Many Hats

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Product Manager at the Arctic Eider Society, a charity based in Sanikiluaq Nunavut Canada, facilitating Indigenous driven-solutions for thriving communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Many Hats, and what were your goals?

We wanted to expand the capacity of our mobile app development team working on SIKU, the Indigenous Knowledge Social Network's Android and iOS apps. The Many Hats team were originally brought on to complete work on a major new mapping feature. Upon completion of the mapping feature, they have begun working on other app features of SIKU.

SOLUTION

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

We were looking for help and reached out to another non-profit that we had collaborated with in the past. They reccomnded the Many Hats team. This trusted recommendation along with the professionalism of the Many Hats CEO were deciding factors.

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

We provided the Many Hats team with specifications and mockups. They proceeded to develop a prototype in a sandbox app to prove the concept before work on developing the actual feature began. We integrated them into our project management service and conducted weekly development meetings for the 1st half of the project before transitioning to a more formal agile development framework. Development of the mapping feature took almost 9 months (longer than expected) primarily due to reliance on a 3rd party SDK which was undergoing major changes and was not a reflection of on the Many Hats team.

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

Initially, we contracted 1 senior iOS developer to work on our project followed a couple of months later by a junior Android developer and a few months later by another senior iOS developer. We assumed project management responsibilities for the Many Hats developers and integrated them into our existing development team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After 11 months we launched a major new 2.0 version of our apps headlined by the inclusion of the mapping feature that Many Hats developed. These unique features had been years in the making and were very well received by our Indigenous users leading to a sizable increase of new users to the platform.

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

We assumed day-day project management for the May Hats developers, who were very easy to get along with and conducted themselves in a professional manner. They seamlessly integrated into our team.

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

Despite working on a new 3rd party SDK which was constantly changing under our feet, the Many Hats team showed great patience and flexibility to roll with whatever was thrown their way without getting dismayed. Individually, they contribute greatly to an effective and respectful team-first approach.

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

There were some bumps in the road when expanding our relationship and communicating about the benefits of long-term relationship building between our two organizations however with the help of top management on both sides, we were able to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Co Founder and CEO of Tailgater Social Inc, A mobile app created for Sports fans, and Venues showing sporting events

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Many Hats, and what were your goals?

We wanted to have a Mobile App that was created from an idea we had that would connect Sports Fans to Venues for watching and enjoying sporting events. We had the rough idea in mind, and Many Hats was able to bring it to life in an easy and understandable way.

Not being tech professionals ourselves there was a concern about not being able to keep up with the terminology and the behind the scenes working, but the dedicated development team from many hats kept us upto date and was able to explain every step and was available any time we had questions or concerns.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online for mobile app companies and found many, but what made us decide on Many Hats was their experience in other projects, the breadth of knowledge and skills their team members posses and the passion they had for working with our project.

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

We started with a couple of discovery meetings where we ran through our idea, what was our goal and driving factor behind the idea. We were able to collaborate to build a framework of what we were hoping to have as the outcome. We decided we wanted to be available to users of Android and Apple.

We then proceeded with the front end user interface and even got to the point where we were able to create an interactive admin portal so we can update the mobile app on the go as we obtain new information and can update in real time.

Once we got a MVP we commenced with Beta testing, got a series of edits and additions we wanted to add once we saw the functionality in our hands. Additions and edits were all accommodated for and were implemented before our application for app store review.

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

Our original point of contact was with a Director of Business Development. We were then directed and worked with their Director of Software Development. Once we reached a more refined project scope we worked with a Software Engineer who helped us create our product from start to finish.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are in the App Store Review Process for both Google and Apple. We are beyond happy with the product we have at this stage. We can provide numbers of downloads stats and users at a later date once we are through the application process.

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

Our Project contact was the Software engineer and had ZERO issues with communication. Due to my own personal busy schedule I was not able to commit to a schedule meeting time and often that time would be adjusted last minute, EVERY time I made the change I was accommodated and was offered other means for communication.

Typically we would have a Teams Meeting due to Covid, however, if I was unable to get to a computer I was able to have a phone call. Our work plan was communicated through Jira and was able to easily keep track of the project steps and see the progress.

