Lunar Logic

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and director of a Brooklyn-based environmental health nonprofit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lunar Logic?

We needed web and app development services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've worked with them on several projects. The first project was to redevelop our Android application for air casting. They developed that from the ground up based on wireframes. They implemented those and after we were done, we switched to doing infrastructural work on the website. That involved backend, database work, optimizing the frontend, and we were ready to do the UI/UX for the website. They did all the coding work for the frontend but I had another firm come in and do the other content-based pages.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 1-5 people over the course of our engagement.  They included Android and Ruby on Rails developers, a designer, a tester, and an expert in backend and databases.

How did you come to work with Lunar Logic?

I met Paul (Founder) through a tech conference in 2007. They agreed to do some development work for free to see how it would go. After about a two week trial we were excited about the progress we had made and the professional level of service I'd received, that we drew up a contract.

How much have you invested with them?    

We've invested $300,000 – $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in June 2017, and we wrapped up in March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After they redesigned the app, we immediately had a much quicker pace of user installations, which picked up by about 50%. Traffic to our site essentially doubled when we were done with the redesign to our website.

How did Lunar Logic perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the reasons I've always enjoyed working with Lunar is because they allow me to do project management and they're competent at managing their own time and managing the project. We use Trello and work in Agile development. We speak every morning, and we do a recap. It's a collaborative project management effort with a lot of competency on the side of Lunar.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re always honest and provide candid feedback. I don't want everyone to just say yes or no, I want them to offer suggestions. I've always appreciated that Lunar is always fully engaged and listening. Also, they'll own their mistakes. Finally, if they bring any workers to the project who are still in a learning phase, they'll provide them at a discounted rate. Because their team is so large, they’re normally able to find someone who is a perfect fit, or someone who learns easily and readily on the job.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don't have any criticism.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be clear and upfront as possible in the initial stages. You don't need to know everything that you want to have done, but you have to have a clear idea of what your ultimate goals are and do the necessary prep work so the developers aren't waiting on you. Be dedicated to the agile process throughout the project, too, meaning you need to be engaged daily and provide feedback.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder of a tech startup that focuses on direct to consumer products and machine learning-based image analysis.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lunar Logic?

We were working together with Lunar Logic to build an iOS app. We wanted the app to have a seamless UI and great feedback and functionality with our servers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is currently built for iOS, and we hope to build it on Android with them in the near future. With strong backend capabilities, API integration, and a well-built frontend interface, the app is very interactive.

It pulls SKUs for north of 50,000 products and then finds innovative ways to parse that information and present it to the user in an efficient and fast way. Lunar logic helped with data restructuring and organization, proactively figuring out clever ways of presenting the information that the user requires without being a heavy load to the platform.

All of the work is done natively. They’re using Swift, Xcode, and they’re working with our Magento framework. They weren’t initially Magento experts, but they’re very capable engineers who are quick to pick up on new languages and interfaces. On the frontend, they’re using a few JavaScript libraries that I can’t remember off the top of my head.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Marta (iOS Developer & Software Engineer, Lunar Logic). Not only is she the lead engineer, but she also handles product management and is amazing at being a strong engineer with fantastic communication and management skills.

In addition, Lunar Logic has provided us with two iOS engineers, one who’s full-stack and one who focuses on frontend development. They had a developer and a backend engineer, bringing the team up to five people.

How did you come to work with Lunar Logic?

I did a lot of research. I spoke to a lot of different agencies, freelancers, and Lunar Logic. I’ve seen work they’ve done previously. We had a positive relationship, and when I was ready to hire I approached them. They were efficient hashing everything out so engineering could kick-off, and we got everything up and rolling.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re operating on an hourly contract, and have spent roughly $15,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started properly collaborating in December 2019 and the work is still ongoing, although it’s moving faster than we expected. We began engaging with them in early 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work is superb. They know what they’re doing, and the quality of work is always there. I feel that they always care about the caliber of their output.

Also, their ability to execute our product design is phenomenal. I’m impressed at their skill at looking through the code and refactoring it, adding documentation to make it easier for future developers to go back. They’re not just trying to get it done as quickly as possible—they think about the future.

