Puzzle

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of INgagedIN, a social network based on clauses and issues. We’re building engagement tools on top of the network, including for volunteering.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Puzzle?

We were building the platform from scratch and were looking for developers and designers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Puzzle developed our platform in Node.js. They designed the UI in InVision.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 4–6 people from Puzzle.

How did you come to work with Puzzle?

We chose them for their knowledge, responsiveness, and empathy, the last one being an important thing for me.

If they weren’t able to put themselves in the shoes of the clients they were working with, things wouldn’t go well. They simply wouldn’t have an understanding of what we were doing.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost so far is $70,000–$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Puzzle almost a year ago, and it’s ongoing. We have a long-term project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The basic success metric was getting a working MVP, and Puzzle delivered that. Apart from that, we appreciate the level of trust and empathy, and the feeling that we’re working with people who know what they’re doing.

How did Puzzle perform from a project management standpoint?

I have two main contacts on their end, both of which are outstanding.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Puzzle stands out in terms of knowledge, responsiveness, affordability, and empathy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was the occasional typo or misphrase in their work, but this is understandable given that they’re not native English speakers. This occurred only with feature naming, because I provided all the content. It’s the only improvement I have to mention. I have no complaints about Puzzle in terms of the work they did and how they interacted with me.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NextDots?

During a busy time, we needed to find some additional developers to help us take on the job.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app they partnered with us on is medical-related. We handled the design and project management work, but they were responsible for the frontend of the React Native app. Essentially, they integrated into our team and collaborated with our designers, project managers, and backend developer. 

What is the team composition?

They have a project manager on their side that coordinates work for their developers.  

How did you come to work with NextDots?

The outsourced provider that we typically partner with was also in a very busy work season. So, we divided to reach out to them for this project. We kept an eye on them early on, but things seemed to run very smoothly with them. We decided to keep them on. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $30,000–$40,000 and have an upgrade on the way for the project.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re just about to deliver the project and are happy to say that everything went according to plan. They delivered high-quality code that required very little QA. It was easy to work with them, and they were able to provide exactly what we were looking for. We have high standards for work internally, and they continuously met them. 

How did NextDots perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project manager is communicative and frequently communicates with our project management resources. When needed, they also ramped up to speed on projects to deliver according to our deadlines.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their code and quality of work are very high and need very few edits. That’s pretty unusual.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was some turnover with their developers, so it would be great to see some more consistency there.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Use Slack, that sense of frequent communication across our teams helped because they were very responsive. Make sure you work them into your schedule and are aware of any upcoming holidays on their end.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a mobile lottery company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address NextDots.

We hired them to help us out with the analysis and definition of the product’s scope. We worked on technological developments with NextDots.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They develop an app for iOS and Android.

What is the team composition?

At least 3 or 4 people worked with us.

How did you come to work with NextDots?

When this project came up, I started doing some research. They are based in the same city where I am from in Argentina, so I contacted them. We met up and I felt like they had enough experience to help us with the development of this project.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around €40,000 (approximately $43,000).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2016, we completed that project and had a pause but continued working with them later, they still provide us with support and maintenance whenever we need it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results were great, all the analytics were very well defined and that helped greatly with the development.

How did NextDotts perform from a project management standpoint?

We used different project management tools in every different phase of the project and it all worked very well. The project evolved and they were able to adapt to its needs every time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I liked their emphasis on having a good product description before starting the development, that was great and allowed us to move forward with the project without any further complications.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Anytime we encountered any complication they would always find solutions, so whenever we had any issue we solved everything immediately.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I am the managing director at Retargetly, a data company specialized in technology building for data gathering, manipulation, activation, and analysis. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NextDots?

We needed help creating a technology to collect data from mobile users.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us to create a technology to obtain data in a mobile environment. It was an SDK development for Android, iOS, and Xamarin. They used Java, Swift, and React Native.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about three or four developers.

How did you come to work with  NextDots? 

