Kaizen Softworks

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We've been working with Kaizen for over two years designing and building a native app for a Boston based fitness company. We've been working with the client on strategy and design, while Kaizen has been managing the product build.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Kaizen Softworks, and what were your goals?

Kaizen's primary role has been engineering and project management.

SOLUTION

How did you select Kaizen and what were the deciding factors?

The client had already engaged with Kaizen prior to our studio getting involved in the project.

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

We've worked together through discovery, strategy, design, build, testing and launch. The objective was to build an intuitive product that delivered daily programming to the clients 100,000+ user base.

How many resources from the Kaizen team worked with you, and what were their positions?

As we've moved through the project Kaizen has been able to artfully ramp up and down based on project need. Primary needs have included front-end, back-end, and project management resources. Team size continues to range between 5-10 based on project phase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After launching the redesigned app we saw a reduction in churn of 30% along with a substantial increase in new users.

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

We've conducted daily and weekly standing meetings/checkins along with using a handful of project management tools that help keep the client informed and the team working as efficiently as possible.

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

Kaizen is highly responsive, their team culture is fantastic, and they operate as a dedicated team who see's their clients success as their own. They know when to push back and when to listen. Can't say enough great things about the team and how they conduct themselves through projects.

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

Nothing! We highly recommend Kaizen for any/all engineering needs and will certainly be using them in the future for other projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior product manager of an IoT and hardware company called Digi International. We make hardware that monitors environments, temperature, humidity, and other readings. We also make software to report those readings and rigger incidents, among other actions. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen Softworks?

We wanted to expand our development team to roll out several mobile apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kaizen Softworks’ team has been doing mobile app development for us using React Native. We currently have three projects going on that are Appcelerator Titanium-based with features like enabling users to set up stores and apply equipment to them. We’re also trying to revamp our legacy app to create a new generation of it, which aims to take development resources that we have in smart sensing to move faster.

Regarding the IoT features, we want to connect to a temperature monitor and display incidents when certain thresholds are broken.

The apps we create are available for Android and iOS.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with 7–8 members of their team so far.

How did you come to work with Kaizen Softworks?

They’ve been partnering with our company before I took my current position.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been receiving great feedback from our internal and external users. Also, they’ve been efficient in fixing the bugs that arise.

How did Kaizen Softworks perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great with project management; we haven’t had any problems with constant communication and their ability to stay within the budget. In terms of tools, we use Jira, Microsoft Teams, and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their level of talent and engagement with the product are outstanding; they execute well and put a lot of effort into understanding how everything works.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — I’ve had a good experience working with them so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to their team’s recommendations and follow the practices they have in place because they know what they’re doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're an e-commerce company that focuses on the furniture industry. We help brick and mortar companies sell their products through our SaaS platform. I'm the V.P. of Engineering.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen Softworks?

They've been embedded on our team, and they helped us move parts of a monolithic application to the cloud.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed microservices, and they helped with frontend Angular architecture. They augmented our team and provided architecture guidance. We're a .NET shop, and the frontend is in Angular 7. We also use Kubernetes.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with five team members from their side.

How did you come to work with Kaizen Softworks?

They sent an email to our CTO. We sat down and talked with them, and we liked their flexibility. They could operate within our workflows, and they were very easy to embed on our team. We got them up to speed at very low cost, and they were very accommodating.

How much have you invested with them?

I'm not sure of the total cost.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've worked with them a couple of times, but this most recent engagement started around January 2019. We plan to continue the collaboration into 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They've reviewed our approaches and coding habits and given feedback. Our goal was to go live this year, and we couldn't have done that without them. They were a key part of all our development, from the frontend to the database. Their team contributes a lot to our goals, and they have strategic, problem-solving ideas.

How did Kaizen Softworks perform from a project management standpoint?

They use all the tools we provide for them, which works in our favor. We don't face any barriers with them, and they participate in all our standups and meetings. They give good feedback on how to work with remote partners.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're eager to do a good job. They want feedback on how they can be better, and they're very open to our suggestions. The partnership is very collaborative, and I appreciate their willingness to do well. They're very helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It can be challenging for any remote person to contribute to large meetings. We can both be better at that, and we would love more of their input in planning sessions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of program management for an IoT solutions provider. We provide services in food safety, healthcare, and whole chain monitoring solutions in the transport and warehouse space. Our goal is to ensure education, safety, and quality through our offerings.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen Softworks?

It’s my job to make sure that any new customers get their hardware properly installed and software configured correctly. We try to make it so our users can derive value from the system as quickly as possible. To help with that, we brought an engineer from their team on board to build tools specifically for the wider customer success organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re building a mobile app called the install app. It allows customers, our team, and third-party groups to accurately deploy our software and hardware solutions. If someone was looking to install in a grocery store, for instance, we could use the app to gather information about the network of devices there in order to install the software to match the hardware situation. That information is pushed to a back-office dashboard, where our team can access and configure it to meet their specific needs.  

