Monterail

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder of chickpea. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

We were looking to develop a nonprofit app that would crowdfund a solution to world hunger.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Monterail put together a comprehensive scope. Once we approved it, they created the application; both front- and backend development and design. We’re still in the beta phase of the app, and it hasn’t been released to the public.

What is the team composition?

There are 5–10 people working on the project: front- and backend developers, frontend designers, and an account manager.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

They worked with another company I was involved with. They were amazing on that project, so I wanted to work with them for this one.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in June 2019, and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a customer, we're very satisfied with the work they’ve done. It seems like things worked with only one test run, which is rare. We hope that once the app is launched, world hunger will be impacted.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

They're great and ask the right questions. Communication is primarily done via Slack, but we also email as needed. We have weekly calls with the team. Overall, they meet deadlines, but if they’re unable to do so, they communicate that to us ahead of time. There are times they inform us they will be done ahead of schedule, as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their QA and testing of functionality are wonderful. Their development, the way they look at things and build apps, is amazing and their accountability is also outstanding. For example, about a month into the project we came to realize that a lot more needed to be done to get the project where it needed to be than they had originally estimated. They took full responsibility and said they would finish as promised as well as take any additional cost.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I feel a bit overwhelmed at times by the number of questions and involvement required of me. It’s not things I really expected them to handle, just a lot on my plate that I didn’t realize would be there.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask a lot of questions upfront and try to be as prepared as possible to help streamline the project. Expect to be heavily involved and be ready to answer a lot of questions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Bluevogel. We’re in the sales acceleration space so we allow people to send personalized or tailored emails faster. We’re similar to a mail merge, but more personalized.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

We were, at the time, a team of three: my co-founder and I, and an internal developer. We were looking for a team that could build the software from scratch for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we initially went with them, we had some front- and backend code in place, so they did an audit and determined that it wasn't very functional. They started from scratch and genuinely built out every piece of the software. They’ve done the front- and backend development and set up our systems, which run on Amazon Web Services. They’ve also taken on development operations as well. They’ve basically been the entire I.T. department for the company.

The tool itself is entirely browser-based, and works with Mail Gun, our mail server. It allows users to create the content of the message, through a text editor called Summernote, and upload a list from Excel, which is supported by an API integration.

What is the team composition?

We had a dedicated project manager and worked with two developers on the backend and one on the frontend. We also had a QA resource, as well as a floater who would do design work. There was also a salesperson available to answer any related questions.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

My co-founder did some internet research, and may have actually found them on Clutch. Monterail was pretty highly rated, and we ultimately decided to go with them after reaching out to several companies.

Prior, we had been working with a Boston-based company, because we were concerned about communicating with an offshore firm, but we hadn’t had the best experience. This time, we looked for someone in our general price range and we were geography-agnostic. Another big thing for us was website quality, since we were a web-based company. Monterail’s website gave us the most confidence, and then speaking to them on the phone solidified that choice.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $70,000-$90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September to December 2017, where they delivered the beta version. We’ve continued to fix bugs and add additional features since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a few hundred people sign up, and have had 30,000 emails go through the platform. They exceeded our expectations in what they were able to build. It didn’t scale quite how we had hoped, but that isn’t a reflection on Monterail in any way. We’ve had some success and we’ve seen benefits, even for ourselves as users. From a business standpoint though, we just weren’t able to drive it forward.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

They used the Scrum methodology to work through the project, and we communicated over Trello and Slack. We also had weekly calls through Google Hangouts, and during the brunt of development, those happened multiple times a week. Sometimes we spoke with just the front- or backend developer, but other times it was the entire team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication really stood out to us, which was probably our biggest hesitation in going with an outsourced firm. The open line of communication, using the combination of Trello and Slack, and really sticking to the weekly calls, allowed us to forge a great relationship, and a really good friendship, with their team and the developers on it. We obviously didn’t work with everyone over there, but the people we did interact with did fantastic work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don't think so. There were certainly things where their lack of experience in the sales acceleration space slowed things a little bit, but that's something we saw with other companies we’ve worked as well. I don't think it's a reflection on them at all.