I honestly can’t remember how we originally found them, but we worked together previously. They did a good job and our teams got along well. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $5,000-$10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them between 2016 or 2017, the project lasted about 4 months. After that, we continued with updates and other occasional collaborations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are tracking more than 1 million users per month with the SDK and it works very well. Our clients have responded well, and they do not have any complaints. We are happy with their work.

How did Nextdots perform from a project management standpoint?

They have good project management skills. They always kept up to date. Whenever there were delays, they let us know immediately. We had a very fluid communication. We used Google Sheets for project management, and it worked well. They delivered exactly what we asked for.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Whenever we had any issues, they would solve them immediately. They had a great understanding of our needs so they were able to solve problems without causing any setbacks. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I couldn’t say anything, we had a very good experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at an automotive focused saving and capitalization company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address NextDots?

We were looking to develop a mobile app for payment collection.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked in Native Android to create our mobile application.

What is the team composition?

There were two people involved in this project.

How did you come to work with NextDots?

We did some research, created a list, started contacting companies by phone at first and after that to visit them for an interview. They were a match in every sense, they seemed trustworthy and nice also so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve around invested 5,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

It was about four years ago but I do not remember the exact date. The project lasted from 6 months to one year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work was flawless, they are very professional, the app still works we are using it and it works perfectly.

How did NextDots perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Slack to communicate, as, for deadlines they did change a bit sometimes, a lot of them were because we changed our requirements so it was a shared responsibility. They met all of the deliverables but the schedules did change a bit.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They met all of our expectations; I wouldn’t single out anything in particular.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I couldn’t say anything. We are happy with their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in a fashion retail company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NextDots?

I was trying to create an app that could merge our physical business with online sales. We started with it, and it was complicated at first. We worked with different companies until we found Next Dots.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I don’t know much about the technicalities but it is an e-commerce app with a QR code. The app allows the client to check on the stock of the store, and it is a multi-brand app. We would also like to add other technologies such as AR/VR and RFID.

It is an Android and iOS app, but it hasn’t been launched yet.

What is the team composition?

We have worked remotely with them. I am directly in touch with the project manager only, but I know there are more people involved.

How did you come to work with NextDots?

I knew about them through another company I worked for before.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $9,000 USD. I had part of the development done, so their work was mostly focused on the user experience, integrations, etc. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in September 2018, and we are still working together on integrations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t been able to measure any results as the app hasn’t been launched yet, but the results have been good so far. 

How did NextDots perform from a project management standpoint?

We have direct communication via WhatsApp and another app to create milestones and follow up on the project. All deadlines have been met, but we still need to make some adjustments.

What did you find most impressive about them?

NextDots has made some very good suggestions for improving the UX. We came up with a structure together, but their advice allowed us to make it even better. Also, the communication has been great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really. If the app hasn’t been launched yet, it is because of agreements we have to make with other fashion retail companies: this is the only reason why it has taken longer. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO at Tenpo, a prepaid and digital credit card company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NextDots?

We needed help with development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had two projects with NextDots. The first one was to increase the number of developers we had, specifically for front-end development. The second one was to speed up certain developments we had.

NextDots mainly develops in React Native. They have a great deal of experience developing frontends for hybrid apps.

What is the team composition?

We work with three people.

How did you come to work with NextDots?

I had heard several references about them as specialists on React Native. Later on, we had a couple of virtual meetings and they made a proposal for a trial period. After that, we started a contract with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $30,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them five months ago and continue our collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The impact has been positive: we have been able to speed up certain processes by 20% to 30%, which was one of our main goals.

How did NextDots perform from a project management standpoint?

They have adapted to our project management tools, which include Jira. We’ve also achieved a very fluid communication by phone, WhatsApp, and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

NextDots is very flexible: they have been able to adapt to our deadlines. They are also very experienced in mobile app development, which is an advantage they have over other companies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve had some issues with cross-border transactions from our side. I guess they could also offer more payment alternatives.