Merixstudio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Merixstudio's work was done for a real estate technology startup based in Los Angeles. I’m a consulting partner with this company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

There was an initial product that had been built, but we needed some more work done. The product was very large and had very high compliance and security requirements. A third-party security audit and PCI compliance was necessary. There were challenges with getting the project organized in regard to testing, remediation, and compliance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided software engineering, testing, and Python coding. Their team worked with the front- and backend engineering for the project. Later on in the project, the development work needed to be done on a highly demanding timeline; speed and execution were a major factor in the process. In order to meet the deadline, we required Merixstudio to work overtime and perform an all-out sprint for one month.

What is the team composition?

We were averaging two or three engineers before the all-out sprint. To hit the rather unreasonable deadline we gave them, we scaled up to five or six engineers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

I had worked with them in the past at a different project. In my prior experience, I found them easy to work with, flexible, and accommodating. I knew they’d be capable of handling the compressed timeline. It was the first time the real estate technology company had worked with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we spent between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The bulk of the work occurred across 10 months in 2018. The main sprint phase occurred between March and May 2018, but they provided ongoing work through the end of the year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product was very well-received. In terms of customer feedback, there isn’t much available because it is supposed to run in the background of other products. However, when one looks at the challenges of doing a security audit and remediation process with a fixed deadline, the fact that they performed the dozens of remediation issues in one iteration was highly impressive. There was no follow-up round from an external auditor—they did quality work on an urgent deadline without repeatedly fixing the project.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management went very well. As one could imagine, there were many moving pieces during this stressful work period. They did a good job of keeping themselves in the loop in terms of what was happening. They asked questions, sought out feedback, and were good members of the team. Their team was communicative with other parties and had plenty of back and forth.

They provided some project management but also worked in conjunction with the real estate company. We used Jira to track everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility in meeting our requirements was impressive. There are many great developers, but Merixstudio’s unique ability to put our needs front and center was the biggest differentiating factor.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really. There’s going to be turnover in resources, but that happens at every developer shop. You’re never going to have the exact same team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I think you need to be well-defined with your scope. You need to have a very clear plan and a clear chain of communication. They need to be given enough to go out and achieve whatever your goals are. It went very well in this case.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a data science and procurement company. So, we're building software to help the companies’ purchasing departments optimize their decision-making processes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

As we were building the first version of our tool, we knew that we lacked experience in building web tools. We decided to collaborate with Merixstudios because we were confident that they could develop our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided a few limited ideas and code structures, but they started our web development from scratch using React and Node.js. As they worked, they gave us feedback on how the web architecture works and a user’s point of view.

What is the team composition?

We had two full-time developers working on the project, one part-time project manager, one part-time QA specialist, and one person reviewing code.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

As we were searching for potential collaboration partners, we knew that it would be difficult to find someone who could complete the project in the given timeframe. After coming across Merixstudio, we had a great overall impression of the team and liked the way they suggested we collaborate.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2019. We just finished the first phase and will continue to collaborate together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is really top-notch, so I’m really satisfied. Even though our timeline was very ambitious, they were able to complete everything on time without sacrificing quality.

Unlike a lot of other companies, I felt like we had more of a partnership rather than a vendor-purchaser relationship. We were always able to voice our concerns and talk freely to ensure we got the best possible product.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was very well organized. We had weekly calls to align on the project’s progress and to determine if we needed more daily database communication. I always felt that the project was very well handled and we always knew what challenges we might face.

We used Slack to communicate daily and planned everything using Jira. It was great to have a transparent overview of the project’s progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Although we had an idea of what we wanted, they had their own ideas and were proactively making suggestions. I felt like our goals and ideas for the project aligned well.

Like a trusted employee, their team regularly went the extra mile to manage our workload, whether that meant staying late or coming in on weekends. They were like an extension of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s not much to complain about. Generally speaking, companies need to align and communicate well to make a project successful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The trick for a successful project is always to define priorities, but you should also give them the freedom to do their work. Without too many limitations, they do their job really well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of IT for PPC Communications. We’re a software company that provides scheduling for sports centers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of IT for PPC Communications. We’re a software company that provides scheduling for sports centers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, they worked on stabilization. There were leftover bugs throughout the system from previous outsourced developers, so Merixstudio resolved them to get us to a point where testing was viable. This way, we could ensure that further development didn’t break anything critical. Everything we built was in React and Django.