Any advice for potential customers?

The location of a company doesn’t end up mattering as much as you think it will. As long as the company has good communication, which Monterail does, you can get a great product out there. In terms of working with Monterail, remember that they know how to do things, and that they’ve been doing it for a while.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of a company that builds technology to help users find retail products that fit their individual requirements. For instance, a jogger, a DJ, and a gamer could each use our platform to find the best headphones for their respective needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

Having written the initial codebase ourselves, we hired Monterail to scale up our offering and speed up development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve helped develop the complex React.js frontend of our web application. It features a responsive design that adjusts for differences in desktops and mobile devices. We also have an intricate Ruby on Rails backend. We use Amazon CloudFront and EC2 to scale the platform and host Elasticsearch.

We partner with publishers and utilize questionnaires tailored to particular product categories. We embed custom assistant components based on the product type—fitness trackers, headphones, juicers, etc.—and this requires a machine learning component to pair individual users with relevant content. The platform monitors the effectiveness of those suggestions for future adjustments.

In addition to human-based questions, the platform collects as many data points as possible, while also taking semantic data like user reviews into account. Suggestions also consider pricing, comparing results against a number of retailers.

Every question compiles the expertise of authorities in each product area to determine what factors are important for individual users. When a user selects a product, they can see a set of scores against all relevant options in our database.

What is the team composition?

We work with five or six people on average, though the team size varies depending on our needs. They provide a project manager, frontend and core-app developers, and infrastructure experts.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

I did extensive research on offshore vendors, and we ended up focusing on Ukraine and Poland because companies in those countries tend to specialize in Ruby on Rails. We eventually ruled out Ukraine because of its greater time zone and cultural differences.

I researched a number of Polish vendors by reading Clutch reviews and conducted Skype interviews with every candidate. After narrowing the list to five, my co-founder and I traveled to Poland to meet each vendor in person.

Monterail exhibited the ideal combination of technical expertise, professionalism, and flexibility. While the other companies seemed more focused on their own bottom line, we found Monterail’s team to be highly personable and interested in our success. They were also a decently-sized company with a broad skillset and the ability to scale up if needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around €450,000 ($550,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2016 and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a range of metrics related to conversion and engagement rates, all of which are very positive. Around 80% of users interacting with our questionnaire go all the way through, which is a very high engagement rate for our industry.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m a very hands-on person, so I’ve played an active role in management. While they typically use Jira, we rely on Trello since I prefer its lightweight, visual approach. We have a number of boards and process items into a completed task board, with each column representing one week. We use Slack heavily for communication and met in Poland during the initial stages of the project.

Monterail’s team is efficient, reliable, and works to maintain our specific processes. They inform us of any changes in staff or upcoming holidays. Plus, they’re willing to work with us on costs to account for the exchange rate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Monterail’s founders are understanding, conscientious, and passionate, and these traits have permeated across their entire company. They care about our success and make us feel like partners, rather than clients. I also appreciate their inclusive atmosphere. We’ve worked with a nice balance of both men and women.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re responsive and take proactive steps to address any minor issues that arise. We couldn’t ask for more.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Visiting them in Wroclaw can be a positive and beneficial experience. The team is hospitable, and a face-to-face meeting can help build a strong relationship moving forward.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a software development and consulting startup. We provide accounting solutions for leasing companies, banks, and other financial institutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

We needed frontend support to highlight our API for clients. We had an existing interface, but lacked the in-house resources to expand it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our clients tend to be visual learners, so we needed a more market-oriented solution. We provided interface specifications and discussed priorities for the coming months. Monterail then worked closely with us to develop an add-on for our API that allows administrators to manage tokens.

