MetaDesign Solutions

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP and one of the two founders of a company that’s developing a medical diagnostic device in the atomic field.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MetaDesign Solutions?

We retained MetaDesign to develop a UI system for our medical diagnostic device. We already had an architecture for the UI but needed a company to write the software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MetaDesign worked on designing the UI of our device over a six-month period. We had the architecture done by another firm, but they were far too expensive for us — that’s why we went offshore. The technology was fairly sophisticated, and it required a high level of expertise to do it correctly. We had to communicate that with MetaDesign, and they did a professional job at a reasonable price. We were happy with the results. 

What is the team composition?

I didn’t work with them on a regular basis — my technical team did — but I dealt with the business side with one of the senior executives at MetaDesign. He was a very nice fellow who came to Halifax and met with us.

How did you come to work with MetaDesign Solutions?

My co-founder knew of MetaDesign, but I’m not exactly sure of how it occurred. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $80,000 with MetaDesign.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2020. They completed the project in September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had an in-house computer engineer and specialist that reviewed MetaDesign’s work every week and ensured that it was appropriately done. According to his reports, everything was done correctly, and he only had to make minor suggestions in their coding work.

Generally, MetaDesign performed correctly. These projects are complex, and there are always small things that are being revised at any given time. That didn’t change, but the project was no different compared to dealing with a non-offshore firm.

How did MetaDesign Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was very good. I wouldn’t want to get into the technologies and methods that they used very much, and MetaDesign made recommendations as to the development of the software and so on. We did accept those recommendations, but they involved technical issues that I’m not really qualified to speak about.

Our technical people were in touch with MetaDesign on an almost daily basis each week through Zoom calls. During those meetings, they would review the spreadsheet that they were in, and so on. Then, we would sit in on a quarterly call wherein they would review their progress and show what they have or haven’t done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I only have experience working with a local firm in the past, so I can’t really compare. However, I was quite concerned about using an offshore firm in the beginning. Regardless, it worked out very well, and I was quite pleased. MetaDesign had a far more reasonable price, and their references were better than their competitors. They did a very good job with what they were tasked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I’m aware of or was told about. I checked and got reports from my staff once or twice a month, and they say that everything was doing fine.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I think MetaDesign seems to know what they would have done without our prompting. As I’ve mentioned, their executive and technical personnel came to Halifax and spent several days with us to make sure that they understood the scope and what had to be achieved in the engagement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Design Strategist, An Interior Design Company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire MetaDesign Solutions?

We hired Metadesign to develop a plugin for Adobe Illustrator.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to them to automate some of our workflows in illustrator

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We decided to work with Metadesign because of their depth of knowledge, ease of communication and willingness to guide us through the development process.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We wanted to develop a customized plugin for Adobe Illustrator that automated some of our AutoCAD to Illustrator workflows.

What was the team composition?

The project was led by Amit and his team of developers. Amit was the single point of contact for the project and communicating with him was extremely easy because of his depth of knowledge.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The plugin developed by Metadesign significantly reduced the time to process a drawing in Illustrator.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The entire development process was smooth and convenient. Communicating with them was easy and convenient and they always maintained their deadlines and delivered the project on time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their depth of knowledge and willingness to go out of their way to guide me on the best development practices to test, build and scale a product.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It was a pleasure working with them and highly recommend them to anyone looking for a knowledgeable developer who is easy to work with and can quickly build a sophisticated scalable product.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Learning Outcomes and Assessments and also oversee the development of our E-Learning Technology Platform Development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire MetaDesign Solutions?

After struggling with an in-house development team to build our E-Learning and Assessment Platform for many months, we started a search for external software development and consulting agency. Our platform called Harappa Education is the first of its kinds and is focussed on upskilling young professionals on foundational habits ( soft-skills), through interactive online courses and assessments that measure behavioral change.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a Solutions partner that would help us make the right technology choices and was willing to work with us to meet tight project timelines.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed several agencies and MDS was the most responsive among all of them. Their CEO came to our office the very next day and instead of making a sales pitch offered to help us build our team and provide some solutions to go to market.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We have a full-service engagement with MDS that involves providing a team on a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) model. They also provide us with a team that does Quality Assurance and Testing.

