Polcode

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a consumer brand that sells a premium range of teas, teabags, and tea ware to hotels, distributors, and high-end restaurants. We offer online sales for direct-to-consumer purchases.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polcode?

We had a previous development agency in place that went into liquidation. We needed a new agency to support work on the two platforms we use.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They support the work we do in WordPress and Magento. They mostly fulfill ad hoc requirements and initially helped complete some small projects left over from the previous company. They also support the website, add new features, and make bug fixes or general improvements.

At the beginning of 2018, we had a very specific new requirement to develop a trade portal for our B2B sales. We needed a way for our business customers to place larger orders on a different version of the website. We contracted Polcode to help with that project in addition to their ad hoc duties.

What is the team composition?

Normally, we work with a team of three. We have a client account service manager and two developers. A senior developer is in charge of one platform and a mid-level developer is responsible for the other. When we ran the trade portal, we also had a project manager and low-level developer to help with that project.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

We started looking for new agencies and knew about Polcode from a previous business I worked with. I knew the quality of their work and liked their turnaround times. I reached out to them and asked if they would take on our account.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around £30,000 (approximately $39,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August or September 2017. We normally engage them on an ad hoc basis and are allotted a set number of hours each month for small projects. We take on larger projects on a separate contract basis. Our ad hoc relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because of the nature of their work, we don’t have any easily attributable results from their ad hoc work. The trade portal has reduced the personnel hours spent processing big orders, so they’ve contributed to projects that have a positive impact on the company.

They don’t have a particularly proactive role with us, most of their work comes from specific requests we make for bug fixes and small improvements. They have helped us with longstanding issues we’ve had with our checkout system and improved our customer service journey. They’re very diligent with completing our requests, but we have a different sort of relationship with them than they may have with more active accounts.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve employed them in two different ways. On an ad hoc basis, we only have a small number of hours allotted to us each month, which can be difficult to plan for. Our need of them isn’t always consistent, so we sometimes have to chase them and make sure they deliver the features and fixes we need in a given month.

For the trade portal project, we had a regular project manager who worked very well with us and kept us updated. We had regularly scheduled calls and were very proactive. It was a much more comfortable way of working together and we had a much better time with that project. We use email occasionally but mostly interact through Trello and Skype. We also have a standard bug management system.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical knowledge and understanding of the platforms allow them to find solutions quickly. We certainly reap benefits from working with a senior developer.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes our core intent gets lost in translation, but we usually get our point across. They understand most of our needs very quickly and are very technically aware. They provide effective in-depth support and we have an atypical client-agency relationship that works well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with hiring any agency, do your homework and make sure your scope and briefing documents are clearly defined. If you lay everything out, you are more likely to get the results you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a Director and Co-founder at Cloud Canyon Media. We’re a startup creating a lottery syndicate platform. The platform buys real tickets for various lotteries around the world and splits those tickets up into syndicates for individual users to pick a mix of different lotteries. Users get the benefits of playing in a syndicate, which are pooled entries that give you much greater chances of winning the prize.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polcode?

We were a startup with nothing more than a business idea. As co-founders with marketing backgrounds, we didn’t have technical expertise. We needed someone to take on the technology side for us—to develop the business idea into a fully-functional brief and then build the platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Polcode developed the brief and built our platform from scratch. The main the main task was web development which they did everything to get a fully customized site, including wireframes, UX, and web design.

The platform is built on Symphony per their recommendation. It features a number of API integrations including an automatic lottery ticket purchasing system and a syndicate management system that automatically allocates customers into different syndicates. There’s also a third-party payment system to process recurring billing transactions.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and three different developers, including a primary developer who was with us for the duration of the project. They provided additional developers as and when we needed them.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

I’d worked very briefly with them in a previous role. At that time, I found them on Upwork. I’d had a very good experience with them and knew that they had good developers on staff. I invited them to pitch for the new project.

