Promwad

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Project Management Office of Dewesoft d.o.o.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We design test and measurement equipment that simplifies the advancement of humanity. Our data acquisition systems are the ultimate tools for test engineers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Promwad to accomplish?

• Hardware schematics
• Hardware layaut
• Software development

SOLUTION

How did you find Promwad?

Referral

Why did you select Promwad over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Promwad were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We involved Promwad to work closely with our internal teams and architects in the process of development of a new family of our measurement devices. The key deliverables are: 

• preparation of schematics and layouts of our new devices SIRIUS X, IOLITE X and OBSIDIAN X 
• miscellaneous SW implementations, 
• integration of openDAQ in Dewesoft devices

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• schematics done 
• layouts done 
• working SW 
• DEMO presentation

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

I'm happy to say, that the work was done according to planned dates. Promwad's Project Manager is keen to provide the agreed milestones and is searching for new opportunities at the same time. In case of additional requests Promwad is able to add additional resources to the existing team.

What was your primary form of communication with Promwad?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We are impressed by the speed of schematics design once the requirements are specified. Even in the cases when the requirements are not fully defined, they are able to suggest a solution and discuss it to come to the final solution quickly. We appreciate that professionalism very much.

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

There is always room for improvement. I'd appreciate to get more detailed timelines of the current development tasks.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of sensors at Rapiscan Systems. I work in the security scanning division and on the sensor aspect of our scanners. More specifically, we work in X-ray sensors. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Promwad?

We hired Promwad to help with various projects. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done 20–25 purchase orders for Promwad and worked on several projects with them. The most recent one is focused on an electronic design layout. It’s a federal government grant to develop a new type of X-ray sensor, and the team helps us with the technical aspects of the project. Simply put, they’re a part of our effort to develop a prototype X-ray sensor.

Apart from that, Promwad has also provided layout and mechanical design services. We’ve worked with them on mechanical prototyping; they’ve worked on firmware and software as well. An electronic engineer from our team works with them, too. 

During the projects, our team comes up with a schematic during the projects, and then the Promwad team does the printed circuit board layout. Our members create the algorithm, and their resources implement it in a piece of firmware or software. Essentially, we do basic design work, and their team does the implementation. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a mechanical engineer, a firmware engineer, a layout engineer, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Promwad?

Our engineer happened to be in Belarus where Promwad was initially. The engineer may have known about them through personal contact. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $600,000 over six years and across many projects. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Promwad six years ago, but the most recent project started in September 2021. The partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our goal is to deliver the X-ray prototype to the government on time, and we’ve been able to do that. Promwad has done a great job of managing their part in our projects. The only hiccup we’ve had is the additional time involved when we change a project’s scope or goals, and that’s completely understandable. 

How did Promwad perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate with Promwad through regular meetings with their project manager. We also have regular email communication and Teams meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Promwad does an excellent job of doing and documenting their work. Their documentation is great and gives us good value. Moreover, the amount of work they do is great for the amount of time they spend. Their members deliver on time, too — these are all great things. 

Their main strength is that they offer all the skills we need, such as mechanical design, firmware and software development, PCB layout, and schematic generation. They can do all the tasks required in devising a prototype. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

An improvement in their communication would be greatly appreciated. That being said, both our teams can always communicate more. It’s not terrible, and it’s true for most teams. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The best thing you can do is be highly specific about what you want to achieve. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of NativeWaves GmbH

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

NativeWaves partners with broadcasters to deliver next-level, synchronised, multiscreen, personalised experiences. Efficient, versatile, agile and non-disruptive content delivery is achieved with no changes to existing workflows.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Promwad to accomplish?

• A team to develop a custom solution for one of our customers
• A team with know-how in SmartTV development

SOLUTION

How did you find Promwad?

Referral, Other

Why did you select Promwad over others?

Good value for cost, Referred to me

What was the size of Promwad’s team?

