RNC

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I have two companies. One of them is SearchTrade.com and the other one is Hans Infotech. SearchTrade.com is a web-based online product and Hans Infotech is a software development services company.

On SearchTrade, I'm the Director and Chief Technology Officer and I'm the Proprietor at Hans Infotech.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Roll'n'Code?

My core competence in both companies is software development, not design. I was using Roll'n'Code for UI/UX [user interface/user experience] design and also for some certain platforms that my developers don't specialize in. I think we worked with them on junior products and shelf applied products, as well as e-commerce.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For some smaller projects, I would have some in-house designers which might only be working with me through proof-of-concept before they stamp it. On larger projects, they [Roll'n'Code] were there from conceptualization to launch.

How did you come to work with Roll'n'Code?

That's a good question. I think I just found them online on one of the portals. I think it was Elance, now called Upwork. It was quite a while ago. They had a good portfolio to work with and to look at. The design work they had done was something that attracted me in the beginning. Actually, they were good at keeping me engaged.

How much have you invested with Roll'n'Code?

We have been examining many projects together over the last – I'd say one year. I would say it could be somewhere between $20,000 to $50,000 worth of work we've done in the last year.

What is the status of this engagement?

I have one project going on with them right now which is a design for our mobile app. I've got two more in the pipeline that will require e-commerce, and then there's another design project. I really like the design work that they do because they do it on time and at a good cost.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They've actually never dealt with the clients. They've only dealt with me because we have an efficient working arrangement where we understand each other. We have great customers on several projects, and we have about seven which are public domain websites in the country of Iceland. We have worked on those for well over a year now. I see my own product growing. I’m seeing much better traffic as well, as we ran the design through them.

How did Roll'n'Code perform from a project management standpoint?

They missed a deadline maybe just once or twice. They've been very strong and very competent when it comes to deadlines. There's a language barrier when speaking to someone in India from the Ukraine, but once we figured out how to speak to each other, it's been smooth sailing.

They have their own project management tool - different from the ones I use in my organization. They were more than happy to comply with that.

What did you find most impressive about Roll'n'Code?

I've worked with other design agencies where I've had issues of availability - they're not always available online all the time. I have not had that problem with Roll'n'Code. There's always someone there. When anyone was on leave, they made sure someone else was there handling my projects, and talking with me on Skype and over email. I would say customer engagement and client servicing is their best attribute. They made me feel good.

Are there any areas Roll'n'Code could improve?

I've told them this. They're much better at communicating in English on chat while typing, rather than over a video call or something like that. It simply just takes a little longer. That's all.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are developing a new platform for food artists, which basically includes chefs, cooks, and home cooks, with diners where you can connect, interact, and transact between these two parties. We’re based out of Sydney; this is where we are starting.

I’m one of the co-founders of this company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Roll’n’Code?

Pretty much everything right from scoping and conceiving the idea. Conceiving the idea was rather straightforward. Now, at this stage it seems like it was one of the easiest things to do. After that, they have been putting architecture together and seeing how things would come together. On the technical side, it’s a mobile-only platform at this stage. That’s the way we want to approach it.

A lot of thought process has gone behind it regarding what features we would introduce and how we would make this platform seamless. By and large, things are preset. Regarding the involved parties, where basically you have the chefs on one side and the diners on the other, how do you ensure that the profile is projected correctly? Also, what do the diners get to see and how do they see it? More importantly, there’s a feature of transaction of money happening on the platform, so how do we manage to integrate that with the assurance that everything works seamlessly and smoothly? All this was the initial challenge.

There are still challenges that we are solving every day, which is how we manage to project ourselves, how to grow, how to increase the user base, and how we can integrate certain readily available platforms which allow us growth. These are the kind of challenges we have faced in the past and are facing right now as well, and I’m pretty sure in the future there may be many more challenges which will come through.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are primarily focusing on releasing the platform on iOS and Android, so that’s where we basically put most of our efforts, in trying to come up with the architecture-related user interface [UI] keeping in mind there’s a good user experience that comes out of that UI. That is why we reached out to Roll’n’Code and basically got them as partners to help us out in developing this platform.

Initially, it started with the engineers only, both iOS and Android engineers, one for each. One of the common touchpoints is a project manager from their side who is basically liaising everything back and forth between me and the developers. She is the point of contact. Then, for the first iteration of our product, we ventured out, got a few web related things done, started a website, put a few things together, and got that thing published.

Lately, what we’re exploring is trying to rope in one of their designers who is absolutely fantastic. She understands. She asks a lot of precise questions, which we answer. Now at this stage, it’s pretty much code developers both on iOS and Android, and there is a designer that we are tapping on. Sooner or later we will be also tapping in one of their business analysts for helping us out for scoping some of the future features in our product. So far, this is what we’ve used with Roll’n’Code.

How did you come to work with Roll’n’Code?