What is the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager who conveyed our priorities to a developer and a tester. A fourth individual was in charge of code reviews, and an additional programmer was assigned when we needed to speed up the project. Szymon (Co-Founder, Monterail) also got in touch occasionally to ask if we had any concerns.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

I saw them mentioned on Twitter in connection with the Vue.js framework. Their skillset matched our technology stack, and we were also impressed by the fact that in addition to delivering our software, they also take an active role in contributing to the open source community.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between €35,000–€40,000 ($43,000–$50,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2016 and the collaboration finished in November 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They provided us a fully functional frontend for our sales and marketing. Through the application, we are able to demonstrate the value of our software in a visually appealing manner.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

We had difficulty outlining the project, but Monterail helped us find solutions, bridging any technology gaps. We communicate through Slack, GitHub, JIRA, and video calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re transparent and communicate frequently. They’ve also been flexible enough to scale with our needs and budget.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had a brief pause between the first and second phase of the project. During this time, one of their programmers left, meaning we had to onboard a new developer when we started the project back up. Still, the process was quick and she ultimately did a good job.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to have a detailed plan when working with outsourcing companies. The project would have gone smoother had we realized this in the beginning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m CEO of a startup that’s making a technology platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

Our team didn’t have the technical competencies to build a minimum viable product (MVP) on a limited budget. Speed to market was also essential; we wanted to introduce the product in short order. We needed temporary offsite talent while we looked for in-house software development resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our multi-tenant web platform needed to be mobile-compatible. Collaborative coding ensured that the design supported sophisticated algorithms; they weren’t the only ones writing code. We also requested a backend built on Ruby on Rails and a React.js frontend, so that we’d be using a technical stack that would be relevant in the market while we looked for talent.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, one frontend engineer, and one backend engineer. A designer worked in the early stages on an ad hoc basis.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

We found them on Clutch. We liked that the company and their engineers were quite active in the development scene, were contributing to open-source projects, and had visible work samples. It was easy to get a feel for what they’d actually manifested in the market before. Plus, the price point was competitive with everyone else in their sphere.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in May 2017. We transitioned completely to in-house engineering in mid-January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They met the launch deadline and delivered a mostly functional MVP.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was one of their strongest suits. While we spoke with the project manager daily, beyond that, they were extremely communicative and responsive. They reacted quickly when problems arose, always acting appropriately. Using Jira to track progress and Slack for quick communication helped immensely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The senior leadership’s responsiveness was phenomenal. The CEO reached out when we experienced some issues, asking what they could do differently. Subsequently, the team made adjustments in short order. As one of their smaller accounts, we appreciated that effort.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re on the East Coast and they’re in Poland. We anticipated logistical challenges, but still had problems despite their accessibility on communications platforms. This issue was the biggest only because their quality of work, organization, and tools are already strong. They should align working hours to their clients’ schedules. However, such a change might disrupt the employees’ work/life balance, potentially making them less competitive as an employer in a highly competitive field.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They produce better products with clear and standardized requirements from the client. Thorough instructions will help bridge the language gap.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a web software company developing a resource management tool for small and medium businesses, allowing them to establish resource allocation for customer projects, look at the utilization and profitability of their teams, and understand who is available for new jobs. The company was started in 2014.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

We are a small web shop, and we were looking for additional technical skills in order to increase the development team. The labor costs are particularly high in Switzerland, but we needed a good partner for developing our solution within good quality standards.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted a partner for the frontend development, as well as some components of the back-office elements. Our solution was built with Ruby on Rails and AngularJS. These skills are particularly difficult to find in Switzerland.

Our CTO managed most of the project. From what I remember, Monterail assigned one team leader who oversaw the progress of our work, as well as two or three technical people in charge of the day-to-day work. We also had a part-time project manager from Monterail.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

What really impressed us was the ease of doing business with Monterail. I was able to get in touch with their founders quickly, and found that they were truly interested in the project. This was not just another job for Monterail—they really wanted to understand what we were trying to achieve, and what our company’s vision was. From that point, it was easy to do business with Monterail. We had a lot of confidence in them, and our CTO was able to ask a number of qualifier questions. We gave Monterail a try, and expanded their involvement after the initial success.

