One Way IT Solutions

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of a signage company, specialising in signage on trucks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire One Way IT Solutions, and what were your goals?

We had several disparate pieces of software which required a very specific custom code to integrate them all. This was a huge project.

SOLUTION

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

We found the company via Upwork, through a rigorous vetting process.

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

This was the brief: We are a media company that specializes in the production and installation of signage (branding/advertising) on trucks. The technology stack that delivers the business service is made up of, ·

• WordPress – Website ·
• Airtable – Database ·
• Xero – Accounting software ·
• myTNT – Consignment delivery ·
• email and phone – Client and partner communication

The objective of this project is to streamline the most common and high value system interactions to improve efficiency, service delivery, scalability and value to the client.

SKILLS REQUIRED:

• The successful tender will need to have expertise in developing complex and feature-rich WordPress web forms, that API endpoints connect to for data extract and update.
• The webforms built must be responsive design and render on mobile, tablet, and PC devices.
• Current environment: · WordPress: Version 4.9.7 ·
• Font Script: Font Awesome, Google Font API ·
• Misc: Gravity Forms 2.3.2, Twitter Emoji (Twemoji) · JavaScript Framework: Lightbox, Modernizr 2.6.2, jQuery 1.12.4, jQuery Migrate 1.4.1, prettyPhoto
• Web Server: Apache
• Programming Language: PHP 5.6.25
• Database: MySQL FORMS There is a total of six forms being built, with identical processing steps shared between some of them.

The forms are:

1. New User Registration form – company exists
2. New User and New Company Registration form
3. Login
4. Order (for parts)
5. Report (for trucks)
6. Completion Forms 1 and 2 above share common form elements and form processing. Forms 4 and 5 above share common form elements and form processing.

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

Approx 5 during various phases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Put simply, this project has allowed our company to grow, but majorly streamlining several key processes. It has created significant time savings for several staff members.

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

We employed an independent IT consultant and project manager.

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

Their adherence to deadlines and clear communication was impressive. We also appreciated that they only had a single point of contact.

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

Nothing major.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a small online business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire One Way IT Solutions, and what were your goals?

I hired One Way IT because they have a big team of specialists with backend and frontend website development.

SOLUTION

How did you select One Way IT Solutions and what were the deciding factors?

I liked that I could find someone to handle both the backend and frontend of my website.

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

I demand a lot of website updates and requests. Of which One Way IT executes well. I have had several redesigns of the main landing page, required new plugins, built out an online course platform, and product detail update. They have also linked Mailchimp to my website for email marketing.

How many people from the One Way IT Solutions team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I have worked with many people at One Way IT. This is actually my biggest issue. The staff of the developers and designers seem to change often. I am guessing it's because they get shifted around to other projects. This is my biggest issue is that I don't have consistent developers on my project. I never actually know who I'm conversing with on the Upwork platform. When I started working with the company, there was a wonderful designer onboard.

However, in the last landing page redesign I did, I could tell that this designer was not the same and the work just didn't look good. I had to redesign it myself about 4 times to get it to a good point. I have actually considered moving away from One Way due to this issue. I really need someone who is strong both with the front end and back end.

Overall, I'm greatly appreciative of the backend developer and the work has been very good in fixing issues or following requests. I know the team tries hard and I know I am very picky. They are very patient with me and all my requests.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After redesigning the main landing page, I have seen a big increase in traffic to my website. I was very pleased with the designers I worked with at the beginning of my contract. They helped give their feedback when they didn't think a photo was good enough.

This helped push me to take better photographs which helped the overall look of the website.

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

Overall, communication with the team is very good. They really listen to my requests well and try their best. There have been many times that I've needed something done quickly. They have been able to achieve the requests promptly.

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

I can tell there are many experts working for the team.

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

Sometimes I wish there was more rigorous checks of the website. I feel like I have to constantly crosscheck everything and make sure it's all ok after updates. If I really want to grow my business in the future, I can't be cross-checking every little thing. I would hope for more ownership.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the managing director of Property Registry, we provide property information to real estate professionals and investors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire One Way IT Solutions, and what were your goals?

Due to our rapid growth as a company, we needed to quickly scale up our development team, while ensuring the highest quality of new features and support to existing customers.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online and found positive reviews from past customers and decided to get in touch with One Way IT Solutions and were satisfied with their customer service from the first interaction.

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

We had a kick-off meeting to share all project requirements, followed by the submission of the initial mockups.

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

We usually always dealt with Ajay who was great, he then passed on our requirements directly to the developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since One Way IT Solutions has worked on our project we have seen a huge shift, our clients are thoroughly impressed with the efficiencies of the website and all of the design changes implemented.

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

We had weekly progress meetings with the project manager and with other team members whenever we required, this was always done in a timely manner.

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

One Way IT Solutions is 100% customer-oriented. They understood all of the project’s requirements and implemented them, even when additional time was required.