What is the team composition?

I’m in close contact with their CTO and CEO. Additionally, there’s between 2–4 developers and usability designers working on this project. 

How did you come to work with Kaizen Softworks?

I led the search, interested in finding a firm with a good local presence so we could meet in-person in our work together. Their team came up in my research and stayed on my list as I narrowed my options down to five vendors.

At the end of the day, I chose them based on their full-stack development services. They had the technical skillset to assist whenever needed and the ability to hit the ground running fairly quickly. Their pricing was also very competitive for the market.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019, and the program is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve delivered well-tested solutions that arrive in our hands with few bugs. Our teams meet in Boston every Friday to review the program with an advisory board composed of colleagues across our organization. In those meetings, we make sure that the work is on-track and pleasing stakeholders. We provide design reviews and recommendations based on the work that they share with us. That allows us a very fluid, open line of communication with their team.

How did Kaizen Softworks perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re outstanding, exceeding deadlines. In particular, they beat our first deadline by a few weeks, which stunned our entire team. That was wonderful to see. Their project managers have been flexible in pivoting on requirements when we bump into constraints on our end. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a team of talented, empathetic individuals that’s easy to work with. I’ve visited their offices in Uruguay several times and in the United States. They’re flexible, thoughtful partners that have done a great job of investigating our business to provide the best solutions. During one of their visits to our office, which was intended to help get their developers acclimated to our company, they published a fix to a bug within hours of being there. 

The team showed energy for learning our business to ensure our products will resonate with our audience. If something seems incorrect to them, they aren’t afraid to push back either. They truly hit the ground running. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve been able to build a strong, positive relationship with my in-house team, who even suggested that we add more resources from them into the mix.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I help lead the technical and marketing teams for a fitness company. We provide online training programs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen Softworks?

We needed a company to help create a training application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kaizen Softworks is developing our proprietary training application. They’re building a web and mobile platform for iOS and Android. For mobile, their team’s using React. They’re creating the web platform with React Native.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with 5 people.

How did you come to work with Kaizen Softworks?

We were looking for a partner that was reliable and had experience with projects such as ours. We also wanted someone within our time zone, which would help them understand our ideas and communicate with us easily.

I found Kaizen Softworks on Clutch after searching for local Boston companies with experience building mobile applications. Their team came up with references. After looking at their reviews and comparing them to others, I spoke to a few of their current customers that are Boston-based as well. I determined that they were not only experienced in the industry but were also hungry to learn. It was important that they wanted to make this a partnership that could last for a long time. It ended up being the deciding factor in going with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ll invest between $100,000–$200,000 in the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project a month ago, and our work’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work has been great. Kaizen Software has brought a fresh perspective. Their team hasn’t just accepted our ideas but has improved and challenged them. They have helped us to push the boundaries and come up with new concepts.

How did Kaizen Softworks perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve communicated by Jira and Slack. We’ve talked every single day. Being in Uruguay, Kaizen Software’s only one hour ahead of us. Whenever I’ve had any questions or concerns, their team has responded immediately. They've also met deadlines and know the deadlines that I have to meet. Their team has accommodated our schedule based on the assignments we need to get done. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of their greatest strengths is their hunger. They have a desire to create a cool project—it’s not just a contract they’re trying to fulfill. Their team’s trying to make the product truly spectacular. Another strength is the buy-in that they’ve had so far. You can tell that they’re fully invested in the project. Kaizen Softworks wants to be a part of the team. It has made the process of understanding the project much simpler.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any improvements off the top of my head. The collaboration has run smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a company that works in education technology and pedagogical design.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen Softworks?

We needed a partner to build a better platform for our education model.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kaizen Softworks used Angular and SQL to build the platform, which runs solely on Azure. They integrated a few different plug-ins, including ones for email notifications and dashboarding. Most recently, they finished the eighth version of the platform and now provide regular maintenance and support. We plan to reengage with them soon to continue the development.

What is the team composition?

The team changed, depending on the phase of the project. It ranged from 1–6 people.

How did you come to work with Kaizen Softworks?

A friend recommended them and a few other firms. We talked to the different agencies but felt Kaizen Softworks was the best fit, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a little over $800,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from 2017–2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before partnering with Kaizen Softworks, our platform was glitchy and poorly designed. Now, it looks great and functions well, exceeding our expectations. The latest version has even caught the attention of large companies and organizations interested in accelerated learning. Potential clients are amazed at the platform’s functionality and the way it’s built. We were so impressed with Kaizen Softworks that we want to work with them again and recommend them to everyone.

How did Kaizen Softworks perform from a project management standpoint?