Then, they developed a checkout system from scratch, handling everything except the integrations with our processors. We handled that final part in-house, but the order tracking and processing were all them. Their next task was a frontend development for a booking system, which acts as a calendaring feature. Users can now interact with different services to see what time slots are available and review their own schedule. This required multiple validations and integrations on the backend.

What is the team composition?

There were 7–10 people working on it at any time. We had three developers, a few senior developers, who did occasional coding and peer review, and a couple of project managers. I talked with everyone, but most of my interactions were with the with primary developers and our project manager, Mac.  

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

We hired a few other outsourced companies but didn’t get the results we wanted. Then, we started looking at Clutch and found Merixstudio. After interviewing them and one other company, we were sure they could get the project to the MVP point.

The biggest selling point was how well they communicated and understood our documentation. They made us confident that nothing would be lost in translation and that they only needed simple write-ups. Additionally, Django was their primary in-house language. They also had React developers.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $500,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2018 until August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything they delivered was high quality. We didn’t have any issues that we had to send back to them to fix. They never developed something the wrong way.  

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

Working with the PM was very easy. It had been hard with other companies in the past to align people’s efforts, but Merixstudio was flexible. For example, they made changes to their reporting in Jira to work with our reporting practices.

We used Atlassian products, Slack, and email. Most of our stuff was in Confluence and Jira.  Confluence was for creating decision trees, breaking out product requirements, and managing large-scale documentation, while Jira held our tickets and helped us track progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were willing to spend extra time to hit our deadlines, including over the weekends and nights. The communication was also exceptional. We had trouble with previous outsourced companies not understanding documentation, but Merixstudio didn’t need us to explain everything. We could communicate without wasting extra time to get our point across. This freed me up to focus on other things.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were no issues I can think of. Their management team did a good job of reaching out to see if we were pleased with the progress and being flexible when we had to bring on other resources. There was no senior React developer available, but there was a junior developer who's work we could test, and they cut us a deal on that price point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It would be the same advice no matter who you work with: make sure you spend the time in planning. Ensure your requirements are solid and legible and provide additional documentation for things that need it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a creative company. We create content and tools to help designers. I'm the vice president in charge of new projects and revenues.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

I hired them to develop a SaaS platform for me.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I use them purely as a development house. The platform is a video-making tool powered by AI. Users can enter scripts and get social media video content from it. They helped us build out the online product that we can integrate into a suite of software tools. The product is built in React, Django, Node.js, and MongoDB.

What is the team composition?

I work with a team of about five, including two or three developers, a few designers, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

I was looking for outsourcing companies in Poland. We sent RFPs and had calls with a few of them. After a series of interviews, we chose Merix.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a little over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've worked together for about six months, and we're nearing the end of the first stage.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are checks and balances in place, and we have weekly reviews. Based on the quality of work, I'm very happy with them so far.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very good project managers. I would rate them very highly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their attention to detail, proactive suggestions, technical competency, and ability to deliver are all excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have any major complaints about their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You will get the best results from them if you treat them as a partner and are transparent with them.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was updated by the client on April 20, 2020. New content is below:

You said that the scope of their involvement was as a development house to make this video tool powered by AI. Has anything changed dramatically in that scope?

We launched phase one in January, and we are constantly improving it. Overall, we’re launching to phase two in order to bring the product to the next level. They do foresee additional development work over the next twelve months, but all in all, I’d say they’ve done an admirable job so far.

What is the team composition?

I’ve doubled the number of people from their team. 

How much have you invested with them?

