Slide UX

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Media Driver provides consulting services, and we have a web-based management tool for enterprise middleware application systems. My position is one of the co-founders and I head up the technical practice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

We approached them about modernizing the UI [user interface] and some of the UX [user experience] aspects of our middleware management application. We were releasing a v3.0 that had a lot of new features, and we wanted to just modernize our UI look and feel as well as address some UX challenges we had. Also, we had a deadline for a conference. We wanted the new look in time for a conference that was just a few weeks out when we approached Slide UX.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we met with them, we asked to understand their approach. They shared how they work and their service offerings. We wanted to line that up with what we needed and then also manage that against our short timeframe. We were just really happy with the way that all came together.

They started off by providing us a number of UI look and feel options, and then we went through a process of reviewing the UI components within our application. We picked the top UI components that we needed them to help address from a design perspective, and then we went through multiple iterations where they would deliver us first just the design, look, and feel. We were able to go and start applying that from a developer perspective, applying a content style, colors, spacing, and just some of the basic structural things. Then, as they completed different UI components, we would review them, go through a feedback loop where we would work with them to address things based on how we thought users were using it, and just have a real constructive dialogue back and forth with their experts on what they felt worked really well with their understanding users and then complemented that with how we understood users used our application, which has a very technical nature. There’s just a lot of information and data on the screen, and so they were really helpful with us to accommodate these uncommon UI/UX challenges.

We worked in an iterative model, and they would deliver a number of UI components. We would start working them into our application, and it worked out really well that way because we were able to provide feedback that informed the phase two and phase three of the additional UI components that they needed. We were able to make our deadline for the conference, and it was really well received. I couldn’t be happier with the way it went.

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

We did some research. We were based in Austin as well, and we wanted somebody local because we felt like for this initial read, we wanted to have some insight meetings. We researched top rated UI/UX groups within the area. Part of the evaluation process was that we screened and asked them to pitch how they operated, budgeted, and ran projects, and felt like Slide UX just had the most professional approach, met our budget, and was also available to work within our timeframe. From that perspective, it worked out really well.

How much have you invested with Slide UX?

We have spent $10,000 to $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

May 2016 – June 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From a metrics perspective, the number one was that they met the timeline. Two: they met the budget. Three: they delivered the quality we were looking for in the components. In UI, you might have a table or a little panel or detail view; these kinds of things that we called components. They were able to provide a new and modern look and feel for every component that we gave them. We didn’t present them a design challenge they couldn’t solve. Those are my big three: timing, cost, and delivery. In my mind, they really hit it out of the park.

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

I thought it was good. They provided us a dedicated resource to track the tasks and help coordinate meetings. We had a couple of in-person meetings. We had the meetings where they would deliver us the screens and the component looks, and we’d have review sessions. They provided us follow-up as well as budget and hours tracking, so I thought they performed well from a project management perspective.

What did you find most impressive about Slide UX?

I think the main thing that really distinguished them was when we were doing our initial evaluation, just the professional approach they had to it. Being in the creative space, sometimes that’s not married up with the business and the professional side of things, so we were just really pleased with how they made it a package. The delivery of the whole solution was packaged from project management, cost management, timing, all that kind of stuff, in addition to the great creative work they did. Just making it a really professional experience from their end, I felt really differentiated from the other folks we were talking to. That was our big deciding factor to go with them, and then they were able to deliver on it.

They’ve got excellent UI and UX talent that’s very knowledgeable in the space and understands the technical challenge. It’s one thing for a designer to come up with a good design, but to also be aware of the needs of the developer and how to make it technically plug into an application, was one of the things that we really needed. We couldn’t just have a really pretty picture if it wasn’t something that we could technically make work in an application; it wasn’t going to work for us.

Are there any areas Slide UX could improve?

