we had was very responsive. Things didn’t always have to go through a funnel to get to the lead developer. We have an easy connection right there with them.

We use Basecamp for message communication. Our teams used a rate log throughout the whole project, which was in Google Drive, but that was great for prioritizing different items and looking at what was going to be delivered in the next sprint.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s just how responsive they are. We work with a lot of different providers for different things across our campus. Our academy has many systems, and it’s always a breeze to work with ImageX because we know they’re going to respond. They are going to look into exactly what it is that we want so requirements and expectations are met.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing is coming to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

ImageX has numerous experts in different aspects of web development, UX, and business analytics. It’s a good idea to have a solid foundation of what you’d like the outcome of the project to be because they’ll present you with many experts and you’ll have to decide what’s the most important according to your budget. If you had an infinite budget, it’d be amazing but you have to boil it down to what it is you want to include in the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of systems technology at Nacha. We are a nonprofit organization that manages the ACH Network.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ImageX?

Like any type of organization, we manage various technologies, and in my work, I manage a lot of web apps that are catered to customers. With that, we have various websites including SharePoint, Drupal, and other custom applications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, I just wanted to try them out, so they provided IT and web-related support for Drupal. I asked them to manage 5–6 Drupal websites, which involved updating modules and implementing functions. 

Once they proved that they were reliable and could complete the tasks, the scope of their work grew. We now have a general contract agreement, and they developed a microsite for us. On top of web and app development, they also provide workflow and productivity software support.

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with Ian (Service Account Manager) and Alex (Technology Director). Depending on the project, the team will also occasionally bring on up to two designers.

How did you come to work with ImageX?

I met their founders at DrupalCon Seattle in April 2020. I initially engaged them for basic support, and the scope grew from there.

How much have you invested with them?

In our first year together, we spent $18,000. This year, we’re up to about $45,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in June 2019, and our engagement is ongoing. We have an annual contract agreement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of maintenance and support, ImageX has been able to support us well. This project had a couple of project owners, and they were all satisfied with their interactions with the team. 

How did ImageX perform from a project management standpoint?

They did very well. They were initially using Basecamp, and I asked them to work using our Jira board, and they did. In terms of communication and adjusting to our needs, they did very well. ImageX is very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

ImageX has very talented teammates with diverse skill sets. Alex is amazing. I threw a lot of challenges at them in terms of technologies, and they were able to resolve them efficiently and cost-effectively, which was very helpful during this time.

In addition to web development, when I was looking for assistance in Jira and creating workflows, ImageX had staff for that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could work on centralizing information, as well as managing hours. They're slowly improving, and we’re using DocuSign now for all of our revisions and contracts.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Hire them. They’re a great, cost-effective firm.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director at the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. We run a lot of community service programs and have 26 branches and 70,000 members.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ImageX?

We have a Drupal-based platform that we share with all other YMCA branches in the US, but our website was a major pain point. Among several challenges, we couldn’t pull a lot of data from our previous site because we had limited data tracking. We needed to rebuild the site to make it easier to navigate.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They completely rebuilt the site from top to bottom. Starting with a complete evaluation of our site, they went through the site page by page and analyzed the UX.  From there, they outlined what our challenges were and established new goals. Now they’re building a new virtual platform.

What is the team composition?

I interfaced with about five people, including our project manager a designer, a UX designer, a few backend programmers, and the CEO. I’m sure there were more people working on the backend as well.

How did you come to work with ImageX?

We worked with them in the past and they helped maintain our site. They also have a partnership with the Y of the USA and several other branches have worked with them.

Although our organization has several partners, we chose ImageX because they have a solid experience with Drupal. They’ve worked with a number of different companies who were similar in size to us and their projects were similar in scope. I interviewed several of their former clients and got overwhelmingly positive feedback.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started this project in February 2020 and continue to work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The average time spent on our site is up over 20%. On top of that, we wouldn’t have been able to create the new virtual platform if we had not upgraded the site first.

How did ImageX perform from a project management standpoint?

From a client service perspective, they were terrific. They kept the project on schedule, and if we fell behind, it was easy to have a conversation with them about why. I was able to ask questions, and if the person I was talking to didn’t know the answer, they got back to us quickly.

We had very honest and forthright conversations with them, which I really appreciated. We were able to lean on them to come up with new solutions for us.

They used Basecamp as their project management tool. We exchanged emails, but everything we sent was recorded in Basecamp.  We also had weekly phone calls.