How did Lunar Logic perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re brilliant. Working remotely, we built a strong relationship which made a huge difference.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ll give a list:

• Their project management skills
• Their communication
• Their ability to identify convoluted code and to fix it
• Their engineering the right way
• Their following of best practices
• Their practice of documentation

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re very pleased. They can always be less expensive, but you pay for their quality.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t do business with them if you’re our competitor—they’re a competitive advantage, and I want them all to myself!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide technology-led pest control services using IoT technologies coupled with a customer web portal and a native mobile technician app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Lunar Logic?

The redesigning and architect our admin portal and technician app.

What were your goals for this project?

Provide best in class UI and UX for our admin portal and technician app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had previously worked with Lunar Logic while working at another company.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The experienced designer we worked with went to great lengths to fully understand the problem domain and business model and as a result the designs produced were a delight to customers.

In addition to supporting us on Design Lunar’s integrated team allowed us to smoothly transition from Design to Engineering phases. We look forward to continuing our collaboration and have no hesitation in recommending them as a responsive and engaged partner for product design and development.

What was the team composition?

A dedicated designer and two dedicated engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

None right now.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used an agile approach using kanban boards to manage the backlog and work in progress.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Lunar were very responsive and within 3 days of our initial approach we’d already had an introductory call and received a detailed offer. At every step they went to great length to understand exactly the problem domain and the customer's use case.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can identify.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a researcher at the German Aerospace Center and the project lead for a project called VECTOR21.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lunar Logic?

We’ve developed web-based software in-house, and Lunar Logic performed a certain task within that development effort. First, they programmed a custom website for us and then worked on a logo, along with branding and design for our software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They didn’t work on the software itself, but designed the website for it, the logo, and certain branding elements like the color scheme.

They built the site from scratch, using library components for comments and other low-level elements. First, they developed the wireframes, and we gave feedback on them. The work involved pretty advanced technologies, including React, which was chosen because our product is based on it.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three people from their team—one designer and two developers.

How did you come to work with Lunar Logic?

I searched online and found their website. I liked the values they expressed on it, so decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €12,000–€15,000 (approximately $13,500–$17,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from September or October–December 2018. It was a fixed-time project, with a timeframe of about two months. We plan to work with them again in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The software isn’t online yet, so we don’t have any user feedback. Internally, our colleagues really like the design. Lunar Logic came up with some good ideas concerning the site’s functionality and made it more interactive. Users can grab things and move them around a little bit, which we really like.

How did Lunar Logic perform from a project management standpoint?

We never met in person with them—everything was done via video calls. We’re somewhat of a startup, operating in the corporate environment of a research institute. Our project was pretty chaotic, given that we were working off of customer feedback in the beginning and didn’t really know what we were doing. We had some requirements, but not all of them. Lunar Logic handled all of this well and was open-minded with new ways of thinking and working. They were flexible in adapting to our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really liked working with them. They’re super friendly and are interested in solving problems instead of causing them. If they have to go an extra mile in order to achieve something cool or awesome, they’ll do it.

They don’t stick to requirements or previous discussions excessively. Things change, and Lunar Logic is solution-oriented and creative, which made it very pleasant to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their competencies in usability design aren’t that far-progressed, but they’re pretty good at graphic design. We already knew this, as they communicated it openly, so we backed them up with our own UX designer, which wasn’t a problem.

They’re honest about what they can and cannot do so nothing truly genitive occurred.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide a SaaS CRM solution targeted toward real estate agents in the U.S. I’m the vice president of engineering.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lunar Logic?

I needed to scale up the size of my engineering team quickly. The field is highly competitive, and talented engineers are hard to come by. I needed an agency to augment my staff.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They work with us on an existing platform in Ruby on Rails. I needed full-stack developers, and they became a part of my active engineering team. This is a true staff augmentation, and their participation isn’t just project specific. They act as members of my regular team, join in daily stand-ups, and contribute as much as any of my in-house developers.

I leverage them mainly for development work, but their participation is broader than the original scope. After a few months, I added to the team for mobile app development. The new team members do native development for both iOS and Android, using Swift and Kotlin.

What is the team composition?