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

We are very happy with the final result, all minor issues during the project were solved quickly and with professionalism. They've been an integral part of our team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My business is software development, and I am currently working on a legal case management software. The business has 1-10 employees, and we’re located in Waycross, Georgia. I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with One Way IT Solutions?

We needed to augment our team for a web application development project where I was the lead designer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I have built a prototype which One Way IT is porting to a different platform using AngularJS. We had an initial discussion about the scope of the project, and I gave them screenshots and a mockup of the layout I wanted. We discussed the specifications, and One Way IT built a mock-up of the basic app layout. I approved it, and they started building the modules of the legal case management application.

The platform has a client database, a client module, a claims module, a task module, a calendar module, and internal chat module and a document-generation module. We’re not done with all of the modules, but 4 of them have been roughed in.

The prototype was built using FileMaker Pro, and it’s being ported by One Way IT to a web-based version.

One Way IT has also built some web pages for me, on a different project.

How did you come to work with One Way IT Solutions?

I put a bid on Upwork and was contacted by one of their representatives. We began a conversation, I looked at One Way IT’s portfolio, discussed some projects, and chose to go with them.

How much have you invested with One Way IT Solutions?

The cost of their work has been $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with One Way IT Solutions around 3 months ago. The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One Way IT has done a good job so far.

How did One Way IT Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

I speak with my lead on their side on an almost daily basis. There are some communication issues and cultural differences, but this is to be expected when dealing with someone from a foreign culture. We’ve worked out a way of communicating through a spreadsheet issues list. I enter everything which needs to be changed, corrected and augmented, and One Way IT respond to this by posting when something is done. We also have a timeline spreadsheet, indicating what the milestones are for the project. We have Skype conference calls where we share screens, and discuss the project.

If I have any concerns, I can talk to the owner and express them. He will address them quickly with the lead project manager, who will pass it on to the developers. One Way IT has been willing to respond, and they’ve been good at communicating. The time difference hasn’t really been a problem. Once we set expectations, One Way IT can work unencumbered, and I can follow-up when they’re done, in the afternoon on my time, and offer feedback. The process works fine.

What did you find most impressive about One Way IT Solutions?

I like the fact that they use Upwork. This makes it so that we don’t have to question what they’re doing. I can see screenshots for every 10 minutes, and know what modules the team is working on. One Way IT has routinely uploaded the latest builds, so I can go in and interact with the program in the development phase.

Are there any areas One Way IT Solutions could improve?

No. They’ve done well, considering the resources they have. One Way IT is a small firm, but I’m satisfied with their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Castaloop is a stevedoring firm operating on the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes, and the Maritimes, loading and discharging ships, warehouses, and cargo, reloading to trucks and rail, or the other way around. My name is Phillip O'Brien, and I am the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with One Way IT Solutions?

We are in a niche market, which means that we have to design our own software. Nothing is available off-the-shelf, so we had to reach out to a vendor that could design our platform tailored to our requirements, satisfying our industry needs. This was our first project of this kind.

We were looking for a needle in the haystack when figuring out what we were going to do. We knew what we had to accomplish, but getting there would be hard. We started off by trying to find a quick solution, gave up, and went through the headache of designing our own. We found a software for accounting which basically satisfied our needs, QuickBooks. It would address all the financial needs we forecasted for the upcoming time, but we needed to attach all our other requirements to it. There was nothing out-of-the-box in existence, near or far, and this is where we contacted One Way IT.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One Way IT designed, developed and worked with us closely, in order to create custom-tailored response. The platform works on many fronts and consists of many modules in a web environment. We had some definite resources which needed to be implemented. First and foremost, we didn’t want to have any servers locally, so everything had to be hosted by a third-party. From there, it had to connect and integrate seamlessly with QuickBooks.

These were our 2 starting factors, and we had budget as a 3rd, as well as turnaround time. We continued to design several folds with One Way IT, modules for labor and equipment maintenance (both inventory—what we have in different locations—and whom we have in different locations), vessel agendas (a schedule of the ships we have coming to 4 different locations, which explodes into all the requirements a specific vessel in a specific port will have, and the work being done there).

Vessel agendas is quite an extensive module, and we also connect a costing component to it. While making the cost for a particular quotation, we’re actually producing the quotation in the end, including building all the calculations (and there are many involved, whether it be manning equipment, mobilization, third-party components and so on) and extrapolating them, and getting a clear projection of what an operation will cost. After this, we produce a quotation and have an inventory of it for end-customers and for reference. There is also imaging and documentation related to this. After the job is done, we will have a comparison of projected versus reality.

It’s a digital inventory system of the reality of our works, as well as the related invoicing and work logs.

We’ve also used One Way IT to design our main website, with which they did a phenomenal job. The website was built on WordPress.

How did you come to work with One Way IT Solutions?