They stood out compared to other firms by helping us to flesh out our idea into a brief. They eventually ended up telling us exactly what we needed and how it should work, which was fantastic.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from about February 2017 to February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Polcode’s brief was to create a minimum viable product, which they did successfully. We continue to build it out to improve it. We currently have over 6,000 registered customers. We're also close to securing investment.

The quality of the code is fantastic. I’ve worked for large corporations in previous roles where we were using off-the-shelf software from well-established companies charging millions of dollars in licensing fees. What Polcode built for us is better than that.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate through Skype. We use Github as well as Redmine for project management.

They managed things efficiently. They were always able to tell us the exact timescales and potential bottlenecks that we would face.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their level of expertise. Their ability to transform an idea into a brief into a finished product was great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In terms of development, they're fantastic. They don't claim to be a design agency or particularly offer design services. They did supply designer but I don't think they have enough design resources.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have a good discussion with your account or project manager beforehand to set expectations and understand the skill sets of the people who will be working with you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of client services for a digital marketing agency. We offer online promotions, brand sites, apps, and other services in the digital space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polcode?

We needed support with WordPress, Magento, PHP platforms, and a specific Salesforce integration. Our ideal long-term consulting and development partner would take initiative and stand by their work product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re currently working on 2-3 projects together. Polcode completed all of the development, QA, and testing for our WordPress sites. A Salesforce integration lets our customers interact with the internal digital sales management software. They also developed our Magento project.

What is the team composition?

Polcode assigned us one developer along with a main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

Polcode’s great results and feedback on Upwork caught our attention. We reached out to set up an interview. After meeting the team, they seemed like a fantastic partner.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working since September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Polcode delivers on their promises, offers great suggestions, and always comes in on the mark. The team is fantastic and extremely professional. They’re clear, concise, and communicative; I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone. The Magento project is still pending because our client opted to put it on hold. We worked on that site with a brand-new build, so there’s no previous data for comparison.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

Polcode uses a Redmine tool and managed the process effectively. If a task is taking too long, they’re quick to let us know. Joanna (Senior HR & IT Recruitment Specialist, Polcode) is great at her job. Our initial WordPress developer left the company, and she promptly found a replacement and had me vet the potential new hire. After being brought up to speed, the new placement has been just as good as the original resource.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Polcode’s commitment to their projects and attention to detail is a unique attribute that’s hard to find in the development community. Our business model involves more external developers rather than internal resources. We’ve had a lot of experience vetting companies, and Polcode stands out from the crowd. Keeping their promises, they deliver on time and within the estimated budget. There’s very little drama, and they’re great all around.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any suggestions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be frank and honest with them. If you have a strict budget limit, let them know. Giving them as much detail as you will help them accurately estimate the timeline and scope.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the partner and president of a digital agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polcode?

We specialize in the .Net platform. Our technical team needed additional help with PHP and Laravel.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve done multiple server migrations. One project was in Laravel and another was in Opencart, which is PHP-based. In addition, they’ve improved sites’ e-commerce features, extensions, and marketing capabilities. Although this is an ongoing collaboration, we’ve had emergency support scenarios in which Polcode triaged services. In these instances, the team resolved functionality issues from previous vendors’ work.

What is the team composition?

Their team has about four people.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

We looked for an international vendor with more affordable costs. The agency needed to know open- source platforms, PHP specifically. We found them via an online search; they looked like a quality company.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in April 2017 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work is exceptional; there are no defects. The team finds deficiencies quickly in projects where they weren’t the original developer.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

Although their remote location limits real-time communication, they use several platforms to keep the partnership effective. One team member worked over the holidays after his wife gave birth; the team provides exceptional service, but he particularly exceeded our expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their service offerings create value. The team is proficient at many skills; they also speak English well. They’ve made the process very smooth and cost-effective.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not based on my interaction. The relationship has been fantastic.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Chief of Operations at the American International Distribution Corporation, which is a fulfillment and distribution center that also designs, develops, and hosts websites and a financial reporting organization. We have clients ranging from publishers to non-governmental organizations, and we are located in Vermont.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polcode?

