Kahoa

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of facilities for Rio Tinto Stadium, a professional soccer venue amongst other things. I manage anything to do with the building.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolutionStream?

We needed to upgrade our concession stands and make things more digital and modern.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SolutionStream revamped our menu boards, taking them from old analog boards to stadium-wide digital ones. The boards can be controlled from your phone, allowing a user to update prices and change items quickly. SolutionStream used Fire TV Sticks to receive the content and a Raspberry Pi as a server.

SolutionStream set up the whole system and managed it while they taught us how to use it. Once we got acquainted with the program and its functionality, we took over. SolutionStream is currently bidding on a few other projects that haven’t started yet.

What is the team composition?

I had one main point of contact and sometimes worked with the developers.

How did you come to work with SolutionStream?

One of my vendors referred them. I met with them, and they were a perfect fit at the right time, so I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted for a couple of months in 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s now incredibly easy to add and remove items from our menu boards or change prices. Food options and prices change from event to event, and we sometimes have to close one concession stand and move all the food to another location, so it’s nice to be able to change things quickly and not to have to worry about the menus. SolutionStream has improved our efficiency and productivity, and the digital boards are functional and reliable. We haven’t had any bugs or glitches with them.

How did SolutionStream perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always responsive, even if they were busy with other clients. We mainly communicated via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They paid good attention to detail and listened to what we wanted out of the project. If I wanted something to change, they did it quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have a vision of what you want, explain it well, and let them do their thing. If you give them good direction, they’ll develop some great software.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We manufacture and market dietary supplements like herbs, vitamins and minerals, and personal care products. I'm a senior full-stack developer who manages a team of web and backend developers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SolutionStream?

We needed to produce a website where our distributors could order from a limited promotion. Our workload was overwhelming, so we needed help preparing the website.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals of this project were to design and develop the website, create unit and integration tests, and deploy the site into the production environment within the specified timeframe.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected SolutionStream because we had great success using them before. We were under a tight timeframe, so we decided to hire them without evaluating other vendors.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The website had a complex interface for our existing payment and order services. SolutionStream occupied the primary development role. They worked closely with our team, which took over once the project was finished.

Our marketing department prepared a series of user stories with specifications, expected results, and acceptance criteria. The design allowed a predetermined group of customers to access the website and place orders. We could also generate reports about who was ordering and what they had purchased.

What was the team composition?

Our team had one frontend developer, one backend developer, and myself as project manager. That was a sufficient number of developers. One member of our marketing team owned the project and answered questions about the design and testing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The project was highly successful and finished ahead of schedule. Our marketing department had plenty of time to test the website, provide additional requirements, and refine the customer experience. Our customers were pleased with the website.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

SolutionStream managed the project effectively. The reported their status daily so we could keep our marketing department up-to-date. We developed a critical timeline with signoffs, which made the marketing department feel confident in their ownership of the project. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

SolutionStream communicated with us daily, which fostered a sense of teamwork. My staff members who worked with SolutionStream were happy not only that we had completed the project ahead of schedule, but also that they had learned better programming techniques and adhered to stricter standards. We were pleased with the results they provided and will definitely use them again.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

There is little that SolutionStream could improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a physical therapy company. I am the president and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolutionStream?

Years ago, we started building software for our business. That branch has turned into its own software company. We wanted help building out a new piece of software and wanted to work with a company to achieve our goals.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us get the vision we wanted through solution maps. One we had those maps, we started the project and they built the software. I know they used JavaScript and PHP, but the stack may have been broader.

The finished product is electronic medical records software that services private practice physical therapy companies. It allows them to set schedules for their patients, track metrics, manage documentation, and bill for patient visits.

What is the team composition?

We had an initial contact who coordinated with us and set the whole project up. We also had a project manager, their company manager, a UX designer, a vision mapping lead, and a data lead. The vision mapping lead was also responsible for billing and the data lead wrote the code.

How did you come to work with SolutionStream?