How much have you invested with Monterail?

The cost of Monterail’s services was around $15,000 per month, for a five-month duration.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Monterail in January 2015. The project ended in May 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The only reason for not continuing the work with Monterail after our five-month project was that we had a change of strategy. We were a part of a bigger company which has been acquired, so we’ve had to stop Monterail’s services.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

Monterail’s approach was to our satisfaction. We were able to leverage web-conferencing tools as well as GitHub and collaboration software in order to collaborate efficiently, despite Monterail’s remote location. We had virtual standup meetings every morning.

Monterail didn’t put an emphasis on charging us for every additional hour spent on the work, and they were always willing to go the extra mile. We appreciated this, since they were really willing to dedicate themselves to the work without necessarily looking at the cost. Monterail ensured that what was delivered was up to our quality standards.

What did you find most impressive about Monterail?

Monterail was always willing to go the extra mile. They were growing as a company, and were keen to put their new junior staff on our project, but we weren’t charged for them. That was a part of Monterail’s investment to ramp up those resources and onboard them. We would have expected to be charged even for those, but Monterail was very accommodating in this sense.

Are there any areas Monterail could improve?

It would have been nice to get reports on where we stood in terms of progress.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Chiaro Technology manufactures hardware and software products for women. We pinpoint problems in women’s lives and build a product to solve that problem primarily focusing on wearable technology. I’m the CTO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Untitled Kingdom?

We needed an app development resource, but we didn’t want to hire anyone in-house at that time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We went to Untitled Kingdom with a prototype, and the scope was for them to bring an iOS and Android product to market in a collaborative effort. The app connects with a Bluetooth low energy device with real time feedback. We were able to complete the project in 7 months. Once the product was on the market, we continued using Untitled Kingdom to develop new features.

How did you come to work with Untitled Kingdom?

I researched various agencies in different parts of the world. I have a lot of experience working with agencies in Poland. I had a shortlist of five agencies where four of them were in Poland, and one was in Estonia. We gave all five a brief and asked for a response to it. We wanted to know how they would approach the project and how they would allocate resources. We weren’t necessarily interested in the quote as much as the approach they would use. We had two meetings with each of the companies, and in the end, Untitled Kingdom seemed like the most appropriate choice. I was impressed with their CTO and his experience. Untitled Kingdom already had experience with Bluetooth devices, so that was helpful as well.

How much have you invested with Untitled Kingdom?

We’ve spent £250,000 [approx. $305,000] with Untitled Kingdom so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Untitled Kingdom in April 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We’ve been doing well as a company. We’ve been selling well, we’ve raised a Series A, and that was the goal after having a working product. Untitled Kingdom has been a very good partner for us in terms of providing development resources and being flexible. They’re always thinking about the products and give constructive feedback. Untitled Kingdom really feels like a partner. Users and investors both see it as a high-quality product.

How did Untitled Kingdom perform from a project management standpoint?

Untitled Kingdom assigned a project manager, and we were using Pivotal Tracker and GitHub for the first year and then moved to JIRA. They’re a very organized team.

What did you find most impressive about Untitled Kingdom?

Our relationship has gone well. They’re very open, committed, and honest people. Untitled Kingdom works as an embedded team which is something I haven’t experienced before with any other agency. They’re committed to our projects. I also talk to them about best practices, and they’re keen on implementing new products regarding best practices.

Are there any areas Untitled Kingdom could improve?

It would be nice for Untitled Kingdom to communicate when a feature is too complex and will need more resources. Every six months to a year we discuss processes and how to make things better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We build low-level software (or middleware) and high-performance hardware for networking.

What is your position?