I don’t think so. We communicated really well. Whenever we had questions, they were very responsive. It was just well done. The other side of our business is services, so we’re delivering similar technical services to other companies but not in the creative space. We’re pretty critical because we know how critical we are to ourselves, and there really just wasn’t anything that stood out to me that I feel like I wanted them to do differently. We’re looking to do more work with them as we add new features.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Sherry Matthews Inc. is an advertising and marketing agency. I am the senior interactive producer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

We were doing content migration to an umbrella site for our client. Our main challenge was making sure that we were incorporating content in a way that made sense. It should still be easy for users to find and access content.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slide UX helped us identify the type of UX testing that we needed to do. There are a number of different ways to do UX testing: moderated and unmoderated. Once we settled on that, they created a guide. They also worked on a prototype to use as the testing stimuli. They conducted the tests and provided a pretty comprehensive report afterward.

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

They were recommended to me by one of my co-workers. I wanted to open up our pool of resources. We do have other partners who would’ve also done a great job, but we took a chance with Slide UX.

How much have you invested with Slide UX?

We spent $48,500 in total. That included a change order, too.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement ended a couple of weeks ago and lasted for about 2 ½ months. It was meant to be a 1-month project, but we had a bit of a moving target so ended up extending the deadline. Slide UX worked with us as the project evolved and our client changed the scope.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have metrics because it’s more of a content thing, but the client was very pleased. It was nice to know that the client was receptive to their feedback. Most of my suspicions were validated, so that felt good to me. The changes Slide UX recommended were achievable. They emphasized the things that could be done instead of proposing that they completely redo things. Slide UX worked with what we had, which was a much more appealing option.

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was excellent and they were incredibly flexible. Slide UX followed up and arranged timelines well. This was very clear when we had to make changes in the order. They knew why we had to do it and what those changes entailed. They were very solution-oriented. Each time we encountered an obstacle, Slide UX would provide solutions, usually by letting us choose between 2 options.

What did you find most impressive about Slide UX?

I felt they explained their reasoning for recommendations really well. Even a layperson like our client could follow their reasoning. They spelled out why a choice would be more appealing to users or why a certain change would be more effective. I thought that was great. I also found that their style and delivery was professional without being cold. They’re really easy to work with and to talk to. I’m fortunate that we have really good providers.

Are there any areas Slide UX could improve?

Our client had very specific needs. There was one point where Slide UX would charge forward on something and I had to say, “No, we need to do it this way. Look, I know that a lot of your clients do it this way, but we have these restrictions.” I felt like I had to hammer that into them a bit harder. For example, we had to use certain words for legal reasons. I just can’t make content changes willy-nilly, so I had to ask them to redo some of their work.  

I know there was one point where there was a little miscommunication. I wanted to have a call to let them know about the type of users they were going to have. Again, they needed to watch out for some user traits and situations that we had run into in the past. We didn’t have that kickoff. I don’t know if I made my request clear that I wanted to have a call. The call didn’t happen, but everything still worked out okay. We’re really talking about the difference between an A-plus and an A here.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a technical project manager of an advertising agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

We were working on a project to upgrade our client-facing results dashboard. It’s a web-based application that hooks into a proprietary database. Not only did we want a design refresh, we wanted to take a fresh look at how we were displaying data to our users.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slide UX provided user experience design and best practices related to data visualization. They provided input about the best way and level of granularity for giving people data. We also determined the default and how deep we should go from both a performance and usability standpoint. This was external-facing in the sense that our clients log onto our platform. However, it is not consumer-facing because it’s not a product that is sold to the public. Slide UX was incredibly involved from the very beginning of the project. They were involved in the overall strategy, wireframes, design, and the hand-off for development. Another company took over the development phase.

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

Someone in our company had previously worked with Erin Young at Slide UX. That’s how we heard about them. She’d had a good experience with Erin before so we brought this project to them. We’re pleased with the outcome.

How much have you invested with Slide UX?

We have spent $10,000 to $50,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from October 2015 through May 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any metrics. I have nothing that’s measurable from a wireframe and a design. All I have are anecdotal comments internally as well as feedback from clients who have used the new dashboard. Everyone’s very impressed by the design.