We asked our developer to find 15 companies, which we narrowed down to two. SolutionStream was only a few hours from where I live, so I met with them in person and we decided to start working together.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $350,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2018 and completed most of the development by August 2018. There are still some small things that need finishing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The system isn’t fully integrated into our existing databases, so we don’t have any metrics or results yet. We have the UI and the concept working virtually, but we can’t use it yet. That was a major frustration in this project, but that wasn’t their fault. When they proposed the project, it was to write the code, not to integrate it. We didn’t realize that would be an issue at the beginning. We thought they’d be willing to help us with integration, but we ran out of budget to hire them for that extra step.

How did SolutionStream perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent project managers. They sent weekly reports, we had weekly phone calls, and they coordinated better than most groups out there. We used GoToMeeting to look at the software on their screens and they kept a lot of their tools in that platform.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very good at complex software projects. They’re well organized and they served us well. They were very transparent and projected their time and costs as well as possible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We wish they had dedicated more time to us and worked to deliver a complete result. There was no deception on their part, but we didn’t realize that integration would cost more. I think that kind of dedication would really set them apart.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take the whole five days they recommend to map out the process. Don’t try to shortcut that, it will save time and money in the future.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the executive director of software engineering at Nature’s Sunshine Products (NSP) and Synergy Worldwide, health companies providing high quality natural products in over 35 countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SolutionStream?

NSP had four separate legacy systems supporting distribution centers operated by Latin American customers. These applications, written in four different technologies, were costly to support, with some actually becoming completely unsupported. We hired SolutionStream to help us resolve several key problems, like operational and logistical inconsistencies and unsupported code, and to enable both mobile capabilities and automated release continuous integration / continuous delivery. 

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create a unified Angular mobile website that not only supported all current functionality, but addressed the problems of outdated software, as well. We also wanted to modernize the release pipeline to improve customer acquisition and consolidate the four existing applications into one.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected them for their experience in working with direct sales companies on difficult projects. We liked their portfolio of work on other projects similar to ours. 

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They worked with us on a responsive UX design for the application and Angular development for the website. They also integrated multiple services. 

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of a designer and developer from SolutionStream as well as one developer from NSP.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Theirs was the one and only project released on time and within budget during our entire ERP project.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was very effective because both companies had shared ownership in the process. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They follow through on their commitments. With them, we had a partner who shared our goals. 

Are there any areas where they can improve?

There are none at this moment.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the VP of marketing for a health and wellness firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolutionStream?

We engaged SolutionStream to redesign our mobile app, incorporating additional data and custom features it was previously lacking.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SolutionStream built a mobile app for iOS and Android, based on our previous version, that incorporated additional data and features so it could be used as a business center for our distributors. They incorporated features that allow users to sign in, track commission information, enroll in programs, monitor teams, and create events.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and two developers.

How did you come to work with SolutionStream?

We reconnected with a person we knew from another company we'd worked with after he was hired at SolutionStream. Compared to other vendors, their approach was a lot more organized and thoroughly planned out. That also helped us save money in the long run, ensuring we weren't wasting any time or resources throughout the process. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them for about seven months, from the summer of 2015 through the end of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, SolutionStream significantly improved connectivity within our field. Having a go-to business center for our distributors has been hugely beneficial.

How did SolutionStream perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager was very good about making sure we stuck to sprints and outlined timelines. They were very well organized and collaborated closely with our in-house team on a daily basis.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were great about following up with us to make sure the project progressed smoothly. They regularly traveled to our office and were always available to jump on urgent tasks at all hours of the day or during weekends. That level of commitment really sets them apart.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They're a bit pricey, which is to be expected from a development company of their size, but it would be nice if they offered less expensive maintenance packages so we wouldn't have to work with other freelancers to update the app as needed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Before starting a project, make sure as much of the scope of work (SOW) is outlined and approved beforehand as possible. That will save both money and time in the long run.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of Turnkey Social, an organization that provides social selling solutions, enabling organizations and their representatives to simplify their social media management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolutionStream?

We initially engaged SolutionStream to move our web-based application over to a native mobile app for Android.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Using the designs created by another firm, SolutionStream developed a mobile app for Android in collaboration with some of our engineering staff, implementing our APIs and requirements. They've also worked on other projects with our team since.

What is the team composition?

