JSbot

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Suruse, an online platform for sharing digital content and demographic information. I work in project management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with JSbot?

We needed a new dev partner for projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Whenever we start a project, we first define the goals and tasks together. We determine the different stages of development and make sure we’re all on the same page. We have a back-and-forth dialogue to create the best plan possible. We’ll then start development.

JSbot works on a variety of features and functionalities, including databases, frontend, and backend. They concentrate mainly on JavaScript dev but also work in HTML and React Native. Node is their baseline, but they run Trails, Angular, and React.

Recently, they built a tokenization method, which is a way of securely sharing information with a select group of people for a certain amount of time.

What is the team composition?

They have about 10–15 people on their team, but I generally work with two main developers.

How did you come to work with JSbot?

I found them on the Freelancer site. I initially gave them a small project to see how well we worked together. I liked the collaboration and hired them on.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in November 2016, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s too early in the dev lifecycle to track results, but we like what they’ve done so far.

How did JSbot perform from a project management standpoint?

JSbot is great at responding quickly and answering any questions or concerns you may have. They have good project management and are highly organized. I wouldn’t still be with them if they didn’t do good work.

We use email, Jira, Bitbucket, Confluence, Slack, and Google Hangouts as our main forms of communication. Because of the time difference, we’re able to talk about 3­–4 hours a day. However, if you schedule a meeting, they’ll always make it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness and code quality are impressive. They understand the technology well and leverage it to your advantage.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a very niche company, but it works for them.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Recognize what the hours are; that’s important in keeping clear communication. Be aware of the language differences—they speak English well, but there are a few differences between Indian English and American English.