We started with a team of two developers, and we’ve since added two more. I actively interact with all four developers, and had some early contact with the president of the company.

How did you come to work with Lunar Logic?

They reached out to me in response to a posting on a job board. I was looking for staff augmentation solutions at the time, so I added them to the list of potential agencies we were considering. After researching their portfolio of work and their site, I was impressed. I also liked the ethics and personalities within their team, so I decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we've spent at least $100,000 on this collaboration.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February or March 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had an entirely positive experience with them. My own senior developers and engineers are all impressed with the caliber and quality of their work, without exception. Everyone on their team is on a mid- to senior level.

How did Lunar Logic perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very timely. Our workdays overlap by about three hours, so they join our daily stand-ups through video conferencing. We primarily communicate through Slack and a shared development channel. A small part of our communication is through email, but 99% of our interactions happen over Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They offer high-caliber developers and have a practical approach. They always understand that our primary goal is to deliver feature functionality in a timely manner, but they’re also willing to offer suggestions and ideas for improvements. They’re never complacent, but actively contribute to each task.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t offer any criticism at all; they’re an exceptional team. I’ve worked in this industry for decades, and they’re one of the best agencies I’ve ever partnered with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of OrderNova. We provide a web-based management platform for bakeries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lunar Logic?

We had brought in a local company to work on our MVP, but the partnership didn’t work out. We needed someone to come in quickly and take over the project. We commissioned one Lunar Logic developer who solved our most immediate problem. Based on their results, we decided to take on a second developer to oversee the remainder of the development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lunar Logic completely took over the development role for our platform, which is a web application based in Ruby on Rails with an Angular frontend. They fixed countless bugs, built new functionalities, worked with a pre-existing frontend style guide, and repaired poorly written code.

For example, one platform function allows customers to order custom cakes, but the customer-facing side of that process took nearly 30 seconds to load. Lunar Logic jumped into the preexisting code and revamped the feature to make it ten times faster. The team also added features like the ability to modify orders and place recurring orders.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two primary developers, but they brought in other team members from Lunar Logic when the need arose.

How did you come to work with Lunar Logic?

Lunar Logic had sent us a sales email two months prior. When our first developer parted ways with us, I remembered that email and reached out to their team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from May–October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unfortunately, due to problems outside Lunar Logic’s control, our platform has not gone to market. However, they’ve done fantastic work for us. They worked with us to understand the business logic of every feature and fix we implemented and suggested alternative approaches to reach a better outcome. Between their excellent code and creative solutions, they were committed to creating the best possible product.

How did Lunar Logic perform from a project management standpoint?

I served as project manager, but Lunar Logic’s team allowed the project to run smoothly. We collaborated on our backlog to prioritize each task based on how long it would take to complete and the impact it would have on the overall platform. They worked with us to get the best results in the most efficient way possible. We used Trello to monitor and track progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Lunar Logic let their developers use all available resources to solve our problems. Their developers would bring other team members free of charge to look at an issue and provide insight into our project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re highly pleased with their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a technology innovation company. We provide offline web solutions for public health commodity logistics and emerging markets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lunar Logic?

Our clients are largely public health personnel within small communities. We’ve been developing radically accessible tools to help them provide essential medical care to their patients. This required software that could work offline or on low-end Android devices. To accomplish our goal, we needed a development firm to help us create robust and user-friendly interfaces within the platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lunar Logic helped build our progressive web app by developing the core infrastructure of its frontend and CSS elements. We have a multidisciplinary team of engineers with the experience required to work in our niche industry. As a result, a lot the of product design occurs before we hand the materials over to an outside resource. Anna (Frontend Designer & Developer, Lunar Logic) got involved in the project after the app went through several rounds of user testing and mock-up iterations. We engaged a staff augmentation model, so Anna worked closely with our internal team and is still a part of the regular stand-ups and design reviews. She led the app’s implementation and subsequent problem-solving efforts. The platform was primarily built using React, but it also utilizes a variety of technologies on the backend.

What is the team composition?

We only worked directly with Anna.

How did you come to work with Lunar Logic?