Our goal was to update the platform that held all of our websites from ASP to Ruby on Rails. Although we have a couple of in-house Ruby programmers, we needed more people to be able to complete the migration at a fast enough pace. Because we either fully host or host the checkout for at least twenty websites, it was quite an undertaking and required a high level of skill to complete.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Polcode was involved in every aspect of the platform migration, from the frontend and the UI to the backend, including developing the CMS (for which we use Refinery). We spec out what is required and design it with them through Basecamp; there is a lot of back-and-forth. When they complete the development, we push it to GitHub and test all of the changes. If everything works properly and looks good, then we make it live.

Their work can range from simpler tasks to the most complex website we have ever undertaken. The latter project was a regular store in addition to containing blogging and interactive community functions, such as signing up for automated newsletters. Depending on the user, particular things would show up as part of the site’s targeted web experience. Polcode built this complicated website from the ground up.

Other websites that they have built for us have been more of a straightforward migration. However, even those projects required Polcode to develop complicated, deep, and drillable sites that necessitated the option for self-service (in particular regarding subscription renewals, memberships, and standing order management). Additionally, every website includes a bug reporting feature that allows the users to catch any unanticipated errors using an automatically created Basecamp task, although bugs are infrequent in their work. In addition to the building of these sites and the code migration, they also continue to maintain many aspects of the web operations as well.

What is the team composition?

Our team at Polcode is organized through an account manager, with a group of developers assigned to your specific project(s). We have worked with three or four primary developers over the years to assist our own team in bringing those websites online on the new platform.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

We initially reached out to them via oDesk, which is now Upwork. When we are first assigned a developer from Polcode’s ranks, we conduct a handful of initial interviews to get a sense of their English fluency and their skillset. We assign them a couple of tasks to ensure that their stated abilities match our needs, and if that’s the case, we move forward with approving their assignment and providing them with their first full project.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent close to half a million US dollars on our work with Polcode.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged their services in May 2014, and the relationship is ongoing with no foreseeable end date.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Considering the type of work with which they provide us, the primary metric for measuring their success is simply whether or not the website works when it is done. During our time with Polcode, we have moved over many different websites of varying complexity and they have all worked near-to-flawlessly.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

For every new project, we hold a kickoff meeting with the account manager and the developer(s) to allow us to share all of the existing code and to clearly define the project. Over time, we build a rapport and an understanding of each others’ vocabulary and capabilities. Once they have carefully reviewed our needs, we start assigning all of the individual tasks for the website’s various functions on both the front- and backend. Their team provides us with different people to focus on individual aspects of the project, all working to achieve our common goal. The high level of consistent communication throughout the process has been the key to our partnership’s success. Their communication helps us to avoid any uncertainty on the status of their progress.

Their management’s overall methodology was very effective, in part because despite the account manager’s general involvement, we primarily dealt directly with the coders who were providing us with Polcode’s services. In most of the day-to-day work, we bypassed the project manager, which created an efficient workflow.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They provided us with exceptionally qualified people, tailored to the specific level of complexity that we needed. But what truly stood out was the open, continuous, daily communication on the development side with our assigned programmers, which allowed us to see the progress being made on an hourly and daily basis. When we needed it, they worked extra hours – even on weekends – to get the work done by the expected date, going above and beyond the call of duty even when the deadline or project scope has changed on short notice. Their adaptability has helped to make the cooperative relationship work seamlessly.

Working with Polcode, we feel as if we are getting the value for our money. We are able to see marked incremental positive progress on their work every single day on all the projects we have in progress with them at any time, which helps us know how to best spend our time regarding the working relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Define the objective at the start of every partnership, and make sure to follow-up frequently, particularly at the outset. This will help you avoid accidental misunderstandings.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an industrial food manufacturing company that makes pasta for other, larger food companies. I’m the communications manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polcode?

As a food company, there are certain documentation regulations that we must follow, but we had no transparency within the various facilities. I saw the sales people were using outdated procedures to fill their sample requests, so I had the idea to automate the process.