When we were vetting companies, we had starting qualifications, namely design specialists for the creation of a web application, for lack of a better work, relating to QuickBooks. This was the starting point, and we found One Way IT via a freelancing service. From there, we contacted a bunch of people who told us they could do it, and it was more of a phone and visual interview process with their representatives. We were satisfied by One Way IT's qualifications and their in-depth understanding of what we were trying to accomplish. There was also an appropriate level of English. We didn’t want to have a linguistic barrier, since there were already other challenges.

How much have you invested with One Way IT Solutions?

The cost of their work has been around $15,000 so far. We’re probably not halfway there.

What is the status of this engagement?

The company launched officially on November 14th, 2016, and we started working with One Way IT in August of that year, designing a system which would enable us to offer our services.

One of the projects ended in June 2017, but there is another one for an inventory system, which has been put on pause because of a lack of internal resources on our side. We haven’t been able to keep up with One Way IT. As a small company, we wear many hats; it’s great to have a full-fledged IT company supporting us, but we’re not able to provide deliverables at this time. There are many projects we’d like to continue with One Way IT, but there is a lack of time. My aim is to hire a full-time resource on our end, who will be able to provide One Way IT with deliverables and instigate the work in September.

We’ve communicated with One Way IT just this morning. There are obviously some continued adjustments in the system, and we want to render it more user-friendly as we go. They are continuously tweaking it in order to add more synergies which we weren’t able to envision from the start and make it more efficient from our side.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This is the system we’ve built our company around, therefore 100% of our members are using it every single day. I don’t know what kind of KPI this measures to, but it is the backbone of the service we offer. Therefore, it’s the resource we require. If it doesn’t work, we have to go back to things like Excel, and won’t be able to merge the data. The software has enabled us to build all statistics and historical references for the company we’re developing.

One Way IT has done an excellent job. We were still shooting in the dark when we started, and it was a lot of work to get there, but the fault was more ours than theirs. We’re specialists in handling cargo, not systems. We knew what we wanted it to do, but there were also other things we didn’t know we wanted to do. This growing pain is ours, and we were fortunate to find One Way IT. They basically took us by the hand, and adjusted to us. This made things much simpler, when they could have been much more painful. They actually delivered, and we have a system which works.

How did One Way IT Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Bar none, they delivered 100%. Even with the time difference, I received responses 24/7. If there was an emergency on weekends, they were there, and we had virtually no downtime. When there was, One Way IT worked all weekend, trying to solve it. It’s been immaculate since. Quality of programming is one trait, but their stronghold is excellent service.

The collaboration has been unfair to them. We’re busy developing a company, therefore we’ve only contacted the team when we saw an issue. One Way IT’s response time has been excellent, but it was never just to give pats on the back.

The only times we contact them now are when we have different challenges which we have to address. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been doing this almost daily. We’ve received responses, and resolved any issues we came up with.

What did you find most impressive about One Way IT Solutions?

The customized service. One Way IT adapts to the customer, as opposed to the customer having to adapt to them. They have recognized that there is a distance barrier, and have adapted to it, whether through Skype or email. The biggest challenge we’ve had was the quality of Skype connections. We’ve had to use other providers once in a while, after getting into details and having the call quality drop. Otherwise, One Way IT’s ability to adapt to the customer’s requirements and offer hand-catered service has been the best thing we’ve had.

Are there any areas One Way IT Solutions could improve?

Most issues have come from our side. One Way IT has been patient in adjusting to this, and I’m giving them a stellar review because they deserve it.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with One Way IT Solutions?

No matter how much someone knows about how an operation works, and no matter how much they draw it up in wireframes beforehand, even if the process is thought to be exhaustive, they will end up omitting or forgetting at least 50% of it. That part is the painful one, since there are people being hired to actually design and work on the software, but fiction will hit reality, and it won’t make sense. This is more the user’s doing than the vendors, so the preparation standpoint is a rough one.

One Way IT being in India at the time (even though they’re becoming more international now), was another challenge for someone like me, who doesn’t like getting up early. There was a lot of back-and-forth in making ourselves understood.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the MD of Information Tamed, an UK IT Consultancy

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire One Way IT Solutions, and what were your goals?

We had the need for a system to be developed and did not have the capacity to do so.

SOLUTION

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

We found them through an online hiring platform, and were impressed by their portfolio

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

They designed a multi-tenant system for us using C# / SQL in .net core. They have also integrated it with Azure and / or AWS services

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

There was 1 developer in the core team, together with a code reviewer and a tester.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were a great company to work with, easy to approach and have great communication and a fantastic work ethic.

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

Their project management was good, with clear and concise objectives. They were happy to use our project boards so we keps clear visibility of progress.

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

They were easily adaptable, and scaling up and down took a matter of hours, not days.

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

No, they took all suggestions and implemented them immediately.