2-5 Employees

What was your primary form of communication with Promwad?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The development was for an OTT platform on Samsung Tizen TVs that was launched in June 2022, as well as an cross-platform mobile application to be launched in April 2023. The scope included the project setup, integration of user account handling, the managing of user access rights for premium content, integration of a video player for live streams, and the development of the UI for the platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Project delivery on a tough timeline
• Flexibility on changing requirements

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project management was mostly done by us in-house. Working together with their Lead Developer was great and deliverables were always finished on time and with satisfaction, even with very tough timelines.

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

Working together with the team is very pleasant.

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

The only minor concern is a certain language barrier with individual developers. From the perspective of a tech company expanding their development team, it's sometimes easiest to discuss with individual developers directly. This was, however compensated by their Lead Developer.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am hardware product engineer and our company develop metering devices for Grid companies substation

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Promwad?

We hired the team to reviewed the metering specification and provide firmware to drive the LTE module

SOLUTION

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

We move with Promwad after getting in touch and several request for quotation on other topics and was always impressed by the quality and professionalism of their offer

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

They clarify the technical part of the project after receiving our specification and the developed the piece of firmware we need to integrate into our device, they test in their environment providing videos and report to show the result, then provide a repository of their work

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

A technical developper was our point of contact from our side, then from their side a project manager and a technical resources interact with us

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We were able to speed up our development and we were able to test quicker our new product with their help,

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We've got a weekly meeting to coordinate the team, we shared technical doc over a sharepoint and communicate code through a repository

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

They offered a large variety of skills, and they were very reactive and able to fill-full our need for a competitive price

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

Communication in english is sometime not very easy, we notice it during metering spec review

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a telecommunications company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Promwad?

We were looking to add new functionality to one of our product ranges and also make cost reduction.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Promwad has helped us with hardware and IoT development based on the specifications we provide to them. Those requirements include size, the form factor of the product, functionality, environmental constraints, temperature range, and certification. Consequently, they make the component selection with us, along with the electronic design, mechanical design, electrical simulations, thermal simulations, and industrial designs.

What is the team composition?

We've been working with around eight members of Promwad's team, including an electronic designer, a mechanics designer, a tester, a simulations specialist, an industrial designer, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Promwad?

They were already working with us when I took my current position.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything they've done has worked very well, and the products we designed with them have had a major impact on our sales and revenue.

How did Promwad perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has worked out great. We use Jira, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams in terms of tools and communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of the design has been outstanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve; we have retrospective exercises discussing what we need to improve, so we constantly collaborate to improve everything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of SpinDrive. We provide active magnetic bearings for original equipment manufacturers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Promwad?

We had to develop a sophisticated electronics software and hardware. We needed support for our engineering efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Promwad has assisted us with development; we have specific areas that fit best with their expertise. We’re using a multi-code microprocessor to develop a system with several layers, including the embedded Linux real-time operating system and low-level programming on FPGA. It’s supposed to be a full stack development under Linux, and we’ve combined these structures to make them work for all purposes.

They provide advice on the software’s architectural level. The software provides some predictive maintenance capabilities, connection to the cloud, a graphical UI, and data storage and processing capabilities. Regarding the hardware for the electronics, they define the scope of work, design the circuits, and implement the pieces. Inside the hardware is a power electronics device with an output that controls current channels, inputs for the position sensors, and a communication integration to the system.  

What is the team composition?

We have a software architect and an embedded programmer on the software side, and one more person on the hardware side.

How did you come to work with Promwad?

We were contacted by the sales team through LinkedIn. We discussed different possibilities on how to cooperate. They had a certification and were partners with the microprocessor manufacturer we used, so we were sure they had the expertise we needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2022, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure the success of the implementation. We have a list of features that we need for the product and how fast they’re implemented and presented to the customers.

How did Promwad perform from a project management standpoint?