I am the director of software development for the company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

My company wanted to build a product with a web-user interface. We wanted to implement best practices, but our resources are more focused on the low-level stack. We needed expertise for building that piece, without hiring in-house people. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We wanted to build a new web UI application which was different from the typical SaaS [software as a service] model employed by other companies. We still wanted to deliver a traditional application server from a computer and provide a good UI experience. Monterail has its own design team which specializes on that side of things, so before any code was implemented, they put together scenarios, stories, user-mapping, and mockups in order to tease out the overarching business value and the workflows which we needed to solve to come up with what we intended to do. In comparison to other consultancy models, by which we would simply dive into the implementation, Monterail wanted to create some preliminary designs and storyboards together, before they committed to any code. This gave us an upfront view of what we were getting.

Monterail put together a team, advised us on our initial plan, and added resources to speed the process up as we got to the crunch. Monterail assigned a project manager for work coordination, a technical lead, and a number of backend, frontend, and UX design engineers for our initial 6-month run of the project. Our initial project lead left the company but was replaced quickly.

After the initial UX design phase, we determined that the scope was more complicated than anticipated. For the last cycle during 2016, we ramped-up the team in order to deliver a much more complex UI. For our current cycle, the size of Monterail's team reached its peak capacity, numbering around 9 members. We're looking to undertake some side projects which wouldn't impact the core development, but which could deliver separate bits of value.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

It was suggested that we evaluate some nearshore options from Eastern Europe, where there is a slightly lower cost-base and a good talent pool. We put together a rough scope and evaluated a number of consultancies. There are a number of companies in Poland specializing in web UI Ruby development, and we narrowed the search to 4–5 companies there out of a list of 10, whittling them down based on near-term availability and on-site discussions. We wanted to see if there was a fit and whether they could do the job.

We put together a detailed brief, based on which Monterail had a conversation with us, trying to determine what we were aiming to solve. Those initial meetings gave us a sense that there was a real capability on Monterail's part for grasping the challenge, even though they weren't necessarily domain experts in it. They were able to get up to speed effectively and to start asking questions while also providing their own input into what we could try. We want to work with people who, instead of agreeing with us, will provide insight into how something should be done.

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

The cost of Monterail's work has been around $1,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Monterail in October 2014. We will always want more after achieving an initial application. The product is still in its infancy, but we've gotten quite a lot of feedback from the field, which we've used for reworks and additional feature development. The product has turned into a feature-rich, complex application from multiple points of view. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I don't have any specific metrics for the software. In terms of speed of development, I will always want the work to get done faster, if possible, but I don't have a comparison that could give me a better idea of Monterail's performance. We've made some audits of their code implementation since we are quite invested in using Monterail on an ongoing basis. The people who've looked at their work have confirmed that Monterail is using best practices.

The overall product development is being driven by us, so delivering the wrong UI would be our fault. In terms of working based on our high-level mockups and designs, Monterail has executed in conformance to best practices.

What distinguishes Monterail from other providers?

Monterail continued to dig in, ask questions, and do what a good consultancy is supposed to do—namely, dig deep into the customer's needs. As a consequence of this, we're getting a better product.

Is there anything Monterail could have improved or done differently?

One of the challenges of software development is testing. As a company, it's our reputation, products, and brand on the line, so we have to ensure a high standard. It would be nice to see Monterail develop more capabilities in that area, instead of employing the standard approach in web development of probing features and removing the ones which don't work. Enterprise applications have less of a chance of reverting changes and need a much higher test bar. Monterail does have continuous integration and automated testing in place, but they’re not enough for the quality we need. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a social network that owns several subsidiaries. One of them is a group which provides a membership that allows people to get special access to the best clubs around the world. I no longer work with this company, but I was the chief product and marketing officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

We needed to build a new website for club subsidiary.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was a Ruby on Rails development effort. There were maps and modules integrated into the site, but there were no other third-party integrations. The website explains the services and allows users to find clubs that are in the network. Members can also see what events are there and book them. There are different levels of profiles, including free and paid [with varying privileges].

