Scopic

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a website called Thankster, which operates by a SaaS model. We provide a service for businesses where we create personalized mail written in simulated handwriting. It’s a useful tool for customer retention and lead generation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Scopic?

We had a small version of a website up and running but we needed to rebuild it, so we brought on Scopic.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Scopic rebuilt, redesigned, and re-engineered our site from scratch. They also played a key part in developing the algorithms that would simulate the handwriting. The team kind of did everything for us as a white-label product.

At one point we could only sell the simulated handwriting separately, but Scopic spent a while building and integrating the handwriting component into the site so that users could access it from there. They also built the APIs.

After the website was launched, they stayed with us for a few years to maintain it and add new features every now and then. We put the engagement on pause until recently, when we had to bring them back in to rewrite the whole site. Currently, the team is scoping out the work. It will most likely be done in the same phases as before.

What is the team composition?

Over the years, there were around 7–10 people working with us. We had Martha (Project Manager), the developers, and Tim (Founder & President), who would check in every once in a while. People cycled in and out depending on the work or because they had left the company. 

Right now, there are three members on board, including a designer and developers, but I’m sure that’ll grow as we bring in more people of different expertise.

How did you come to work with Scopic?

I found them on a freelancer website. We filtered through hundreds of developers, but we ultimately went with Scopic because their combination of expertise and price seemed like a good value.

How much have you invested with them?

I would estimate that it’s around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It was so long ago that I can’t determine exactly when, but I would have to say we started around March 2011. The partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website has grown and has been really successful, which was the main measure of their impact. Scopic has been very responsive and effective in building exactly what we asked.

How did Scopic perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been good. Martha has been really great at overseeing the project. We mostly communicate through email and phone and have a weekly Skype call with the developers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Scopic is very flexible and presents high-level expertise at a reasonable cost.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any advice on this aspect. They’ve been really good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear idea of what you really want when you work with Scopic.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Vice President of a software company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our team has skills focused on C++ desktop applications. For projects outside this realm, for example, cloud-based or mobile Apps, we go to Scopic. In this case, it was a cloud-based recurring billing system which enables SaaS.

SOLUTION

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

We've used Scopic for several years. Small projects at first, but growing in scope over the years.

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

They used the Stripe payment system API and hooked it up to a SQL customer database all running in the cloud, and provided a C++ callable API that our code talked to.

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

There were 3 - 2 engineers and a project manager. Probably another 1 or 2 behind the scenes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It about to launch, so we don't yet know the final outcome! But its looking good.

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

For me its great because it is all via email. No interrupting phone calls. They handle most everything, so it is truly possible to delegate to them. I guess we had a kick-off ZOOM meeting as well.

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

I like how the project manager handles a lot and insulates us from some of the details. I like that I can email directly to Tim the CEO (which typically I only do at the very start of a project - to check that its the type of thing they can do --and it seems, it always is.)

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

My company is probably the weakest link -- sometimes they are prompting us to review their work, and we are the slow down overall.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Zonal began in the UK in 1979 when the McLean family noticed they were having issues monitoring sales and operations at their family hotel and bar in Edinburgh. Ralph McLean, the founder, realized the hotel was losing around 30 dollars a night. He invented a solution to manage and control operations, creating the first Zonal POS system. In 1993 Zonal expanded to the US, setting up operations in Florida. Today Zonal has offices in Florida, Georgia and New Jersey and continues to expand through both direct and reseller channels. We have over 400 employees worldwide. The US market is our key focus. The unrivaled financial stability and success of Zonal has enabled the business to invest significantly in product development, and we lead the market with innovation especially in the field of customer engagement, guest management, optimizing the power of social media and digital marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have used Scopic for several projects and support issues with products that were designed by other development firms. Scopic has worked on our Z-Loyalty and iOrder products the most, which are both fully integrated with our POS systems that reside in store. The goals have been different everytime we have hired Scopic, once was to find and fix a memory leak in our loyalty application that was mission critical, another was to enhance the user ordering experience in our iOrder application where customers can order food and drink from their mobile device.

