iQueSoft

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the VP of engineering for a sports data analytics company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with iQueSoft?

We needed to develop some applications and were supplementing our engineering team with iQueSoft’s staff.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

iQueSoft has worked on our solution for Windows Surface, using the WPF [Windows Presentation Foundation] technology. There were complex wireframes involved, and we used one backend and one frontend developer from iQueSoft.

How did you come to work with iQueSoft?

We find people through various means, including LinkedIn, referrals from contractors and employees, Upwork, and other services. iQueSoft could have come to us through any one of those. We keep multiple companies like them on record and hire top-level engineers regardless if they’re a part of an outsourcing firm or not.

How much have you invested with iQueSoft?

The cost of iQueSoft’s work has been around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with iQueSoft on September 1st, 2016. The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We use a product called GitPrime, which allows us to compare engineers to each other, over time. We have found that there are times when iQueSoft’s team does well, and times when it doesn’t. It all depends on project type and the availability of our technical lead.

We have a process by which we ask everyone in our company whom they’d want on their team. With iQueSoft’s developers, I have not had any concerns with their performance and involvement in our teams. There are no critical bugs or defects in their work. iQueSoft has handled everything fairly well.

How did iQueSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We don’t use iQueSoft like a traditional outsourcing company, so they don’t receive large project scopes for which to handle project manager. iQueSoft provides a highly technical staff who show up and do the work. As far as our expectations go, they have been met. They have a person on our data team that is one of our fastest developers on the team.

We haven’t had any time barriers. iQueSoft has been available any team we need them, but we’ve also shifted our company hours in the US, getting up earlier in order to connect with iQueSoft. Because such a large part of our staff is in Eastern Europe, we don’t have any time zone issues.

What did you find most impressive about iQueSoft?

They’ve been very attentive and supportive. When we’ve needed something, iQueSoft was always there to get things done.

Are there any areas iQueSoft could improve?

This is a hard question because we don’t use iQueSoft as an outsourcing agency. Since we are a sports company, one of the things we look at with half of the people working for us is that their ability to learn the rules of the game is fast, and not make mistakes. iQueSoft’s resources like all of our engineers have room to improve their knowledge of sports rules.

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

I don’t have any advice other than making sure that the client has specifications, goals, and deadlines in place.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our business creates platforms for organizations that deliver learning and training. I'm the CTO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with iQueSoft?

Throughout the years, we've done the development in-house. Now, for one of our larger clients, we've employed iQueSoft to use them as an added resource.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided project management, helping with scoping and drafting the requirements based on what we initially provided to them. It was a joint collaboration. They've also provided developers. Specifically, we've had one or two developers on the team in conjunction with a project manager.

It's been more of a customization project for our core features. With our platform, we have a core set of features which we then typically sell from, and then we do adaptations from that on a per customer basis.

The project is a web application built on the .NET stack. From a technology perspective, its uses ASP.NET MVC and Angular, and a scaled database behind it. We've built the platform on top of Umbraco as a content management system. The rest of the system is a platform that we've developed throughout the years, which iQueSoft then extended upon.

How did you come to work with iQueSoft?

I initially searched for a developer, and then they appeared on Upwork. I found a developer that fit the requirements that I had and then discovered that there was actually a team behind it. We discussed whether they might be useful for delivering their services as a team, which they then did.

They were a match for me based on the profile, what they had been doing previously, the technology stack they had been working with, how they made a perception of themselves, and how they wrote about their capabilities. I've previously employed other freelance developers throughout the world, with more or less success. We initially employed them for a smaller project to vet them through that in order to minimize our risk.

How much have you invested with iQueSoft?

We've bought services from iQueSoft now in the ballpark of $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2016. The project is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although the project is ongoing, we actually have delivered something which is now in production. The project has taken far longer than originally anticipated, but I don't necessarily say that's on the shoulders of iQueSoft in any way. The scope has expanded much more than we expected, but they've delivered very reasonably and on time.

How did iQueSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They've performed very well. The project manager has been good; first of all, she's very methodical and structured, which has given us a good experience. She has a very holistic approach to the project, and that goes for the rest of the team as well. They strive to understand the context of the tasks that we are undertaking, understanding why we’re doing what we’re doing and what the impact is. This is exactly what I would expect from a good development team.

What did you find most impressive about iQueSoft?

Our company is based in the UK, and I’m personally based in Denmark. As a Dane, and as Scandinavians, we have a very holistic approach, which gives us good insight into businesses and processes. iQueSoft has something quite similar. Beyond that, they're very capable from a craftsmanship perspective in the product deliveries and the outcomes. The quality of the work that they’re delivering is of a very high standard. They're very capable, and I think that's commendable.

They're very pleasant to work with as well. They seem to enjoy it. I think we have a good relationship, which is important when doing larger projects. When you have people who are working together, there should be a good chemistry. This may also rely on our shoulders, but we strive towards having such an approach. They've definitely picked up on that, and it's been a good collaboration.

Are there any areas iQueSoft could improve?

They might, at times, try and conceal any problems that they might have within the development team itself. They're not that open about things that go on inside the team, which after some time, we might discover anyway. We've had members leaving the team, and others coming in with us without much of a notification of it. That’s something they can improve on—being completely open with me. It might be that they've done it from a perspective of not wanting to bother their customer with the details of it, but that's something, from my perspective, that I would have been more interested in getting.