Over the last several years, we've worked with various staff on their team, including UI/UX designers, a project manager, and a number of developers with varying specialties.

How did you come to work with SolutionStream?

One of our partners referred them to us, so we brought them into the discussion and liked what they brought to the table.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested well over $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since around May 2015 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The mobile app SolutionStream built has become one of the primary touch points of our customers. Their work has significantly helped us provide improved solutions, delivering user-friendly platforms that have helped us win more contracts.

How did SolutionStream perform from a project management standpoint?

We've developed great relationships with many people on their team over the years. They're very open and clear in communications; we've never experienced any surprises due to issues with miscommunication. They've also been flexible in adapting to our project management tools of choice, including Asana and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared to my experience with other vendors, SolutionStream's team is a lot more knowledgeable when it comes to the platforms and languages they work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing stands out. I've been very happy with everything they've done for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their internal processes and expertise. They've been doing this for a long time and their approach to managing projects has proven successful for many other companies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former VP of IT for an essential oils company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolutionStream?

We had a long relationship with them to rebuild our e-commerce and back office systems. They helped a lot with our IT and e-commerce needs over a five-year relationship.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided critical pieces for our transformation into a much larger company. They helped us reinvent our e-commerce and back office systems under a ton of pressure and a lot of company growth.

They were a primary technology partner and the vast majority of their work centered around consulting and developing the site architecture. They augmented our staff and helped us organize our teams. They were very involved in our development process and provided a lot of technical detail. They did a lot of the programming and development for a custom e-commerce solution in .NET, with Oracle as the back office. They also connected everything to our JD Edwards ERP systems.

What is the team composition?

At peak, we worked with over 20 team members at a time, but the average team size was around 15 consultants. The team had a lot of engineers, followed by a group of QA resources, some administrators, a small contingent of frontend developers, and project and program managers.

How did you come to work with SolutionStream?

I’ve worked with several vendors of varying sizes and locations but this was the largest engagement I’ve been responsible for. We were looking for a big team and they had contact with our former CIO. When I took over the position, we added them to our list of vendors. They quickly moved to our shortlist and eventually won the bid.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around June 2013. I left the company in April 2018 but they’re still engaged as a critical part of the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Without their help, we may have gone out of business. We saw a 1,000% increase over the maximum capacity of our legacy systems, over 48,000 orders per day, and an average of 75 million page views and 2.3 million unique users each month in 2017.

How did SolutionStream perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job from a project management standpoint. They integrated with our team, so we oversaw the whole project, but they were very responsive and willing to work a lot of overtime when needed. They put in the effort to accomplish our objectives and did an awesome job.

Jira was our main project management tool, but we also used Workfront for part of the project as a pure portfolio management tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were always focused on doing the right thing for us. They made good decisions that benefitted us and repeatedly reduced potential work to mitigate our costs. They were a true partner and always had our best interests in mind.

Their staff is very tenured. They brought in senior developers to work with us and the team remained fairly unchanged throughout the five years I worked with them. It’s challenging to keep good team members that long and that retention is noteworthy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They did well throughout the five years I worked with them. If I could do it over again, we would have managed tech debt differently in the early stages of the process. We would have put more resources into responsibility for the architecture. We hired them as an outsourced chief architect, but didn’t share their vision with our internal team fast enough. We eventually got a handle on it, but could have done better in the beginning.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any vendor-client relationship, make sure they give you their best people. As long as you stay involved and ask them to maximize their resources, you’ll have a great experience.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

At the time of this project, I was CIO of a manufacturer and direct sales distributor of vitamins, dietary supplements, cosmetics and personal care products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SolutionStream?

We had eight different website platforms and order management systems, each serving up to 20 countries. The challenge was to consolidate data from all the systems into a single platform.

What were your goals for this project?

The initial stages included consolidating customer records and commission payment systems, and deploying new web order entry in major markets.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They have a history of success on other projects, as well as a deep bench of experts in a variety of technologies.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The scope and speed of the project required multiple teams. SolutionStream provided the project managers and business analysts that coordinated day-to-day activities, in addition to 20 full-time developers and three independent software vendors.

What was the team composition?