SOLUTION

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

We found them on Guru by looking at recommendation and we couldn't be happier with their work or their team

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

The scope of work has always started with a technical call to discuss the needs, estimates on the work including optimistic, realistic and pessimistic cases. Our work crosses several technologies including iOS, Android, Web, Google Firebase, SendGrid, Heroku and I am sure I left out a few!

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

For my projects the average was 5 which consisted of a project manager, 1-2 developers, an operation manager and an accounting manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Scopic has always met our expectations and we will continue to use them for any other work needed.

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

Scopic uses a cloud based project management solution called Teamwork, it is easy to use, even for a non-developer like myself!

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

They are always on top of our requests and willing to work on anything, no matter how the program was developed or maintained

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

Nothing I would change.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

dSurf is the platform where years of accessibility knowledge and passion for equality in the workforce come together to create a community where knowledge can be shared.

dSurf offers free resources in the form of webinars, blog articles, and videos for end-users, teachers of end-users, parents, documentation and content creators, sighted testers, and engineers. Our primary focus is helping people who are blind or visually impaired and testing web sites for accessibility.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Scopic helped me create a website that defines who dSurf is to the world. When I first reached out to them I had a few ideas, but they helped me define the mission and role we want to play in the market.

This included creating a whole new website, mission statement, logo and images, SEO, CSS, and much more. Scopic's team has helped us show the rest of the world who we are and what we do in what is a relatively specialized market.

SOLUTION

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

I chose Scopic for their track record of helping others.

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

I had a very basic, functional web site that did not look or feel modern. I had some basic ideas outlined there. Scopic brought their entire team to focus on several things, including:

1. Creating a logo
2. Identifying "who" we are
3. Providing graphics and images for social media (i.e., Twitter, YouTube)
4. Writing content and biography pages
5. Creating text and images for the web pages that are accessible
6. SEO optimization
7. Speed of web page loading
8. Etc.

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

The team from Scopic included the following members:

• Project Manager
• Technical team lead for web dev
• Designer for graphics
• Marketing lead and copyrighter
• SEO specialist
• Testers and auditors

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have already had positive comments via the blog from clients within a few days of launching the web site.

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

The project manager coordinated all team members and meetings. If I need to speak to given members of the team, those members are present at the meetings we hold. The project manager used Zoom for most meetings and we have used Skype and email as well for communication.

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

I am fairly skilled in front-end and User Interface design (UX), however I have not the skills for the back end of the web site. This is the reason I hired Scopic, for their technical and marketing expertise.

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

We had one missed meeting due to circumstances beyond the project manager's control. Those things happen in any work environment. The project manager has been on top of getting it right whenever there was even a minor issue.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The company is a start-up and will, when authorised, design instrument flight procedures for private and commercial aircraft operators and airfields. I am assisting the owner as an aviation consultant with experience of software development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The development of an application for IFP design is very complicated and requires extensive use of 3D maths and transformations. The task was to create an app from the ground up so we wrote a long specifications document to say what it should do.

SOLUTION

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

I used Scopic several years ago to design a similar system for a previous company of my own, so they were the logical choice. They managed to get hold of the engineer who'd worked on the previous project so he already had a good deal of the required knowledge.

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

Far too much to detail here. The project has been ongoing for over a year and will take maybe another six months. Scopic review progress with us every couple of weeks and we tweak the requirements according to what we find during testing, which works well.

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

Normally two: one engineer and one coordinator.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was slow to start but this was because we and Scopic were investigating COTS solutions for the 3D display of the designs, but once this was settled they built a back end first of all and then started to add functionality.

As a consequence, it took quite a while for us to see the proof of concept app, but after that it's developed more quickly.

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

Communication is done via email and bi-weekly Skype meetings, which works well. They have their own portal for managing the project but it's not something that I use since it adds a layer of complexity that I don't have time for and don't need.

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

Scopic are very flexible with regard to working hours and the contract we have with them is also flexible. They are very happy to make changes to the app that wasn't in the spec, and don't complain even when we change our minds about how a tool should work (several times).

