JMA, Inc

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO of Smarter Logistics, a technology company with a trucking base.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with JMA, Inc?

In our minds, we had a digital application we wanted to build.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

JMA, Inc is creating a web and mobile app for us. We started with some brainstorming stages, and showed them our storyboards. From there, they’ve built it from the ground up. They’ve built a database into the backend to help us collect and monetize our data. They’ve built the web page so you can access it mobily, as well. 

They’ve helped us with the initial launch and provide ongoing maintenance. For substantial updates and changes, they also work with us and are on retainer. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with one person, who has a whole team behind him. 

How did you come to work with JMA, Inc?

I got introduced to them through our network. Our CEO had worked with them previously, so after we were introduced we decided to work together.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $30,000 on the project, so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2019 with our discussions and our engagement is ongoing. We truly started getting the work going in February 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had several hundred users and I’ve yet to receive one input that something hasn’t worked or isn’t presented well, which is how I measure the quality of the feedback. We receive payment and notifications from clients without incident because of the platform. I get 100% contact from anyone who goes through the site, which is important for a startup like us. 

How did JMA, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent. I’m very impressed with the continual product demonstrations they had during the building and development of the app. 

Each time, we get on the conference call and can see what they’re doing. They’re cognizant of our inputs to make sure the next iteration or review takes them in. Everything is smooth. We use a lot of Zoom and Google Hangouts to communicate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They deliver work on time, according to our specs, and go above and beyond. These are all of the things we want when dealing with any project. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Every company can find a way to improve. Some kind of progress update in between product reviews, like a quick email or snapshot, could be good. It’s very minor, because I can go to them with any question and they’re on it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come with an idea of what you want and be open to their innovation and expect to be surprised by their creativity. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a software development company and my position is CMO. I also head up our business development unit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with JMA Inc?

We were actually running short on our headcount for a particular client project, and we were also having to add a percentage of FTE time as well because the project scope became much larger than was originally anticipated.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basically, what we got from them was development time from people that we contracted from their company. The project was for a very large insurance company client of ours, and the area they are working on involves the development of a dashboard to satisfy the needs of about 2,000 standalone insurance brokers.

We were creating a completely separate area of their website for the brokers to get all their customers' applications uploaded as well as to service any of their other processing requests. Because that was so much larger in scale than our original project, we hired two developers from JMA Inc who integrated into our team and are helping us meet deliverables for the clients on time.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two developers from them. They have different strengths but have both made good additions to the team.

How did you come to work with JMA Inc?

We were looking for staffing agencies to provide some resources for us, and I think their professionalism from our very first contact really convinced us that they would be a good fit.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in September 2019 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unfortunately, it’s not a clear case of cost savings because the scope of the project has increased so significantly, but we’re definitely saving a lot of time from the development process. We’re going to be able to invoice more quickly and get the work done more quickly, which will help our cash flows and our client’s satisfaction as well.

Both of the developers have integrated into our team very well and gotten up to speed very quickly. One took a little bit longer to kind of hit their stride, but now we are very comfortable with them both and happy with how things have worked out.

How did JMA Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve been impressed with their project management skills. They’re very proactive, and always hit deliverables on time. They communicate with us through our Slack, and that has gone very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A lot of the time people in technology roles within a company will have a high level of skill but a lack of business understanding in terms of how the client makes money and what their challenges are.

When you come across developers like the ones from JMA Inc — who are technology driven but also have a great business brain and understand the nuances of the client’s situation — you can get a ton of value out of that combination.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s too early to say. I think everything so far has been really good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We develop security systems, cameras, and other home security devices. I’m the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with JMA, Inc?

We do some of our manufacturing overseas, but develop our own software. We occasionally need help with software development, so we reached out to JMA to support our web development efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project they helped with is a web portal for our customers. It has a frontend for users and a backend for installers and business partners. Users can access the cameras through a smartphone, tablet, or PC to see the feed. The backend holds all the data for the cameras, including the number of users and their average usage of the devices. This helps distributors provide additional services to existing customers.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager who is our main point of contact and a team of engineers who work behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with JMA, Inc?