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

I can definitely recommend them. I think that every customer that iQueSoft might be engaging with is, of course, different. We've had a very good relationship; both they and we have had a quite open approach towards this. So, if anything, I would say: "Be nice and you'll get a lot in return."

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a textbook publishing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with iQueSoft?

We needed to create a proprietary software to run on an educational website. We had two issues we were trying to solve. The website has to have interface that lets our staff could update questions without needing technical knowledge of HTML and web design to do it. We also needed something that would deliver video on multiple platforms to people who are not web-savvy. A lot of our customer base is 40, 50, or 60 years old so the software needed to be easy to use.

In addition, the site was a mess. It had not worked properly for two years. People were having problems signing up, and Stripe wasn’t integrating properly. We needed to make the website stable and mobile-friendly. We also migrated from GoDaddy to Amazon. We tried two US-based developers, but they couldn’t produce what we were looking for.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I hired iQueSoft in desperation. They’re an overseas agency, and they ended up solving all the problems. They work as a team and have multiple developers. I gave iQueSoft administrative access to the website, and they developed the site from there. The technologies used were MVC 5, C full stack. JavaScript, AJAX, jQuery, Telerik, Kendo, MySQL Server, Git source control, Bootstrap, and JS libraries. I don’t know how large their team is. There were multiple people working on the website initially to get it functional. This is the kind of team I wanted—I had ongoing support and a web design team that can fix problems.

The website has a portal where exam candidates sign up and practice their exams. Users are able to go through sample questions and digital flashcards. iQueSoft also set up a subscription service so that students who sign up are charged once a month. Previously, the site wasn’t functional on iOS, but now people can watch videos and answer questions on an iPhone. I’ve continued to keep using iQueSoft for ongoing support of the site. Whenever a problem comes up, they fix it.

How did you come to work with iQueSoft?

I found them back when oDesk still existed. I tried to find a development team instead of an individual developer. I wanted a team who was fluent in English and, at that point, I was willing to pay whatever just to find someone to help me. I posted the job offer with a list of requirements and what the website was about. I had dozens of bids. I went with the applicants who had existing scores already on oDesk, had multiple clients, and a good reputation.  iQueSoft had a good reputation and I felt their hourly rate was reasonable. It was less than I was paying to an American developer, but not that much less.

How much have you invested with iQueSoft?

The website cost $100,000 in total with all the developers who worked on it. I’ve probably spent $25,000 with IQueSoft.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2015, and the work is ongoing. I’m not planning on switching to a different development team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website was up and running within 30 days. We’ve had some hiccups, but we’ve never gone back to the situation where the website was down for a week or month. Our customer base is very small. It’s a very limited market so there’s only a certain number of people who take the exam that we provide study materials for. The revenue since iQueSoft fixed the website has been steady. We have multiple signups every week. Right now, the website revenue has exceeded the monthly development cost, which is good. The site is an ancillary source of revenue for us.

We don’t receive complaints like we used to. We used to receive several complaints a day about how the videos weren’t loading on a specific device or they couldn’t sign up or Stripe was not integrating. Before IQueSoft, we also had dozens of customers who had signed up and paid once but the subscription fee was not renewing. They were getting free access month over month. Now, the Stripe integration and subscription service for our website work perfectly. I don’t have the complaints that I did when we were working with a different development team. I don’t want to deal with website issues at all. It’s really nice to have a site that works. I know everything is digital nowadays, but I don’t want to deal with the issues.

One time, our site was hacked and iQueSoft was on vacation, so I had to wait three days to have that fixed. When you’re the owner of a company, you have a choice of having an in-house IT department that’s at your beck and call, but then you’re limited by their knowledge. In this case, iQueSoft is a team so if one developer has limits, they can bounce ideas off each other. I think that’s why they’re successful. If I had IT staff, I could call them on the weekend to fix issues, but it’s not the same way when you work with an independent contractor. I would rather have the situation where I have a team rather than just a single person.  iQueSoft solved all the problems I’ve had. You have to deal with the limitations of an outsource team.

How did iQueSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

I have contact with four different individuals. My main contact, Kirill, seems to be the supervisor there. They are always really responsive. We use Skype to communicate. There’s a time difference, but they worked well. If I have any issues, they give me an answer within 24 hours. They gave me an hourly rate and not a budget. I told them what needed to be fixed, which evolved over time. They told me they would have the site done in 30 days and they’ve always been able to do what they say they’re going to. They’re really professional, which is good for the type of business I’m in. Accountants tend to be OCD, and I tend to enjoy that trait in the people that I hire. I need them to do the work and not try to be my friend.

What did you find most impressive about iQueSoft?

They’re professional and when they say they’re going to do something, they do it. If something is not possible, they tell me but give me options as a solution.

Are there any areas iQueSoft could improve?

I don’t have any criticism of their work.

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

Be clear in what you need and they can probably do it. They’ve been able to manage everything for us. They found a solution for every problem we had. Also, there are some logistical things that have to happen when you’re working remotely with somebody. Some things are difficult to explain, but I found a way around that. If there’s a problem on the website that’s difficult for me to explain to them, I use screencast software to show them what needs to be fixed. That solves the problem of miscommunication.