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

I can't think of anything specific.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP and on the board of directors of Wachusett Earthday. It’s a nonprofit corporation that works with our community to protect the watershed and keep waste out of it. We do this by recycling, disposing, and reusing different types of materials whenever possible. We also contract with providers to recycle environmentally dangerous things. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Scopic?

We needed to build software to help with the check-in process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the software and integrated Square so we could process credit card payments. The platform tracks the items we receive, categorizes them, prices them, and enables us to export the data as needed. It is hosted on Amazon Web Services. Now they provide ongoing maintenance.

What is the team composition?

Tina (Project Manager) was assigned to us. She interacted with the programmers, who were brought in as needed.

How did you come to work with Scopic?

Tim (Founder & President) presented a proposal that laid out what we should expect, what they would do, and pricing. We ultimately decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around August 2019 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The software rolled out in mid-2020, and I use it daily. It works well and has a friendly user interface. Prior to this software being developed, we had to do the check-in process by hand, filling out forms and inputting data into Excel spreadsheets to analyze. Now we can easily access information in a way we couldn’t before. As we continue to use the platform, this information will help us make decisions about pricing and impact budget.

How did Scopic perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been wonderful. Tina coordinates between us and the programmers. She communicates well and relays any issues or concerns we have. She is extremely responsive.

We have frequent meetings that involve everybody we need. I am able to attend meetings and provide input, but we mainly communicate via Skype and email. They delivered within the set budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They work in a timely manner, are responsive, and are flexible. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve had a great experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a well-defined task. Be prepared to explain what you want, what the user interface needs to look like, what integrations and interactions you require, and what forms your data needs to take.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Homegrown Nursery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Scopic?

They developed a website and managed our SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a WordPress website with a cart feature and different pages for cities and states. They also integrated Google Cloud Print.

Since then, they’ve continued to work on our site by writing weekly blogs and updating product details. They’ve also created a backlinking strategy and have written content linking to our site. Finally, they have led other projects, like advertising on Craigslist.

What is the team composition?

I work with Sarah (Marketing Specialist & Copywriter) and Andre (SEO Specialist).

How did you come to work with Scopic?

I did some research and reviewed their profile. I then called and asked them to send me links to other sites that they’ve built. After looking over their work, I felt confident that they could take on my project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, I’m satisfied with their work. They’ve accomplished everything I’ve asked of them so far.

How did Scopic perform from a project management standpoint?

They communicate well and are responsive. They’re easy to get in touch with on Teamwork Messenger and we have weekly Skype meetings. They also finish projects in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been able to take on just about anything I throw at them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any complaints about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients need to be willing to collaborate with them and be transparent about what they want.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company makes scientific instrumentation. I am the President of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Scopic?

Scopic performed a variety of programming tasks related to data analysis and the graphical user interface.

What were your goals for this project

The goals of the project were to implement certain algorithms related to data analysis. In addition, we sought to revise the user interface from a text based to pictoral based interface.

SOLUTION

How did you select Scopic?

I researched several firms on Guru.com. I gave Scopic a small programming task to evaluate their performance. I was pleased to see that they were responsive and completed the task perfectly.

Describe the project in detail.

The project details are confidential.

What was the team composition?

I worked with a project manager and one programmer. They worked well together and with me. They were punctual and accommodating to my work schedule.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This project was not focused toward an easily quantifiable metric as you might encounter in a web page design. However, the calculation tasks were completed as specified and the pictoral implementation was done well, with good stylistic elements as well as efficient programming.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Could not ask for a better team from a logistics standpoint.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Scopic programmer was very efficient at writing code. That required a good background in mathematics which I had difficulty finding elsewhere. Programmers abound, but finiding someone who could understand the elements underpinning why were were doing what we do was difficult until I met Scopic.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. I think the work quality is excellent and the price reasonable. I continue to work with them and enjoy the relationship.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Provider of laser eye surgery services. I am the Vice President of Information Technology Services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to develop a Telehealth web application that would use webRTC to allow our staff to talk to patients using a browser. The goal was to replace an existing application that patients had to download and install with one that would work in the browser.

