Kadabra IT

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Project Specialist of a nonprofit organization.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our organization provides some direct health services and helps people access other health care in the community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Kadabra IT to accomplish?

• Develop a website to allow staff and the community to find local care based on insurance, location, etc.
• Ongoing support, maintenance, and site improvements.

SOLUTION

How did you find Kadabra IT?

Referral

Why did you select Kadabra IT over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from Kadabra IT were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Kadabra was brought in to work on this project when the previous web developers quit, and the project was already a couple of months behind schedule. Kadabra did an amazing job stepping in to finish the project and get the site launched. Since our staff has minimal knowledge about web development, the project manager was able to work with Kadabra to help them understand our vision for the project.

Once the site was up and running, we have contracted with Kadabra for ongoing Drupal updates, site maintenance and improvements. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Much of our work involves referring clients to community providers so that clients can receive appropriate health care. In order to provide the best referrals, we needed a way for providers to create and update their own profiles and we needed to be able to search/filter a lot of information. Our staff can now make referrals much more easily and quickly. We are delighted with the result of Kadabra's work! With their ongoing support, we are able to have Kadabra make improvements to the site as our needs change, take care of Drupal updates, and perform ongoing site maintenance. 

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

Kadabra has been super-responsive. They have also been patient to educate most of our staff who are not tech people. 

What was your primary form of communication with Kadabra IT?

Email or Messaging App

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

Kadabra has been very patient in working with our organization's staff, most of whom are not tech people. Kadabra seems pretty creative in finding solutions to anything that we need to have done.
Our team has minimal experience with web development. Kadabra has done a great job of working with us to complete the project and provide ongoing support.

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

We have had some minor communications issues working with a foreign company; but, so long as we provide screen captures to illustrate what we need fixed, everything works fine. I also think their team struggled at first to understand our requests from non-technical people; but they were able to educate us a bit about web development, and again, screen captures were super helpful to show what we wanted. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Manager of a development agency

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a non-state public entity. Its mission is to promote competitiveness and contribute to the sustainable development of small businesses and entrepreneurs. We achieve this by collaborating with public and private actors. We aim to increase the number of new economically sustainable ventures with growth potential that generate jobs and are environmentally friendly, thereby supporting economic development.

For more detailed information, I recommend visiting the official website or contacting them directly to verify the latest updates. If you have any further questions or need assistance, please let me know! Your feedback will help improve my response.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Kadabra IT to accomplish?

• Have a self-management portal for business digitalization workflows

SOLUTION

How did you find Kadabra IT?

• Online Search
• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Kadabra IT over others?

Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from Kadabra IT were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The team is developing a CMS project using Drupal to manage surveys efficiently. This system will allow users to create, distribute, and analyze surveys seamlessly. The project aims to provide a user-friendly interface, robust data security, and comprehensive analytics.

Deliverables:

• Initial Setup and Configuration:
  • Installation and configuration of Drupal.
  • Customization of themes and modules to fit the survey management requirements.
  • Integration of user authentication and role-based access control.
• Survey Creation and Distribution Module:
  • Development of a survey creation tool with various question types (multiple choice, open-ended, etc.).
  • Implementation of distribution mechanisms (email invitations, public links).
  • Scheduling and automated reminder functionalities.
• Data Collection and Reporting:
  • Real-time data collection and storage.
  • Development of a reporting dashboard with visual analytics.
  • Export options for survey results in various formats (CSV, PDF).
  • This CMS will streamline the survey process, providing valuable insights through efficient data management and analysis

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Reduction in Survey Creation Time: The time required to create and set up a survey was reduced by 50%, decreasing from an average of 2 hours to 1 hour, due to the intuitive survey creation tools.
• Increased Response Rate: The implementation of automated reminders and distribution mechanisms led to a 30% increase in survey response rates.
• Enhanced Data Accuracy: The real-time data collection and validation features improved data accuracy by 40%, reducing the occurrence of incomplete or erroneous responses.
• User Satisfaction: User satisfaction scores, measured through post-survey feedback, showed a 25% improvement, indicating a more user-friendly experience.
• Efficient Data Analysis: The new reporting dashboard and export options cut data analysis time by 60%, allowing for quicker insights and decision-making.

These results collectively demonstrate the project's success in streamlining survey management and improving overall efficiency.

