rndity;

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of MANTA Instruments and we produce scientific instruments that measure nanoparticles more effectively than other commercially available instruments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with rndity;?

We were looking for an effective and qualified outsourced development partner. We have capabilities in-house to provide the overview, the requirements, and some high-level framework for the software but needed a firm that could do all the detailed software development based on our guidance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They are strong software developers in the language we work in, which is primarily C++. We’ve broadened our relationship to include GUI development and some printed circuit board hardware work as well, which includes design, prototyping, and development of printed circuit boards. The PCBs they design are produced by a well qualified third party manufacturer.

What is the team dynamic?

I’m not involved with the team. We have a software developer that provides requirements, guidance, and the high-level formatting of the software that we want to develop. That person interfaces with them on a weekly basis through frequent email exchanges and sometimes even web-based video calls. I’m involved when it comes to reviewing schedules, budgets, and planning.

How did you come to work with rndity;?

At the time, we were in the EvoNexus incubator, which is a startup support organization. A CEO from one of the other companies there was a partner of the founder of rndity; in an unrelated business to our business and he introduced us to him. We did consider other candidates but rndity; met our requirements for quality, references, and capabilities.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2016 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The essence of our first project with them was to develop a software product that we had at a prototype level. We gave them specific targets for how much more efficiently we wanted the software to run and how much more quickly we wanted it to process all the data. I don’t remember the parameters but they exceeded our targets.

We also had a bonus plan in place for that project based on the metrics, and we were very pleased to pay the bonus when they achieved or exceeded the targets. Since then, our projects have been more open-ended and not as well suited for incentives. We’re pleased with their work and are still working with them.

How did rndity perform from a project management standpoint?

The entire team has excellent English skills; I haven’t seen any issues where something was lost in translation. Communication is never as good when you have an outsourced firm as opposed to an in-house team—there’s always a tradeoff. However, I can’t complain about their project management skills and abilities; they are as outstanding as any outsourced development firm can be when it comes to communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Other outsourcing arrangements have been more challenging based on limited communication capabilities. Everybody that I’ve dealt with at rndity; is articulate and professional. I haven’t had any concerns or issues with questionable behaviors or lack of accountability so far. They’re a highly professional organization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because I’m not a software person, I can’t say if there’s room for improvement on the technical side. I’m very happy with their communication but they can always do better by communicating schedules and budgets more effectively. I should mention that in response to our feedback on schedules and budgets, they quickly revised and improved their project management processes.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a software company that developed system management tools. I am the Project Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with rndity;?

We needed help to develop an open remote software updater for the Internet of Things (IoT).

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The software they developed for us is for companies that have IoT devices. That refers to any kind of device that has an IP address and software running on it—it could even be a car or a smart garage and opener. The software allows the company to update the device’s own software. 

What is the team dynamic? 

There were 4 full-time people from the get go until the launch in February. They’re still engaged.

How did you come to work with rndity;?

We found them through past contacts. Some of the guys on our team from Poland knew of Bartek, the CEO there.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been quite popular, which is due to both the product and the need in the market. We’re currently not selling anything because of Open Source, but over time we will add some proprietor features that allow us to.

How did rndity; perform from a project management standpoint?

We don’t view them as external partners. They’re treated as any other employee in the company—we have bi-weekly sprints with them. 

Normally they are on time and things are as they said they would be. We launched on time and that’s very good. They use the same industry tools as us, and we’re used to working remotely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re good people. They’re from Poland and most of our guys are from Europe as well, which means they’re in the same time zone as our engineers. 

Culturally, we’re a good fit. They're a very international team and we have people from all over the world. They’re good, solid people, and there’s never been an issue. I am impressed with their deliverables and the code they produced.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We speak on a regular basis about how to improve things. There’s nothing that we want them to do that they’re not doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of pHase2 Micro technologies, a small firm that develops miniaturized chemical sensors that have a variety of applications. Our company consists of 5 people in Pittsburgh and 2 in Europe. We are at the end of the pre-revenue stage, this being our first go at the market.

How did you come to work with rndity;?

We had interviewed other companies. rndity; was referred and highly recommended to us by another company in our investor's portfolio. From there, we spoke with them and I met with them in Europe. I had a good feeling, so we rolled with it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with rndity;?

We needed something that allowed normal interaction with the sensors versus a specialized lab site. Our problem is that the prototypes were designed by chemists, meaning that they were done and tested in an environment that required a lab and an understanding of how the procedure works.

Our target is getting this functionality into less sophisticated applications. We were looking for a wireless mobile application to take the complexity out of configuring and running the device. The app would walk a user through very simple configuration steps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided the overview of the application, a brief outlook of the wireframes, and ran some procedures in a lab. rndity; did the design and the ultimate execution of the app.

The embedded application is live and available to our customers. It is not downloadable because we have to ship it with certain hardware. The application is available only on Android, as we requested.

We shipped the product electronics to rndity; so that they could work directly on the hardware. They weren’t familiar with how these tests would run, so we had to walk through it with them, but nothing was different than what I expected. They needed to learn how to set up our lab hardware, power it up and interface with it, and learn how to do measurements so that they could emulate the tests on their end.​

​​​​​​How much have you invested with rndity;?

It was a $12,000 project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with rndity; from March to April 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are a B2B company and are doing a proof of concept to get partnerships with companies like Thermo Fisher, Analog Devices, and Texas Instruments.

We don't have any statistical samples of this, but nobody that we shipped it to needed any explanation on how to use it and we haven't had any negative feedback. The app met our desires, being relatively invisible. People were able to power it up and have had no issues.

How did rndity; perform from a project management standpoint?

rndity; did better than I expected. Ola Rosińska was our main contact; her English and work method were fantastic. She was very proactive and up front whenever we had a problem. Rather than waiting, she attacked issues in real time.

We coordinated conference calls on Slack for any refinements. We had a very positive experience with rndity;.

What did you find most impressive about rndity;?

We had an efficient work engagement with rndity;, which was what we were looking for. The goal was to build an easy-to-use tool and they accomplished that.

Are there any areas rndity; could improve?

rndity; only needs to get more familiar with their client's work style. Apart from this, I have no hesitation in recommending them. The project was on par with the best experiences I had with such arrangements.