What was the team composition?

MDS provides us with a 6 member team that scales up as and when we need to meet a specific project milestone and we need scaling up.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

MDS has had a significant impact on our project outcomes. They've delivered a go-to-market solution in the span of 6 months when it would have normally taken us a year or more to deliver it.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management has been excellent. We have a daily stand-up meeting with their team

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are realistic about managing expectations. If they say they are going to deliver a release by date, they do it. If they are unable to meet expectations, they inform us. Their deliverables always meet or exceed our expectations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing that we've been able to resolve. We'd like them to improve their documentation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Naehas.co is a SAAS product that provides marketing communication services to our customers. We mainly target fortune 500 companies and support both their Direct Mail and Email communication needs. I work for Naehas in the capacity of managing all their activities at MetaDesign. I am responsible for all the QA activities at Naehas along with responsibility for large parts of the product.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire MetaDesign Solutions?

Challenge We needed to get expertise in working with InDesign -- InDesign was our main environment for doing proofing and creative services. We were using a third party product that was not able to provide us with all the functionality and performance we needed. We also were looking to increase our resource headcount while keeping our costs low. We did not have resources to create and maintain a large set of applications on our platform We needed to create a nimble QA and testing team that would provide the development team with daily feedback and regression analysis along with new feature testing.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to create a high performing InDesign proofing and creative solution that would be responsive and be able to provide the product with running 100,000 proofs daily. We wanted to create tools and applications for PDF annotation, InDesign proofing, InDesign Editing and more tools to help the marketing communication needs. Our technology of choice was Java, tomcat, Angular JS and using open source technologies.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We started by looking for vendors with expertise in InDesign workflows. We looked them up in Adobe developer network and we were interested in setting up shop in India. We found 2 vendors and looked them up using their website and other material. Reached out to the two organizations and talked to them. We found MetaDesign very responsive to our needs and amenable to the way we wanted to work.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We were not looking for a single project or a service. We wanted a long term relationship. We started with one project of InDesign that required 1 person and was a short project. We were impressed with the ontime delivery. We went with a second project and then started with long term relationship where we took a resource full time and started projects with this. The MetaDesign team provided us with design services for these projects to keep the resource occupied. We then kept adding more people on a full time basis. today we have altogether 35+ resources at this location.

What was the team composition?

We started with 1 resource in 2010 and now we have 35. The roles we have are InDesign Devs Java Angular JS, React etc QA Manual Testers QA Automation Engineers Dev Ops

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team has been very effective in adding functionality to our product to get new clients and provide them with services that is critical for our success. We have two dev teams, one in Palo Alto and the other in Gurgaon. The Gurgaon team has consistently proven to be very effective and responsive. We have since moved all our QA and testing of our entire product to the Gurgaon team.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We use slack, JIRA, Hangouts, Confluence and daily calls with the Gurgaon team for all project management. The team was managed by a daily call that I had with the team. We managed by working in both timezones. The team was trained over time to work within our processes and practices. They are now a complete part of our organization.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Hiring was one of the most important part of this relationship. We hired very good candidates and our costs were always kept low. Most new candidates were up and running very quickly. I believe we had the best average cost per person.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is very little to improve. The best way to manage a remote location is to have the management done by you and have a daily meeting.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is MolQ Laboratories. I work as the head of sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire MetaDesign Solutions?

We hired MetaDesign Solutions to develop a web application for our organization.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to get the best possible web design and development service at an affordable price.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them through a Google search.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We decided to work with MetaDesign Solutions for our project because we found their offer appealing. The price point was also affordable, especially considering our requirements. 

What was the team composition?

MetaDesign Solutions assigned designers, developers, and a dedicated testing team to our project. The team lead was extremely thorough. 
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

MetaDesign Solutions thoroughly understood our vision and implemented it correctly. Together, we achieved my goal of commercializing the website. Our engagement with MetaDesign Solutions was fruitful in every aspect.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was excellent. They kept us informed about the project status and sent us updates when they achieved major milestones and whenever else we wanted.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was most impressed that MetaDesign Solutions was able to provide us with around-the-clock support every day of the week. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't have any suggestions for improvement. MetaDesign Solutions is an excellent team of developers. They were perfect.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a company that provides high-quality learning management technology and courses for continuing education.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire MetaDesign Solutions?