The budget is closer to half a million.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of an online poker game that’s played through bitcoin.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

We needed a partner to build the frontend component of our app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Merixstudio built two main parts of our app: the lobby and the betting rooms. In the lobby, users can see all the different tables they can join, and the betting grounds include cards, slots, and levers. They developed the UI for the tables and made the animations for the betting and card dealing.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

I found them online. I saw they did high-quality work and were reliable, so I hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership lasted from March–May 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I reviewed most of their code, which was good and did exactly what we needed it to do.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

We had daily calls to assess tasks and then a weekly review to make sure we were on the right track. They stuck to our budget, which we appreciated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do high-quality work, and they have an efficient workflow.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of any ways they could improve.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have daily meetings and maintain good communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product manager for an online investment and wealth management platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

We needed engineers who could add to the capacity of our internal development teams.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Merixstudio has provided us with frontend developers who work within our teams to build and maintain on our online platform in JavaScript React. They sometimes work from scratch and sometimes work with existing code. For example, they overhauled and relaunched the dashboard which is the first page users see when they log onto our platform. They replicated the existing technology while also developing a range of new functionality.

What is the team composition?

We work with two frontend engineers.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

To be honest that was not within my remit. That was kind of that was taken on by I believe it was probably the CTO or the VPs of engineering who would have actually sourced them.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started working with us in 2018 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their success is based on completing the tasks assigned to them to a standard we’ve set. The metrics are whether they completed the tasks within the allotted time and whether the resulting feature or whatever they're working on met the standard required for that task.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

We work in two-week sprints and assign work at the beginning of a sprint to be completed within that period. They're highly efficient workers who are quick to pick up new tasks and complete them within the required time. The arrangement has worked very well. I had no complaints on that side of things.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say that they're self-starting. They pick up work quickly and take it through to the end—often in less time than we had required. They met and even exceeded deadlines that we set so I'm very happy in general.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could sometimes work more closely with other team members to make sure everyone is on the same page. We’ve had a few occasions of miscommunication between engineers that could have been solved if they’d communicated a bit more frequently. That way they ensure the best way forward to the desired solution.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In my experience, they are really good at picking up a task and running with it. To get the best out of them, assign them self-contained tasks with very clear requirements and acceptance criteria. They’re also very productive and work quickly so it’s best to have several tasks lined up for them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I'm the CEO and founder of Divio. We’re a cloud solution that allows easy deployment of web applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio? 

We needed to hire an external resource to work on various projects for our clients as well as our own open source projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Merixstudio provides ongoing web development services. They use Python Django for the backend and mostly JavaScript, XML, and CSS on the frontend. The largest part of their work is developing enterprise features for our internal content management system called Django CMS. They also help us maintain other open source projects. 

What is the team composition?

In total, we’ve worked with three developers and two project managers.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio? 

Merixstudio is an official partner of Divio. We looked at various competitors but decided to go with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

Their work started in January 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We track the success of their work through reviews and feedback from our clients. They’re super professional, and they have great talent on their team. The project is set to end in June only because the client is taking a break. It definitely has the potential to continue in the future. We’re so happy with Merixstudio’s services. Overall, it’s been a really good experience.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint? 

Merixstudio is quite well-practiced and well-structured. They proactively collect feedback from us about their performance. That makes it easy to bring up problems if something doesn’t go perfectly. They always deliver on time, which is nice for our relationship. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Merixstudio is the best outsource developer we’ve worked with over the last 15 years. They’re not too big so they’re able to be proactive at taking care of their customers. They understand all our requirements and are especially good at Python Django. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

There's probably something, but nothing specific comes to mind. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

We were very clear about what we’re looking for and our requirements. We also took the time to work with them and not just hand off the project. That's worked quite well. They will listen to you, try to understand what you need, and then come up with a solution. I don't know how it works if you have zero requirements, but they're very professional. Sometimes you need to be pushy with outsourced teams in order to get them to deliver. That’s definitely not the case with Merixstudio.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a technical delivery director at Journey, a hospitality company that helps hotels market themselves. Our software developers build bespoke products that help hotels with specific business areas. My role is to convert our CEO's vision into technical products, and this is why I’m working with Merixstudio.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio

We brought on Merixstudio to fill an internal resource gap in the development of an e-commerce portal and an app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have been working on two projects so far, spanning web and app development, and both have been built from scratch. 

