# Modus Create Modus Create Reviews (19), Pricing, Services & Verified Ratings - 4.7 out of 5 average review rating - 0 connections joined Modus Create's Network [Visit Website](https://moduscreate.com/contact/?utm_source=clutch.co&utm_medium=referral) [Get a Custom Proposal](https://clutch.co/profile/modus-create) **End-to-end product strategy and engineering** Modus Create is a digital product engineering partner for forward-thinking businesses. Our global teams work side-by-side with clients to design, build, and scale custom solutions that achieve real results and lasting change. ## Company Information - Minimum project size: $25,000+ - Number of employees: 250 - 999 - 4 Locations: - Reston, VA (Headquarters) - Cluj-Napoca, Romania - Santa Ana, Costa Rica - Los Angeles, CA - Founded in 2011 ## Services, Focus Areas, Industries, and Clients ### Service Lines - 40% Custom Software Development - 30% Mobile App Development - 10% Enterprise App Modernization - 10% UX/UI Design - 10% Web Design ### Focus Areas - Mobile Platforms: - 70% Hybrid & cross platform apps - 10% Android App Development - 10% iPad iOS App Development - 10% iPhone iOS App Development - User Experience Focus: - 40% User Research - 30% UX Strategy - 30% Usability Testing - Application Platforms: - 35% Amazon Application Development Framework - 35% Azure Platform - 30% Windows server - CMS Focus: - 25% Adobe Experience Manager CMS - 25% Drupal CMS - 25% Sitecore CMS - 25% WordPress CMS - Mobile Focus: - 20% Field Operations Mobile App Development - 20% Financial Mobile App Development - 20% Mobile Commerce - 20% Publishing & Digital Content Mobile App Development - 20% Sales Enablement & CRM Mobile App Development - Programming & Scripting: - 20% JavaScript - 10% Other programming & scripting languages - 10% PHP - 10% Python - 10% SQL - 5% C# - 5% Java - 5% Kotlin - 5% Redux - 5% Ruby - 5% Swift - 5% Typescript - 5% XML - Frameworks and CMS: - 20% React Native - 19% Angular - 13% VueJS - 6% .NET - 6% Django - 6% Flutter - 6% Laravel - 6% NodeJS - 6% Oracle Application Development Framework - 6% Other frameworks and CMS - 6% Ruby on Rails ### Industries - 5% Automotive - 15% Medical - 15% Information technology - 5% Non-profit - 5% Hospitality & leisure - 10% Consumer products & services - 15% Financial services - 10% Media - 20% Education ### Clients - 10% Small Business (<$10M) - 35% Midmarket ($10M - $1B) - 55% Enterprise (>$1B) ## Pricing Snapshot Average rating for cost based on this provider's reviews: 4.2 out of 5 **What Clients Have Said** *(This summary is based on verified Clutch reviews.)*: Modus Create's pricing varies significantly, with projects costing from $10,000 to $1.5 million. Clients noted good value for cost, especially with high-quality deliverables and efficient project management. However, some reviews highlighted issues with billing transparency and scope changes impacting final costs. **Most Common Project Size**: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 12 reviews *(Pricing information for this provider is based on reviews where the project size was available.)* ### Pricing by Service - Custom Software Development: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 4 reviews - Web Development: $10,000 to $49,000 based on 3 reviews - UX/UI Design: $200,000 to $999,999 based on 2 reviews - Cloud Consulting & SI: $200,000 to $999,999 based on 1 review - IoT Development: $200,000 to $999,999 based on 1 review - IT Managed Services: $10,000 to $49,000 based on 1 review - Other IT Consulting and SI: $10,000 to $49,000 based on 1 review - IT Staff Augmentation: Confidential based on 1 review ## Reviews Clutch investigates each reviewer's identity and work history. Every review goes through a rigorous, human-led verification process to confirm the reviewer's identity, and reviews that we verify are visibly marked as 'Verified' so you can trust that they come from a real client. [Learn More](https://help.clutch.co/en/knowledge/how-clutch-verifies-reviews) ### Modus Create Review Insights Overall Review Rating: 4.7 - Quality: 4.7 - Schedule: 4.6 - Cost: 4.2 - Willing to Refer: 4.7 ### Top Mentions - High-quality work (7 mentions) - Timely (7 mentions) - Communicative (6 mentions) - Great project management (5 mentions) - Understands their clients' needs (5 mentions) - Accommodating (4 mentions) - Flexible (4 mentions) - Knowledgeable (4 mentions) - Unique expertise (4 mentions) - Passionate about their work (3 mentions) - Collaborative (2 mentions) - Easy to work with (2 mentions) - Efficient (2 mentions) - Great team (2 mentions) - Proactive (2 mentions) - Well-organized projects (2 mentions) - Exceptional results (1 mentions) - Openness (1 mentions) - Team players (1 mentions) - Translate ideas into products (1 mentions) ### Review Highlights **Positive Impact on Business Processes** The solutions provided by Modus Create often led to significant improvements in clients’ internal processes and operational efficiency. This included reducing administrative burdens and streamlining workflows. **High-Quality Deliverables** The quality of the final products delivered by Modus Create was consistently praised. Clients noted the high standards of the applications, including their functionality, usability, and performance, which often exceeded initial expectations. **Concerns with Initial Contract Clarity** A client mentioned initial discomfort with the lack of certainty in Agile contracts, particularly when it came to budgeting and deliverables. This was a learning curve for clients unfamiliar with Agile methodologies. **Flexibility and Adaptability** Clients appreciated Modus Create’s flexibility in handling project changes and their ability to adapt to new requirements or unforeseen challenges. This adaptability was a key factor in successfully completing projects that evolved over time. **Proactive Problem-Solving** Modus Create was noted for its proactive approach to problem-solving, often identifying potential issues early and addressing them before they could impact the project. This forward-thinking approach was valued by clients. **Challenges with Billing Transparency** One review noted issues with billing practices, highlighting a lack of transparency and clarity around time and material costs. This was a point of frustration for the client, suggesting an area for improvement. **Positive Client Relationships** Clients consistently reported positive relationships with Modus Create, noting their professionalism, dedication, and commitment to understanding and meeting business needs. This led to long-term partnerships and repeat engagements. **User-Centric Design Approach** Modus Create’s focus on user experience and design was highlighted in several reviews. Clients appreciated their thorough user research and the thoughtful design processes that ensured the final products were user-friendly and met end-user needs. **Expertise in Custom Software Development** Multiple reviews highlight Modus Create’s proficiency in developing custom web and software applications tailored to specific business needs. Clients from diverse industries like financial services, SaaS, and healthcare appreciated the personalized solutions that addressed unique challenges such as investment management processes, job board functionalities, and e-commerce features. **Strong Focus on Business Value** Modus Create’s focus on understanding and delivering business value was frequently mentioned. Clients felt that the team went beyond technical requirements to ensure that the solutions provided real, tangible benefits to their businesses. ### Modus Create Reviews #### Custom Software Dev for Contract Research Organization **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development, UX/UI Design - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Nov. 2021 - Mar. 2022 **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) developed a new custom tool for a contract research organization. This included providing UI/UX designs, technical research of integrating with brand new APIs, and QA functional testing. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Senior Director, Contract Research Organization - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 10,001+ Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Mar 31, 2022 **Feedback Summary**: The project was finished quickly and ahead of schedule, and Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) delivered the product without exceeding the budget. They managed the project expertly by setting clear expectations. They also anticipated end users’ needs and focused on the business’ value, keeping everything on track.  "“Everyone was spot on in playing their roles, and that was clear by their timeliness and the product’s quality." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the senior director at a contract research organization.  **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with Promptworks? Our company faced three primary challenges. For one, we needed to replace a legacy tool that didn’t meet our needs and wasn’t built for my team. The tool was also retiring, so we had a fairly short timeline.  As a result, we needed Promptworks to increase the efficiency of our team while delivering services through this tool. We needed them to create a custom tool that could provide us with a proof of concept (POC) for some new directions that we were hoping to go into via our internal initiatives.  **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? Promptworks built the new tool from scratch and did plenty of things in terms of project scope. They initially researched the friction points and challenges that we had with the existing system. This research helped them define the new system they were going to create. The team also conducted a technical study around integrating our system with new APIs that we’d never tested before.  Moreover, their resources also did some UI/UX designs to ensure good usability, vetting the design with end users. During that process, they also brought on the technical architecture and the delivery of the app. They also did QA tests for the app.  What is the team composition? I interfaced with a project manager, a UI/UX designer, and a couple of software engineers.  How did you come to work with Promptworks? Promptworks was recommended to me as a top-notch group to work with by someone in our leadership team. I went ahead and reached out to them, telling them what I needed. They said they could help us, and that was the start of the engagement.  How much have you invested with them? We spent around $265,000.  What is the status of this engagement? The project lasted from November 2021–March 2022.  **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  Our user tests brought up no showstopping feedback, so we were able to proceed with the deployment. As a result, we were on track in terms of timelines. We haven’t deployed the product to all users, but the value that Promptworks provided — they finished the project in just a handful of months — was outstanding. We had a deadline to get off our legacy system, so their fast pace was truly important to me. On top of that, we also came under budget.  How did Promptworks perform from a project management standpoint? They had an excellent project management capability — I was tremendously impressed with the way they managed resources, gathered materials, recorded meetings, and communicated the timelines and budgets. They managed our expectations well all the way through. To communicate, we had bimonthly sprint calls and intermittent emails. What did you find most impressive about them? They had a lot of impressive qualities, such as anticipating our users’ needs, focusing on the value of our business, and keeping us on track and on budget. Considering that they had no background or familiarity with our business, their ability to do these things impressed me to no end.  Moreover, they could develop products fast with value — other teams could also work quickly, but they couldn’t provide value. Overall, Promptworks’ collaboration skills were the best. They clearly had a handle on the agile best practices to accomplish the development project. Everyone was spot on in playing their roles, and that was clear by their timeliness and the product’s quality. Are there any areas they could improve? No, there weren’t any.  Do you have any advice for potential customers? Don’t let Promptworks go before you’re ready to let them go. They’re a small team so you should plan ahead more; don’t give them any downtimes or you’ll lose the continuity of your projects.  For context, since we weren’t able to extend our contract, they’d already reassigned their excellent team to a different project. --- #### Cloud Migration for Financial Services Company **The Project** - Services: IT Managed Services - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: July - Aug. 2019 **Project Summary**: Originally looking to migrate servers, a financial services company hired Modus Create. The team suggested a cloud migration, which they handled entirely, working closely with the system administrator. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Lead Business Analyst, Financial Services Company - Industry: Financial services - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jul 9, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: Internal stakeholders are extremely pleased with Modus Create’s contributions, noting their organization, communication, and proactivity. The team proved their engagement with the project by making recommendations to ensure success. Customers can expect a dedicated, helpful partner. ""They did a great job; I wouldn’t change anything." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the lead business analyst for a financial services company. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with Modus Create? We initially hired Modus Create to help with a server migration. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? Modus Create came on board to move us from Jira to a self-hosted server, but throughout the engagement, they educated us on the benefits of going to the cloud.  Ultimately, they helped us make the switch from the server to the cloud and handled all the data migration that went along with it. They also helped us get all the plug-ins we needed and other things like that. They worked closely with our system administrator to understand the technical requirements of the project.  