When we first started the project, they planned to come to LA for a week so we could meet in person. That would have been incredibly helpful as we ramped up.  We weren’t able to meet up because of COVID-19, which probably made things more difficult. However, they were able to work through it and everything turned out well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They communicated very well so nothing surprised us. ImageX was great for us and I would recommend them wholeheartedly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything went well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you do your research so you find the right partner for you. Take the time to interview different companies. While I think ImageX would work well under any circumstances, you need to make sure that they meet your needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO for a nonprofit organization supporting the tech sector in Canada, focusing on HR needs in the tech industry. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ImageX?

We were doing some diversity and inclusion work, hoping to provide resources for the tech sector. We had the opportunity to build an online resource hub and needed a company to develop the site for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled web development and design work for us. The solution functions as a resource library, so we needed a clean, attractive site that could host hundreds of resources. They built the resource to be searchable and scalable as we continued to get more content. The site was created in Drupal 8. We have an ongoing service contract with them now.  

What is the team composition?

There was a project manager, lead designer, lead developer, and digital strategist.  

How did you come to work with ImageX?

I found them through an online search. It was a bit of a leap of faith to select them, but they had great online reviews. They were local, and I was impressed with their portfolio. 

How much have you invested with them?

The development cost just shy of $100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

They started the development work in January 2020, and the project was completed in July 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered a high-quality website that had the functionality we were looking for. We appreciated that they completed the work on time and according to budget as well. Our team didn’t have a great idea of what we were looking for, but they helped us prioritize a positive UX.  

How did ImageX perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Basecamp for communication and project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were on top of the schedule and milestones. Additionally, the professional look and feel of their final product couldn’t have been better. Their design work is stand-out. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were a pleasure to work with, so I don’t have anything for them to improve upon.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Budget time for meetings and communication on your end. They’ll do their best work when you can provide them with as much information and guidance as possible.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing and communications at the YMCA of Southwestern Ontario. We provide a number of different services to a number of different communities across southwestern Ontario.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ImageX?

We needed a partner to design and develop a brand new website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ImageX essentially helped us design as well as develop the backend integration of the website with our CRM database. They managed the frontend design and provided some content support. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with around 10 people, including Brant () Kylie (), and Gordon (). There were a couple of other individuals who helped us with the design as well. 

How did you come to work with ImageX?

We put the project out to tender to a number of different web developers and designers across Canada. We had an RFP process, and ImageX was the one that we unanimously decided upon. 

How much have you invested with them?

We totaled around $170,000 CAD (approximately $130,000 USD) for the website, and our ongoing monthly service agreement in the neighborhood of about $10,000 CAD (approximately $7,600 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2019. The website is complete and working well, and we now have an ongoing service agreement with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re really happy with the level of service ImageX provides.

How did ImageX perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate digitally through Basecamp and Slack, and we also stay in touch with video calls and email. We’ve never seen any major delays, and we’re very happy with the project management aspect.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re just very personable. ImageX really understood and embraced our culture, and they delivered exactly what they promised. They continue to provide us with exceptional customer service. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend working with ImageX. They’re a good partner.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Argon designs and manufactures rugged computers, displays, and peripherals using COTS items. I am a project manager for Argon as well a inside sales support.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ImageX?

Argon hired ImageX for a website overhaul. Our website was outdated and needed a total refresh.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to have a new website that would allow our customers to interact with us on a basic level (submitting inquires and RFQ's via the website) as well as find all basic info needed about our products, previous programs, and company history.

SOLUTION

How did you select ImageX?

One of my colleagues found ImageX (I believe) online while researching for companies that could perform a website overhaul.

Describe the project in detail.

The project was an entire redesign of the Argon Website.

What was the team composition?

We first worked with a sales person who then passed us off to a Project Manager that stayed with us for the entire development/deployment phase. Once the website was deployed, we where passed off to an after sales/customer service support.

Our experience with the ImageX team given to us was seamless and very enjoyable.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our experience with ImageX was very good. The team was very responsive, everyone was very kind and knowledgable in there area, and the overall energy of the Argon team and ImageX team working together was very good and pleasant.

I would recommend ImageX for web development service to anyone.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

the work flow was very good. Both teams worked very well together.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The level of knowledge about web development was very impressive. It seemed like every request we had was met in a timely manner and with high quality.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Honestly, I do not feel there is need for improvement. I think for the level of project that Argon contracted ImageX for, they performed exactly as expected, if not better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Akron Area YMCA is 150 year old non-profit organization serving a 3-county area with programs for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. I am the Director of Marketing and Communication and the LEAD for the Open Y project with ImageX.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website, built by a priority developer using their own structure, was sorely out of date and out of sync with the demands of our organization. We were intrigued with OpenY and sought to find a way to fit it into our budget to meet our needs and exceed the user experience. We sent RFPs to three recommended vendors and evaluated each over several phone calls and emails.