I wanted to create a workflow with tasks and notifications so that we could fill orders of samples for our customers. I wanted to be able to enter the order, and then send that order to the correct factory in our group, have the order filled, and receive reports and notifications throughout the process.

I had a developer who was working on my public-facing website and writing the code for this intranet, but he disappeared after a year.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Polcode built an intranet for me via Ruby on Rails. I wrote out the workflow for the first process, which included a sample request, and then we implemented document sharing. They created the workflow based on my guidelines.

We started with 1 application, and 10 years later, we now have a dozen applications that a couple of hundred of users across the country utilize. We interact with our customers and suppliers this way as well. We’re able to send our suppliers automatic notifications, and when their quality assurance documentation is out of date, we’re able to send notifications to our customers. When they make a complaint about a product arriving late or something being mislabeled, we’re able to document that.

What is the team dynamic?

We’ve worked with at least a dozen people. There were 2–3 people working on the project at any given time.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

After the previous developer left, I began searching for Rails developers. I wanted to find an agency that would provide redundancy in case I found myself without a developer again. It was important to be able to retain coders and project managers in order to keep the project flowing.

I went on oDesk (now Upwork), and put out an RFQ [request for quotation] and statement of work. I reached out to Polcode because it looked like they could help me. I spoke with the project manager, and found that they were very affordable.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $500,000 over the course of our relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2007.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had so many compliments from our customers and suppliers, as well as from several inspectors. They’re amazed that we created this custom system. Polcode accommodates me 100% of the time, and does it with full efficiency. They did a great job, and taught me a lot as well.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

They responded so quickly and so personally to anything I requested. I don’t give them a lot of project deadlines, and I ask them to take care of things independently, which they do. Unfortunately, we’ve had less work, so sometimes it may take a week to get something done. When we were billing a lot with them, they would turn things around faster, but we also understand that they have other projects. We use Redmine for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve always been extremely responsive, and they speak English very well. They are happy to discuss the project on a variety of platforms. They will Skype, email, talk on the phone, or do whatever I prefer.

They’re very intuitive. We’ve had some minor translation issues, but for the most part, they understand and ask the right questions. They have good project managers who think about the workflow and assign tasks to the correct people.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an e-learning company providing the aviation industry with training and a full solution for distribution, everything they need to maintain their education. It’s a platform for everything. I’m a product manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polcode?

We needed a partner who could provide us with a foundation of developers. They needed to have certain skill sets and knowledge in the subjects we develop in. Before, we had developers both in-house as well as outsourced, but we needed a better partner. That’s where Polcode came into the picture. We had the product already developed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Polcode produces most of our content in terms of code. In-house, we have our developers for the managers like myself, but Polcode does the primary execution of our ideas and products. Lately, we have revamped our whole interface for the administrators and users. It involved a lot of moving around to give way to the training, and also utilizing the training class (a staff member or a private crew member). That had been a later project.

In the latest projects, we’ll have a backend powered by Laravel. So it’s an Open Source framework using PHP together with some JavaScript. We’re also using a framework called Vue, together with Ionic as a mobile language, Angular 2, and TypeScript. It’s comprised into one hybrid mobile application. There’s a lot of PHP and JavaScript in this company.

They have also developed various iOS applications with Android coming soon. They do everything we ask them to do.

What is the team dynamic?

Right now there are three team members. We have one lead programmer who is checking everything for us. We were happy with him. He basically reviewed the code and made sure everything was right and prepared for production use.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

I got in touch with them a long time ago, and then we looked on the market and their name came up again. So we started using them. We thought it was worth a shot.

How much have you invested with them?

A few hundred thousand dollars.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2013 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There can be some challenges, of course, with the language and culture differences. But in terms of code quality and everything they produced for the actual product, it’s pretty good.