We have regular meetings to define the scope of work on upcoming activities. On a daily basis, we usually discuss current issues through chat and Microsoft Teams. Additionally, we use Jira for the software development side and Microsoft Planner for the hardware project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They possess the knowledge we need and have experience with the particular hardware and software tools we use. Overall, Promwad can efficiently allocate resources to solve our challenges. They can provide a broad offering and tailor it according to our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re satisfied with Promwad.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In my experience, defining the scope at the beginning of the project will always help to get what you want when working with service providers.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a company that caters to the public transportation sector. We develop real-time passenger information-related products such as CCTV cameras, display screens, and onboard computer units. I’m responsible for overall engineering.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Promwad?

We needed to migrate to a new hardware platform that was FPGA programmable, but we didn’t have the in-house skillset to develop that hardware. That’s why we sought the services of Promwad.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Promwad helped us fine-tune our architecture to better pair with the hardware that they would develop. They then worked with us to cost and purchase the necessary tools for building the hardware. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from their team. The project manager was involved during the estimation and weekly tracking, but the FPGA engineer did 70% of the work. There was also an account manager and an electronics schematic engineer. 

How did you come to work with Promwad?

We googled for FPGA designs and came across a website that provided these along with information about various vendors. Promwad was listed there and highly recommended by different sources. We reached out to them and learned that on top of having the skill set we were looking for, they had also built similar hardware in the past. 

How much have you invested with them?

Since this entire technology was new to us, we decided to have a time and material arrangement as opposed to a fixed cost agreement. We ended up spending roughly $60,000–$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This partnership started in January 2020 and it's still ongoing. We were supposed to finish last July–August of 2020 but there have been some logistic issues from both sides. We are hoping to wrap it up by end of this month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are generally happy with Promwad’s knowledge and the services they’ve provided to us.

How did Promwad perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager mostly sends us weekly reports and timesheets breakdown of what is being done. We also use our initial estimation of the project to track our progress as opposed to relying on reports. I believe this aspect could be a little better, though, as we didn’t get clarity on certain things. It has caused us to exceed the original timeline by 3–4 months.

We use Microsoft tools such as SharePoint, Teams, and Project Planner to track the progress of the project and communicate with each other.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Promwad is technically strong and very open to feedback and suggestions. When needed, they would bring in senior folks to help us design and solve problems. They’ve partnered so seamlessly with us and provided affordable, high-quality work that they’ve become an extended ring of our company. We’re confident that we’ve got the right partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve done software design documentation differently so that we didn't get the suggestions after the implementation.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're quite a big and skillful company, but as a project manager, you need to set in place what is expected of them so that they can do things accordingly. If you have a clear plan of what's to be done, at what point, and with which criteria, it'll be very helpful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior software project manager at Vestel, a company that produces smart TV sets and set-top boxes, and we also provide IP services. I work in the R&D department. Every year, we’re delivering almost 10 million TVs in France, the UK, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Poland, and Nordic countries, and others.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Promwad?

We had a very tight schedule and were facing some technical challenges. We have 200 engineers working on software projects composing different project groups but, from time to time, we’re not able to deliver on time and we need additional technical support, so we work with Promwad.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Promwad is working on a project for a domestic company that provides mobile and internet services. They also provide some operative business support; they deploy their specific set-top boxes that have custom services on it, including YouTube, which needs an application. 

With Promwad, we’re working on TR-069, an Internet protocol, and others, including software updates in the fields. They’re delivering the software downloads and TR-069 management parts as separate processes — they implemented all of that from scratch. 

We also work with a company that is a SOC (System on a Chip) provider and Promwad supports us on these issues, as well. So far, we’ve worked with them for set-top boxes, but I know they also offer Android services. They deploy using C++ for the software and have other areas of expertise, so we’re open to working with them on our upcoming Android project. 

What is the team composition?

There are 5–10 people working with us, including project managers.

How did you come to work with Promwad?

We met them around five years ago at an event. We found their technical capabilities to be very good, so we decided to work with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020 and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, their deliverables are of good quality, which we can tell from the tests and our customer feedback. They’re a very competent team. Their engineering service quality is at a good level.