The whole engagement was fully remote.  What is the team composition? We worked with Chris (Principal Consultant Atlassian Practice), who brought in additional resources on an as-needed basis. How did you come to work with Modus Create? We’d asked for proposals from several companies for what was initially just migrating from one self-hosted server to another. Modus Create dug really deeply, and didn’t just come with a proposal, but with the suggestion to move to the cloud. How much have you invested with them? We spent between $10,000–$15,000. What is the status of this engagement? We worked together from July–August 2019. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  Modus Create’s involvement helped us in a lot of “soft” ways. Being in the cloud has had a significant improvement in our internal processes. The burden of our self-administration being gone is priceless. They also saved us about 200–300 man-hours if we’d done the migration ourselves. How did Modus Create perform from a project management standpoint? They managed the project plan and specs excellently. They directed the whole engagement very clearly and in a very organized manner. We stayed in touch over emails and phone calls, and they were proactive in their communication. We had no complaints. What did you find most impressive about them? It was clear that Modus Create understood our business because they recommended a solution we hadn’t thought about. Their expertise sets them apart. They have a lot of insight and knowledge about Atlassian that others don’t.  Are there any areas they could improve? Honestly, no. They did a great job; I wouldn’t change anything. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Trust that Modus Create knows what they’re doing. They’re looking to provide you the best solution. --- #### Migrating Apps to Cloud & Integration for Events Planning **The Project** - Services: Cloud Consulting & SI - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Nov. 2019 - Mar. 2020 **Project Summary**: An event management company has worked with Modus Create on several projects. The team migrated apps to AWS and created a new housing interface to replace an outdated one. They assisted with the internal team. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Project Manager, Spargo Inc. - Industry: Arts, entertainment & music - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jun 5, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: The team at Modus Create consistently meets expectations and gives excellent results. They're hardworking, skilled, and communicative. They work well with an agile framework.  ""Their team is experienced in their trade." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m a project manager at a full-service event management company. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with Modus Create? We hired Modus Create to assist with migrating our on-prem applications over to AWS. We also had continuous integration challenges with our current software. A bigger part of the project was to create a new housing interface that would replace our existing application. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? I’ve worked with Modus Create for three engagements. The process starts with their senior architect analyzing our needs. They let us know what staffing and the result of the analysis to move the project forward. From there, the work begins. Part of the engagement involves them assisting our in-house team and giving them the tools we need to handle these applications and updates. What is the team composition? We’ve worked with Richard (Principal Architect) every time. We also worked with seven staffers at the beginning of this engagement. Then we cut it down to five and then to two. How did you come to work with Modus Create? About ten years ago, their senior architect worked for another organization that we had an engagement with. I wasn’t involved, but then soon after, that individual moved over to Modus Create. Since we trusted him, we moved over to have an engagement with them. How much have you invested with them? We’ve spent a little under $400,000. What is the status of this engagement? We started this engagement in November 2019, and it ended in March 2020. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We have a new engagement in place with them with a smaller team. Most of the deliverables were completed. Part of this engagement was the migration to AWS, which we achieved. We also create a solution for our continuous integration tool. For the housing frontend, we provided a beta version for a client that requested it. How did Modus Create perform from a project management standpoint? The team is fantastic to work with. They’ve performed well, giving us results. We used JIRA, Microsoft Teams, and Confluence. Since it’s an agile project, we have daily standups and planning meetings twice a week. A lot of them work overseas, so we made sure that there was a four-hour overlap in the mornings so that we could all communicate. What did you find most impressive about them? I haven’t worked with too many other vendors, but Modus Create knows their stuff. Their team is experienced in their trade. From an architecture and skillset standpoint, they’ve been great to work with. Throughout all of our engagements, they’ve guided us to where we’ve needed to be. Are there any areas they could improve? Nothing that jumps out. They’re a pleasure to work with. --- #### Web Platform Dev for Museum & Cultural Center **The Project** - Services: Web Development - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Oct. 2019 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: A museum hired Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) to help develop a solution that connects individuals’ lived experiences with a current exhibition. The team utilized Strapi for the CMS and hosts the platform on AWS. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 4.0 **The Reviewer** Digital Engagement Manager, Museum - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Apr 20, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: Flexible and transparent, Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) has been an excellent partner on a project which has shifted several times. Their thorough user research, technical capabilities, and ability to work around budgetary restraints is impressive. Though the platform hasn’t launched, stakeholders are confident. ""They were able to work very quickly with requirements we didn’t have clarity around until late in the process." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the digital engagement manager of a museum. I’m in charge of connecting the collections and outreach areas of the institution and coordinating digital projects across departments. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? The project was designed as a way to connect people who have lived experience of an important historical moment to our archival collection. It helps people add a layer of gloss to those connections. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? PromptWorks came on board to build a platform to gather recollections from those people to add nuance and detail to the historical record. The platform was online, as the exercise was mostly text-based, and we wanted respondents to be able to type their responses on their computers.   The team used Strapi for the CMS, and the platform is hosted on the institution’s AWS account. What is the team composition? I worked with about five people regularly. On top of that, there were another two to four representatives who cycled in and out as the project requirements needed.  How did you come to work with PromptWorks? They were brought on board before I joined the institution.  How much have you invested with them? The project cost about $250,000. What is the status of this engagement? The project began in October 2019 and is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  One of the first aspects of the project we were really happy with was PromptWorks’ user research before they went into development. They were very thoughtful about the process, and even though it forced some difficult conversations for us about what we had imagined the project might be versus what it was actually becoming, we’re so grateful that research was done, especially early on in the project. It was one of the first deliverables that made me feel really good about working with PromptWorks. They’ve also been incredibly responsive to the fact that the scope of the project was work that our institution had never done before. As we learned more about the users, the requirements have shifted. PromptWorks has been incredibly understanding and flexible about those changes, as well as communicative about what is possible given our budget.  Though the platform hasn’t launched yet, overall, what we’re getting is a final project that really reflects both the user research PromptWorks conducted early on and what we’ve learned about our own requirements. We’re really confident about the platform’s performance once it's ready. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? PromptWorks has been extremely easy to work with. Their communication is clear, and the level of detail in different kinds of communication has always been appropriate. We use Slack and have weekly video calls, as well as email for more formal communication.  Further, as a nonprofit, we’ve had to be very clear about budget. PromptWorks works in an agile methodology, which is something we weren’t familiar with, and we weren’t sure how it would fit into our budgetary constraints. But from the beginning, they were very clear and upfront about what we should expect, which was very helpful for us, especially when I needed to take details back to my leadership team. What did you find most impressive about them? They were able to work very quickly with requirements we didn’t have clarity around until late in the process. That was impressive on its own, but I also really appreciated their ability to be transparent about what was or wasn’t possible for the project. PromptWorks was always able to find a workaround solution, but if it was going to push us outside of our budget or timeline, they were great at being upfront and suggesting an alternative. Are there any areas they could improve? Because we haven’t worked in an agile space before, it was difficult for us to agree to a contract for a large sum of money not knowing what the deliverable was going to look like. As the engagement went on, we got more comfortable, but the lack of certainty at the beginning of the process was something we really struggled with. Do you have any advice for potential customers? PromptWorks is excellent at listening to feedback and any type of communication. Be as honest and transparent as you can, because they’re willing to work with you to deliver what you need. --- #### Web Dev for Enrollment Site **The Project** - Services: Web Development - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: July - Oct. 2019 **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) was hired to develop a website that supported enrollment features for a biotechnical company. Their work included scoping the project, design, and creating a prototype. This review includes the vendor's response. **Review Rating**: 0.5 - Quality: 1.0 - Schedule: 2.5 - Cost: 0.5 - Willing to Refer: 0.5 **The Reviewer** CEO, Biotechnology Company - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Dec 16, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: The site was never completed. Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) was disorganized and uncommunicative, rarely providing project reports. They weren’t transparent about billing, leading to confusion over resources and time spent on the project. ""The project manager didn't track any time for the resources engaged in the project." " **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and your position there. I'm the CEO of an innovative precision medicine implementation company.  **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** For what projects/services did your company hire PromptWorks? We hired PromptWorks to develop a simple enrollment site for us for an upcoming large employer implementation. What were your goals for this project? We needed a website that could educate potential enrollees, walk them through a few questions about their health and then present an enrollment form for them to proceed with the program. **SOLUTION** How did you select this vendor? We successfully used Promptworks several years ago to build a far more complicated application. Describe the project and the services they provided in detail. PromptWorks met with our team to scope out the features required in the website, design the application and build a prototype. What was the team composition? Project managers, UI designers, application developers, and the kitchen sink. Bloated way beyond what the project required. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business? Zero positive impact. PromptWorks never delivered a functioning application. How was project management arranged and how effective was it? Project Management was a joke. There was a PM billed to our project at a very high rate but we were never provided any status reports. The project manager didn't track any time for the resources engaged in the project. She attended the meetings, but provided no value. What did you find most impressive about this company? None. Are there any areas for improvement? The billing practices at PromptWorks are ridiculous. First they quote their projects using "T-Shirt sizes" rather than days or hours - a clear attempt to obfuscate their billing. Even though this was contracted as a Time and Materials project, the PromptWorks team could not provide any details as to the time spent on tasks. They GROSSLY over billed the project and refused months of inquiries looking for justification for their over billing. **Company Response** The vendor responded on February 16, 2020. We are sorry that you (CEO, Biotechnology Company) feel that way. We understood that your colleagues and your customer were delighted with our work. Every two weeks, we demoed working software, enumerated the features completed, the time each of our six people spent, total spend to date, budget remaining, and risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies. You were not in attendance, but your product owner received the information. You can reference everything you said we didn’t track on slide 10 of each sprint deck. At the end, we demoed to you and to your customer and everyone seemed pleased. There were just a few copy changes you wanted to make. It was a tight budget and a very short timeline, but we ended up coming in within 1% of the six-figure estimate we gave you and delivering a completely functional product. Apps should be simple and straightforward for users, hiding technical complexity and guiding them intuitively down the right path. We suspect you aren’t appreciating the mountain of research and thoughtful decision-making that led to that user experience. Simple apps ironically do take a lot more time and people to build; we understand why it may be hard to value that unseen work, especially when you don’t attend sprint demos and planning meetings. We wish you better luck with your next product development partner. --- #### User Experience Research for Education Management Company **The Project** - Services: UX/UI Design - Project size: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 - Project length: Jan. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: After identifying customers’ needs, Modus Create did UX research, developed a mobile app, and trained the internal staff on best practices for an education company. The final React native app supports an LMS. **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Principal Designer, Education Company - Industry: Education - Client size: 10,001+ Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Aug 28, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: The in-house team has been able to use Modus Create’s findings to complete a number of successful projects. Highly experienced, Modus Create goes above and beyond to meet all needs, while their exceptional organizational skills helped them establish a seamless process. This review was updated by the client on May 22, 2020. "“They were on the cutting edge of product design and how it was evolving." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. We're a professional education company. We serve higher education students who are looking to get certified, and we also do insurance licensing and securities in real estate. I'm the principal designer. I manage a team of nine people, and our objective is to make sure that the user experience aligns with our business goals. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with Modus Create? We were looking for a vendor to help us with user experience research. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? First, Modus Create helped us understand what our customers are looking for, their pain points and anxieties. After identifying key performance indicators and what we should be measuring, they facilitated the UX research. They interviewed students, got their feedback, and applied it to the new strategy. They not only help us explore the solutions, but they also do prototyping and use those prototypes to conduct contextual and behavioral interviews with students. What is the team composition?  We work with a UX researcher, a UX/UI designer, and a program manager.  How did you come to work with Modus Create? My boss started a relationship with Modus Create.  How much have you invested with them? We've spent about $1.5 million.  What is the status of this engagement?  We began working with them in January 2019, and the relationship is ongoing.  **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  We're currently building an incremental testing and beta program, which has been successful for our learning management system. We've done some risk projects for our clients, which were also a success. After we deliver a common instructional design for the employees of an organization, their admins can manage risk levels of their students. How did Modus Create perform from a project management standpoint?  They're very responsive. We use Slack for direct communication and we also use email after regular business hours. On the planning side, we do a lot of sprint planning, and they make sure we maintain a backlog of work. What did you find most impressive about them? They're committed to ensuring the success of our business. They provide top talent when it comes to removing the risk and waste of production from design. Also, they're passionate about what they do. Are there any areas they could improve? One opportunity for them is to help our organization prioritize our own work based on our needs. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Based on the goals that a business has, Modus Create can help prioritize work. It's better to have those discussions sooner rather than later. **UPDATED REVIEW** This review was updated by the former executive director of product engineering at the client company on May 22, 2020. New content is below: BACKGROUND Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the former executive director of product engineering at a large education company.   OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE What challenge were you trying to address with Modus Create? The team was to build a mobile app for a learning management system (LMS).  SOLUTION What was the scope of their involvement? They started off with a project kickstart, during which they brought in product specialists and designers to take us through the process for the project. That gave us a strong direction and some general wireframes. From there, that developed into an engagement centering on an educational mobile app that would help coach users through the CFA certification exam. The mobile app would supplement our main LMS product. The team also redeveloped that system for content and delivery.   Over the course of the project, we updated our tech stack from .NET and PHP to React.js and React Native. Their team also helped train our internal team on best practices for future development work. That helped us adjust to the learning curve in-house. There were also some cloud-based DevOps tasks involved in the production of the solution.  What is the team composition? In total, their team was composed of about 20 people. That includes React engineers, PHP developers, designers, a UX researcher, two project managers, and mentoring resources.  How did you come to work with Modus Create? I came across them after running a Google search for React developers that were recognized thought leaders in the field. It was essential that they understood the importance of UX in a mobile app. Their website was very compelling, and they had the right idea of what we needed.   How much have you invested with them? We spent between $2.5–$3 million on their services.  What is the status of this engagement? The first phase of the project lasted from July 2016–January 2017. The second phase of the project is currently underway.   RESULTS & FEEDBACK What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? The final product was high-quality and fully-functioning. It significantly improved operations. The professionalism of the technology department notably improved due to their team. I even received a leadership award in our field for it. While there were a few bugs that popped up after the initial launch of the app, their team took care of them quickly. They understood that I didn’t have much experience in mobile application development and were willing to consult on issues and roadblocks. How did Modus Create perform from a project management standpoint? They were strong communicators through Slack and Jira. When they knew they’d be unable to meet an upcoming deadline, they’d immediately alert us of those potential delays. We wouldn’t have been able to move things along so quickly without a partner like them. What did you find most impressive about them? Through this effort, I was trying to create change within my organization through upgraded technology and improved product quality. They understood the importance of quality UX and had the manpower to meaningfully augment my team. Their understanding of customer values and a streamlined product development process was incredibly important.  They were on the cutting edge of product design and how it was evolving. We leapfrogged the competition when it came to product design due to their work.    Are there any areas they could improve? When it was clear that one of their team members didn’t understand what we needed from them, that resource was taken off the project. --- #### Development for a Fashion Brand **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Nov. 2018 - June 2019 **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) helped develop two applications for a clothing subscription company. Using Vue.js and Kotlin, they built customer-facing and operational infrastructure from the ground up. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Director, Fashion Brand - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 10,001+ Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Aug 8, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: The quality Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) provided met hard guidelines, and they delivered within a strict timeline. They took time to understand the business needs, and they managed expectations well. They were agile, well-organized, and communicative. "“Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) has a strong team, and they really are leaders in the industry.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. We are a clothing subscription rental business that recently launched. I'm the director of engineering and am responsible for all our engineering and development needs. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? All the customer-facing and operational technology was built from the ground up. As we created all the apps and infrastructure, we brought PromptWorks in as an expert partner to help us build out those structures. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? Their primary role was in a customer-facing application. We have an ecommerce site that allows customers to subscribe to our programs. That application has options for users to manage their account, communication preferences, notifications, and subscriptions. We also use a suite of internal applications for marketing, distribution logistics, and customer support. They also helped build both those applications. The frontends use Vue.js and JavaScript, and the backends uses Kotlin. What is the team composition? I worked with a team of about seven people, led by a project manager. How did you come to work with PromptWorks? We looked for a partner who could help us build this app. We preferred to work with a local Philadelphia developer to facilitate face-to-face conversations as needed. PromptWorks was highly rated, and their team has several prominent tech leaders. We felt they'd be the best partner we could hire to help us. What is the status of this engagement? They've finished the first phase of the application, which ran from about November 2018 to July 2019, but we're in a planning stage for the next phase. They're not working actively with us at this time, but we'll work with them again in the very near future. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We have a strong culture and hard rules for the quality of our code. We also tracked the speed and accuracy of their deliverables. Not only did they build the application, they converted requirements into implementations. They understood our business needs, and they worked within a strict time frame. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? As a team, they're extremely well organized. They knew exactly what they were delivering, and the level of communication was high. They kept us informed, and they were highly collaborative. Expectation management was strong, and we always knew where they were in the process. What did you find most impressive about them? PromptWorks has a strong team, and they really are leaders in the industry. Their agile methodology and their management make for well-organized projects. Are there any areas they could improve? I don't have any negative comments on their work. Any project like this requires some balancing at the beginning, but they worked through any issues quickly. I'm very satisfied with their work. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Take advantage of your initial meetings with them. They work hard to understand your requirements, and their project plans echo back what your business needs. Those steps are very valuable, and they will lay a groundwork for the success of your project. --- #### IT Services for Evidence Analytics Company **The Project** - Services: Other IT Consulting and SI - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: Feb. 2019 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: Modus Create integrated Jira and Confluence into a production environment for a service that manages electronic evidence for law firms. This process was to streamline the services the organization provides. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 3.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CIO, Modus eDiscovery - Industry: Legal - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — May 20, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: Internal feedback on the tool has been positive. Modus Create’s attentiveness and responsiveness were highlights. They explain business processes effectively. Their skilled approach supplemented their professional management style. ""I appreciate the expertise that Modus Create brought to the table." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the CIO at Modus eDiscovery, an organization that manages electronic evidence and performs analytics for law firms and corporations. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with Modus Create? We hired Modus Create to integrate Confluence and Jira into our production environment to manage our web infrastructure, which is a web database application that protects information security for both commercial and FedRAMP. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We manage quite a bit of infrastructure for the software as a service we provide our clients. The Jira and Confluence integration would help execute that work and processes. Modus Create conducted that implementation for our team. What is the team composition? Chris (Product Manager & Atlassian Expert, Modus Create) is our main contact. How did you come to work with Modus Create? I googled them. How much have you invested with them? We’ve spent about $20,000 so far. What is the status of this engagement? Our engagement began in February 2019. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We’ve been tracking the success of the internal product. Our executive management and staff have been impressed with their ability to develop meaningful processes. There are many functionalities and features built into the software. If a person isn’t skilled in technology, it can be like walking into a brick wall. Chris listens to our business needs. We can describe to him what we’re trying to accomplish and he’s able to immediately interpret that in the best way. Chris advises us on how to build our business processes as well as how to make our product fully functional. How did Modus Create perform from a project management standpoint? Their project management is outstanding. What did you find most impressive about them? I appreciate the expertise that Modus Create brought to the table. Their attention to detail and responsiveness is all noteworthy. Are there any areas they could improve? I can’t think of anything that would be helpful to another client. Do you have any advice for potential customers? I would advise clients of Modus Create to rely on their ability to interpret business needs and translate that into Atlassian processes. --- #### Web Dev for Live Auction Platform **The Project** - Services: Web Development - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: Oct. 2018 - Apr. 2019 **Project Summary**: Modus Create enhanced a web-based cattle auctioning platform with new features such as live video broadcasting and mobile compatibility. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Owner & CEO, Roundup Internet Livestock Marketing - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — May 17, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: The quality solution differentiates services from competitors. They had a keen ability to understand project objectives and develop a solution accordingly. The client-oriented team responded quickly and professionally to any stakeholder requests. ""They worked very effectively in a short amount of time." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the owner and CEO of Roundup Internet Livestock Marketing. We are a web-based platform for marketing and selling cattle. Users can purchase and sell cattle on a listing page, and sellers can also advertise their cattle via a live auction functionality.  **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with Modus Create? We had an existing live auction on our webpage, but we wanted to incorporate video streaming and make the feature available on mobile devices. We also wanted to enhance existing functionalities, such as the audio performance of the live auctioneer.  **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? They analyzed the legacy solution and addressed our needs in various meetings. After producing a functioning solution, they fine-tuned it according to stakeholder feedback.  What is the team composition? We worked with three team members, including Drew (Director, Modus Create) as the project manager and two offshore developers.  How did you come to work with Modus Create?  I’ve known one of their employees, Drew, for a long time, and he recommended the company to me. He’s done work for us in the past and was familiar with the outcome we were looking for. How much have you invested with them? We’ve invested $30,000 so far. What is the status of this engagement? We began working with them in October 2018 and launched the solution in April 2019. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. The product is superior to anything that has been built by our competitors, and the value for the cost was really impressive. I’m still communicating with the team, and their service is excellent. How did Modus Create perform from a project management standpoint? They worked very effectively in a short amount of time. Besides maintaining communication with the project manager, I was also able to contact the developers at any time and receive a timely, professional response. They formed a positive relationship with my company. What did you find most impressive about them? As one of their smaller clients, I was extremely impressed by the high level of service we received. The quality of the product was great, requiring very little changes after the first iteration. Are there any areas they could improve? I don’t have any complaints or suggestions. They were great. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Potential clients should clearly define the project scope and objectives at the start of the partnership. --- #### Communications Tool Dev for Transportation Company **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Sep. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) is building a communications tool that will connect an in-house team with the clients. They also managed the discovery process and helped develop the functionality. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CEO, ShuttleBee - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jan 7, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: The tool is sustainable long-term and the in-house team is impressed with the quality of work. Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) goes above and beyond to meet all needs, while their responsiveness and professionalism earned them favorable referrals. "“They helped us prioritize the objectives that were most important to us.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I'm the CEO of ShuttleBee. We organize group transportation for kids. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? We needed a vendor to help us build a communications tool that would allow our team and our clients to stay connected. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We had a strong idea of what we wanted to build based on our needs and the research we had done in the field. We went through a discovery process with PromptWorks and we were able to bring in our stakeholders who would be using the tool in different ways. PromptWorks did a fantastic job of navigating that information and developing the functionality. After we had a better idea of how to move forward, we started the development phase. What is the team composition? I have one main point of contact, but I also interact with 2–3 other members of their team. How did you come to work with PromptWorks? We went through an RFP process and looked at nine proposals. We selected PromptWorks based on their reputation and their ability to work locally. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with them in September 2018 and the relationship is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? I was impressed with their discovery process, which helped us keep the project on track and build a tool that is sustainable long-term. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? They're exceptionally responsive, so we didn't have any issues. What did you find most impressive about them? We had a few objectives, but we were not sure which objectives would require the most number of resources. They helped us prioritize the objectives that were most important to us. Are there any areas they could improve? I can't think of anything. Do you have any advice for potential customers? I recommend bringing stakeholders into a discovery process. Also, we benefitted significantly from the in-person meetings. --- #### Backend Development for Financial Application **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: June - Dec. 2017 **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) completed Ruby on Rails development for a financial services performance management tool using provided wireframes. The MVP included heavy use of data sets and a payment system for customers. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Founder, Hubble Financial - Industry: Advertising & marketing - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jan 24, 2018 **Feedback Summary**: By establishing a flexible collaborative relationship, Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) created a working environment that was both pleasant and effective. They were willing to allow other team members to be involved in editing the code, and their fantastic project management skills served the project’s timeliness. ""Overall, it was a seamless, easy, and quick process collaborating with them." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I am the founder and CEO of Hubble Financial, which is an information technology company that provides performance management software tool for the financial services and insurance industries. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? I needed a software development firm to build out the backend for the application that was to be our end product. Thanks to my coding background in data science, I was able to build a lot of the data sets that were then deployed into the application, but I needed a team of people to develop the software, particularly the ongoing payment system for my customers. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? With my background in Ruby on Rails, I was able to build a skeleton of the application. On my own, however, I was only able to complete two percent of the end goal, so I engaged PromptWorks to build a complete minimum viable product. They took the wireframes I created and expanded upon that using Ruby on Rails, as well as HTML, CSS, and jQuery. Some of the services we used to complete the work included Heroku, GitHub, and PostgreSQL for our relational database, as well as Amazon Web Services and Strike. What is the team composition? I worked with about three people from their team. How did you come to work with PromptWorks? When I was living in Philadelphia, I came across Jason Garber [COO, Promptworks] during a localized search for a separate project. I just really liked both him and his approach to software development, and it was important that I find someone in the mid-Atlantic region with whom I could discuss the work face-to-face. What is the status of this engagement? The project lasted from about June to December 2017. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? The one big measurable impact that they had was completing the MVP and allowing my company to have a working product to sell. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? We had weekly check-ins to go over the backlog of items that we had to complete. They were very good about allowing me to prioritize what they completed first, and then they would set out their schedules for all tasks being discussed. I appreciated their consistency in telling me ahead of time what their various estimated times of completion would be, and they were always able to deliver within the deadline. They were just fantastic to work with. Their employees are very easy to talk to and are good at conceptualizing what it is you are trying to communicate, which makes for a straightforward collaborative experience. What did you find most impressive about them? They were very flexible in our working relationship, an arrangement that was inherently unusual because of my experience with coding. Because I was going to be involved in writing the code, I think there was likely a certain amount of concern that my ability to assist in that work would ultimately take away contract revenue from them—which was likely true. But, they knew that going into the engagement and agreed to work with me anyway. That was important to me because I wanted to be able to contribute to the project and be able to learn intimately about the end product that we were developing. Overall, it was a seamless, easy, and quick process collaborating with them. Customers are buying my product and my business is profiting, all of which is a testament to the good quality work provided by Promptworks. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Be very clear at the outset about what you want from any collaboration, and spend a lot of time prior to the start of a project figuring that out before you begin development. This is true for any contracted work, not just with PromptWorks, and it is vital in order to avoid frustrating your partners and to prevent the project as a whole from taking far more time than necessary. --- #### Modernized Platform for Arts & Entertainment Business **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: Aug. - Sep. 2017 **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) modernized an existing app, beginning with an audit before refactoring its code-base. System upgrades create the potential for monetizing downloadable content. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** VP, e-Business & Strategic Operations - Industry: Advertising & marketing - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Nov 30, 2017 **Feedback Summary**: A cleaner code resulted in an improved experience. Conceptualizations and executed deliverables reflect sophisticated awareness of niche functional requirements. Productivity, accuracy, and timeliness are consistently on-target. Expect dedicated customer service with customized solutions. ""They bring the right tools for the right job." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I am vice president at a sheet music company, which operates in publishing and music education. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? We acquired a content management system and portal – which is a Python-based tool for digital sheet music – and subsequently needed to transition to a new vendor due to limitations. We required an external team with Python expertise to modernize the platform. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? The first stage comprised a 1-month code audit to standardize documentation. The previous company built the tool but did not document its functions and structure properly. Subsequently, we initiated a 2-week discovery phase. We provided them with: user viewpoints, use cases, empathy maps, etc. They then submitted a proposal based on this information. The proposal revealed the project’s vast scope. Due to our time and budgetary constraints, we compartmentalized the project into 2-week units. The team did code refactoring over a 6-week period in order to modernize the Django and Python systems. These upgrades were based on findings from the audit. The upgrades resulted in a cleaner and more stabilized code without many forward-facing changes. That process supports our business plan to self-manage the tool going forward. Moreover, we moved into another discovery phase to build out the tool as a portal for music publishers; but we haven’t executed anything yet. Currently, the tool renders sheet music into an image-based format, but we are working with them to sell other downloadable content. What is the team dynamic? During the discovery phase, we had a business analyst, two developers, a UI specialist, and a scrum master. For code refactoring, the team shrunk to one business analyst, one UX specialist, and one developer. Our current backend project requires a business analyst and a senior developer. More staff aren’t needed because there’s no interface aspect to it. The company assembled these teams as our needs changed between phases. Their business analyst interviews us to determine which colleagues to assign. For example, we had a strong Python developer during code factoring, but now the team includes someone with Amazon S3 expertise. How did you come to work with PromptWorks? Our search initially target 5 companies, but we quickly narrowed it to 2. The team’s agility fit well with our own in-house operation. Furthermore, they’re also based in Philadelphia. Proximity was plus as I prefer face-to-face communication in business. How much have you invested with them? We spent $100,000. What is the status of this engagement?   Work started June 2017 and is on-going. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? The structural improvements are not conducive to measurable results. Qualitatively, the tool runs better with its cleaner code. New UI features may yield data at a later date. Their productivity and accuracy are consistent. Deadlines and budgets are consistently on-target. Due to their agile operation, the team hasn’t missed a step as we continually refine our budgets and timeframes. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? They bring the right tools for the right job. We use GitHub for source code management and another digital tool to share user stories. They produce weekly test reports that have “pass/fail” stats on finished user stories. The CEO and COO were involved early in the engagement. The executives’ interest demonstrated that they valued our relationship. They included a developer at meetings to ensure that the eventual hand-off – after we established mutual trust – went smoothly. We’ve had the same project manager since then. What did you find most impressive about them? They efficiently learned our niche market position with music educators and professionals. Their efforts may have not been unique, but were very well-done. Are there any areas they could improve? No, because they were flexible and easily adapted to changes we made with the scope. Hats off to them. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Do it agilely. Do not go for waterfall project management. --- #### Product UX Design for B2B Startup **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: May - July 2017 **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) redesigned the frontend and UX of a B2B sales application, improving the customer experience, refining the features, and increasing the ease of functionality, all within a tight timeframe.  **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Founder - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Oct 13, 2017 **Feedback Summary**: The new user interface is much easier to navigate, receiving positive feedback from users. Though the work ran into the upper end of the timescale estimate, it was completed in to the highest quality in effective weekly sprints, with regular meetings to review the progress, and good communication.  "“We were on the same page throughout the engagement.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. We have a B2B sales application that matches vendors with sales professionals. I’m the founder. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? At the time I engaged PromptWorks, I had a developer on staff and one who had yet to accept my offer. We had pretty much built the application to get it ready for launch. Neither of us had much experience with UX [user experience] or with design, and the more I kept reviewing and testing the product, the more uncomfortable I became with the way it looked. It worked perfectly, but my feeling was that this wasn’t the perception we wanted to give people. I started thinking about bringing someone on to help us with the product. We ultimately engaged them to put a new design and frontend framework on the product that we had built. We had a fully functioning prototype and needed them to refine the customer experience. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We talked them through the application we had built and showed them its functionality. Then we started talking about the timeline and they estimated 4–12 weeks, but I wanted more precision. We narrowed it down to 4–8 weeks depending on what comes up and prioritized the features. We had to leave out some features that we built from a backend standpoint and based on that, we moved forward. We decided to more or less cut most of the vendor side of the application. We focused the scope of work on the sales professional side. They took us through sort of a step-by-step process where they helped us document what we called user stories or features. For the product and the business to really even function, assuming we’re doing all the legwork for the vendors, the sales professional has to operate autonomously which is why we focused our efforts there. What is the team dynamic? There were 2 people on the team who we worked face-to-face with a lot of times. In terms of their technical ability, they were top notch developers and designers.  How did you come to work with PromptWorks? What tipped the scales in their favor was something on their website, where it says they make their space available to clients to do some paired programming and side-by-side work. We have an office which is about 4–5 blocks away from theirs. Since we had a very aggressive timeline, it was good that they were a few blocks away and were willing to make their space available. That way if any questions arose or they needed us to review something, we were there. How much have you invested with them? We spent $44,000 on the total project. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with them in May 2017, and the project was completed 8 weeks later in July 2017. I keep in touch with them, for example, if we might need additional features. They are available. I wouldn’t have a problem working with them again if it were the right situation. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? People that see the product like the design and say it looks really nice and professional, particularly for an MVP [minimum viable product]. That's what my goal was. Before we used them, we had a product that was fully functional and could be used, but from a user interface standpoint, it just looked primitive. It’s hard to say if our increased traffic is directly related to the new design because we didn’t make any effort to attract users or to market it prior. However, I think their work is certainly a part of it. Right now, our focus has been less on getting more users and more on getting the right users. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? There were a couple of hiccups along the way, which is what turned 4–8 weeks into 8 solid weeks. A lot of that was to be expected. You can only plan for so much at the outset and then you learn some things as you’re going through and you have to adjust accordingly, which has an effect on the timeline. I don’t blame them for that. I think that’s just a natural part of the software development process. We communicated using email, phone, in-person, and Slack. They really knew what they were doing. They were able to grasp our business and what it is that we were looking to do very quickly. We hit the ground running. They were very good from a technical standpoint. As you’re going through the process and you’re testing things, there’s always bugs here and there. They fixed them and everything’s been very clean. As far as the work goes, I have nothing but great things to say about them. What did you find most impressive about them? One thing I liked was their close proximity to us. The communication was great and we were regularly in touch. We went to their office several times a week, depending on what was going on. Every Friday morning we had a weekly demo set up in their office. We made it a point to be there in person. We’d go over the week's sprint and plan for the upcoming sprint. We were on the same page throughout the engagement. Are there any areas they could improve? The only thing that I didn’t like, and I’ve expressed it to them, is the billing on a time and material basis. It makes it difficult to wrap our head around what the budget looks like. I told them I understand why they do it that way because there is the unknown element in these projects. However, I went into the relationship with the expectation of spending between $20,000 and $30,000, and it came into over $40,000. I really don’t feel like there was any scope creep or anything that really ballooned out of control along the way. I told them they are not doing this any worse or any better than anybody else, but I think at some point they need to use their experience and expertise to narrow that range a little bit so people could take comfort in it. --- #### Staff Augmentation for Healthcare Tech Firm **The Project** - Services: IT Staff Augmentation - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Feb. 2015 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) augmented staff to build two platforms with Python and Flask APIs, as well as data pipelines with Jenkins, Luigi, and scikit-learn. They also used Python and Pandas for data validation/engineering. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CTO, Health Care Tech Firm - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Aug 7, 2017 **Feedback Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) strove to understand the platform's purpose, and consistently communicated. Their Agile coaching was thorough and precise, which ultimately aided in the company’s transformation. Their clarification, drive to excel, and expertise continues to help the product reach its full potential. ""They're trying to help us build and grow our platform, which is what you need when you're a startup."" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the CTO and one of the founders of a B2B technology platform that developed an engine to generate personalized health insurance recommendations to fit consumers’ needs. We have about 20 employees, and we’re located in Philadelphia. We’ve streamlined the purchase of health care by capturing a consumer’s basic demographics, then feeding this through our machine learning models to predict costs at an individual level. We then compare this with insurance policies in order to recommend an ideal product. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenges were you trying to address with PromptWorks? We look at health insurance as an analytics problem. Consumers have trouble understanding insurance policies and forecasting what their healthcare usage might be. At the same time, insurance companies are designing new and innovative insurance products. Our platform is meant to solve these problems. We hired PromptWorks for a team augmentation strategy. We needed talented developers to help us rapidly extend and develop our platform. PromptWorks collaborated closely with our engineering teams to help galvanize some initiatives and collaborate with us on a very tight-knit basis. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? PromptWorks worked side by side with our software engineers on our two main product lines. One line is a recommendation engine that helps senior citizens navigate Medicare. We have another line focused on commercial insurance, which is health insurance you might get from an employer or Obamacare. PromptWorks helped us on the commercial product line and worked with our developers on many different things, including API development with Flask and Python. They also used Jenkins, Luigi, and scikit-learn for the work on our data engineering pipelines. Additionally, they helped with some data validation and data engineering work, which was done with Pandas and Python. Our platform is HIPAA compliant, and although we handled most of the security policies and guidelines internally, PromptWorks was certainly collaborative in the process. What is the team dynamic? PromptWorks contributed 2–3 people for our team, which consisted of about 6–8 people in total. Currently, we only use one of their team members because we’ve hired full-time staff. They use pair programming, and although they weren’t always on site, they were in the same city. For many of the Agile ceremonies, they’d come to our offices for retrospective meetings and sprint reviews. We were flexible in day-to-day locations, but they were in our offices more often than not. We had an assigned project manager, and account lead who was our main contact throughout the entire engagement. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with them in late 2015, and the relationship is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? PromptWorks aided us in some Agile coaching and transformation workshops. We had experts come in and help us enhance our skills, which was really helpful for our company. It was a great partnership because they'd already had visibility into our processes. They had some thoughts on where we could improve, and helped guide us on ways to execute the transformation within our company. It was a very thorough, month-long engagement. My experience with PromptWorks has been completely different than ones I’d had with other outsourcing firms. They have better communication skills, and they possess a willingness to truly understand the business we’re in. They make sure the products reflect an understanding of our company. They were engaged in understanding and creating requirements, as well as helping identify things that needed further clarification. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? We communicate through Slack. We do video hangouts, and we’ve also been using Highfive for video conferencing. They are very amenable to using whatever tool we prefer. Their founder is available via phone if I have any concerns or questions. The business relationship also works well due to being partners. What did you find most impressive about them? PromptWorks is a great partner for multiple reasons. As a CTO, I’m always concerned with the quality of the underlying code. They have seasoned engineers, so I felt comfortable that we were making the right decisions in terms of how we laid the foundation for our platform. The software-is-craft ethos is something both companies share, and their approach to test-driven development testing aligned well with our organization. They were willing to excel when we had deadlines to meet. There's a mutual respect for what each company brings to the table. They're really trying to help us build and grow our platform, which is what you need when you're a startup. Their founders are more well-known in the Ruby community, so there’s a perception that they are primarily a Ruby on Rails shop. However, they have many polyglots at their company, which has been a great benefit for us. Some of the best Python developers I’ve seen in Philadelphia are at PromptWorks. --- #### Integrated Product Ecosystem Developed for Datacolor **The Project** - Services: IoT Development - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Nov. 2016 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) created native SDKs to integrate a Bluetooth-connected color-measuring device with mobile versions and cloud-enabled apps. They now focus on discovery workshops and maintenance. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** VP of Consumer Solutions, Datacolor - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 201-500 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — May 12, 2017 **Feedback Summary**: Since the cohesive solution’s launch, new sales opportunities have quickly approached $1 million. Modus Create's (formerly Promptworks') rapid development process, attention to detail, and problem-solving abilities continue to promote a competitive product system.  ""[Their] people aren't just developers ...[they] also rapidly learn their client’s domain."" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. We are a 70-million-dollar technology company that makes instruments and software for the management of color in supply-chains for the paint-and-coatings and apparel-and-textile industries. We also have devices for photographers and designers that give accurate colors for their displays and printers. I am the VP of consumer solutions for the company.  **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenges were you trying to address with PromptWorks? We’ve developed a new device that allows painters, architects, and interior designers to measure colors that are related to the nearest one in a fan deck. We call this product Color Reader Pro, and it’s a Bluetooth-enabled device that operates in standalone mode through an OLED [organic light-emitting diode] display. We had a partner who was going to develop a mobile app for us, but that didn’t work out.  **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? PromptWorks produced wireframes and architecture, a timeline, and a cost spec. We produced Android and iOS native SDKs [software development kits] that could interface between our device and the mobile app. A part of this also involved a cloud-based solution that integrated with the wider app system through a custom API. We used a rigorous Agile process; if a story we chose required mobile-app elements and communication to the cloud-based app, both items would be worked on during a two-week sprint. PromptWorks also used a tool that allowed them to use the same code for the iOS and Android platforms. There were four pieces to our puzzle: interaction between the connected device and the mobile app, the mobile and cloud-based apps themselves, and the interaction between the mobile and cloud-based app. It was a sizeable project and was delivered on time and pretty much within budget. The mobile app allows users to measure a color on the wall and display the top-three nearest choices for the identified color. It allows the user to create a palette for their ceilings, walls, and so on. If the user has multiple fan decks stored on the mobile app, they can download those into the connected device, much like someone would load songs on iTunes, and see how much space they have left and how long the download will take. We’ve further enhanced the app to allow users to share their palettes with friends and stores, perform basic color coordination schemes, identify complementary colors for their existing schemes, and display the fan decks. The product is targeted towards paying companies and their networks of end-users. PromptWorks assigned one UX designer, one senior developer, one regular developer, and a business analyst. Most of the UX was designed upfront, so after that portion, our designer moved off. I was the executive sponsor on our side, and we had a QA team engaged throughout the process, as well as product managers and a developer. It was a sizeable engagement, but the interaction was limited to sprint demos and planning once every two weeks. I performed backlog grooming with our business analyst in order to make sure priorities were set right. How did you come to work with PromptWorks? A colleague recommended that I go to Clutch.co and do a search there. I used the site’s filters in order to find a local partner in the Philadelphia to New York City corridor, as well as one who had experience with connected devices. I identified three or four companies, interviewed them over the phone, and proceeded to visit Jason [COO, PromptWorks] and the team. I made the decision to have a discovery workshop with them. It was a fixed-fee two-week process during which PromptWorks collaborated with our business owners and developers, basically scoping the strategy and implementation of the mobile app from top to bottom. It was an eye-opening and enlightening process for our company. We gave PromptWorks the project as a result, which entailed the development of a mobile app that would connect to our device. How much have you invested with PromptWorks? The discovery workshop had a cost of $10,000. With that, we received a 40-page presentation. The project itself was scoped at $225,000, which gave us a fully functioning product that we’re proud to sell. It satisfies 80% of our customers’ needs. We spent a bit more on PromptWorks’ services for extra features we wanted to incorporate. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with PromptWorks in November of 2016, after the discovery process. The first version that we could put in the hands of the sales team was delivered in late February of 2017. We then developed a hardened package for stores, which was delivered in mid-March. Both apps are live on app stores, and we’re taking our first orders. Since the beginning, we’ve executed two additional discovery workshops. One is for the next major version of the current mobile app that PromptWorks developed for us for our lower-end consumer devices. The second workshop will focus on a different flavor of the device, one designed for quality-control measurements for businesses. It’s an entirely new app working with the same device and SDK. In addition to this, we retain a certain number of hours per month with PromptWorks for maintenance.  **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement? We’re at the beginning of our sales processes. The new product is our first true mobile app, and it’s also our first venture into the internet-of-things. Most of our instruments are high-end analytical devices which need to sit on a benchtop and cost $30,000. We’ve seen an absolutely enthusiastic response from our sales team, which is made up of 150 people worldwide. We track every opportunity and customer visited using Salesforce. We’re now close to $1 million in new sales opportunities for the next six to nine months. We want to grow the business from a white piece of paper to around $20 million in sales, but we’re still within the launch-plus-one-month stage. We don’t have many app-store reviews, bug rates, or sales metrics. We only took our first order yesterday. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? I sit on the management team of data color, and what’s turned our heads has been the speed of the process. We no longer think in terms of 18-month software cycles but rather three or four months. Secondly, the process brought by PromptWorks has been impressive. Everyone talks about Agile and Scrum, but, when they’re really lived and performed with a partner like them, it generates a level of excitement with the team that is truly noteworthy. PromptWorks’ people are not just developers but also quickly learn the client’s domain. When we’re looking at a story, and their developers have questions about it, they can go to our applications people, who have 20–30 years of experience. We’re talking as equals, and PromptWorks’ people are very quick studies. The way in which they’ve solved issues for some of our designs has allowed us to map out our business processes simply and have PromptWorks come back with wireframes. This is truly innovative and exciting to us. They get it and propose solutions that are delighting us as well as our customers. We used PromptWorks’ internal tools, including a working backlog and a repository. Each story has feature points, and we have lines for sprint ends and launch dates. Everyone on PromptWorks’ team understands what each story is, and our platform is also a good tool for setting priorities. Beyond that, we also receive a weekly report which includes a burn rate, software-quality metrics, and completion percentages for each story and sprint. I track it quite closely since I don’t like feature creep. My philosophy is to keep it simple and figure out what doesn’t need to be done. We use GoToMeeting for weekly sessions. What did you find most impressive about PromptWorks? I have some experience with third-party providers, and one of the things that’s been helpful about PromptWorks is they have very skilled business analysts for driving the project, beyond simple project managers. During discovery workshops, we worked with high-level strategy and small details. We were solving a hard, complex problem, but, through two working sessions, we were able to come out with a beautiful spec and wireframes. I didn’t think it would be possible. The care and attention showed by PromptWorks in our original estimates are another distinguishing factor. They put in the right amount of time upfront and managed the project within the timeline and budget. PromptWorks kept a consistent team that quickly developed domain knowledge. We’re trying to integrate them as much as possible. Are there any areas PromptWorks could improve? Every once in a while, we will encounter a topic with a lot of swirl. They have passionate people, but I don’t appreciate looking too far into any small detail. It’s not a serious criticism, and it’s true for our side more than PromptWorks’ side.  --- #### Website Development for IoT Home Safety Startup **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: Dec. 2015 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) was hired to build mobile- and cloud-based solutions. Their involvement led to further dev and design work.  **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Vice President of Software - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Aug 18, 2016 **Feedback Summary**: Strengths include an exceptional talent pool made readily available and a thoughtful approach characteristic of boutique agencies.  ""We're normally pressed for time, but Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) has delivered on time and with great quality." " **BACKGROUND** Please describe your organization. Our company is involved in the Internet-of-Things home automation field. Our first product was a smart battery that was specifically designed for fire and smoke detectors. It's the same size as a normal 9-volt battery, but it detects when an alarm goes off, sending a notification to the user's mobile phone. Then some time later, we launched some fire detectors, and we're currently working on water leak detectors. What is your position? I am the vice president of software. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What business challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? Before we could launch our product, we needed to create a number of integrations with other service providers like IFTTT, in order to expand the services that we can offer. **SOLUTION** Please describe the scope of their involvement. The first job that PromptWorks did for us was very quick. We were stressed for time, but PromptWorks moved very quick, told us what to do, and led the way. We've used them on a number of projects since then. PromptWorks has developed mobile apps for us and helped with cloud software implementations as well as integrations with other services. In total, we've worked with five people from PromptWorks during the course of our collaboration. At this moment, we have a three-person team: two full-time and one part-time resource. How did you come to work with PromptWorks? We got in touch with IFTTT and discussed how we could integrate their service. Their interface was quite complicated, so we asked them if they knew of any companies that could help us with the integration. IFTTT recommended PromptWorks, which led to our first interaction. Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms? The total cost of PromptWorks's services has been between $150,000 and $200,000. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with PromptWorks in December 2015. We have an ongoing relationship, using two full-time, dedicated resources from PromptWorks. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement? PromptWorks has been a huge help for our company. I'm quite impressed with their ability to make estimations and with the flexibility shown by PromptWorks. We're a startup from a financial point of view and in terms of speed of delivery. We need some flexibility from our partners, which PromptWorks has shown. They were always available when we needed to work a bit harder and have charged us through a flexible model. Our first job was very small while the second one was much larger. It all goes back to the most important thing, namely that PromptWorks is a very skillful team. I'm very impressed with their technical knowledge, and we've been able to learn from PromptWorks going forward. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? The assignments we've had with PromptWorks were fixed-price. They were completely within budget. We're happy with PromptWorks's way of working with us and their performance. PromptWorks works as an extension of our team. We agreed upon milestones, and then they would conform to them. PromptWorks has used our internal project tools, including JIRA for issue tracking, and GitHub and Parse. What distinguishes PromptWorks from other providers? PromptWorks has been able to come in, take on the work, and teach us during the process quickly. We're normally pressed for time, but PromptWorks has delivered on time and with great quality. PromptWorks is a young company, and it's clear that their ambition is to build on competency. They have a thorough interview process, and it has been clear to us that PromptWorks's team is made up of very smart people. I've worked with other contracting companies that offered high-level engineers, but they seemed to focus on volume. I never got this impression with PromptWorks. Whenever I ask for additional help, I can be confident that the resources assigned to me will be good people. Is there anything PromptWorks could have improved or done differently? Not at this moment. --- #### User Interface Design for Global Technology Firm **The Project** - Services: UX/UI Design - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Mar. 2014 - Mar. 2016 **Project Summary**: Using Ruby on Rails, Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) designed a custom UI for a cloud-based solution. At the conclusion of the project, the team learned new technologies in order to develop more features. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Project Manager - Industry: Advertising & marketing - Client size: 5,001-10,000 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jun 3, 2016 **Feedback Summary**: Modus Create's (formerly Promptworks') employees showed continual dedication to their task and displayed a great amount of technical skill. The direct involvement of leadership throghout the partnership ensured fluid and effective communication. Overall, the project was a great experience.  ""Having the principals involved in the projects from the beginning in overseeing the work stood out."" **BACKGROUND** Please introduce your business and what you do there.  I work for a large business group. It has a cloud engineering team which is developing a platform similar to Amazon Web Services, but with an angle towards managed services. Our business model is aimed towards medium to large businesses looking for IT outsourcing. Instead of having one or two virtual machines that a developer might use, we focus on bigger businesses that are looking to outsource their entire footprint into the cloud. I was the project lead for the department during our engagement with PromptWorks. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What business challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? We needed to build a UI for our platform, which is where PromptWorks' services came in. The skills didn't really exist here within our company and since this was going to be a short-term requirement, it didn't make sense for us to spend the time and money hiring someone here.  **SOLUTION** Please describe the scope of their involvement. PromptWorks developed the user interface for our cloud platform with the use of Ruby on Rails. They also provided software development for a few other pieces of our solution. At its peak, the team from PromptWorks consisted of 10 people. This included software developers and one designer. At its smallest point, it featured 2-3 people. The numbers fluctuated over the course of 2 years, depending on the workload. I acted as project lead. Our approach was to be embedded with PromptWorks instead of being remote. I worked out of their office for a year and a half. We ran an Agile scrum team and had an interactive process. How did you come to work with PromptWorks? We were looking for a company that would allow us to embed ourselves into the development team in order to provide an easy transition when we'd need to take over the project internally. We were one of the first clients which PromptWorks had. A colleague of mine knew one of their founders, but we also went through a request for proposal process with numerous vendors, small and big. One of our key requirements was for a local company. PromptWorks was also based in Philadelphia, which was an important factor. We were also looking for someone who would become heavily involved in the process, alongside ourselves. We didn't want to simply hand the work off to someone else. Price-wise, all candidates were relatively similar. The engagement wasn't designed to have PromptWorks deliver a software. We were using them as additional resources. The contract was written with the ability to embed ourselves in the team. Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms? I don't have this information. We paid PromptWorks on a weekly basis, based on the number of developers we were using from them. What is the status of this engagement? We've worked with them for around two years. The project was completed in March of 2016. We're not working with PromptWorks at the moment. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement? One of the things which I appreciated about PromptWorks was that they were always on-task. The developers were committed to what they were doing and I was never worried about needing to babysit them. Even though I was embedded in the team, they were given X-amount of work to do within a week. I had confidence that they would get it done and we'd receive test coverage. PromptWorks' team considered different aspects of the system and I was able to be relatively hands-off during the process. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? We used the Atlassian toolset for project tracking, including Jira. Most of our communication involved talking face-to-face, but requirements and documentation were tracked through Jira. We used an Agile board through which the current work was communicated and we had daily standups. What distinguishes PromptWorks from other providers? Having the principals involved in the projects from the beginning in overseeing the work stood out to us, compared to other small and medium-sized companies. It was a good approach from an organizational and management perspective. PromptWorks' principals were very visible and answered any questions or concerns which we may have had. PromptWorks also did a good job of hiring talented people, especially in the case of a couple of their senior developers. They were good, took charge of the project, and had innovative ideas. This would have been hard to find if we hired people internally. Is there anything PromptWorks could have improved or done differently? When we started the engagement, we hired PromptWorks for their expertise in a certain area, namely Ruby on Rails development for a UI. The project progressed to a point in which we switched technologies. We continued working with PromptWorks on items for which they didn't have the expertise, either in terms of programming language or the platform itself. There was a lot of ramp-up time from our perspective as well as that of PromptWorks. We were almost paying them to learn something while they were working on it. It was fine, but had we gone for a company which had the expertise, things would have probably moved faster. We liked PromptWorks and we were comfortable with the relationship, so we maintained it. They moved up to speed quickly, but we lost some time because of the transition. --- #### First Functional Prototype for Computer Software Company **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Jan. 2014 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: Using Ruby on Rails, Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) developed a functional prototype of a talent management product. Their team supplemented core developers during front- and back-end development. **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** President & Head of Product, Software Company - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Apr 21, 2016 **Feedback Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) provided a truly personalized solution and built a fruitful partnership. The team showed an ability to work effectively with third parties and key stakeholders during the deployment process. Their flexible approach to project management ensured smooth handling of any issues. ""As we received more demand from clients, they made sure that we'd have the resources we needed."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your organization. We develop software solutions for the executive recruiting and general management spaces. Our customers are executive search firms and search agencies as well as venture capital and private equity firms. We help them manage their talent networks and hire candidates for their portfolio companies. We have a traditional talent tracking system with more functionality on the collaboration side, in order to share profiles easier.  What is your position? I am the president and head of products within the company. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What business challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? I needed a team that could help us grow into a larger company. We launched our product a year ago, after working with PromptWorks and other teams months prior. I also hired an interactive agency for helping with the design of the platform. We just didn't have the resources or expertise to complete all the work ourselves, so we relied on a series of partners. **SOLUTION** Please describe the scope of their involvement. PromptWorks has acted as our back-end development resource. They worked in collaboration with our design agency. The platform was developed using a mix of technologies. PromptWorks is mostly a Ruby on Rails shop, which has been the language on which most of the code was built. We've used many other technologies, from React.JS to JavaScript, CoffeeScript, and CSS. At peak capacity, we've used four developers from PromptWorks within a month. At the start of the project, we were using two to three people, scaling the number up or down depending on the project. We've scaled back resources a little bit because we have internal developers, but we will be using them for a large upcoming project. We don't want to divert far away from our core. Supplementing our team with developers will best serve our client. Version 2 of our product was developed with the help of another agency. I've hired several developers overall that have been integrated into the process. We currently have in-house as well as contracted developers.  How did you come to work with PromptWorks? I found them online. I was considering building an application on top of Heroku, which was bought by Salesforce in 2010. PromptWorks was listed as a possible vendor for Heroku app development. They're also a local company, which motivated me to link up with their team further. Their co-founder mentioned that he had worked on projects that were very similar to ours, from a back-end standpoint, in terms of being able to track candidates through different stages. We ended up not using the Heroku platform. We needed a more robust solution, so we're currently on Amazon Web Services. What is the status of this engagement? We've been working with their company for two years. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement? When we started our work, PromptWorks was a small company. I took a risk in using them because I felt comfortable with the people running the company, especially Greg Sterndale. He not only acted as a founder, but he helped us get the project off the ground by working as one of the developers. As we received more demand from clients, they made sure that we'd have the resources we needed to make real progress. PromptWorks put a project manager in place for us, which was nice. I could only do so much in terms of working with a vendor. They've done good, clean work. They're very passionate about having clean code and not hacking around in the system as opposed to other vendors. It's been a positive partnership. We've hit a few bumps in the road, but there was never anything drastic. We were always able to figure things out. They were proactive in addressing anything that didn't work right by rotating developers from the work and reassigning the right people to it. For example, they've given us people specialized in commission software algorithms, front-end mobile development, and so on. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? I see their company as a development resource for us. I've worked with other big, interactive agencies that have dedicated project people. PromptWorks is more hands on. I would suggest that anyone working with them make available a product manager internally. Their team is great at doing back-end work. Project management and quality testing fall into my lap. I work with another person in testing all the work provided by PromptWorks. We also write the feature stories for them to work on. Excepting the one project in which we've needed an extra management resource on their end, I haven't had much experience in this sense. We use Pivotal Tracker for project management. It allows us to write different feature stories and put them into a backlog. The completion of each story can be estimated using a point system. It's a nice way of giving a developer the story, documentation, user persona, and attaching different mockups and screenshots. Interaction is made easier this way. We use Slack as a group chat in order to talk about features with developers quickly. I'm sure that PromptWorks uses many other internal tools. What distinguishes PromptWorks from other providers? Their tagline revolves around the ability to build handcrafted solutions. Not all developers have this kind of approach – libraries are shared and reused and many sites are built on standard platforms like WordPress. Also, many companies advertise the concept of a platform as a service. We had a platform like this, which had been built on a HelpSystems solution. It was not flexible and, overall, it was a bit of a mess. The developers that build on these platforms are usually not as good. They rely too much on the system to help them write code. On the other hand, when building something from the ground up, we could customize it and connect it to our vision. Is there anything PromptWorks could have improved or done differently? We've had issues with project management at times. PromptWorks had something in place, but it didn't work for me. I had a better experience of working with their team directly, rather than having someone come between us. The person assigned to us didn't have a clear understanding of the project. We've resolved the issue by working directly with the developers. I used to go to their office on Tuesdays and Fridays and work from there. We came to integrate our teams, and they were very accommodating in making sure that our internal resources received training and experience with senior developers. We appreciated this openness. We had particular issues with one developer, but that person no longer works there. His replacement has been great. Sometimes, an individual won't be the right fit, but we've always had open conversations about getting the right resource.  --- #### Rails-developed Site for Market Development Firm **The Project** - Services: Web Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Nov. 2017 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) developed a Web-enabled platform to provide information to building owners to make energy efficiency decisions. This included backend work and database configuration to provide regression analysis.  **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** President & CEO - Industry: Advertising & marketing - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Apr 12, 2016 **Feedback Summary**: The product developed by Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) has been received as a breakthrough tool in the industry. A deep talent pool and responsive management ensured that the project was a success. Their backend methods reduced output error by 50%, and they continue to provide improvements and updates.  ""Modus Create (formerly Promptworks) is in it for the long run and they want the end product to be successful."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your organization. We are a marketing development firm running programs for clean energy companies. What is your position? I am the chief executive officer of the company. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What business challenge were you trying to address with PromptWorks? Part of the work that we do involves identifying barriers to market penetration for clean energy products and services. One of those barriers was a glitch in the sales process. There isn't enough financial information given to building owners when they want to upgrade the energy efficiency of their buildings. With the help of PromptWorks, we developed a web-enabled platform with an intuitive user interface for the purpose of removing that barrier. **SOLUTION** Please describe the scope of their involvement. PromptWorks developed our solution with the use of Ruby on Rails, which was the technology they recommended. Greg Sterndale [cofounder at PromptWorks] was our primary point of contact during the process. He brought in the different resources needed for our project and kept things running in order. We used Google Docs during the collaboration to manage and track certain tasks and deliverables. How did you come to work with PromptWorks? They used to be located in our building, so we were already familiar with them. We did originally consider other companies, but I liked the approach and thoughtfulness demonstrated by PromptWorks. They have a great talent pool there with very reliable and responsive management. Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms? The total development cost so far has been $72,000. What is the status of this engagement? They've been working on upgrading our platform and creating subsequent versions of it during the past two years. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement? We've not kept track of quantitative metrics. Our solution was developed from scratch, and we are still making an effort to get it out into the market and obtain large-scale customers. PromptWorks definitely helped us in terms of bug reduction. They came up with great methods of qualification on the back-end of the model. It's a financial model for which they employed statistical resources from Harvard for regression analysis. They came up with many expert insights for us during the actual development phase. The output error was reduced, from the method we were previously using, by 50 percent. People have thought that our solution is a breakthrough tool in the industry. They're excited to use it, and we've had a small group of testers already. Overall, the reaction has been extremely positive. How did PromptWorks perform from a project management standpoint? Very well. We haven't had major issues on that front. They have an excellent team that understands the importance of transparency and consistent communication. What distinguishes PromptWorks from other providers? I have not worked with other providers for software development in the past. I evaluated other companies and saw that many vendors are run out of India. This would not have gotten us the level of customer service provided by PromptWorks. They're tuned into the project and act as part of our team. They help us achieve every goal that we set. I don't simply feel like they're an outsourced software developer for our company. They serve actively as another member of our team. PromptWorks is in it for the long run and they want the end product to be successful. Is there anything PromptWorks could have improved or done differently? They're almost always available when we call, so communication and responsiveness were never an issue. In the beginning, PromptWorks provided a very good interactive designer for us. That person developed the graphical user interface for the tool, which turned out fantastic. Unfortunately, this person is no longer with us. PromptWorks has other designers in-house, but they should make an effort to attract other resources of that caliber to their company. --- ## Portfolio & Awards ### Audi Business Innovation “Render Studio Pro” is a cloud-based application to create marketing assets for global marketing managers and agencies. The tool introduced significant cost savings by replacing an expensive third-party SaaS tool and provided teams all over the world with the ability to easily and independently produce high-quality images and videos for Audi and Lamborghini campaigns. ### Fitness Genius Fitness Genius started with an idea for an application, but struggled to make that idea a reality. Modus assisted in idea development by performing industry analysis and customer validation for product-market fit.  After building an MVP, Modus consultants used design sprints to validate the idea in front of real customers before building the final product with full-stack engineering. Our Modus Kickstart process, full stack engineering teams, and customer experience expertise helped Fitness Genius go from an idea to a viable digital product.  ### UNIQLO Uniqlo, one of the world’s leading clothing brands, was looking to continue global expansion via mobile eCommerce, providing a dominant direct-to-consumer engagement channel. As a partner, Modus helped architect, design, and build an updated application for mobile eCommerce. Modus teams also increased the adoption of Agile best practices within the IT  organization. Modus’ world-class team and process brought the application to market faster than expected. And, the success of the project led to wider adoption of Agile processes within Uniqlo. ### AARP The national non-profit was planning a large-scale software platform project that had yet to get off the ground after a couple years of research and planning. AARP needed to discover the most impactful Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and get it into the market. Modus Create augmented the existing research with original customer interviews, competitive analysis, and customer personas. With an elevated understanding of the customer, we collaborated with the client to plan out and deliver an MVP. Through this engagement, Modus and the client found an underserved user base that provided the optimal launching point for their platform. By using Lean validation techniques, user interviews and digital tests, we planned and designed an MVP that is positioned to be successful in the marketplace. Modus has been brought on to develop the MVP and is developing it currently. ### Hobsons Education (Now PowerSchool) Modus helped Hobsons migrate from a 10 year old infrastructure to a responsive framework, including mobile support. The migration improved security with an update to their PHP backend including security scanning and penetration testing. In addition, Modus led a migration from an on premise data center to AWS to improve cost structure, support scale, and enable innovation. ### Kaplan Modus rapidly delivered an app on new platforms and modeled Agile transformation for Kaplan, helped build next-gen learning tools, led and coached customer experience and design sprints, and implemented personalized learning and analytics. Modus consultants also evaluated the company’s entire tech portfolio for future state, landscape, organization alignment, acquisition, and investment priorities for the C-suite. After the portfolio audit, the C-suite has a clear understanding of current state and roadmap for future technology investments. ### Burger King Burger King asked Modus to increase brand engagement and transform the ordering process with a mobile application. Our mobile Front-End engineers built a white-labeled eCommerce solution that integrated with multiple POS systems, allowing for mobile ordering, geolocated store finding, and access to rewards. Our work helped the organization harness the power of technology to increase customer and brand engagement, raise store traffic, and generate greater revenue.  ### Motion Industries Motion Industries wanted to solve lagging revenue with a new mobile eCommerce platform. Modus provided a Modus Kickstart to design the UX, architecture, and requirements for an application. Based on the learnings from that proprietary process, Modus teams planned and delivered a mobile companion to their website running on HTML5. The new application made it easier for customers to order online and led to an increase in yearly revenue. ### Marriot We worked with Marriott to internationalize their Traveler site for Latin America. Our modular design approach gave them the flexibility to publish region-specific content. The site was such a success, other Marriott teams asked to repurpose modular components for their own content sites. ### PBS Video Portal The PBS digital product team was looking to increase engagement and viewership with a mobile video platform. Modus provided the PBS team with engineering and design support, and delivered a fully responsive application usable across desktop, tablet, and phone. The application increased user engagement for PBS viewers by enabling easy video streaming across devices. ### Bright MLS Modus used evidence-based design approaches to highlight pain points within Bright MLS’ member app and Agile methodologies to deliver a more usable experience. The improved customer experience increased eliminated substantial call center costs, improved throughput to core users, and renewed the organization’s belief in user experience as a competitive advantage. ### Transeo We conducted exhaustive security and infrastructure assessments to provide both tactical and strategic deliverables. The engagement helped Transeo minimize cybersecurity risks, optimize server costs, create documentation, and introduce Infrastructure as Code in the organization. This helped them prepare their infrastructure ready for future growth and improve their overall security posture.  In a rapid 3-week engagement, we were able to remediate over 25 vulnerabilities and set the company up with a platform to scale long after our engagement ended. ### Industry Recognitions - DCA Live Red Hot Companies 2021 - FlexJobs Top Companies for Remote Work 2020 - Entrepreneur 360 2019 - Great Place to Work Certified 2022 - Washington Business Journal Fastest Growing '18-20 - Inc. 5000 2015-2022 ## Key Clients - Audi ## Packages ## About the Team ### Our Story Our leadership team brings decades of experience in digital transformation, engineering, and business strategy. Together, we’re building a culture where creativity, accountability, and technical excellence drive every decision. ## Locations (4) ### Reston, VA (Headquarters) - 12100 Sunset Hills Road, Suite 150 - Reston, VA 20190 - United States - 76 - 100 employees - Phone: 8557217223 ### Cluj-Napoca, Romania - Str. Mihai Veliciu, no. 17 - Cluj-Napoca 400394 - Romania - 10 - 15 employees - Phone: 400786887444 ### Santa Ana, Costa Rica - 2nd Floor, Plaza Koros, Av 3 - Santa Ana 10901 - Costa Rica - 10 - 15 employees ### Los Angeles, CA - 12130 Millennium Dr. - Los Angeles, CA 90094 - United States - 2 - 5 employees ## Contact Modus Create [Send a message](https://clutch.co/profile/modus-create) ### Connect on Social - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/modus-create-inc/) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/moduscreate/) - [X](https://twitter.com/moduscreate) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/moduscreate/)