They’re building an e-commerce platform with a single code base that will be used by multiple clients and branded per individual hotel. Eventually, the platform will offer guests the opportunity to book services online. The team will integrate it with third-party systems and APIs. They’ve also been working on developing a native app for hotel members where they can book services and interact with the community.

They use a Symfony framework for backend development and React for frontend development. Throughout the process, QA specialists have performed both automatic and manual testing.

What is the team composition?

There are nine members in each project team, including front-and-backend developers, QA testers, a Scrum master, and UX specialists. While they work as a group, my colleague and I provide them with direction.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

One of our partners recommended the team to our CEO. He asked if he could meet with their business development members, and then he spoke with Mike (Research & Business Development, Merixstudio) and Kamil (Head of Business, Merixstudio). 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested over $250,000 with the team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2018 and the partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We review both the results of their work and the quality of their written code. We’ve found that they write excellent code. If we have any concerns, they are easily addressed through transparent communication.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management style has been fabulous. We have had daily standup video calls, and we see work demos on a bi-monthly basis. One project manager is involved in both projects, and he has been excellent at understanding our workflow and our goals. We’ve appreciated how internal stakeholders are treated as part of the team. The team raises issues early on so that we can work through the problems together. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s been incredibly refreshing to work with them. They have a true growth mindset — always striving to find a more efficient method. They’re happy to review constructive criticism, so all of our conversations have been positive. Our partnership has been supported by their fantastic, eager attitude. There’s always been a skilled professional available to produce what we ask for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They are one of the best groups of people I’ve worked with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Merixstudio likes to work in an agile way, but not all clients will understand the need for workshops or discovery sessions. I would encourage future clients to keep an open mind about their working style as it has helped us define our project more clearly and get to know the team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of a company that acts as a claims agent for larger bankruptcy cases.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

Our platform was outdated and didn't have many features. We needed to have more features in order to take on newer cases, so we started looking for a vendor to update our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We run a Python Django platform, and we were using version 2. We wanted to move up to version 3 and upgrade our frontend.  Merixstudio helped us overhaul the entire website.

One of the new features they added was an electronic proof of claim. Recently, the courts started to allow electronic filings and electronic proof of claim. We needed to have a very secure platform that is easy to use for our users to send their claims in an electronic form.

What is the team composition?

We work with 5–6 members of their team, including a project manager, UX designers, and developers. I spoke with everyone on the team at one time or another.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

They were recommended to me by a friend who had worked with them previously and was impressed with their work.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've been very happy with everything. They do a lot of planning and research and provide valuable feedback. They go through a very thorough process before they take each step, so we've seen surprisingly few bugs.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a lot of testing and make sure they're comfortable with the code before they put it out there, which limits the number of iterations we have to go through. We mostly use phone and email to stay in touch.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their attention to detail is exceptional. Also, they have a very good way to explain technical things to someone who doesn't have the background.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, it seemed that they went into too much detail. But once the project was completed, we realized that that was necessary to make the execution part painless.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a company that does administration for AWS and Microsoft Azure. I’m also in the process of developing an app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

I had issues with the original developers I chose from the project—there were too many bugs in the final version. I hired Merixstudio as a partner to redesign and develop new features in the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We kept the nature of the developed web app, but Merixstudio redesigned the platform and created a new interface. They implemented new features and made the app mobile responsive. Their team built it to allow user registrations, order customizations, and transactions. They created the app using PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript.

What is the team composition?

There are five teammates dedicated to the project. They devote front- and backend developers, a tester, project manager, and business analyst.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

I found Merixstudio on Clutch and compared them to several companies. I wanted a company that I didn’t need to travel far to visit and weren’t as pricey as other vendors in Switzerland, so I chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between €30,000-40,000 (approximately $34,000–$45,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We hired them in July 2018 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, I’m delighted with the quality of the work. We performed user testing on their deliverables and everything functions well.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate using Slack and their team uses Jira to manage the project. They’ve done a great job with that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate their transparency about their abilities and timeframes. They always tell us how long certain tasks will take them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We like working with Confluence, so that’d be helpful in the future.