One of our designers met them at a design conference and they got along great. Once we were looking for vendors, we reached out and the relationship evolved from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around €30,000–€40,000 ($35,144–$46,858 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

They were involved with the project from January–June 2018. The current iteration is complete, but we’ll likely be contacting them in the future when we start developing the next phase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still nearing the official launch of the web app, so I don’t have metrics regarding user reactions or criticism. However, the feedback from our internal team regarding Anna is overwhelmingly positive. Everybody likes working with her because she’s productive and solutions-oriented. It’s evident that Lunar Logic adequately supports their employees so they can perform at an expert level. They've delivered high-quality contributions to a niche industry. We’re happy with their work and the personable interaction that goes along with the experience.

How did Lunar Logic perform from a project management standpoint?

The best thing I can say about their project management is that we’ve never noticed it. They’re clear communicators regarding scope and always made sure their resource was available to us. They have an in-house capacity building schedule and were proactive in figuring out when internal activities or conferences might conflict with our release schedule. That was always handled easily. Initially, Anna visited our office for a week to meet the team and participate in brainstorming discussions. All other communication was done via phone or Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve worked with quite a few outsourced providers through this kind of work and it's difficult to find people who are reliable, willing to engage in problem-solving, and can also produce excellent work. We’re lucky to have run into Lunar Logic and we look forward to working with them in the future.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We gave them a lot of autonomy and included them as part of the team. This approach worked great for both parties. Issuing them a more rigorously stipulated list of tasks would be a vastly different strategy and I can’t speak to how effective that would be.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a small, but long-lasting research organization, a think tank related to European environmental policy. We are a not-for-profit organization – that's important – and we're independent. Our funding base is quite broad, and project related as well. This is who we are and what defines us. It also kind of links to what I have to say about Lunar Logic as well and how they have been working with us in the past.

What is your position?

I am a principal policy analyst. I work on issues related to diversity and technology services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lunar Logic?

The reason why I work with Lunar Logic is, even though I am a research analyst primarily, we don't really have a communications person here. Because we're a small institution and not-for-profit, we have to conduct research and manage other internal tasks. I took over the planning and coordination of our communications earlier this year. But, it was my predecessor who then first initiated the contact with Lunar Logic based on a recommendation. I don't know much more than that.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

In a way, when I took over the coordination role, I inherited the contact with Lunar Logic as well from my predecessor. Initially, they were brought in to help us to maintain the web page, so to fix things that we wanted to be fixed, which we couldn't do ourselves as web managers, and help us with the glitches and things on the web page. It was on a case-by-case basis kind of support. They provided support when we didn't know what to do ourselves. That was the initial engagement with Lunar Logic.

My predecessor had a rather positive experience worked with Lunar Logic, saying that they were very approachable, responsive, and helpful. Building on that, when I took over, we've run into problems and we contacted Lunar Logic. They were lovely, helpful, and quick to respond as well, so we continued using their support services. Eventually, they recommended that we revamp our website and implement some large upgrades.

Since we're a not-for-profit organization and we didn't have tons of money, we've been exploring with Lunar Logic as to whether they could help us to redesign the website – the framework – for managing it as a pro bono inter-capacity building kind of work. This way, we would work together in the future. That's been the plan.

Also on the back of that, we've now had Lunar Logic working with us to design a web page for a project that we are running and leading, a European Union-level project. They did the design for us and will help to manage it in the upcoming five years or so. Then, they've also helped us to design a small micro-site within our own larger presence. Usually, we have two people who work with us although, most recently, we've had a more junior person who has been supported by a more senior person.

How did you come to work with Lunar Logic?

How things came to be was that we got our original web developer, he referred us to Lunar Logic and recommended them to work on the type of page we have and the type of framework that we have on that page. That's how we got in touch with Lunar Logic in the first place.

The reason why we went with them is because they use a specific coding framework called Ruby on Rails, which is what we have our site built with. But, none of us here are very familiar with web development, per se. We understand more and more, but we understand the basics and we've also had things explained by Lunar Logic. So, they've been very helpful to try to make us understand what the problems are, to see what needs to be done, and what they suggest could be done.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I can tell you what we've been doing this year, but that doesn't really reflect the previous year. This year it would be something along the lines of €15,000 to €20,000 [approximately $17,000 to $22,500]. That's because there was actually a significant web page development as part of it, and there's been work on top of that. Usually, it has been less, in the past. I would imagine it would have been definitely less than €5,000 [$5,650] per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

The relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Not really. I think our firm is kind of small and the services that we need are rather small on the scale, so we didn't really have a process in our organization where we would be systematically monitoring our developers.