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

Since this was our first experience with Software Development we had an idea in mind and unsure of how to make it come to fruition. As we put fourth our idea to the development team, we were explained how each phase would need to be achieved, what would go into each phase in terms of steps of progression, and the team made it very easy to follow.

Since we had an evolving idea, the development team was able to easily accommodate our changing ideas and additions. What I would say was unique was that while this was nothing more than an idea, they made us feel like this could actually be something and that our project was worth doing. Making the process feel like they enjoyed working on it and it could be a game changer.

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

There is nothing I would suggest that needs improvement. From start to finish we were very pleased with every aspect of working with Many Hats

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a medical technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Many Hats?

We needed to create a mobile app for both iOS and Android. We had a lot of expertise in-house to do the development of the algorithms for the app, but we didn’t have expertise in actually creating an app and putting it in the App Store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Many Hats took some core code that we had and wrapped it into native apps for the two platforms. They worked on the visual design of the UI/UX. The app uses the recording feature through the microphones on phones and plays back audio, so Many Hats had to hook up the app to the audio system.

They delivered apps that were in a form suitable to be distributed to testers outside the organization and eventually onto the app store to be sold to customers. It was an agile development process.

What is the team composition?

We worked with several people, with five at the peak. They would draw on the resources for specific aspects, but as the project went on, we ended up working with two senior developers.

How did you come to work with Many Hats?

We found them on Clutch. We contacted several firms and interviewed them. We liked Many Hats because we’re a small, scrappy startup and they seemed to be the same. They had also done work on both iOS and Android before that seemed relevant to what we were doing.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $200,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in September 2019, and we started winding down in September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were very happy with what we got. We felt good about the quality. The app looks very professional and meets the criteria that we had in mind for it in terms of being easy to use, looking good, and functioning properly. It was all very successful from that perspective.

How did Many Hats perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was fine. Because Many Hats is local to us, we actually had two kickoff meetings with them, and once or twice, we had one of our developers go on-site to work with them. We eventually got into the pattern of having regular Zoom calls.

We would share a screen, and they would also use GitHub and Jira to track projects, which went well. The team was organized, so we were able to see what was happening at all times, and we were able to direct the activities and set priorities readily.

We were also able to chat using Slack in between those phone calls, so it was a very fluid and productive communication chain.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were great people to work with, and they seemed to put a lot of care and attention into the work they were doing for us. Many Hats certainly made a number of good suggestions that we probably wouldn't have ever thought of ourselves.

They seemed to understand pretty well what we wanted to accomplish and took us down a path that got us there. There were a lot of design and architecting decisions that had to be made early on, but we weren't in a great position to make them all by ourselves.

Many Hats presented us with options through discussion and a mutual understanding of the requirements. We decided on a good path that in fact worked out. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions for them. If I was going to do this all over again, I would’ve executed the plan a little sooner in terms of bringing somebody in-house to take over the work because the timeline got extended, which wasn’t their fault.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate to get to know them because they’re easy to talk to. If you sit down with them, show them what it is you want to get done, and come away feeling good about that, then go for it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Pinnguaq Association, a not-for-profit organization, incorporates STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) into unique learning applications that promote storytelling, health, wellness, and growth with rural and remote communities.

At its core, Pinnguaq embraces diversity and creates opportunities in order to empower all people. Pinnguaq, which means play in Inuktitut, was created in 2012 as a Pangnirtung, Nunavut-based technology startup with the goal of providing play experiences in Indigenous languages.

Since then, the organization has embraced ways of incorporating play into applications that support a full learning life cycle. As the Director of Productions I coordinate and oversee the design and development of various projects from game and web development, to 2D and 3D art creation, to content production.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Many Hats?

We worked with Many Hats to develop and produce a game called Nanili. Nanili introduces players to the art of coding. It does this by encouraging players to find the most elegant solutions through creating procedural functions and loops.

The aim of the game is to get the character to the campfire in the most efficient way possible (using as few blocks in the input bar as possible). Each level presents you with a maze showing the locations of the character and the campfire.

What were your goals for this project?