We hired them to develop a search engine for a learning platform.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create a high-performance search engine that would cover a large number of courses with thousands of concurrent users around the world.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I’ve worked with them several times in the past decade. 

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

I have worked with MetaDesign Solutions in a number of organizations and a variety of projects, from extending our own development teams to creating new teams. I have pretty much used all of their services: development, SEO, design advice, UI design, prototyping, and QA. We’ve worked with LAMP, Java, .NET, and mobile technologies.

What was the team composition?

I’ve worked with small 3-person teams up to 40-person teams from MetaDesign Solutions. In all cases, they were supported by professional managers with excellent communication and technical skills.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

MetaDesign Solutions allows us to introduce change overnight. I’m impressed with their speed, ability to scale, and depth of technical knowledge.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

This has varied, though our most effective model is to have in-house product managers who have a close relationship with their MetaDesign Solutions counterparts. They effectively become an extended team, taking part in daily stand-ups and other activities.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are dedicated to producing good results. They question your design and often come up with improvements.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Of course, everyone can improve, but I can’t identify anything specific.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Scorace, which is an education app focused on helping 6th–10th graders with math. We have another system, CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), that runs about 50% of India’s school certifications. In our program, we provide content for people in a machine learning environment to help students learn, practice, and test their skills.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MetaDesign Solutions?

From our perspective, children in our region are driven by tests and exams rather than a desire to learn. They study because they feel pressured to pass assessments, not because they are interested in the subjects.

We wanted to create a digital environment for adaptive learning. In this method, students are asked a question and, depending on the accuracy of the answer, the following question will be harder or easier than the first. This helps determine the student’s education level and set out the next step in their learning process. In our software, we wanted to add a customized goal system to that methodology. We needed a partner to help us develop the technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MetaDesign Solutions built a native Android app and a web app using technologies like Java, JavaScript, and MongoDB for transactional needs. Their team developed the platform’s full backend, algorithms, and databases. They also host our application.

Our application has four types of content that include practice questions, multiple choice questions, learning videos, and summary notes. Students can choose to use the learning system on their own or guided by a chatbot, which can lead users through the full adaptive learning method, recommend next steps for each individual based on performance, or answer frequently asked questions. This is the first iteration of the chatbot feature and the MetaDesign Solutions team is currently working on updates based on user feedback.

What is the team composition?

We work with a senior employee who manages three full-time resources and a few part-time resources.

How did you come to work with MetaDesign Solutions?

We already had a relationship with their agency through our other company, so I approached them for this as well.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2016 and the partnership is ongoing. We launched the pilot application in November 2016, collected feedback, and released an updated version to the public in March 2017. Since then, we’ve been making improvements on the original version.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We wouldn’t have a product without the MetaDesign Solutions team’s help. They actively make sure that each update release is properly functioning with minimal bugs. Because we don’t promote the application, our download numbers aren’t very high. We have a channel of mentors who work with students who use the platform. On average, users spend between 20 minutes and an hour on the app. We’re satisfied with the results.

How did MetaDesign Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been a very transparent collaboration. I trust their team to accurately scope their work and schedule timelines. A project manager on our end tracks the project and their contributions using Jira. They work in two- to five-week sprints depending on the size of each task. In weekly meetings, we review our progress and adjust appropriately.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I find their team to be very honest in their work ethic. I trust that they won’t try to cover up their mistakes, but take responsibility for their deliverables. Additionally, I’m impressed with their versatility. The team’s skill set ranges from web development to graphic design, to machine learning technology. I also appreciate their willingness to provide recommendations for alternate technologies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could offer a wider selection of resources and better predict completion dates for projects.

Any advice for potential customers?