I wanted to work with someone near us in Dallas, in case I needed to go visit them. Their rates were much better than California companies, and their communication skills were better than overseas options, so I decided to give them a try.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in February, and we’re still working together to complete it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The portal is about 90% complete, and we’re rolling out features now for customer feedback. Once we complete all our testing with the beta group, we will roll it out to everyone else. We’ve had ideas for this portal for about two years and have seen a lot of customers who are excited to participate. We hope to eventually open it up to include video analysis, facial recognition, cloud storage, and other features. The subscription plans for each of those layers would definitely help our business continue to grow.

How did JMA, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re on schedule to finish the project and change the timeline as needed for each section we complete. Our project manager goes through extensive tests every time we have a new build or release. They’re very detail oriented and provide us with reports or feedback on fonts and layout. We speak every other day or so and make updates, fix bugs, and adjust. There is a constant flow of communication through email or phone. Sometimes we speak directly with the engineers, but most of our interaction is through our project manager.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They visualize our ideas quickly and complete new modules from scratch within very short time frames. Sometimes, we have ideas that are difficult to express, but they’re always able to brainstorm and find solutions for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The language they use in our working sessions can get a little too technical for me. I don’t always understand the concepts they’re talking about and have to ask them to explain themselves. I expect that from engineers, but they could be a little clearer. Other than that, they do very well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a strong plan and know what you hope to accomplish. The more time you put into your timeline and your plan, the easier execution will be for any company you outsource to. Have a constant flow of communication to get the results you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the application delivery lead for a captive finance company for a large automotive firm. I work on implementing Salesforce for our customer engagement experience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with JMA, Inc?

We needed a firm to help develop a new feature to our payment management solution and integrate onto our Salesforce platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

JMA, Inc built custom pages and integrated them into our system. We’re currently in the warranty phase of our partnership, and JMA, Inc will be maintaining their product for another year.

What is the team composition?

We had one architect and project manager onshore and four others offshore.

How did you come to work with JMA, Inc?

One of our project managers had worked with them at a different company, so I checked their references, like what I saw, and hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from January­–August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work is high quality.

How did JMA, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked fast and had an efficient system. They’re great at running an agile process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They quickly understood our requirements and executed our plans well. They delivered on time and built the exact platform we needed.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Make sure everyone understands the project requirements.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior project manager, effectively the senior delivery lead, at an SEO solutions provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with JMA, Inc?

We had a client in the airline industry that wanted to have more effective customer acquisitions from other airlines. They hired us to design pages to conquest customers from competitors via SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

JMA, Inc aimed to create new pages for the client’s website on the TeamSite CMS. However, we never reached the stage where they developed pages. We started by building the tool and getting all the business requirements in place. When we were ready to deliver those requirements, we gave them the look-and-feel of the pages, the wireframes, comparables, and locations for the copy. They then incorporated those items. We wrote the content and provided SEO.

The team uploaded the content via Firefox and Java because the client used older technology. Eventually, they developed a tool that enabled us to upload in-house. The team also built a Mac and Windows version of the tool to let anyone in our organization use it. JMA developed what I will call an “HTML page generator” to make the tool understandable. The tool outputs XML files, which go into TeamSite. They handled these responsibilities in the background while we fed them the requirements.

What is the team composition?

The principal served as the development lead and liaison between teams. He managed the team, budget, and hours.

How did you come to work with JMA, Inc?

I met the team at an industry conference, had lunch with their principal, and kept in touch. I then reached out to him when this project came up. When we approached them, we wanted to set up a contract to manage these pages. There would be changes to Google’s algorithm coming along, and we would need a response time for that. Other vendors simply sent in a bid, but JMA, Inc recognized what we wanted and proposed a different approach. Rather than simply build the pages, JMA, Inc wanted to build a tool that would generate pages for us instead. The team piqued our curiosity and we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $200,000–$999,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in December 2017 and the project ended in July 2018. The project itself is now complete, but we have a maintenance contract with our client, which we’re supporting. Right now, if there are look-and-feel changes to be made, JMA, Inc updates the tool.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The value for the client is tenfold. Just this month, we’ve hit a 30% increase in clicks, and we’re still going up. In the next two or three months, we’ll see a leveling off, but we’ll still be 30% higher than where we started. They never revised their original budget, and never missed a deadline. We missed our deadlines from a content perspective, but the team always their code ready for us. Whenever the client sent updates, JMA, Inc responded within the time frame they initially promised. They kept their word at every step. The client didn’t know about our relationship with JMA, Inc and was happy that we consistently had quick turnarounds.