The ultimate goal of the project was to deploy a game that users had tested and played throughout development. We iterated throughout the development of Nanili, conducting user testing and asking for feedback from kids and young people along the way.

The result is a game that we now use in the delivery of educational STEAM programming, teaching kids the art of coding through game play.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We worked with Many Hats from the outset of Nanili.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project was an end to end development from ideation and storyboarding, to design and UI, graphics and animation, content, development, QA, user testing, and improvements. Many Hats were involved every step of the way, leading in all aspects.

What was the team composition?

One Technical Director, project manager, two senior software developers, one intermediate software developer, one UI/UX designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since launching Nanili for both mobile and as a webgl version in the Pinnguaq website, we have seen a good deal of traffic and usage of the game. We also have various testimonials of kids of play the game and try to out do their previous scores. The educational teams will continue to work with kids on their coding skills and use Nanili to facilitate this, whether remotely or in-person.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Daily Scrum stand-up with the technical director, developers and designers allowed everyone to be on the same page and understand the work ahead. We created a dedicated Slack channel for clients, open-access to Jira for visibility of work. Work was transparent and carefully tracked and monitored.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They Many Hats team were very easy to work with, extremely flexible and highly adaptive in terms of change in development directions. Innovative as they are always trying to use the best tech stack and technology available. The developers were also very easy to engage with, iterating, and providing technical feedback and solutions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of anything off hand.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Original Fire Games is a video game studio currently developing the title Circuit Superstars. I'm a founder, managing director & designer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Many Hats?

We have an ongoing collaboration with Many Hats who are helping us develop autosmoke and testing infrastructure as well as console porting for our multi-platform video game.

What were your goals for this project?

Our collaboration with Many Hats is fueled by our goal of developing an infrastructure of software and systems that contribute to the success of our current game as well as those we develop in the future. We wanted to think long-term sustainability, and Many Hats has helped us make that a reality.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We chose Many Hats based on conversations an analysis that led us to believe this was the right partnership for our goals. Our company is new at shipping games, so their expertise and experience have and continue to be essential.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

In-Game Testing Framework Web-Based Remote Testing Framework F-Make Build framework TeamCity/CIS Server Console porting.

What was the team composition?

1 Senior Engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work is ongoing, so the results will impact our short term and long term future. The work Many Hats has done so far will help us produce and test game builds effectively across a variety of platforms. The testing infrastructure created is also quite versatile, so we will continuously be able to develop new tests as the needs of the project arise.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project Management has been led by the Senior Engineer working with us. He established the project and tasks on Jira and has continuously done effort to keep us & Jira up to date.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Mike Despault, the Senior Engineer we worked with, has been a pleasure to work with, he is inquisitive, insightful, seeks to understand our challenges, and leverages his experience to craft systems that will be key for the longevity of our studio and the titles we ship.

Mike and Many Hats as a whole work with transparency as a value, form negotiations to execution, we have always been clear on costs and time. As a small studio, this has given us the flexibility we need for our budget. I'm grateful for this partnership and hope to continue to work with Many Hats for many years to come.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not at this time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Dada is a fast-growing agency that gives brands love and purpose. Since its foundation in 2010, its approach has seduced major clients such as Desjardins, Hydro-Québec, Traditours, Bota Bota, VIA Rail and CAE. The agency is formed of leading communications professionals that share a common mission: to cultivate a collaborative spirit to help brands reach their full potential, both from an employee and a consumer perspective.

Beyond creative and production, dada is also specialized in business intelligence, co-creation workshops, strategy and innovation. From its Montreal office, it makes its clients benefit from its diverse capabilities throughout Canada and the United States. dada, with love and purpose.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Many Hats?

As VP Gobal Product at dada, I have mandated Many Hats to help develop a customer centric mobile app for Unibroue. The beer brand was well distributed across the Unites States, but needed to develop a platform to build a connection with its growing fan base. The app was a mix of brand and product education, through gamification, including but not limited to, AR label animations on most popular skus.

What were your goals for this project?

Generate product knowledge Create relevant frequency in customer interactions with the brand Build brand awareness Grow fan and customer base (lift sales volumes)

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Through a senior project manager who knew the team.

Describe the project in detail.