They implemented modules that are so well-coded they are essentially portable for our TV sets, as well, which is really great. They provide really high-quality engineering support. They’re good at working with connected devices, internet infrastructure, and other processes.

How did Promwad perform from a project management standpoint?

The project managers have frequent meetings with us to ensure they’re delivering on time and at our level of quality. From time to time, they’ll even respond late at night on WhatsApp. There’s also a high-level manager who reaches out to us a couple of times a month to ensure we’re happy with their deliveries. We use Jira and they meet all of our requirements. Occasionally, they do better than expected from a quality and time point of view.

They also make any changes we want. We had a test drive with them for a couple of urgent issues from our customers, and they were open to this and implemented what we needed. They deliver quick solutions to us — it’s great to have that kind of partner. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

In such a short time, we trust them. They’re really good and we know we can do a long partnership with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

So far, they’re really good with their technical expertise. We don’t have any issues with their communication or English level either.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a very dependable and trustworthy company. I recommend working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-owner and CTO of an embedded design house working in various application domains, including digital TV and medical systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Promwad, and what were your goals?

We subcontracted the hardware development of a Set-Top-Box project for the hospitality market, as well as the development of the associated test bench

SOLUTION

How did you select Promwad and what were the deciding factors?

We met Promwad back in 2009 to audit their engineering capabilities.

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

Custom Set-Top-Box hardware board design. Custom enclosure design including thermal and injection simulations. Custom test bench development (hardware assembly from COTS, Windows and Linux software applications development)

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

A project manager was our primary contact. The project has involved hardware engineer (Set-Top-Box PCB), designers (enclosure industrial design), mechanical engineers (enclosure design and simulations) and software engineers (test bench)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project ran smoothly, with direct and close collaboration with our own team members. The Set-Top-Box resulting of the joint efforts has been successfully introduced on the market.

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

We had regular on-line meetings

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

It was very impressive how the company was both skilled and reactive.

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

We had to spent more then expected of our time to get the test bench fully working. However they have been reactive on that and have sent over two engineers to do common on-site debugging, on time for the start of the production.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder of the company. JVL Labs is a software and hardware company, designing amusement and gaming consoles and the associated games.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Promwad, and what were your goals?

We retained the services of Promwad to design the hardware and software for our new media streaming device that would integrate into our gaming console. This music streaming device seamlessly integrated with our menu, offering our customers a selection of music from a 3rd party music provider.

SOLUTION

How did you select Promwad and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed a number of companies. The criteria were as follows:

• Integrity
• Expertise in C++ and Linux
• Design of embedded hardware applications
• Speed to market
• Ability to work with our team in Canada and in Minsk

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

• Concept design of the streaming media
• Participated in specifying the features of the product
• Identifying individual stories based on the features
• The stories were approved by JVL's CEO and the stakeholders
• Proposed design timeline Spec approval
• Prototyping of the hardware
• The "finishing team" from Promwad arrived in Canada
• Delivery of the final prototype in Canada

Promwad remained on the project for a while for backup, service and transfer of knowledge - allocated a "finishing engineer" for 6 months.

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

Promwad engaged 6 people on this project: C++ specialist C++ programmer Linux specialist Mechanical engineer QA engineer Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was delivered on time and on schedule. The rollout was as expected with good support from PromWad. The post-delivery support was great. PromWad is a professional and reliable organization - there were no surprises.

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

• A calm, measured approach
• Good connection with the management
• Assign good quality specialists to the project
• Are not afraid to make a suggestion
• Care for the overall project

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

They impressed us with their equal level of professionalism spread over a number of technical expertise. In the case of the design of our Media-Steam, PromWad became a reliable design partner supplying the expertise in Mechanical, Hardware, and software engineering.

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

I would highly recommend PromWad for anyone seeking the highest level of professionalism and I would definitely engage PromWad on a new project if it would be needed.