How did you come to work with Monterail?

We had an RFP [request for proposal] that we sent to a dozen partners that we knew. Those included personal contacts, companies that had been recommended to us, and companies we had found doing Internet research. We sent all the requirements and designs to the companies and asked them what their approach would be, their price, and their turnaround time. Monterail responded quickly to our first contact and showed interest. We shared the requirements with them and we were impressed with the very detailed proposal they sent back. They had different options described and estimated in their proposal.

How much have you invested with Monterail?

We spent approximately €100,000 [approximately US$106,000] on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in 2015 and the work was completed in 2016. We continued to work with them on additional features after the product was delivered.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Users stayed longer on the new site and looked at more pages. We also received positive feedback from them. There was one issue with the SEO component and we lost some traffic because we didn’t properly migrate a few aspects. That was something that was our fault and not Monterail’s.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

As usual in IT, things take longer than expected, but they managed the project extremely well. There were no surprises. Whenever they ran into something that took longer or wasn’t going to work, they communicated with us and we decided together how to proceed. They were extremely open to suggestions. We had a project manager who took care of the coordination, but I always worked directly with the developers when it came to discussing details of an implementation.

What did you find most impressive about Monterail?

Compared to projects we have worked on with other firms, they were extremely well-organized and communicated really well. Most importantly, they were honest and open about project status. Other firms would tell us the project would be done the next week and that would go on for months.

Are there any areas Monterail could improve?

One of the issues we had was they don’t do "body leasing" where they give you specific team members. They tell you how many developers you get for backend and frontend. We had some issues with resources that were transitioning in and out, but they treated us very fairly. During those transitions, they only charged us for one person and they made sure the new person was updated before the transition. Of course, we would have preferred to keep the same person throughout the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an Agile coach and do a lot of consulting work. On the side, I’m developing software for my own purposes in the publishing space including content management systems and a cloud-based editor for e-books. I’m an independent consultant.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

I wanted to create a typewriter in the cloud for e-books because I had a lot of blog posts I wanted to compile into an e-book. I found out it’s complicated to turn a blog post into an e-book. I was looking for someone to create an app that could do that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I provided the concept and the mockups, and they built the application. I completely entrusted them with creating the tech stack. I was familiar with Ruby on Rails through other projects, but they came up with the idea to have a JavaScript application because I wanted to have some features that would require some drag and drop functionality. I was looking to them to provide the best tech stack and I told them to go ahead and build the app in JavaScript. It was built on BackboneJS and Ruby on Rails.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

They were a reference from a friend. I was talking to three or four agencies, but Monterail made the best impression on me.

How much have you invested with Monterail?

I spent between €30,000 and €35,000 [US$32,000 and $37,000] on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December 2011 and the project was completed in December 2012.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We invited several people to test the MVP [minimum viable product]. We wanted to test the market to see if they would be willing to accept a cloud-based solution instead of homegrown content management systems. We created a WordPress plug-in for the application. You could pick the blog posts you wanted to convert to an e-book. A lot of people liked that because it was a way to monetize their blog.

As far as the publishing side, they couldn’t warm up to the idea of putting their valuable data in the cloud. We underestimated how publishing houses keep track of their back catalog. They don’t have electronic copies of those, and from a technical perspective, it was a nightmare. But this was an easy tool for an individual to use in order to turn something into an e-book. From a publishing company’s perspective, they would have to set up a new channel. But this was nothing that Monterail did wrong.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Trello to communicate and manage the project. They would release versions that could be tested and what I enjoyed was the responsiveness of their team. The process was very lean and simplistic.

What did you find most impressive about Monterail?

They were very economic. Compared to other agencies, they delivered a lot in terms of the budget. Other agencies were twice as expensive. The quality I received was good given the circumstances. I was completely satisfied with their service.

Are there any areas Monterail could improve?

No. We met several times in person and they’re pleasant to talk to. I’m currently talking to them about another project.