j-labs software specialists

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the ICT director of EIT InnoEnergy. Our headquarters are in the Netherlands, with locations in France, Germany, Sweden, and Poland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with j-labs software specialists?

We were looking to professionalize the company, including building and testing our processes, implementing more IT tools, and other efforts, so we hired j-labs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve participated in a business scoping session, listening to requirements and how they could be implemented into the system. Their team has built test scenarios, providing a step-by-step for how they’ll go about testing and what the expected outcome is. 

From there, they handle the testing and report back to the development team, where they collaboratively look over results. They retest and report again. Various other testing is worked on by their team, too, along with implementation and projects with our core system.

What is the team composition?

We interact with one person from their team. 

How did you come to work with j-labs software specialists?

I had worked with j-labs when I was with a different company. I invited them to bid, along with some other companies. They offered the best quality at the most reasonable pricing.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between €150,000–€200,000 (approximately $178,000–$237,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around January 2016 and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their tests and their preferred test scenarios are impressive. They’re very diligent in their testing efforts. After the first year, we extended the engagement with them due to the level of our satisfaction with them.

How did j-labs software specialists perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re communicative and good at communicating technical issues in understandable layman's terms. They provide reports using Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They put emphasis on providing high-quality work for their customers.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We found the team to communicate well overall, but when it comes to project politics and structure, speaking with their executives is the way to go.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of engineering SMS at Sinch. We’re a cloud communications business specializing in SMS, real-time communications (RTC), and rich messaging. We have three product streams we’re responsible for. I run the engineering product stream for SMS and have three teams under me.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with j-labs software specialists?

Sinch was rebranded relatively recently. We’re using j-labs software specialists to refactor a lot of the old legacy components we have that’s written in backend PHP. They’re building a new Java framework using React for the frontend’s UI as well as Java and Kotlin for the backend.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

j-labs software specialists provides us with backend Java developers and frontend React and JavaScript developers. They also handle various up-to-date technologies that we’re utilizing with Sinch itself especially with our other product lines with rich messaging and RTC.

We’re giving them a major input into growing that product itself to get it to the market. It’s a new space so we’re doing a lot of R&D, testing, and integration work. They’re absorbed into our team, run standups, and are part of the refinement; essentially, they’re sitting staff.

What is the team composition?

We work with 50 of their team members, and I currently have 16 within my SMS area.

How did you come to work with j-labs software specialists?

We started our engagement with them through an acquisition.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between €7 million–€9 million (approximately $8.2 million–$10.5 million USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in July 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been very satisfied with the level of expertise they’ve provided to us. We have a monthly steering committee that assesses their output and timelines. There’s a lot of communication within the j-labs software specialists management. This allows us to iron out any issues that may be occurring between both parties. The resources they provide are very good.

How did j-labs software specialists perform from a project management standpoint?

We handle project management within Sinch as well as drive the delivery plan and roadmap. We have a close relationship with their delivery managers so they understand where our deliveries are. They understand our commitments and what their teams need to help provide the level of effort.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very hardworking and responsive. If there were any issues, I wouldn’t have any hesitation to talk to their manager to discuss the hiccup. They’re transparent and eager to improve themselves. We’re also eager to get feedback from them. It’s a two-way street, and we can learn how they do things. It’s also great that they’re in the same time zone as Sweden. They give us some flexibility and adapt when needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the moment, we don’t have any issues. From time to time we do have some resourcing issues, but it doesn’t happen very often. It’s never a problem because our communication allows us to work through issues like that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent in setting expectations for what you need in terms of strategy and the main focus of those teams. They’re very adaptive. Treat them like they’re a part of your own company.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of development for a geospatial software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with J-Labs?

We were struggling to grow our development team with competent Java and frontend developers, due to the high demand in the market. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have five development teams, each consisting of a mix of local, remote, and J-Labs developers. They’ve been fully integrated into our teams, with no separate Scrum team. 

What is the team composition?

I have a main point of contact. The team fluctuates between 4-6, depending on the project needs.

How did you come to work with J-Labs?

We found them through a Google search. We considered two other companies, as well. We chose this team based on their presentation.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of the project has been just over $1,000,000. We pay roughly $30,000/mo.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around June 2017, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have a specific metric for their team due to their integration into our team. Our measure for success is how well they integrate and work with the team. The core group of developers has been with us from early on in the engagement. We really value their long-term relationship with us.

How did J-Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly, or bi-weekly, one-on-ones with the developers. We primarily communicate via Zoom, with some emails. They’re very reliable and have handled changes in resources when needed very well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I can trust them. I rely on my primary contact to handle anything I bring to him, including changing the team. It’s been a very good experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They face similar issues regarding staffing, so they may not be able to expand the team quickly. It hasn’t been a problem for us, but it’s something to be aware of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have a primary contact. They help the team understand the project, and take care of all your needs in order to make it easier for you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Logistics Services. Head of Technology in the area of digitalization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire j-labs software specialists, and what were your goals?

Software development in the area of Java, Angular, AWS Cloud. Development of different platforms for our company for internal and customer-facing services.

SOLUTION

How did you select j-labs software specialists and what were the deciding factors?

We selected the developers via a rigorous interview process for knowledge and cultural fit.

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

We had an initial kick-off meeting to connect j-labs developers with our developers and product owner. Afterwards we worked in an agile project setup in a remote environment.

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

many scrum teams. Mostly developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

j-labs delivered very good quality source code.

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

we use teams, jira, email, phone to communicate usually in a Scrum setup.

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

We were able to acquire high-quality and professional developers at a reasonable rate.

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

No.