Positive Power

BACKGROUND

We are a Polish retail company that sells outdoor sports equipment. I am the co-founder of the company and manage major operations. I also create and implement our strategic plans. We provide high-quality client service, interesting marketing campaigns, openness to dialogue with customers, experience exchange. Outdoor sport for us and our customers is first of all a real passion and lifestyle. Our team consists of about 30 people: Management, client service, marketing and logistics. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

To be honest, Positive Power took the initiative to build an online shop and convinced us that it is worthwhile to use new technologies to develop a business. Within a few years, we have become one of the biggest outdoor shops in Poland. At the very beginning, we assumed that the online shop would perform as an advertising function to draw customers into the retail stores.

Another big piece was the mobile sales channel. We launched an application that allows us to scan a barcode in the competitive shops, check the price and availability in our offer and then place an order. Sales via mobile devices continue to increase, so we monitor the statistics [and] implement improvements. 

We launched the application to improve our PR and marketing image; keep in touch with our clients, create an image of a modern company, using new technologies; [and] increase sales via mobile channel.

We have about 5,000 downloads now, which I realize could be better. However, as the statistics show, among the users it’s primarily regular customers who use the app and buy often. We are confident that things are moving in the right direction and we will see more growth.

SOLUTION

Positive Power carried out the project from A to Z. It included user behavior analysis, UX [user experience] design, graphic design, programming and implementation. A development team worked applying agile methodology. We wanted to create the app to be integrated fully with the database and settlement system of our online shop.

The products can be viewed by type and a manufacturer. Additionally, a user can find out about current news, promotions and bargains. The application has a built-in barcodes scanner, which enables checking availability and a price of an item in the store, there is a shopping cart and wish list function as well. 

We knew that our software had to be fully scalable and simple. We completely trusted Positive Power to select the most suitable technologies, [such as] Objective-C, Java, SQLite, CoreData, REST API [application programming interface], and barcode.

We chose Positive Power from among a few providers of IT [information technology] services in our region. We took into account their high-quality client service, experience in mobile development and integration with external platforms. It was important to use that they provide a 24-month warranty. They had a positive attitude toward clients and comprehension of our business needs. We found everything we were looking for in the project with Positive Power. 

The development team consisted of a scrum master, business analyst, UX [user experience] designer, graphic designer, two Android senior developers and a QA [quality assurance] manager. The app launched in early 2013 and cost more than $50,000. The development portion took six months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Our customer's reaction was really positive. The app was something new and innovative in the market and proved to be useful during the purchase process. 

At the very beginning, we decided to choose an Android platform because we noticed that the majority of the visitors to our e-shop use Android phones. We have noted 5,000 downloads. Three months later, in response to customers' needs, we also launched the app for iOS, [which is] 20 percent of our current downloads. About 85 percent of downloads come from active users, which is great.

Our cooperation was efficient and in accordance with the agreement. We divided the project into several parts that enabled quick work and improvement on code. After the implementation, Positive Power tested the application, and then helped us to list it on Google Play.

Everything went very well. Of course, there were some minor problems, but Positive Power's team always quickly solved them, and it didn't impact the final result. 

We can highly recommend Positive Power as a business partner. We give them a five of five. Before starting the work, the expectations and requirements were clearly presented resulting in effective cooperation. Positive Power performed the work with full professionalism and engagement, while being friendly and cooperative. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We’re a maker of a product that is a customer experience management platform for the hospitality industry. It’s a mobile cloud-based platform, it uses mobile composite apps. Our target market is the restaurant industry, but it is helpful for many companies in the hospitality and related industries.

What is your role and responsibilities?

[I am the] CEO and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Positive Power?

We wanted to use Positive Power to help us bring our mobile apps to market. We built the server portion of it here, the cloud service. Since we have two apps, one for the merchants and the other for consumers, we needed additional resources to bring this about in parallel fashion. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

We provided all the design, and they did the development.

What was your process for selecting Positive Power with which to work?

It was a selection based on a Web search. Only a few companies came up, and they were one of the firms that had some experience in mobile development. We also talked to another company, but we selected Positive Power. I was expecting a much bigger list.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

It’s been ongoing. We want to work with them to do weekly sprints. We have two teams, the cross-platform team, and the Android team. We tried iOS, but we have iOS developers on the team, so we pulled back.

Predominantly we are doing products for the merchants. We have some cross-platform clients. The consumer apps we decided to do with native development. Initially we tried to do everything in cross-platform. We had some early issues with picking team members, but since then we’re pretty happy with the team that they were able to give us. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

We started in September of 2013. We have new things that we added to the project, and it’s been ongoing since then.

Are you satisfied with their work?

With any outsourced team, you have to get them used to your ways. It’s very hard to get people into the rhythm that you want. So, we had some challenges getting them used to the weekly sprints and deliverables, because it’s a very tight schedule. You have to work around holidays and things like that. Once we learned to work together, it wasn’t too bad. The perfect model for us would be to have a technical resource here, like a technical lead. That improves the turnaround of code and quality. We installed a senior person here, a cross-platform lead, if you will. I have to say that that they were fundamentally good.

I try to stay hands off, just a project manager and not a technical person. It’s not as good to micro-manage these teams. We’re doing different testing on the teams, what’s the impact on the overall project. I feel we now have a good model to follow.

We’re looking to hire an Android developer in the U.S. to work with the resources at Positive Power. We’re probably going to do the same with the iOS development. So, it’s not bad, it’s just growing pains. It’s an investment. They’re nice to work with. When we get on a call with them, and something is wrong, they really try to fix things, even at their own expense.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

They’re very eager and talented. Compared to other non-European groups that I’ve worked with, they’re much better and easier to work with, they’re more creative. The six-hour time difference is much better than 13 or 14 hours with other countries. They have some good English-speaking individuals, people that can communicate well on a technical level as well as project management level. Working remotely can be very strenuous, so the online communication is very important, and they’re good at that. They’ve been very flexible.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

One issue involves testing of the product before they turn it over, in reference to Android apps. Android has so many devices, and some things may work on a few of them but not all. But, then, you go to the iOS version and device, and you’re still finding out things that didn’t perform correctly on certain Android devices.

So, we’ve had those discussions, and they’re definitely improving. They’re organizing around that as well. If they could improve on anything it would be internal testing, before they turn over to the client for approval. It would help in cutting down the number of back and forth’s, exchanges of code. We took a lot of time testing it ourselves.