We had daily meetings to review progress and setbacks, and they were good at clearly communicating if something was going to be delayed. Over our two year engagement, we were only four months behind our original goal, which is pretty good. They were honest about problems and took responsibility for them instead of trying to shift the blame.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They worked hard and paid close attention to details, taking time to understand our business and goals. They came up with some great solutions that improved our final product and always gave us options to meet our time and budget needs. Unlike many other firms, they were dedicated to our project and wanted to see it succeed, providing excellent customer service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t see how they could’ve improved.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I don’t have any advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a software company providing network visualization services to managed service providers, data centers, and any other team that has infrastructure to manage. I am the engineering manager, overseeing engineering and builds for our product.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen Softworks?

We needed to extend our existing team in order to get help building our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us to build certain modules and features within our product. Our backend is predominantly .NET with PostgreSQL as a database. The frontend is AngularJS, with standard HTML and CSS on top of it.

What is the team composition?

We signed up with them for a single developer, but there were periods when we had to scale up to three.

How did you come to work with Kaizen Softworks?

We felt that Fabian Fernandez Bargas [CEO, Kaizen Softworks] and Rolando Larrainci [CTO and Co-Founder, Kaizen Softworks] really understood our business culture. They also specialized in .NET development, so we were comfortable with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of their work was $60,000–$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Kaizen Softworks in late 2015 and finished in mid or late 2017. The product is complete for the version we needed, so we’re focusing on marketing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have been able to scale and build the product we wanted using their team. Kaizen delivered the outcome we were looking for from an engineering perspective. From an engineering perspective, it works exactly like we wanted it and Kaizen built it as per our designs.

How did Kaizen Softworks perform from a project management standpoint?

We had them use our project management tools, Jira and Bitbucket. They were comfortable using those.

Kaizen understood where we were in terms of deadlines, and committed to them. If we had a deadline, they worked with us, making sure we could hit it.

I know that English is not their native language, but, from a business perspective, the level is good. We were able to communicate, they understood our requirements, and I understood them. Having both parties working in the same time zone was a big benefit.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I liked about working with them is what it wasn’t a matter of tossing work over the fence and having the team do what I say. If something wasn’t right or if we gave an unclear direction, Kaizen brought it to my attention. If I asked for a particular approach and they found that there was a better one, they would come back and tell me. They took a lot of initiative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the context of working remotely, everyone has the opportunity to improve on communication. Having more communication done more frequently is beneficial. We were always connected through Slack, but in general, it can be improved.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

This was a big project for us using a remote team. Time needs to be put into planning what has to be done and writing it down so that the team can be successful in delivering what the client wants.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of technology at a company that writes a software called SmartBorder. It facilitates international trade between the U.S. and Canada and around the world. We’re owned by a Canadian company, Livingston International, which uses our software. We also sell the software for their import processes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen?

We needed development help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with Google Angular 2.0 to upgrade all of our flagship product’s main systems to go to the web. This is a multi-year project. So far, we’ve completed the customer profile systems and our export software. We’re almost completed with our import and security filing for ships coming into port that have to report to the government what they’re bringing in for security reasons. They also used Microsoft SignalR and Google Angular 5.0. They’ve stayed up to date and upgraded as things have been evolving. We still manage our backend with Web API, but they integrate within our API that we give them.

We have them lined up with maybe 15 other projects until next year.

What is the team composition?

We have four developers and one designer.

How did you come to work with Kaizen?

It happened over a few years. My software development manager was looking for different firms. They contacted him with a cold call. We’ve been looking in different areas of the world because the prices were better per developer. We found them, vetted them, and watched them grow for a few years. Fabian [CEO, Kaizen Softworks] came here to Buffalo and we talked about strategy and how they manage things in Uruguay. We gave them money for three programmers and a small prototype, and they did the prototype really well. We considered that to be sufficient and gave them more business.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $200,000–$999,999. We’re planning to spend a few hundred thousand dollars more with them this year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have two applications that are in beta right now with some customers. We have to train the rest of our customer base. There are still some changes we have to make, but I’m really happy with the results. They’re hungry programmers that do a really good job.

How did Kaizen perform from a project management standpoint?

We do most of the project management because I have my own private manager. We’ve used them as consulting resources. We use Jira for managing our user stories and bugs. When we’re slow on project management, they pick it up and start working with us. They do a good job. We also use TFS online as well. We’re probably going to be moving to GitHub soon. We have daily meetings which are efficient.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They learned two brand new technologies that they’ve never worked with before. They were able to ramp up quickly because their people are very smart. They have done a much better job than I would have internally with my people. For the web tech stuff, their people are younger, really into it, and they’re very hungry. They’ve found a solution for everything I’ve thrown at them; they’ve never said they can’t do it. I’m really satisfied. I’ve been in this business for a long time. If I had this team 10 years ago, I’d be in a much different situation right now. I really like them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they had a project manager and handled that more formally throughout the company, that would be a helpful service.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having daily meetings is so important. Also, have a well-defined backlog for your user stories and your bugs. Have demo meetings every two weeks at the end of every sprint so you can review all the work that’s been done. Save the feedback for the end of the project. Let them do their work with a vision of fixing it up and cleaning it up later. Visibility and understanding on both sides are imperative.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of learning solutions at CuroGens Learning in Carmel, IN.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen Softworks?