Our web page wasn't really developed by Lunar Logic in the first place. They took on the task to help to manage it. That brought us the need and the idea that we need to revamp the site because it was difficult for them to control it and it was difficult for us to work on it. I can't really provide any feedback on their development work because they haven't built anything new on our site – just worked on fixes and process related things.

As for the other site, which they have developed, it's very recent. It's only been live since July [2015]. There is no feedback to share yet, even qualitative from the user's side, apart from our own. Our own team, who works on the project, has found it to be a definite major improvement from the previous site. My colleagues have said to me it requires some basic knowledge of HTML, which is new to us. Of course, they also said that when you understand and get your head around that, it will be easy to use, and you'll be able to do much more with the design they have provided us for this new project-related website than we have been able to do with our previous organization's website.

We are, with our future plans with them, kind of coming towards the point now for this project-related website to transition the same services to the organization's main website. I think the only comment from my colleagues who have been using the new website has been that there's a certain understanding required before you'll be able to benefit fully from the improvements that they have implemented.

How did Lunar Logic perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of actually working with them and coordinating work with them, it's been very nice. They're very responsive and also very helpful.

What distinguishes Lunar Logic from other providers?

I haven't worked with any other provider before, so I can't really reflect in that respect. But one thing I wanted to mention is that, with my little experience, we've been pleasantly surprised how well Lunar Logic can, in a way, dumb things down for us, and explain things, and options and what is involved. Therefore, nobody's lost on how things work, and what is possible and what is impossible. I've been personally very happily surprised with that, so the communication has been relatively painless.

We also appreciate the fact that they understood our limitations as a not-for-profit. They really understood that, as a small organization, our budget is very inflexible. We can't just come up with more money. They would really go out of their way to make strategic or process-related suggestions that would reduce costs. For example, some of their junior people might make things last longer, but bring the cost down.

Is there anything Lunar Logic could have improved or done differently?

The only thing that comes to mind in a way is that I see that they are quick to respond, and we've had a nice organic dialogue with them. In the context of the web design that they did for us, there was a little bit of misunderstanding in the communications between our coordinator and Lunar Logic. So there was a bit of a back-and-forth and things weren't quite happening, messages not getting through, but that has varied depending on who we've worked with. Some people at Lunar Logic can better understand what we non-IT [information technology] people are trying to say. There's been a little bit of that, but not to the extent that it would have resulted in us not working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company is a startup and it's focused on creating an online platform, a kind of social network, that allows professionals in the gaming industry such as developers, designers, writers, publicists, and others, to create a portfolio and share their talents with others. The concept is to allow people to find the talent they need to develop, market, and sell their video games successfully. 

What is your position?

I'm the owner and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenge that you were trying to address with Lunar Logic?

I'm a Ruby on Rails developer myself, so I knew that I wanted the platform created using that. At the time, personal issues prevented me from dedicating the necessary time to creating the platform by myself, so I decided that I would find an outsourced partner that could build the functional prototype for me. I wanted to get the MVP [minimum viable product] to the beta test phase as soon as possible, so I could figure out and hone the features and interface design. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

The project is still ongoing. We just moved into a closed beta test last week, which is invitation only. They've been responsible for building the functional back-end as well as the front-end design work. They've worked in close collaboration with me, using an agile development method. We have daily meetings during which we discuss what tasks need to be completed, how to prioritize them, and bounce some ideas off one another. Right now, I have a dedicated team composed of two senior Ruby on Rails developers, a front-end designer, and one QA [quality assurance] specialist. I manage the team myself using the Kanban methodology.

How did you come to work with Lunar Logic?