• Mobile app available on iOS and Google Play Store
• AR animations on labels
• Other games: AR with flying fairies, quiz, 360 virtual reality game in motion
• Consumer profile with a history of navigation
• Geo-localization linked with Beer Finder across all 50 states
• Contest linked to user profile
• Knowledge base including recipes, cocktails, and pairings, as well as product profiles
• Optimization of UX after the first phase of deployment
• Coding and development of technology from our design files

What was the team composition?

Lead developer, I am not sure of the team composition behind the lead developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Over 10,000 downloads within the first three months of activity

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Highly efficient communication Very agile and solution-oriented team Success focused

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their team was as engaged in the project as we were.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Preliminary time evaluation is given complexity and scope of project Unforeseen circumstances (i.e. Apple store approval delays and unknown)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Product Manager of a global FinTech company servicing financial services professionals. We are a world leader in psychometric testing and suitability.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Many Hats?

Many Hats help us build our first app to capture an individual's core values, a key engagement piece in the onboarding process.

What were your goals for this project?

To be able to gamify the values capture process and make it a fun and engaging process.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were introduced to Many Hats by a mutual contact and were impressed from the first meeting.

Describe the project in detail.

Your core values are important needs or requirements that have helped you to be successful, and help you recognize what's important to you. The app is a series of exercise designed to help an individual clearly identify their core values.

The app is designed to be used in conjunction with our financial profiling and planning application where financial advisors can invite clients to complete the exercise as part of their engagement process.

What was the team composition?

There was a project leader assigned to our project and he was in charge of communicating our requirements to the rest of team. Team members also contacted us directly if they have a question.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The app is currently in limited release awaiting further development to link it back to our financial profiling and planning application. Feedback has been positive so far.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication process was quite smooth, they updated us regularly on progress and follow up when needed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were very helpful in guiding us on how to release the app across the different channels. This was our app so it was nice having someone hold our hands through the process, they clearly know what they are doing.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Phyxter is a company specializing in technology solutions for the trades industry. I am the CTO of Phyxter.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Many Hats?

Initial architecture and UI of Phyxter Pro mobile app.

What were your goals for this project?

To create the initial architecture and framework of our Phyxter Pro mobile app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Interviewed several development companies and weighed the pro's and con's of each one.

Describe the project in detail.

The project consisted of a Xamarin based mobile app which communicated with a web based app. Both shared a .net backend hosted on the Azure cloud. The project also required Many Hats to train our in-house development team while the project was ongoing.

What was the team composition?

One project manager, one front-end developer and two full-stack developers. In-house we had two junior developers and a senior back-end developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Went to market with our phase 1 product at the end of the project.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between our teams was very effective. Weekly overall project meetings and daily scrums.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Many Hats is great to work with, skilled at what they do, and very accommodating to a client's needs in a dynamic project environment.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I have no recommendations for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Technology for a startup focused on developing novel software and hardware products for the golf industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Many Hats, and what were your goals?

We were trying to solve very complicated computer vision and algortihm-based challenges. This required extensive R&D iteration and being able to make quick adjustments or changes in direction based on the success we were having. The hardware requirements also imposed resource and power constraints that needed to be dealt with.

SOLUTION

How did you select Many Hats and what were the deciding factors?

Many Hats came across as an agile and motivated company that could take on unique and challenges projects. In talking with their staff we realized that they would be able to work on something most companies would not be able to.

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

We followed an agile scrum based approach to working through our R&D. Sprints would include hardware prototyping, software testing, validation, field work, etc. Deliverables included custom built software that was validated in live demos.

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

We worked with the owner and CEO of the company directly on a weekly basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were given a very unique and interesting software solution that met our needs as a small research and development company. Given the constraints and challenges of our product, we were very happy with the results.

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

Many Hats worked in a sprint and scrum based approach. This was very convenient for our project. Progress was well tracked with online tools.

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

Their willingness to take on tough challenges and change directions quickly based on the results we were getting. They have worked very well with our team and would spend extra time and effort to see projects through to the end.

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

I was happy with the quality of work. We would sometimes lose track of our sprint starts and stops, but eventually would always update our online tools.