We were looking for a partner who could help us build a new learning solution platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our platform is cloud-based. We had very strong Azure Cloud virtualization knowledge in-house, but we didn’t have the same with web portals. They worked together with our internal team to come up with the best solution for the cloud.

What is the team composition?

We have two mobile developers in Ghana, Africa who’ve been working with Kaizen. Kaizen also has frontend and backend developers, as well as designers. Our team consists of about 5–6 people and an occasional project manager.

How did you come to work with Kaizen Softworks?

We looked around the world, including the U.S., because we couldn’t find any companies close to us. A good friend recommended Kaizen because they’d worked with them in the past and were very happy with their services. I had a couple of meetings with Fabian [CEO, Kaizen Softworks] and Rolando [CTO & Co-Founder, Kaizen Softworks] to discuss scope and other details.

We ended up choosing Kaizen and two other European companies. I didn’t know the web technology, so we were looking for people who did. I needed someone who was adept in Angular and mobile platform usage.

We found that Kaizen had the best team. I had a far better feeling from them than other companies. Other companies were very sales oriented, whereas Kaizen looked at solutions as a whole. They were practical and gave suggestions. We had good chemistry and I was excited.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They really took their time to understand what we wanted to do. Since they did this early on, they’re now able to come up with ideas when we brainstorm new features. They’re not just coders that we give tasks and tell them to go from top to bottom. They come back and give suggestions that make our product better.

I love that we’re able to discuss things together. Things sometimes look a certain way in my head but would be too complex for them to build, and they’re able to identify that. They don’t just build what I ask for. They look at things critically to see if it’s applicable with the solution we’re building.

How did Kaizen Softworks perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re easy to understand. We use Slack a lot, which was new to me at first but I really like it now. It helps me catch a things before they turn into issues and also allows us to quickly change direction before they get too deep into coding. We have daily communication. They’re fast at getting back to me. We don’t have any language barriers. We understand what they’re building 99% of the time. We also do weekly sprints to make sure we’re on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I view it as a partnership more than outsourcing code to someone else. I rarely find issues in their work. Their quality control is better than I’ve seen from other companies, and I’ve worked in IT for over 20 years with outsourced companies from India, Ghana, South America, and Eastern Europe. It’s very rare that I come across people who are this self-conscious about quality and what they need to deliver.

Kaizen tests a lot. There are things that only I can find because I’m so invested in the pedagogical approach. It’s very rare that I have to send something back to them to redo. We’ve only moved our timeline by two months, and I’m used to being 6–12 months off. This is very good. We love working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any bad things to say. We’re really happy with them and hope to work with them for many years to come. I’ve recommended them to others because I’m that pleased with their services. We’re a very happy customer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer at Blueport Commerce, which is a Software-as-a-service e-commerce platform focused on the furniture vertical.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen?

We wanted to expand our internal development capacity.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were using them to increase and decrease development when we needed it. They worked predominantly on our CMS platform, but they did multiple developments for us. We’re a .NET shop and we were using them for C#, Angular, and a bunch of UI work in HTML and CSS. They also did SQL server work.

What is the team composition?

We had three developers on the team.

How did you come to work with Kaizen?

I found them via LinkedIn. I believe they reached out to me originally in a connection capacity. They were looking at companies that were doing .NET development. I watched them for a while. Latin America is great because we were trying to find people to work as an extension of our own development team in a similar time zone. We selected them because they have a strong background in Windows .NET development. Also, they had good English skills and embrace a lot of the same kinds of cultural philosophies that we do around continuous improvement in Agile. Culturally it was a great fit for us and worked well.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2016 until January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were really strong contributors to our team. They had architect-level talent that was able to move our project forward. They were able to help us complete some projects that were at risk. They were flexible, moving from one project to another when we needed them to, and contributed greatly to the speed and quality of our software development process.

How did Kaizen perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked as part of our team. We owned the project management. They were very flexible and great about providing feedback to us about what was working and what wasn’t. They were able to understand that there are challenges to working remotely. They had to find ways to overcome them and helped us help them overcome them in ways to make us all work more efficiently.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to embrace flexibility, change, and constant improvement was particularly noteworthy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They were perfect for what we needed. They were flexible and easy to do business with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re planning on using them as an extension of your team and working closely with their developers, then they’ll be a great fit.