How did JMA, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

JMA, Inc was savvy and easy to get along with. We had an excellent working relationship with the principal and his team; we didn’t experience misunderstandings. They enjoyed the work and were easy and adaptable. I’ve never worked with a group of people that enjoyed their jobs as much as this team. The three-party project had several frustrations, but JMA, Inc came back with solutions each time. They even coached us on managing misaligned expectations.

We exceeded the original timeline due to in-house issues, which prompted the maintenance contract between JMA, Inc and the client. As a result of their helpfulness, were now considering the team for all future projects as a full partner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They prioritized our account. Most companies just say what they’re going to deliver and how much it’ll cost. But the team’s thoughtful approach was cost-effective, efficient, and made everyone’s lives easier.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would’ve wanted to liaise with the development team a bit more. But ultimately, the principal translated everything well and ensured the team met all of our requirements. Our client was happy with the pages’ look and feel. Currently, we’re dealing with legal disclaimers and other minimal changes; I’m happy to go back to JMA, Inc for site changes.

We did have team-wide meetings at JMA, Inc, and I would have liked to see more of those meetings with everyone present. Of course, we’re both small outfits and time is precious. But I wanted to be friendlier; I could have seen us hanging out at a bar afterward.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be open to their suggestions and sit down to air any concerns. In the beginning, we were unsure about building a tool that generated HTML pages. From a tech perspective, that was a fancy solution for us. In our case, they were able to answer our questions, and it wasn’t until we came back with a list of concerns that they were able to understand our needs fully.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a managing partner at a software consulting firm that's been in business for about three years now. We offer consulting services for clients from the automotive and insurance industries. Our full-stack development services include frontend and backend programming, DevOps, and maintenance on the Amazon cloud. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with JMA, Inc?

One of our clients expressed a need for a development team located in Dallas. At the time, we were only based out of Southern California and didn’t have enough time to arrange on-location resources for them in-house. We approached JMA, Inc to fill that role from their local office coupled with offshore development services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since they're located in the same city as our client in the automotive industry, JMA essentially works as the face of our company. The team provides DevOps and development services. They usually build user-facing platforms and web-based applications and provide ongoing support.

We’d conducted a full migration of the application from the client's internal data centers to the cloud from our office in Santa Ana. JMA joined the project when we began the website redesign. Like most informational .com sites in this space, it targets potential consumers who are interested in purchasing a vehicle. The regionally based company has 24 different versions customized for each location. Their platform lets consumers virtually build a car, look up necessary information, compare price offers, and submit a lease to the dealer. 

What is the team composition? 

JMA, Inc assigned a tech lead, an architect, two full-stack developers, and two QA resources to work in our client's office. Their offshore team consists of a UX/UI designer, a QA tester, and two full-stack developers. 

How did you come to work with JMA, Inc?

I've done some work with JMA, Inc in the past, even before I started my current company. We have a positive work history and have built a strong relationship between our teams. They're located in the city where my client needed an onsite team, so I reached out to ask if they were able to help. 

What is the status of this engagement?

JMA, Inc is still working on this project, which they started about two years ago. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've had nothing but good experiences with JMA, Inc so far. If we have any other clients we need assistance with, we would definitely hire them again. This particular one is stringent when it comes to deadlines and project delivery. Our measurement for success is making sure our client is happy. Ever since JMA, Inc started this engagement, they've fulfilled every outlined want and need.

How did JMA, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

We were initially managing the project internally. Ever since we engaged JMA, they've taken on those responsibilities. We're both involved in budget and value estimations, but their team facilitates most of the day-to-day work. 

We set up the workflow as if we're all part of the same team. We can add any of their employees to our Slack channels and have positive communication. Keeping that program open throughout the day and talk to them whenever necessary. They're responsive and timely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I most admire JMA Inc's flexibility and the scalability of their team. When their Dallas team first started with us, we needed to expand quickly. They got their offshore team involved right away. Adding those resources made it easy to scale based on the required work at any given time. I also appreciated that all the people who work there are highly skilled in their field. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Especially these days, software engineers are in high demand in our industry. In can be challenging to find a suitable development partner. JMA, Inc can easily scale their team and provide the services you need without going to the trouble of onboarding new hires. Any company that needs immediate help with either a new project or with consulting would enjoy working with JMA, Inc.