I found them through online research. Like I said, I was explicitly looking for outsourced developers that had a lot of experience using Ruby on Rails. I came across Lunar Logic and a handful of others, but after contacted each and having a few interviews and looking at their previous work, it was clear to me that Lunar logic would probably be the best fit. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the development back in mid-April, and we just moved into phase 1 beta testing last week. We'll be working together in the future to improve the design and functionalities of the platform. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback from this project?

It's a little early to have any significant metrics, especially since it's a closed beta with only a small sample of users. Right now, we're just looking at the stability and performance of the platform and its various features. The feedback that we've received from end-users has been mostly positive. Several end-users have expressed real enthusiasm for the platform, claiming that it's, "just what they're looking for." We've run into a few issues with it so far. There's always going to be some defects in the first release but, overall, I'm impressed with the quality. They've been very easy to work with, and I'm very confident in their abilities. 

How have they performed from a project management perspective?

They've been great. Lunar Logic has always been responsive to my requests, and my team is very flexible with changing requirements, which is a guarantee when you're working in an agile way. I've never had an issue with delayed work, and they always keep me updated as to their progress.

Is there anything that you'd consider unique that distinguishes them from other providers?

I've never outsourced an entire project like this before, so I don't have a benchmark for comparison. I can tell you that this is much more valuable than a vendor relationship. They're real partners when it comes to brainstorming creative solutions and workarounds to technical and business-related challenges. I've really appreciated that about them.

Based on your experience, are there any areas in which they could improve as a service provider?

Not that I can think of, I've been very pleased with their performance, and I definitely intend to keep using them.

What advice, if any, would you give to a future client of theirs?

My biggest piece of advice is to make sure that your requirements are fleshed out. You need to have things well-defined and be able to elaborate upon the business logic behind the technical requirements, too. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Funding Circle is a marketplace for small business loans. We connect small businesses that require funding with investors who want to fund their loans.

What is your position?

I am the product manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lunar Logic?

We had internal problems with capacity. As with any growing company, there's far more work to be done than there are people available complete it. We wanted to create a roadmap for development, and that's when I reached out to a large number of contracting firms and then chose Lunar Logic as our trusted provider.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They are a Ruby on RAILS shop, and we use a Ruby on RAILS stack, so they have been involved with all aspects our web application. That's what they started with, and that's what they've developed over the course of two years. Originally, two people worked on our project and that later increased to eight. I think right now we have four developers working with us.

We manage the project ourselves, and they are primarily developers. I would say they are a mix of senior- and mid-level developers. We deal with quality assurance internally. My company does testing in development, so we don't explicitly require QA [quality assurance]. The developers themselves are responsible for QA.

How did you come to work with Lunar Logic?

We were originally contracting with an onshore company, but we did not see big benefits from them given the cost. For this project, I only looked for offshore companies. I found Lunar Logic through a pure Google search and approached them with our project work. 

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We've spent roughly $30,000 to $40,000 a month, for the past two years.

What is the status of this engagement?

It is an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The only KPI [key performance indicator] that we track is how quickly can we get software pushed to live and developing up to par with our internal teams. Obviously, delivering software in a timely manner is important to us, and Lunar Logic is good at that.

How did Lunar Logic perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Pivotal Tracker as a project management tool. Everybody in our company uses this to manage our backlog. We didn't have any problems with delayed pieces of work, going over budget, or unresponsiveness. Pawel [Brodzinski], who is their boss, is a very open, very pragmatic person. They make sure that our expectations are set correctly. They're not a 24/7 shop, so if there are super urgent issues, they will still try to put their best effort into fixing something.

We've had a good working relationship. In fact, their two lead developers actually visited us and spent a week with us to try to figure out some plans for the future. They're very pleasant to work with.

What distinguishes Lunar Logic from other providers?

From my experience, Lunar Logic is really smart and capable as well as very quick. They don't require a lot of handholding or micro-managing. There was an initial fear that there might be communication challenges but, in fact, there weren't any communication challenges at all. The only challenge is obviously the time zone difference, but that's the same with every outsourced provider.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

I know Pawel likes to keep Lunar Logic small and doesn't really want to super-scale his team, which makes sense. But, if they were to put their business thinking hat on, then he would see that he needs to expand and hire more people. There were no issues where we requested resources and they weren't able to provide them.