Informulate

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Laptop Freedom

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Rocketeer is a Saas that lets entrepreneurs easily launch and manage paid ad campaigns online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Informulate to accomplish?

• Develop the software
• On-going support

SOLUTION

How did you find Informulate?

Online Search

Why did you select Informulate over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location

How many teammates from Informulate were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

1. Requirements Gathering Meetings and Documentation:
   1. Initial meetings to understand your specific needs and objectives. 
   2. Requirements Document: A comprehensive document detailing all functional and non-functional requirements of the ad software. 
2. Project Planning Project Plan: 
   1. A detailed timeline of the project, including milestones and deadlines. 
   2. Resource Allocation: Information on the team composition and roles. 
3. Design Phase System Architecture: 
   1. Detailed diagrams and documentation describing the software architecture, including technology stack and data flow. 
   2. UI/UX Designs: Mockups and prototypes of user interfaces, focusing on user experience and functional layout. 
4. Development Phase Coding: 
   1. Implementation of the software as per the requirements. 
   2. Version Control: Regular updates and management of the source code using tools like Github. 
5. Testing Test Plans: 
   1. Detailed test strategies and plans outlining types of testing like unit testing, integration testing, and system testing. 
   2. Bug Reports: Regular reports detailing any issues found during testing and their resolution status. 
   3. User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Coordination with your team to conduct UAT to ensure the software meets your needs. 
6. Deployment Deployment Plan: 
   1. Strategy for deploying the software in a live environment. 
   2. Deployment Support: Assistance during the rollout of the software to handle any immediate issues. 
7. Training and Documentation User Manuals and Guides: 
   1. Documentation to help end-users understand how to use the software. 
   2. Training Sessions: Training for your team on using the software effectively. 
8. Maintenance and Support Maintenance Plan: 
   1. Ongoing support and maintenance services post-launch. 
   2. Service Level Agreement (SLA): Details of the support provided, including response times and issue resolution timelines. 
9. Deliverables Software Product: 
   1. The final, working software installed and running either on-premises or in the cloud, as per your requirement. 
   2. Source Code and Ownership: Transfer of the source code and intellectual property rights, if applicable. 
   3. Performance Metrics: Reports on the software’s performance and any optimizations needed. 
10. Review and Feedback Feedback Sessions: 
    1. Scheduled sessions post-deployment to discuss any potential improvements or changes.
    2. Final Report: A closing report summarizing the project outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations for future enhancements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Weekly meetings showcasing updates that were planned. 
• Each update worked perfectly as intended.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

• Their management was second to none. 
• Very aware and detailed oriented. 
• They responded in a timely manner as always.

What was your primary form of communication with Informulate?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their ability to solve problems is exceptional.

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

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director, IT of (a/an) Manufacturing

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Electronic Component Distribution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Informulate to accomplish?

• Modernize existing business software
• Enhance business intelligence

SOLUTION

How did you find Informulate?

Online Search

Why did you select Informulate over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We contracted with Informulate to modernize our legacy business software, create a cloud presence, and help us build out our Business intelligence capabilities.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Creating a new platform to capture cure business needs.
• Create a functional BI system where users can consume both canned and ad hoc reports.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes, and even with some unexpected staff turnover, Informulate continues to do amazing work without skipping a beat! As challenges arise, they have always been there to step in as needed to assist and get the job done.

What was your primary form of communication with Informulate?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their unique blend of technical and business expertise and insight.

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

Nothing comes to mind, but this is also my first experience with an organization like this, so I don't have a good base of comparison. What I can say is that they have delivered on everything they have promised, and are very nice to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Project Manager of Employment Technologies Corporation

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Employment Technologies Corporation® is the inventor and world’s leading developer of simulation-based employment tools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Informulate to accomplish?

• Upgrade Older Legacy Platform
• Security, Code, and Architecture Review

SOLUTION

How did you find Informulate?

Referral

Why did you select Informulate over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Referred to me

What was the size of Informulate’s team?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We had an older legacy software platform that was in need of an upgrade. As a product manager, I first hired Informulate to perform a code and architecture review. They did a great job and provided specific actionable feedback. We then entrusted them with doing a complex rewrite that maintained backward compatibility with our older application in a phased upgrade. This partial upgrade approach they suggested went really well.

We minimized risk while going live with about a 1/3rd of the platform. Upgraded users absolutely love the new platform and functionality. Over the past 2 years, the Informulate team has certainly gained my organization's trust and as a team, we are even more ambitious about the future. What makes Informulate a team we continue to recommend is their agile management style. It helps us make data-driven decisions and ultimately reduces wasted time and resources.

Additionally, we appreciate the Informulate teams' forward-thinking ability. When entrenched IN the business, it's difficult to work ON the business. Having an expert outside opinion has been successful in planning and prepare for a strategic business alignment with today's fast-paced digital world.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• 30%+ of our client portfolio provided unsolicited positive feedback

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

What makes Informulate a team we continue to recommend is their agile management style. It helps us make data-driven decisions and ultimately reduces wasted time and resources. Additionally, we appreciate the Informulate teams' forward-thinking ability. We utilized a project management system to add deliverables and met weekly to confirm deliverables. Their team is extremely responsive as needs arise.