We actually posted a job on Upwork, and through Upwork we got connected to Roll’n’Code. There were several other vendors, developers that actually made bids on our job. We went through a thorough process of interviewing. There was a multistage interviewing process. We wanted to ensure that we were working with the right people.

It was just not about money, not about just getting things done. It was more about the technical abilities. Did the people do the job only for money or was it only for certain personal interests? Was the work of a better quality? Are the developers of a certain standard? We had several criteria that we actually scrutinized the team on, and pretty much by and large, the Roll’n’Code team came out quite high in ranks. There were a few other folks who did come very close, but eventually, there were a few things that ticked off towards Roll’n’Code, and we decided to go ahead with Roll’n’Code as our development partners.

They were very eager from the first contact. They were very keen in the project. Initially, I thought it was just the sheer excitement of getting the contract on Upwork and wanting to just make some money and make an exit, but these folks really came out quite enthusiastic. They’re a young bunch. That was a bit of a point of hesitation, that they’re young kids; do they have enough experience and stuff? We put them through a proper technical interview and through a lot of tough situations where they came out pretty well. The biggest factor, personally from my side, is that they were quite keen and enthusiastic from the get-go. On the second litmus test, they came out pretty well showing their technically abilities.

How much have you invested with Roll’n’Code?

Cost so far has gone up to $25,000. For the whole project, we’ve capped at $40,000; it’s almost at about a good 60%.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working with them since January 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The iterative releases that we anticipated would have been at a certain stage, and they were all delivered. That delivery was a point of excitement. There were a few changes that we requested that also got done. When the overall delivery happens, that’s the key point of excitement. Overall, we’re pretty excited from where we started and where we are right now. As one of the key persons in this project, I’m quite excited that we’ve really come quite far considering the complexity of the whole project.

How did Roll’n’Code perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very methodical. I’m hoping they’re very methodical in their own internal working. As I said, there’s a liaison. It’s a project manager from their side with whom I regularly stay in touch. There have been times when we’ve gone and gotten the developers involved in the discussions as well, just to bounce ideas and clear a few blocks that we had in our mind. As far as project management is concerned, I would say they’re pretty good. They’re really good at the way they run their development work.

I get regular feedback and updates. Most of our conversations have been over Skype, so it’s not that after a week or so I’m getting a surprise message saying, “Hey, look, we are lagging behind.” If we are lagging behind, there is some kind of issue that is happening. Just this last week, they moved their office. They gave me a heads up two days before that on this date they would not be able to respond to the email. These are very small things, but stuff like this keeps me informed. There’s a lot of transparency, which enables both them and me to set our expectations on what will be delivered, and this requires that level of project management as well. Especially the person, Olesya, who is doing the project management on their side, she keeps everything abreast.

What did you find most impressive about Roll’n’Code?

I would really highlight the transparency and the openness. I’ll use an analogy. When we’ve posted freelancing jobs outside, there’s always the doubt about if you are really getting the best or is the freelancer really working hard for your interest? You have to be on top of the project. That’s our job, but when working with Roll’n’Code, I can close my eyes a day or two with the peace that things are happening in the right direction. Their transparency in dealing with stuff has given me a lot of trust in them. This is one of the key things that I would just point-blank give my testimony for them any day.

Are there any areas Roll’n’Code could improve?

They’re very focused on detail, and they ask lots and lots of small questions. Maybe it’s just my personality where I may not pay so much attention to detail, but when such granular-level questions come to me in email or chat, it just puts me in a situation where I realize that I’ve got to answer this as well. What I’m thinking is, if I were the engineer, I would’ve made a call by myself, but they prefer to get the clarity from the client, which is me in this arrangement. They go as far as to ask me, “Tell us whether this is the way it should be done. Are we understanding it correctly?”

Good or bad? In technical terms, it is absolutely a good practice, but on a personal basis, I find it annoying at times. Maybe those times are situations where my mind is engaged elsewhere and not in a position to basically tell you which color the button needs to be and what needs to go on top of it. Maybe they should just to make a call, and if it is wrong, we’ll change it.

They would come with an initial estimate which looks all good, suits my pocket, and seems fair enough, but the discussions then evolved in a way that it looks like they find a basis where they can actually add more billable timing to the timesheet. It appeared a few times, but then because it’s a thing of the past, I let it go. They have this tendency of asking a lot of questions, and based on those questions, they tend to come up with a rationale that this will cost a little more time, which is how they rationalize their billable hours. If I have anything against it, I could straight sort it out with them, but all in all, they’re fair. It’s not that they do something behind you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

LYYNX is providing License Management Service. I am CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Roll'n'Code, and what were your goals?

Design a Mockup and a Prototype for a possible Web Based Application

SOLUTION

How did you select Roll'n'Code and what were the deciding factors?

We choose RollnCode because they showed a lot of experience in business process analytics and web development

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

Hand over overall specifications Design key processes in interviews and feedback loops

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

3 project manager, analyst, designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

expectations were fullfilled

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

I highly appreciated their flexibility and attention to detail.

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

i cant say ;-)

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

not from my point