When using Polcode, we expect them to put their efforts into it. If something is needed or there is an emergency, they have been very helpful in terms of bugs or breakdowns. They have been very useful.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re generally doing pretty well, but outsourcing to programmers, developers, and engineers can involve some challenges because of culture and language. It’s been a long road to where we are today. Right now it’s pretty good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are a trustworthy company who is always trying to find a solution for us. They’re always flexible and fulfill our wishes. We’ve been very happy with that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We don’t have any issues. It’s been quite easy. Everything’s right to the point and easy to discuss with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Ratchet Host provides shared infrastructure and mobile hosting. I am the CEO and a co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polcode?

We had a client in need of developers who could help update their podcasting app. They were getting rid of an old vendor, and needed to bring the Android and iOS solutions back to a stable form. Development of mobile apps is not our specialty, so we reached out to Polcode based on a reference.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Polcode essentially recovered the older code of the apps, and brought it back up to date, as well as added new functionalities, as requested. One of the main ones was further integration with the website, which hadn’t been working well until that point. There were many smaller things which had been removed by the previous company, like speeding app playback, adding favorites, using local storage to download episodes, and so on. Many of those functionalities were broken, so Polcode was in charge of fixing or adding them.

The app was developed natively for iOS and Android, using Objective-C and MySQL on the backend. Polcode also provided very limited design work for the apps. The client provided basic design guidelines, for the most part. The app had been completed prior to Polcode taking over, but it was severely out of date. They leveraged the same design and framework, and rebuilt some of the foundation.

The podcast is hosted on the client’s website, and the data ultimately feeds into the apps as well. Whenever a new podcast is posted, it generates an RSS feed which is ingested by iTunes and Google Play, as well as some other third-party services. The client also has an app which leverages an API for communication between the website, the apps, and the database. The information is pulled based on a user-management system and a description process.

I estimate that there were around 5 developers from Polcode’s side assigned to us. We had a dedicated project manager who was with us for the whole time, while the developers cycled in and out, and had various responsibilities ranging from the app development itself, to work on the WordPress website and QA.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

My CTO had worked with Polcode for his previous company, and recommended them as reliable developers.

How much have you invested with Polcode?

The cost of their work has been around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Polcode around February 2016. The project is ongoing. Our expertise is specifically around dedicated shared hosting and infrastructure, and we never wanted to get into the project management and development game. We initially acted as a middleman between the client and Polcode, given that the client was not tech-savvy. We translated many of their requirements and worked directly with Polcode and their project management in order to break those into a project plan for the developers. The long-term plan has been to hand the reigns over to Polcode entirely, and let them manage the project with the client. Our portion of the engagement completed in February 2017, but the work with the client is still ongoing, and we continue to consult them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The only way in which we were able to measure the success of the app, prior to Polcode stepping in, was based on support tickets. I would say that, on average, we had 15-20 support tickets per day, directly associated with the app being nonfunctional. After Polcode implemented the new app and squashed a couple of bugs, the tickets were reduced to perhaps 2-3 per day. We implemented Crashlytics, which gave us a view of the app’s stability across Android and iOS. We saw great results, in the high 90th percentile, for stable instances of the app across all devices.

Polcode did an amazing job of making the app stable, and getting it to a functional place for our client and their own subscriber base. There is still a long way to go with it, but I’m confident that they will be able to do it.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager was a phenomenal resource for the entire time. He held weekly status calls, gave us updates, and was very communicative. He used the tools which were convenient for us, such as Slack and Bitbucket, and adopted to our style. Our project manager did a phenomenal job of translating requirements, not only from us, but even from the nontechnical client. He was able to translate directly into tasks for the developers, in terms of specific coding languages, databases, and so on. He took things which were as simple as a brief sentence, and translated them into formal, documented requirements. I definitely appreciated his contributions enough to try to hire him myself.

What did you find most impressive about Polcode?

They’re flexible, adapt to requests, and have a lot of knowledgeable contractors which can be brought in and out as needed. Polcode is able to identify the right resource for the issue, so we won’t have WordPress developers working on iOS apps, for example. On top of having access to experts, we’ve worked differently in terms of payments and fixed estimates for different phases of the project. Polcode was able to hit those milestones and stay within budget. If there was any sort of overreach, they were communicative upfront, and warned us that we were approaching the hour limit.