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

The project management for the CMS development in Drupal was highly effective and well-organized. The team employed agile methodologies, which ensured flexibility and constant progress throughout the project:

• Timely Delivery:
  • Adherence to Deadlines: All deliverables were completed on schedule. The initial setup and configuration phase was finished within the first month, followed by the survey creation and distribution module in the second month, and the data collection and reporting module in the third month.
  • Regular Updates: Weekly meetings were held to review progress, address any issues, and adjust timelines if necessary, ensuring that all milestones were met without significant delays.
• Responsiveness to Needs:
  • Communication: The team maintained open and continuous communication, responding promptly to queries and requests. They utilized tools such as Slack and Jira for efficient project tracking and issue resolution.
  • Customization: They were highly responsive to specific needs, incorporating custom features and modifications as requested. Feedback was taken seriously and acted upon swiftly, resulting in a product tailored to exact requirements.
  • Support: Post-launch support was robust, with the team providing thorough documentation and training sessions. They remained available for troubleshooting and further enhancements, demonstrating a commitment to long-term success.

Overall, their project management approach ensured the project was completed on time and aligned with the client's needs, leading to a successful and satisfactory outcome.

What was your primary form of communication with Kadabra IT?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

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

The company demonstrated a remarkable ability to customize solutions based on specific needs. They went beyond standard implementations, providing unique features and adjustments that perfectly matched the project requirements.

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

Ensuring that technical documentation is exhaustive and easily understandable for future developers. This can help in maintaining and upgrading the system without the need for intensive knowledge transfer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a web development agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kadabra IT?

I needed software development support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I hired Kadabra IT to write custom code and maintain a sunsetting program. The program was built from scratch by another set of developers using PHP and Angular. It’s a tool for salespeople to keep track of leads and opportunities.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with the COO, a project manager, and two developers from Kadabra IT.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still finishing the project, so there are no quantitative metrics to share at this point. However, Kadabra IT definitely does a great job, and I’m happy with their work.

How did Kadabra IT perform from a project management standpoint?

Kadabra IT has performed well in terms of project management. They’re incredibly professional.

We typically communicate through Zoom meetings. We use Jira for ticket and project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with their responsiveness. I enjoy working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Co-founder of eBizMarts where we create PoS apps for Magento and technology for omnichannel. We are also creators of SagePay, Mailchimp, SagePayments, Sage One Magento integrations. We provide phenomenal support over our modules.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had a client who needed a single system that integrated orders, processing, fulfillment, and shipping across all three (e-commerce, phone, retail) sales channels with WooCommerce. Additionally, they needed to model their physical logistics off this new system to meet demand efficiently.

SOLUTION

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

We’ve met in the past, and they were the people we were looking for because we don’t work with that tech.

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

They implemented a complete restructure of the sales systems, starting with their e-commerce site. Along with a more user-friendly design, they built out a modernized architecture using WordPress and WooCommerce, integrating it with the company’s ERP. This enabled considerable automation between the sales portal and its back-office systems on the client side. They were able to systematize the synchronization of their entire 5,000 products catalog and automate the transmission of sales from the website to their ERP accounting system.

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

They provided a PM, 2 WordPress developers, a software architect for the beginning, and a QA specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The client mentioned that their optimized order processing led to impressive gains in fulfillment productivity. Not only were they able to handle the increased daily activity that the news sales structures made possible, but they also sailed through their first busy season. Today, 60% of their sales come from their e-commerce presence.

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

The PM was responsive, understanding every part of the job and making it easy for the (non-technical) client to understand what they were doing. They completed the project on time and within budget.

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

We like the communication and the openness to explaining to the client and resolving every problem they faced.

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

There’s always room for improvement, but nothing, in particular, for this project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Arkano is a service company with teams in seven countries. We are a Microsoft Gold Partner, providing digital transformation solutions to corporate clients in the natural resources, manufacturing, financial, pharma, retail & consumer/CPG sectors. My work is dedicated to provide companies and their associates with the necessary tools to achieve or even exceed their goals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to develop a pharmacovigilance system for multiple countries, compliant with each legislation, all within a single system.

SOLUTION

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

They were brought to my attention by a mutual colleague

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

They built a reporting and classification, multi language (EN, ES, PR) tool with PHP that serves as a pharmacovigilance tool for a laboratory throughout America. After that, they provide supporting and maintenance for the tool

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

The team was composed by:

• 1 project manager
• 1 fullstack dev
• 1QA

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their code is clean, and we never lost ownership of the delivery process. The way they handled the deployment was very professional, where they got to minimize errors even before starting the process. They gave good input on how the new platform and the custom entities should be developed, and the result was a fast and robust tool.

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

The PM understood really good the requirements of the project and communicated effectively the development processes to us

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

Their ability to communicate complex ideas. Their tech knowledge is top-notch, and their problem-solving skill is what makes us confident in working with them.

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

Nothing in particular at the moment, we’d like to update the tech in the future probably.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I'm an executive at a pharmaceutical company based in Uruguay.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Kadabra IT?