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent and they met all of their deadlines. The project came in on time and on budget. They helped us lay out a schedule and then we just kept to it. It was a small enough project that they basically connected us directly to the UX designer who did the visual design and the user experience. We basically worked directly with him. Slide UX did assign someone to our account and that person probably worked in the background. I’m sure they were helping maintain the workflow on their side, which shows by their ability to meet the target dates and costs. I have no complaints about their accessibility. I felt like I was always able to get a hold of somebody in a timely manner about a question.

What did you find most impressive about Slide UX?

Slide UX came in and served as a real partner for us on this project. I’ve worked with a lot of companies where you engage with someone and then they strictly take your requirements and run with them. While that’s fine, sometimes we were in a position where we were looking for someone to advise us on best practices of data visualization. Because of that, we needed somebody who was going to take our requirements and knew how to make them even better. Slide UX was willing to introduce things that we had not thought of. I feel like they went above and beyond. They not only kept to our timelines and our budget, they went the extra mile and provided great recommendations. The care and detail with which they executed the work were just amazing. It made it so much easier to hand it off to development because we didn’t have to pick up any slack in between. They were really good and I liked them.

Are there any areas Slide UX could improve?

Not really. There’s always something that could be done better in every circumstance. They introduced a bunch of new platforms to us for reviewing the designs. I guess the only thing I would say is handing out a package to give to everybody involved would probably have been good. That way, we would have all the information about where to go and get the assets when the project was wrapped.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the SVP of products for Ziften. We provide endpoint protection and visibility for laptops, desktops, and servers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

Our business is highly technical and there's a lot of acronyms. It’s a difficult market to understand and it’s hard to know what the users are doing. Our customers face the usual challenges of being overworked and underpaid. They have too much work to do and too many things to look at. What we needed was a better understanding of how to streamline their day-to-day workflow. A lot of our customers have multiple tools, not necessarily just ours, and they have to move back and forth among these different tools. They have to get information out of our product as fast as possible so they can move on to the next task. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slide UX spent a lot of time with us to understand what our product does and how it looks. The first thing we did was go through our customer and user personas. They have different job functions. Slide UX spent time learning about our space in endpoint security and network security. They did a ton of research on what incident response was as well as security operations. Slide UX came back with one of the user personas and what their day-to-day jobs look like. Based on that persona, they did a full information architecture mapping on the existing product. Then they started to talk about the ideal workflows through the product. They obviously spent a lot of time with us going through that. They went through the wireframing of what the new pages would look like, a totally new information architecture. We went through an extensive wireframe review mock-up and gave our comments.

Slide UX then came up with mock-ups of the actual design along with a color scheme. They put together an interactive, clickable demo which we presented to selected customers. We ended up doing 6 customer interviews that lasted for 1 hour each. Many of the customers got so excited that they went way over the time limit. Based on their feedback, Slide UX put together extensive notes about the design and how it worked with our clients’ daily jobs. In turn, we gave another round of recommendations for modifying the workflows, wireframes, and layout. Their findings influenced our design when we started rebuilding our product.

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

Initially, we found 10 or 12 companies that had portfolios that were relevant to what we did and fit our requirements. Then I interviewed 8 or 9 and got formal proposals from about 5 of them. We chose Slide UX based on our budget and the fact that they were in Austin, which was convenient for me. When I met them in person, I sort of fell in love with Erin and her team. I felt like they could take care of us. That’s how we ended up working with Slide UX.

How much have you invested with Slide UX?

To give you a ballpark figure, we spent about $75,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We really started about August of last year and the project ended in February. About 97% of that time was spent waiting for me and my team. Officially, we scoped it on an hourly perspective. It was a 3-month project that stretched out to 6 or 7 just because of other things our team had going on. There are a couple of projects we’ll be working on in the next 6 months. I’ve got a limited budget and when those projects push through, we will go right back to Slide UX.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest tangible proof was the customer interviews we did at the very end. We wanted to get an idea of how our customers perceived us with respect to our competitors. At the very end, Slide UX  did quick visual comparisons of the new version of our product with the UI/UX redo versus our competitors. They were compared based on these questions: “What’s the most visually appealing? Which one looks the most professional? Which one looks like a company you’d want to do business with?” Ultimately, we wanted to know which product the clients would want to invest your money in. Of the 6 or 7 customer reviews we did, every single one of them rated their work above all of our competitors. Frankly, that’s the only thing I care about. That was our metric. We also tracked the number of clicks, but that’s a bad comparison. Our previous UI was so terrible they would have looked stellar regardless. That’s the best answer I can give you.