I recommend clients stay involved with the MetaDesign Solutions team. It beneficial to personally select resources because they’re consistently transparent throughout the process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Lead Engineer Facilities and Utilies of The J.M. Smucker Co.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to make food people and pets love by offering a diverse portfolio of brands available across North America. We are proud to lead in the Coffee, Consumer Foods, Dog Snacks and Cat Food categories by offering brands consumers trust for themselves and their families each day including Folgers®, Dunkin’®, Café Bustelo®, Jif®, Smucker’s® Uncrustables®, Smucker’s®, Milk-Bone® and Meow Mix®.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire MetaDesign Solutions to accomplish?

• We wanted to have an app to give our customers seamless integration with all our Coffee, Consumer Foods, Dog Snacks and Cat Food system. Our goal was to make our system more self-service-oriented, rather than reliant on a other programs. We also wanted to give them Coffee, Consumer Foods, Dog Snacks and Cat Food programs and new insight through the app. We didn’t have an app, so we called MetaDesign Solutions.

SOLUTION

How did you find MetaDesign Solutions?

Clutch Site

Why did you select MetaDesign Solutions over others?

Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from MetaDesign Solutions were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The scope of work included comprehensive analysis, and development tailored to streamline manufacturing processes. The team exhibited unparalleled dedication, ensuring real-time communication and prompt issue resolution. Key deliverables surpassed expectations, featuring an intuitive interface, robust functionality for order tracking, and seamless integration with existing systems.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The app significantly improved efficiency, reducing production time by 20% and enhancing communication across teams. MetaDesign's dedication to understanding our industry intricacies ensured a tailored solution, optimizing our manufacturing processes. 
The project's success was evident in a 30% increase in overall productivity, showcasing their commitment to excellence. We highly recommend MetaDesign Solutions for their expertise, professionalism, and impactful contributions to our business growth.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team consistently exceeded expectations by delivering high-quality results ahead of schedule. Their proactive approach to addressing our specific needs showcased a genuine commitment to client satisfaction. Their dedication and timely delivery not only streamlined our operations but also reflected their unwavering commitment to excellence. I wholeheartedly recommend MetaDesign Solutions for their exemplary mobile app development services.

What was your primary form of communication with MetaDesign Solutions?

Email or Messaging App

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

The team demonstrated profound industry knowledge, seamlessly integrating manufacturing intricacies into the app's design and functionality.

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

Nope

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are recruitment company specialize in transport industry. We wanted to create a new product and manage existing IT system. My role is CTO at Jobdroid and Drivers recruitment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire MetaDesign Solutions?

Software, web & app design and development. QA and SEO services

What were your goals for this project?

Developing a new product as fast as possible and continue improving it using agile development methodology.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Accessed 3 vendors by giving them test projects.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Designing, development of the web solution & mobile app developer. Vendor was responsible to understand requirement and provide complete solution including documentation.

What was the team composition?

Our team varied from 4 people to 8 people. It consists of API developer, UI developer, Mobile app developer, Tester, Team lead .

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This project helped us to attract more candidates and clients

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We managed project from our end using Jira and daily standup on Skype.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed by the team's professionalism and ability to tackle any complex technical issues/roadblocks. Also good technical solutions provided by tech leads.

Are there any areas for improvement?

communication can be improved for some developers.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the head of operations for Name Stories, a company that creates custom personalized art prints.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire MetaDesign Solutions?

We hired MetaDesign Solutions to develop an Adobe Illustrator automation software in connection with our production process.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal for them was to deliver the solution on spec, time, and budget.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected MetaDesign Solutions after evaluating several firms that each proposed a solution for our needs.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

MetaDesign Solutions worked with us throughout the process, providing recommendations on best practices, prototyping, development, and testing. They set up a cloud environment and currently host the solution, including support on an ongoing basis.

What was the team composition?

We had a team lead who worked with us directly and spoke with other developers as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We use the software on a daily basis in connection with our production process. It reliably performs the exact function that we need it to perform.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our team lead is responsive and available, reliably delivering work products on time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

MetaDesign Solutions is responsive. They know what to do, and they do what they say they will do.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, not that I can think of. We are very satisfied with MetaDesign Solutions.