We needed help with web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have worked on two projects with Kadabra IT; the first engagement was the development of a web platform for pharmacovigilance, which they currently provide maintenance services for. On the other hand, we are currently working on a site for the scientific community to publish papers on treatments, medical assistance, etc.

Kadabra IT has used PHP for web platform development. We start all of our projects with a URS, a requirements document detailing all of our user needs; we do a functional specialization and an architecture document. After that, they start working on the development. 

What was the team composition?

We've worked with Luis (CEO), and our direct contact is a project leader and a PHP specialized developer, changing depending on the project.

How did you come to work with  Kadabra IT?
They were referred to us by another of our service providers.

How much have you invested in them?
We're paying a monthly fee of about $1,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2014, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I think what talks best about the results we've had with them is how long we have continued relying on them as partners, which is about 8 years now. 

How did Kadabra IT perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has always been great; we have never had any communication issues, which we do via phone calls, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, and Skype meetings. Regarding processes, we define schedules and manage the project ourselves, although they're always there to provide consulting, and we have never had any issue with that. 

They've also used Jira, but at the moment, they connect to our project management platform, where they upload all tasks and deliverables.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their human quality, skills in terms of web development, and openness to sharing their knowledge distinguish them from other providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are growing a lot and have started to have rotation, so they have to adapt and manage this new issue.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with them — they will provide the best advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a Magento extension developer. We also offer a final-third product that connects Magento stores to in-store experiences. We started creating Magento websites about 13 years ago, form the early days of Magento. We transitioned to an extension developer later on.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kadabra IT?

Since we no longer create Magento websites ourselves, we usually partner with Kadabra to help our customers migrate their sites to a platform that allows them to use our extensions. These are custom requests we receive.

For this particular project, our customer had to migrate their site to Magento 2, as well as create a number of integrations with SaaSs, ERPs, and other products. This was a challenging project due its scale, as well as the requirement to save a lot of the content on the previous platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided them with documentation in terms of what was need in the scope of the project. They worked to take control of that side of the project — migrate everything and ensure that both everything was functional and could integrate with our own product.

The customer needed to migrate around $5,000 products, as they provide a range of customization options to their users. This required not only migrating the products, but all the customizable pricing options and possible configurations.

Kadabra handled the purchase and integration of a number of essential extensions for the customer, in addition to ours. These extensions had to do with gift cards, store credit, etc.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager and a QA resource assigned to us, but the owner was always in touch to see if we needed anything, so we were accommodated when necessary.

How did you come to work with Kadabra IT?

I’ve known the owner of the company for several years, so I knew that his company could handle Magento. Their word of mouth reputation is very good. At the start of this project, I sent him a preview of the documentation and we chatted about our client’s requirements.  

How much have you invested with them?

The cost for this project was $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on this project from November 2020–July 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we partner with Kadabra, we’re looking to fulfill our end-customer’s requirements. Our client reported the transition off Magento 1 happened in a great amount time; they faced a tight deadline, as service was being discontinued on that version. They also said they received high-quality work in this short timeframe.

In terms of metrics, they saved 3–4 seconds on checkout, which is a lot for the industry. The performance of our Magento extension improved greatly as well thanks to Kadabra’s strong work on the migration.

How did Kadabra IT perform from a project management standpoint?

They were flexible, however; when we needed more hours, they were willing to do more to meet the deadline. Their owner was always in touch to see if we needed anything else.

Our project manager was on top of ever task and present at all of our weekly meetings to discuss progress. There were some bumps in the road, of course, but they always allocated the necessary resources.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They excelled with their technical skills, and we were happy with their project management performance. We chose them because of their technical skills, however, and they’re a solid team. The integration went smoothly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The bumps we hit were mostly related to unexpected conditions that pop up in every project, either non-documented integrations or changing requirements from the client. I may suggest that they collect more feedback and ask more questions at the beginning, but it’s nothing critical.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Maintain a strong communication channel with the technical team. Also, involve project management conversations at least weekly to ensure things aren’t unattended.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Web Systems Manager. CADTH is an independent, not-for-profit organization responsible for providing health care decision-makers with objective evidence to help make informed decisions about the optimal use of health technologies, including: drugs diagnostic tests medical, dental, and surgical devices and procedures. In addition to evidence, we also provide advice, recommendations, and tools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We engaged Kadabra IT to take over another agency for the completion of our website refresh and deployment on AWS. Goal was to launch the site in a timely manner and configure any updates necessary the run the site seamlessly on AWS.

SOLUTION

How did you select Kadabra IT and what were the deciding factors?