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

Slide UX gave us constant updates and they were sensitive to the budget. They kept me informed about what they were doing behind the scenes. I also knew how that was coming out of the original hour estimates, thanks to their updated Gantt chart. As a product manager, you would think I would like that, but for some reason, I hate Gantt charts. They kept me well apprised of everything and were always on top of it. I thought they did a fantastic job.

What did you find most impressive about Slide UX?

From the minute we first sat down with them, they were real people trying to solve our problems. Location was certainly a factor for me. There were a couple of firms in Austin that were larger and had a big budget and all that. Slide UX made me feel like I mattered to them even at my tiny, “barely pay half of one person’s salary for a year” project. I felt just as important as their bigger customers. They treated me like I actually mattered even when I really don’t in the grand scheme of things.

Are there any areas Slide UX could improve?

I’m sure there are probably some but that would be nitpicking. I’m not sure I could think of any off the top of my head.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

The organization is St. Edward’s University in Austin.

What is your position?

I am the Creative Director and Brand Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

We launched a new, responsive website in August of 2015, which is a combination of three of our older sites. Since our new website was attracting a different audience, we knew we needed to rethink the navigation and content on the pages. After a few months of living with the new site and working with the content, our team was running into a few user experience challenges. In looking at the analytics, we could see that our users were also having difficulty finding information, and they weren’t experiencing the site in a way that was beneficial for conversion. Our end goal is all about getting users to apply, schedule a visit, or request more information.

My Assistant Vice President and I took it upon ourselves to find an agency that we could partner with for a very brief time to identify the areas that were a challenge for users and make recommendations.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We only worked with Slide UX for a few weeks. They looked at our site and came back in about three weeks with global considerations and high priority considerations, as well as some areas that we should look at where users may be frustrated by the design. From the beginning, we didn’t share too much information with them because we wanted to see if they were reaching the same conclusions that we were, and we were pleased to find that they did. The recommendations they brought back were very specific and helpful for the user path, and more specifically for navigation on mobile devices. They were ordered in terms of prioritization and accompanied by clear next steps that we should take.

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

We were looking for someone that was local to Austin and knew St. Edward’s University and brand. We looked at a couple of agencies here in town, but I liked that Slide UX was a smaller team. We knew that we wanted something done very quickly and we wanted to be able to meet face to face. We needed an agile team that could really be an addition to our staff for a short time.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Total spend was under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted about five weeks in early 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We are still implementing Slide UX’s recommendations among our team of 20. Our first set of changes will be completed within the next couple of weeks, and we expect to have results by August.

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

Once I talked with Erin [Principal of Slide UX] and a few of her team members, I could tell that they understood what we were trying to accomplish and what was important to us. They were very well-versed, easy to work with, and adaptable to our tight timeframe. They even taught some people here about user experience, which was helpful.

Our audiences can vary greatly, from 16 and 17 year olds in high school looking for a university, to their parents, to grad students, and returning adult students. It was important for us to be able to make improvements that would affect all of our users. Erin and her team provided us with results and action items that we could use right away.

What distinguishes Slide UX from other providers?

Even though Erin and her team knew going into this that it was going to be a very short project, they still brought back presentations and results that were representative of a larger scale project. They’re just that type of team that delivers to the best of their abilities no matter the size of the project. Other agencies I’ve worked with will make something feel small budget and quick if they know I have a small budget and short timeline. By no means do I feel that Slide UX did that. They provided recommendations in the areas that they saw opportunities, not only where we asked them to look.