What was your primary form of communication with Informulate?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email 
• Messaging App

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

The management style and forward-thinking ability helped us make data-driven decisions and ultimately reduce wasted time and resources.

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

Honestly, no. The burden of improvement falls on our end. We could have been more speedy in providing information and requirements to the Informulate team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and COO of Home Lending Pal, an early-stage research tool that has a series of APIs that pools users' financial credit information. It involves answering three critical questions such as the probability of approval of a user, the best loan program recommendation for a user, and the timing of a user's application. Once we have all of that information, we create a financial credit credential that allows us to execute.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Informulate?

We were trying to develop testing strategies for our platform because it had its own unique sandbox component. Since testing could be pretty tricky, we hired Informulate to help us identify the strategies we need to be able to execute our tests.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided them with basic documentation of our repositories, primarily out of Confluence. One of the repositories we provided them was our code repository. Additionally, we took on one of their senior testers as well as one of their project managers to design a series of testing strategies we’re currently implementing. 

What is the team composition?

We’re working with their project manager and senior tester.

How did you come to work with Informulate?

Informulate was an investor in our business. They were part of the group that invested about $750,000 in our business as a seed-stage investment.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $7,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in July 2021, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve given us great advice on how to use document use cases, how to treat those use cases, and how to manage future projects within the testing space. On top of that, they’ve helped us establish our own native QA team.

How did Informulate perform from a project management standpoint?

I’d give them a perfect score for their project management process. We usually have a back and forth with their project manager, and he’s in charge of communicating with their senior personnel. Sometimes, some of Informulate’s employees directly communicate with us. Overall, we have a very fluid and open channel of communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism is impressive. They quickly understand what we need and are able to provide solutions to our problems, too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would’ve liked it if they could give us better pricing or if they could just provide additional QA people.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared to move very quickly. Have your ducks in a row because they’re able to execute as soon as you tell them what to do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP, Engineering and oversee our inhouse development. Our company is a B2B provider, which relies on our web applications to deliver accurate and timely information to customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Informulate has helped develop, enhance, and support a number of applications for us - including our business-critical platform in ASP.NET/JavaScript/MS-SQL Server. Over the past couple of years, they have taken over our Salesforce development as well.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Since the very first versions of our applications - Informulate has always listened and understood our business objectives, and is able to articulate a clear plan to achieve them. They are a trusted tech partner now, and we continue to refer to them with different projects and needs, with both onshore and offshore resources.

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

Our largest project was a series of initial builds and enhancements. Informulate led the requirements gathering phases, produced requirements and wireframe mockups, and regular customer acceptance builds at agreed upon milestones. Technologies used have included C#/ASP.NET, JavaScript, and MS-SQL Server; AWS; Angular; and Salesforce development.

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

A project manager was our main point of contact, and we've had anywhere from 2 to 6 developers and 2 QA concurrently depending on the specific project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Informulate helped build our first web presence, and I credit our continued growth to their efforts. The best feedback I can give is that we are still running large portions of their code 10+ years later, as it continues to provide value and meet our expectations. We have greatly expanded over the years, adding additional applications, transitioning to the cloud, etc. - but continue to rely on these solutions for our business.

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

It has been flexible according to our needs, preferences, and requests. We'd have weekly check-ins on status, upcoming work, etc. - but knew we could also always reach out for questions or concerns if needed. We have communicated closely via email, ticketing systems, or chat when needed- but also trust Informulate to manage the internal development process and alert us to any delays or concerns.

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

We appreciate their attention to customer service and adaptability to our process and needs. They take the time to understand where the project fit into our larger goals, offer relevant advice and alternatives, and ensure they deliver a solution as opposed to just finishing a project.

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

As with all development - there are bugs, missed requirements, etc. But they've always been researched, triaged, and fixed quickly and treated with utmost professionalism by the Informulate team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT lead for a wellness program in a top-tier university.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Informulate?

We hired Informulate to help us build our wellness platform from scratch. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Years ago, we started a wellness program that didn’t have any supporting software for health risk assessments and similar things. Informulate created the platform for that wellness program, and we conceptualized and modeled it together. That was decades ago when wellness programs weren’t even popular in the world. As a result, the project was groundbreaking for us. 

Along with the platform, the Informulate team also built a health risk assessment system for our employees and a registration system for our health and wellness activities. Overall, the platform was a custom software program built with our content and their expertise. 

Since then, we’ve worked with Informulate through many business goals. The development process has gone through iterations. Over the years, we’ve developed a cadence that isn’t big on manuals and documentation. Rather, we’ve developed a small documentation system where we have specifications around solving a problem, including data and measurable outcomes. 