We distributed the work to internal developers, external consultants, and software vendors. One group worked on extract, transform, and load (ETL) data warehousing and an enterprise service bus (ESB). Another focused on commissions, one on websites, one on database architecture, one on order management, one on telephony, and one on international web portals.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Despite an extremely tight project deadline, the team delivered a successful implementation in the most important markets.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

As CIO, I managed the the internal operations of IT and their relationship with the business team. SolutionStream effectively delegated management of the key aspects of my portfolio.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The company was very realistic in managing expectations. They adapted to complex internal and inter-vendor relationships with skill and grace.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

At the time, I saw a need for more programming resources. I believe their bench is much deeper now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the manager of software development at a direct sales and marketing company. We have a diverse product offering and over 40 years in the industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SolutionStream?

Out corporate site, internal CRM, and back office portal for distributors were built using a variety of technologies, most of which were outdated. We were looking to modernize using current technologies and best practices.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to replace our existing corporate web site and back office with a modernized version, built as a single page application. We wanted also to build a new order management application for our internal resources to replace our existing application, which was outdated as well.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

SolutionStream has a good reputation in the industry. We’ve had a few previous interactions with their team and found them to be both professional and reliable.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

We worked with their team on the design of the new website while they managed the development process. They set up the project framework and test framework, and were heavily involved in the project from start to finish. The developers were professional and capable. Their scope included security, reporting, and e-commerce features.

What was the team composition?

We contracted a small development team to augment our in-house design and UI/UX talent. SolutionStream was primarily brought in to augment our own development capacity. Their team was able to get up to speed quickly and contribute to the project almost immediately.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The new website and back office portal accomplished a few things for us almost immediately. First, due to the enhanced security measures, we were able to decrease fraud significantly with the launch of the new e-commerce platform. Additionally, with the implementation of advanced client-side technologies, we have been able to decrease the workload on our web servers. The website’s launch has been a big win for us.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Most of the project management in this particular instance was on our end, while the SolutionStream developers joined our team as augmented resources. The contracted developers were a great addition to our internal resources. We primarily used Team Services, Slack and Github for our source control, communication, and lifecycle management.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

SolutionStream has always managed to find great talent. We’ve had consistent success in working with their developers. They tend to be seasoned and very skilled in their respective areas. The company representatives are responsive and engaged, which makes them a great company to work with.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

Solution Stream is not necessarily the lowest price option. They’re competitive, but their services can be more expensive than some of their competitors. Having said that, there is a qualitative difference in the expertise they offer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of engineering at a financial technologies (fintech) company called Acima. We provide point-of-sale financing solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SolutionStream?

We needed additional resources to join our team and assist us with some projects. For this particular assignment, we sought frontend developers to support an internal customer financial app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their developers came in-house with us and built the frontend of our app, including the architecture, coding, and design. They completed the project using React, HTML, and JavaScript.

What is the team composition?

They assigned two frontend developers; one of them focused on the design and architecture.

How did you come to work with SolutionStream?

I’d worked with them previously at a number of other companies and was happy with the quality of their talent. It was an easy decision to work with them here.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $30,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work lasted from November 2017–May 2018, but we’re talking with them to bring on additional resources for upcoming projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SolutionStream provided strong developers who did exactly what we expected. While we don’t have any specific metrics at this point, users have generally been satisfied with the app.

How did SolutionStream perform from a project management standpoint?

We handled the project management internally and gave them access to our on-site tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SolutionStream did a good job of vetting high-caliber individuals to join their team. They hired strong candidates, which made it easy to find qualified talent. Because I knew several people there, it was easy for me to engage them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. They did what I needed them to do, and that’s all I could really ask for.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anyone who’s going to engage with a tech company like SolutionStream needs to know how they plan on using those resources. Are they going to augment your teams or are you going to use them as a development shop? It’s important to define what the engagement looks like and set expectations upfront.

You should also take the time to interview each individual joining your team so that you understand their skill level. This way, you’ll have an idea of what to expect from those candidates before they start working.

Finally, keep open lines of communication and give regular feedback to the company about how the developers are doing. This is also the opportunity to address any concerns you might have.