As I’ve recommended them to others, I say that they’re a small team with big results and big ideas. They are always willing to have an additional conversation on the phone or via email, and they always go the extra mile. I’ve gotten the same feeling from Erin and the three or four other people on her team that I’ve interacted with. User experience is Slide UX's thing, and they really do make it a priority to get the results that their clients are hoping for.

Is there anything Slide UX could have improved or done differently?

No, I felt like even before our initial meeting, they had done their research. They knew who we were and spent time on our site finding out about St. Edward’s University and how we differ. They came prepared and ready to make things happen.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I worked at a self-storage space company.

What is your position?

I was the chief product officer, which meant I had all of product management, product marketing, and user experience under me.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

Our company is in the self-storage industry, which is not super exciting. However, there's a new kind of storage system where a truck comes to you, picks up your stuff, and brings it to a warehouse. We were trying to enter this new category of business, but were really struggling with branding and messaging surrounding that. We engaged with Slide UX to help us come up with terminology that distinguishes this form of storage from the traditional storage experience. Then, we wanted to come up with images, words, and messaging to brand and market that idea.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Slide UX has a team member that works specifically with branding, Chad [Slide UX's creative director]. He met with us to understand our problem and turned that information into different terms, images, and icons. He then met with us to narrow down the options to a manageable amount. Slide UX then took those designs that we chose and did online surveys to determine what ones were received the best by our users. That objective data was very helpful because it proved that all of our gut feelings were wrong as they often are. We came away with a set of terms and images that we can confidently use across our website.

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

My VP of marketing had worked with Slide UX before and had a good experience, so he recommended them. We talked to a couple of other firms and weren't impressed, so we went with Slide UX.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Our cost was just about in the middle of $10,000 to $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January of this year and lasted about six weeks. They were very efficient.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We completely redesigned the part of our website regarding this new type of storage, and although Slide UX didn't do the redesign, their work was critical to the changes that we made. Since those changes, our conversion rate has doubled.

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

They managed it very well. Hanna [O'Brien, senior producer at Slide UX] was our project manager and Chad was the creative talent. Hanna attended all the meeting and gave a very clear idea of how long it was going to take. They kept all their timelines – nothing was ever late. Hanna was awesome.

What distinguishes Slide UX from other providers?

They were a pleasure to work with. Sometimes one of the things you get with UX [user experience] people is attitude, which is what we got from some of the other firms, but Slide UX is a group of very nice people. I would happily use Slide UX again not only because they're talented, but because they were lovely to work with.

Is there anything Slide UX could have improved or done differently?

No. I couldn't expect anything more without them being magical. Given what we asked of them, they performed as well as anybody could.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for SeniorAdvisor.com. We are a ratings and review site in the senior housing space. We help families with senior loved ones make better, more informed decisions as they choose senior services.

What is your position?

I am the Vice President of Marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

We had a website that was built by developers, so we brought Slide UX in to update the design and make the site more customer-friendly. Erin [Young, founder and user experience architect at Slide UX] and team did a complete redesign from top to bottom from a visual and UX [user experience] standpoint.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

It actually started a number of steps back from the site itself. We initially spent time determining the goals of the company and how we wanted the site to help us accomplish those goals. Erin did an awesome job of synthesizing our ideas into a nice set of statements that defined who we were as a company and then building the site to meet that vision. Slide UX did user research, prototyping, wireframing, and finally design work. They also provided us with design files that we could chop up and turn into code.

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

They came in as a referral to the president of our organization, and we've been working with them close to three years now.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Total spend to date is north of $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

At this point, we have them on retainer as our go-to resource for UX needs. They are an extension of our team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

When we started working with Slide UX we didn't rank for any search results, and we had a terrible user experience. Today, we are the biggest ratings and reviews site in this space. One of our most notable competitors has about a six-year head start on us in terms of content, but we have surpassed them in the short time that we've been around. I attribute much of our success, going from nothing to being the best in the space, to Slide UX's work on our site.

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very tight on project management. One of the benefits of bringing in Erin and her team is that they are very schedule-driven. They understand how to break a project into various milestones and deliverables, and they hit their targets. They bring a lot of precision and rigor to the table and actually helped us strengthen the way that we do things internally.