All vendors were outside of Ohio; two being out of the country -- our country. We were looking for people who not only were experts with Drupal and OpenY but who could also hold our hands, answer our questions and deal with our anxiety over jumping into a large project with little or no previous experience in web development and design.

SOLUTION

How did you select ImageX and what were the deciding factors?

I met Brent at the CMO Conference in Minneapolis after a few phone calls with him prior. He was honest, approachable, and willing to make adjustments to the budgeting needs set forth by my CFO.

I read the reviews of ImageX and checked with a few trusted counterparts who had used them in their Associations for the OpenY project. At first, I was a little skeptical of the raving fans -- until I became one myself.

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

The project began with an agreement in December 2019. From that point, we developed a project team at the Akron Area YMCA. A key-person representing top functions (Membership, Childcare, Camp, and IT) was chosen to be on the team, along with myself as the marketing creative.

We had weekly ZOOM calls at first, which were later moved to twice a month. Much of our development time happened during shutdowns of both our businesses during COVID-19. However, we never skipped a beat with the connections to the Vancouver team and our working from homes in Summit County, Ohio.

BaseCamp was immediately deployed to keep us on target. We also used Google Docs. We followed all the steps set forth by Travis, our knight in shining armor, who kept us on our toes. We completed the project on time and within the budget set forth in our agreement. Our beautiful OpenY site, with the Carnation theme, was seamlessly launched on August 5, 2020.

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

• A Sales Connection - Brent
• Project Manager - Travis
• Lead Developer - Trainer Mark
• Lead Developer - Aaron
• Maintenance Lisasion - Richard

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've only had the site for less than a month, but the feedback from our internal and external users has been terrific. Due to COVID-19, we, unfortunately, lost many members but are eager to welcome them back with new programs, easy registration, and a jam-packed array of contents that's meaningful and fun.

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

ImageX wrote the book on project management. Everyone on the team was extremely effective and efficient. They used all the tools (Basecamp, ZOOM, Google Docs) to keep us always focused. Their response time was lightning fast -- sometimes responding, it seems, before I even hit SEND on my end. I was beyond impressed and grateful.

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

I liked them. The prices that we gained from other vendors who responded to our RFP were in the same ballpark. But, I had an instant connection with ImageX. Not only were they personable, but they were also professional.

They were intuitive to our needs and understood our quirky behavior and adapted immediately. Because they are the experts in OpenY and Drupal, they can definitely do the job. But because they are truly nice, caring, and PATIENT -- we saw them as friends who we really looked forward to seeing. In fact, (some of us) got a little misty when it was time for the official hand-off.

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

If I had to do it all over again, I would have budgeted for some face time instead of all ZOOM calls. In the beginning, although we were comfortable with the team, I do think that we could have benefited from our Discovery phase being an actual sit-down. This was no reflection on ImageX -- just a nudge to someone who may be considering their use for a project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior product manager at a full-stack payments company. We provide clients with payment gateway solutions. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ImageX ?

We hired them to complete a new developer portal, where developers working on behalf of our merchants could learn how to integrate their technology with our solutions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project was entirely Drupal web development. They helped us with the technical design and architecture of how the site was going to work.

What is the team composition?

We worked with eight people from their team.

How did you come to work with ImageX?

We found them through Google searches. ImageX is a Drupal expert, which is why we chose to work with them, since that’s the tech stack our site is built on. They also had worked with large, enterprise clients like ourselves.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2019, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been very happy with ImageX right from the start. They immediately understood what we wanted to achieve. They treated us like any client and they’ve been really good from a technical design aspect to implementation. Something that was key was security, since that’s how we operate as a gateway. They understood that, and were able to deliver. We’ve had a great experience from start to finish.

How did ImageX perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very good. They’re very transparent and shared everything with us. It made it easy to make changes to our plan. We had weekly status calls to keep track of everything. They really kept us in line with deliverables. We also had a Slack Channel where we could communicate easily with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Every sprint demo we had with them, they achieved more than I was expecting within reason. They always did well above what was expected. I was continually impressed with their delivery.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Around the end, there was a bit of confusion about what was in the scope about bug fixes and additional features. It would have been better if they’d made that a bit clearer at the beginning of the process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It safe to put a lot of trust in them, so they can really own the product.