What is the team composition?

The team composition has varied anywhere between 3–5 resources, including a project manager. They’ve also hired a couple of developers. We also work with a QA engineer from their team. This composition offers a full stack solution for our projects. 

How did you come to work with Informulate?

I wasn’t around when the department landed on Informulate. I wasn’t part of the hiring process. In any case, we’d been with them through iterations of their company. Essentially, we had a relationship with them even before they had the name Informulate. We followed their founder when they established the firm and signed with them at their inception. 

How much have you invested with them?

Over the years, we’ve invested more than $1 million. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2011 or roughly around when they started the company. The engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Informulate’s turnaround time has been great. We have a process of determining how urgent a request is, and I’ve never found a quicker turnaround time with other vendors. Their response and turnaround times are within minutes instead of hours or days. 

Meanwhile, depending on urgency, their turnaround time for fixes is within hours or days as opposed to weeks. Simply put, if the request is serious for our team, it’s also serious for their team — I don’t have this luxury with other vendors. 

How did Informualte perform from a project management standpoint?

We have direct communication with Informulate since they’re on Slack with us. Their response times for any issues are unprecedented. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of service that Informulate brings to the table differentiates them from other providers. We can tell that they care about us as a customer. On top of that, their personalized support sets them apart. If something’s important for us, they drop everything and focus on it because it’s important to them, too. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. It’s not that they don’t make mistakes, but they’ve refined their process over the years. They always go back and find a solution to prevent any mistake from happening again. Like other software developers, they might experience hiccups or bugs, but we can’t hold that against them because they take such problems as learning opportunities. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Being clear about your objectives is hugely beneficial for the relationship. When you clarify the outcome you want and the processes you’re considering, you help Informulate deliver. In our experience, we struggle when we don’t have a clear objective. Simply put, clear and open communication is key to a successful relationship with Informulate. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am VP of a vendor management services company that partners with clients throughout the United States

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Informulate was originally engaged to complete conversion of our entire software platform from Cold Fusion to PHP, building a like-for-like platform initially.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Informulate stood out to us because it was local to our headquarters and had a wide set of experience with PHP.

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

Informulate rebuilt our web portal in the latest PHP/Laravel/Vue.js stack.

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

We worked with several people including the principal, one project lead, several developers, and at least two QC team members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Informulate was originally engaged to complete conversion of our entire software platform from Cold Fusion to PHP, building a like-for-like platform initially. This was difficult, and tedious at times, as our previous platform had existed for several years and created a lot of knots and functions to untangle. Since the conversion a couple of years ago though, through the agile development style Informulate applies, we’ve been able to steadily expand the platform with additional tools and functionality for our clients.

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

It took time to get the relationship working as effectively as it is today. We and Informulate needed time to learn each other’s business. We were new to the agile approach and Informulate did not know our business. As we navigated through this learning journey, we found the development process became more effective. After 4-5 years of working together, Informulate will come to us with ideas, anticipates what we need, and focuses on efficiency.

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

We have had a particularly close relationship with our project lead Tristan and developer Taylor through the last couple of years. We rely on their insight, expertise, recommendations, and ability to help us bring our ideas and visions to light. They have been invaluable to our scoping process, especially as they both put in the time to learn about our strategy and often complex business processes.

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

Our initial engagement would have been improved with better communication and understanding. Meshing styles and strategies always have challenges but many would have been resolved with more transparency and clearer expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP, Product Development, Hospitality of Clean the World

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Clean the World gives life-saving hygiene solutions to those in need through the recycling of hotel bathroom amenities while also creating verified reporting that show the impact of being a part of this program.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Informulate to accomplish?

• Online Portal + Salesforce

SOLUTION

How did you find Informulate?

Referral

Why did you select Informulate over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

What was the size of Informulate’s team?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Informulate has taken our vision of a portal that is tied to Salesforce and turned it into reality.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Updated portal features have been fantastic

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team is timely, and the product is great. I truly enjoy working with them.

What was your primary form of communication with Informulate?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The Informulate team listens and then creates what we want and need instead of what is easy. I feel like a priority when I work with them.

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

No. They truly rock!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CEO of a blockchain-based marketplace that uses AI-Powered Mortgage Advisor & machine learning to help first time home buyers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Need to implement a more effective QA process to reduce bugs within our production environment.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Ability to quickly accept the project and flexibility as we were looking to hire an internal individual.

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

We needed to create a full QA process and document those steps for future hires to use.

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

3 Informulate team members worked with us. 1 - project manager and 2 developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have been able to pass compliance checks within a heavy regulated financial services space.

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

Informulate was a well-respected consulting company in the area and so we looked to them to help. Their Agile certified experts provided a wealth of information, best practices, document templates and other resources to accelerate our internal efforts. I would highly recommend them to other companies as Agile software development partners.

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

Their willingness to be flexible to our immediate needs without locking us into an overly priced contract.

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

None