We hired Kadabra for a small contract. Not only the cost was very reasonable, work was done deployed on time. Kadabra IT then won our RFP which as a result became our partner in for our website maintenance and support.

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

The website refresh project started with reviewing a large list of functionalities and templates on existing work done by another vendor. This also included some AWS configuration and stacked applications that the site was being hosted on. Key deliverables included all project milestones, QA and deployments. Technologies used Drupal 8 php development, gitrepo, AWS applications such as WAF, CDN and EFS.

How many people from the Kadabra IT team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Project Manager, one QA and 2, sometimes 3 developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site was deployed within a timely manner. Kadabra met all deliverables as expected.

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

Project Manager was fully engaged and accessible just about 24/7 during the time crunch period. We initially started with Teams, then switched over to Slack. We use Jira to track all work requests and Tempo for the timelines.

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

The project manager was extremely responsive and reachable at all times. Kadabra IT went above and beyond to complete any urgent requests. This includes working evenings and weekends!

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

We felt there were sometimes miscommunications or more of a language barrier when speaking with their developers. I feel more interaction with the developers would sometimes be more efficient depending on the tasks.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

For this project, I am an independent freelancer contracted out to handle a Drupal redesign build for a major health company. I am the technical lead on the project.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our initial company hired for the project under-performed and wanted more money. However, as a fixed bid project, there was no more money. We went looking for a cost-effective team that could deliver a difficult project mid-completion.

SOLUTION

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

After an extensive search, we discovered Kadabra via Upwork, interviewed them along with 20 other organizations and developers, and decided they could do the work at our budget price. They were not the cheapest, but they were the most cost-effective and did excellent work.

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

We used Drupal 7, React, Twilio, SendGrid and Elastic. So far, we've had 2 rounds of upgrades and edits. The full deliverables included a functioning Drupal site and numerous administrative changes to the back end.

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

Each step of the way, we had continuous interaction with either our project lead, or a mix of developers and the lead. over the course of the multiple builds, we interacted with 5 people in total.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project delivered late due to some extremely challenging tech decisions which Kadabra had no control over, but was on budget, our primary concern, and the client was very happy.

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

We had weekly standups and continued to stay in contact. Never had any challenges with responsiveness or going the extra mile.

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

They were always available and never once lost their composure or patience with our demands. Prices are good and cost-effective, and the talent is there. Luis never failed to deliver on a requested feature.

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

I do wonder about how the project would have gone had they been on it from the beginning instead of coming in during the middle. Could have been even better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director for digital experience at a branding and digital agency. We specialize in brand identity development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kadabra IT?

We needed a company that could help us build a website for a client in the financial space. They needed a website that allowed that walled-off particular pieces of information and content based on the audience so that they could only see what the client wanted them to see on the website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kadabra IT has developed a very large, complex website from scratch. The site’s architecture and system requirements were very complex to handle the client’s specific needs.

The website has already been launched, but we’re still working with Kadabra IT for the site’s ongoing maintenance.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Victoria (Head of Operations), but we also worked with Luis (CEO & Head of Sales), who did a lot of site architecture definition work for us early on in the project.

How did you come to work with Kadabra IT?

I found Kadabra IT on Drupal.org back when I was looking for highly-rated companies that could potentially help us with this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $300,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site has only been live for about a month, so we don’t have the metrics back from that yet. But it definitely seems to be, at the very least, meeting our client’s expectations.

How did Kadabra IT perform from a project management standpoint?

Kadabra IT has been a fantastic partner. They’re always on top of their tasks and they always ask the right questions, so we’ve never really had to follow up with them at all.

We did hit some rough spots, which is usual with web development projects. This particular kind of project was new for them as they’ve never built anything quite like this before, so their estimate for the development time was over by 50%. They estimated that it would take 2,000 hours, but it ended up taking around 4,500 hours to finish. 

That being said, they actually gave us a significant discount on their hourly rate when we discovered this huge discrepancy. They did everything in their power to make it right with us, and we didn’t even ask them to do it! Overall, I’m very happy with their performance and I’m really glad we found them.

We primarily communicate through Slack and Zoom, they managed the project using Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I am very impressed with Kadabra IT’s dedication to our partnership. They’re always willing to do whatever it takes to get things done and get the project through the finish line.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything that Kadabra IT could do better. It was unfortunate that we had that discrepancy in the estimation for the hours on the project, but I don’t know if I can really find them at fault for that. They’ve definitely learned from it, and we’re now doing another similar project with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As soon as you have an idea of what you want to do or what your needs are, bring them in as early as possible. Luis is wicked smart — he's a fantastic systems architect, and he brought so much value to the project by being involved early on.