Are there any areas Polcode could improve?

I honestly can’t think of anything. We were wanting to step out of the project management role a bit sooner than we did, but I don’t think that this is an issue of Polcode, as much as it was the client wanting to feel entirely comfortable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a web consultancy working with clients to design, build, and maintain their online properties and mobile apps. We’re general contractors for websites. Even though we have our own developers, we hire out much of the work.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polcode?

We needed extra talent for completing a PHP Zend project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve partnered with Polcode on 6–7 projects using different technologies since our first engagement. They have provided staff augmentation; we have more Polcode developers working on our projects than internal staff. The main technology has been PHP, but we’re also working on a large project using Ruby on Rails. For this situation, we hired a whole team, including a project manager and 3 Ruby developers.

We focus on e-commerce with our websites, but features range depending on the type of project. We’ve built web apps to keep track of clients’ processes, client self-service, and backend administration interfaces.

We haven’t used Polcode for applications or aesthetic design since we have internal staff and other consultants for these roles.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

We have been hiring resources in Eastern Europe, especially Poland, for almost 10 years. We needed some fast talent who we could trust. I don’t remember how we found them initially, but we’ve established relationships with several of their project managers. 

How much have you invested with Polcode?

It would be hard to determine a cost, especially since we mix our expenses with external partners. Polcode’s cost has been in the high tens-of-thousands range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our first project with Polcode around June 2012. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Polcode acts like a part of our team, and we treat them as we would our internal developers. They have access to all our tools and get to work promptly. As such, I can’t state particular metrics about them.

For the most part, the work has been good, and we continue to hire them. Polcode can get projects done, and we’ve rarely had problems with their code. It’s human to make mistakes, and we’ve had to redo parts of the code at times, but we’ve been happy with Polcode’s quality overall.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

When we used them for project management, they did a good job. Our Ruby on Rails project manager in particular was excellent. There has been deadline creep, but that was our fault in most cases. Polcode has done a great job in maintaining this.

The communication is good for the most part, especially with the project managers when we use them. The developers can become busy with other projects, and we may not hear from them for a couple of days, but they’re generally accessible for questions. We use JIRA and Slack currently. We also use Skype at times, depending on how long a developer is working with us. We invite longer-term resources to our Slack channels.

What did you find most impressive about Polcode?

Previously, when we were searching for talent, we had a large pool with many unknown resources whom we’d have to interview and test. Evaluating whether someone fits into our project takes time. With Polcode, I can contact the appropriate project manager for the technology we need and be fairly certain that we’ll receive a quality developer since they’ve already done all the vetting. This saves us time and lets us start working on projects quicker.

Are there any areas Polcode could improve?

It would always be nice to be able to call Polcode and get access to a developer right away, but they do have other clients. The detriment of working with any outsourced team is that they’re not always available exactly when we need them. This isn’t their fault, but we’d like to be their first priority all the time. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a product manager at an all-in-one platform for managing the circular value chain of electronic devices. We streamline trade-in, refurbishment, and distribution for telcos, OEMs, and distributors with integrated, scalable tech solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Polcode to accomplish for your business?

We hired Polcode to build a white-label Magento website for our client.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Polcode designed, developed, tested, and managed the Magento website. The team delivered a fully branded website for our client. The e-commerce site is live and handling orders.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, QA, designer and multiple developers.

How did you come to work with Polcode?

We found Polcode through an online search. We chose them because they were close to our geographic location, their pricing fit our budget, and they offered good value for the cost.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2025–February 2026.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

E-Commerce shop fully branded for our client.

How did Polcode perform from a project management standpoint?

Polcode's communication, retro-planning, and sprint review were excellent. We primarily communicated through virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Polcode's communication was excellent. The team was professional and reliable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We felt a small lack of Magento experience, which resulted in a lack of anticipation for some topics. Polcode could have better made us aware of the client's involvement.