SOLUTION

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

We have been working with Scopic for years. They have been fantastic to work with. Their developers are knowledgeable, hard working and creative.

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

Scopic worked on the patient portion of the project - anything that the patient would see in the browser. This included using webRTC for accessing the webcam and microphone and chat. The application had to be responsive so that it looks good on mobile, tablet and desktop.

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

Two developers worked with us. One was more user-interface focused and one was focused more on the webRTC integration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Scopic team was great to work with. They had great suggestions, understood our needs and provided exactly what we wanted.

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

During the core development, we met daily with the team and made shared the interface using Microsoft Teams. A list of follow-ups was updated daily. This allowed us to develop this web application very quickly.

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

Scopic has a great combination of talented developers who were easy to work with. They also offered a reasonable price.

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

No issues.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We develop, sell, and support 3D design software to woodworkers. We have been in business 10 years and have customers worldwide. I am the owner and president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

1. Take an existing version of our software and improve its function and appearance. This is an ongoing project and we are about to release our fifth version - 3 of which Scopc has designed, programmed, and implemented.
2. Provide the infrastructure necessary to distribute and support our products. This includes customer portals, CRM type data management, and web security and performance.
3. Design and develop a new product offering.
4. Total marketing design and support.
5. SEO.
6. Created a KickStarter campaign that as of now is more than 500% funded.

SOLUTION

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

Honestly the initial attraction was price. However from the very beginning of their work for us they impressed me with their professionalism, depth of skills in many technical areas, and highly structured approach to design, development, and delivery.

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

There are too many projects to spell this all out. The key delivarables were SketchList 3D versions 3, 4, and 5. The Cabinet Wizard version 1 and 2. Setting up distribution systems for getting new and existing customers copies of products. On the marketing side they redesigned our webpage entirely.

They manage our social channels and whatever publicity we do. SEO - our web page is leading many of the keywords that we have targets in tems of hits from searches. They put together a plan - which was long term - and executed it perfrectly.

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

The number varied from 2 or 3 to a dozen over time. As we prepare our V5 release it's probably 10 or 12. Postions? Project manager, developers, designers, UI/UX experts, designers, CNC programmers, SEO experts, copy writers, designers, tecfhnical writers, and probably more.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SketchList 3D is one of the leading woodworking software packages for woodworkers. This year we have doubled sales and with the introduction of our newest version may very well double again in 2021. SketchList.com, according to the firm Semrush, is the top company in web visibility for its marketplace.

It had more than twice the visibility of its next competitor. Considerable since some of the companies on the list are very large. Scopic employees hold high standards for their work and for each other. Deliverables are on-time unless of course we change the project in some way that affects the schedules.

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

Very professional. At every level. Timelines are taken very seriously. Each project has documented steps and measurements. From a relatively simple spreadsheet, to a formal project planning structure, to problem reporting and tracking systems they are well versed.

When a problem comes up they are very transparent about the issues and always, it seems, come with a suggested solution. Outside factors (as with Apple making some major changes) that distract the normal flow are analyzed and a plan is developed and implemented.

I am usually fully confident that things are in control and moving along. When I am not I call and either get an answer or a time at which an answer would be available. I am comfortable with our relationship, in part, because of the way the people I work with are really invested in my success.

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

Depth or understanding of my business and technical problems. Committment. The deep pool or skills resources. Organization, procedures, and tools.

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

It is hard to say because it has been such a learning experience for me. There are many thing I could have done differently - for example provide better specifications. But that's not how I do things and they supported that.

A while back I asked for more reporting - since so much was going on - and it took a bit for them to hone in on a useful way to provide the updates. In this long term relationship people have come and gone - which it the most difficult experience for us.

Those who leave have a wealth of knowledge and those who come one are unknown to us. But that's just how it is. Generally they've provided good replacements and the times when there wasn't - for whatever a reason - they working with me to get it right.