What distinguishes Slide UX from other providers?

We haven't used any other providers, and we're not shopping around. We've been pleased with Slide UX and we view them as a part of our team.

Is there anything Slide UX could have improved or done differently?

A year ago, I would say they were stretched thin on resources, and we couldn't get as many hours out of them as we wanted. They have since bolstered their team and brought on some good new hires. As of today, no, there is nothing to improve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work at KindHealth, a digital insurance platform that markets health insurance plans to individual consumers nationwide.

What is your position?

I am the president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

We're in an industry that typically has a terrible design around its offerings. Most health insurance platforms out there show a consumer hundreds of different plans, but fail to communicate what plan best fits their needs. We wanted to show the product in a whole new way and make shopping for insurance like shopping for any other consumer product.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Slide UX designed the entire site. They chose the colors, redesigned the logo, and created a smooth flow for the user from start to finish. They also did much of work with the data and the coding. We had several applications with 800 to 1,000 unique fields for each insurance carrier, but were trying to create one application. Slide UX was instrumental in creating that universal application.

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

We were referred to Slide UX, specifically Erin Young [founder and user experience architect at Slide UX], by our development team. We met with a couple of design firms at the beginning, but chose Slide UX because we were impressed.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The cost ended up between $50,000 and $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project is completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We did a pick-through with a random audience to compare the design and usability of our site with our most admired competitors. We not only won that, but have gotten tremendously positive feedback on the layout of the site.

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

They did very well. One of their strong points was keeping us updated. It's common for these types of projects to spiral in terms of timeline and budget, but Slide UX did a great job of keeping us on track and within budget. They always let us know if they were going to be over in hours and how we could adjust to stay cost-neutral.

Is there anything Slide UX could have improved or done differently?

That's a tough one for me because I feel a little lame when you can't find an area for improvement but, no, they did exactly what they had to do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for SENTO Design, a small marketing communications agency in Austin, Texas. We help our clients with their marketing efforts including strategy, design, and branding.

What is your position?

I am the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

One of my clients needed a web application developed to help them reach and better interact with their customers. Normally my team would handle most of the work, but the client needed their product fast, and I knew I needed help from user experience professionals.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

I wanted someone who really knew what they were doing, and who could do it quickly. I engaged with Slide UX to create a development plan for the web application, and they provided the user interface design and experience elements.

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

My small agency has been around for a long time, and I value referrals much more than searching on the Internet. I reached out to an old colleague of mine and told her I needed a professional in the user experience area who can get started immediately. She referred me to Slide UX.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The cost falls between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial launch phase that Slide UX was a part of is almost complete [as of April 2016]. After this phase, we'll need to reassess what functionality to add, at which point I expect to reach out to Slide UX again.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

There is nothing that I can specifically speak to at this point, but I am confident that the result of this web application is going to allow my client to surpass their competitors technologically.

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

Excellent. Slide UX was very communicative and responsive, and they set the expectations where I needed them to be. Overall, I was very fulfilled as their customer.

What distinguishes Slide UX from other providers?

This is the first time I've hired out for a role like this, but it ended up being awesome. Slide UX performed very well, which helped me make the case to my client that UX [user experience] is a very valuable skill set that we should be hiring for.

Is there anything Slide UX could have improved or done differently?

I don't want to say that there is no room for improvement, but I honestly think they knocked it out of the park. They did everything they said they were going to do and that's what we needed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

At the time of this project, I worked for SolarWinds, an IT [information technology] management software company.

What is your position?

I was director of the website, and I was responsible for improving lead conversion and keeping our features and functionality up-to-date.  I also oversaw product management, front-end development, and all UX [user experience] projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Slide UX?

We didn't have an internal web UX team. All of our internal UX was related to our software which is much different from web UX. We were looking for experts in UX to standardize the look and feel of our website and optimize our user experience to increase lead conversion.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Slide UX worked with us to understand user problems, participate in research, and then develop UX solutions to solve key problems. They developed everything from page components to whole pages to a series of pages in a particular user flow.  Additionally, they worked with us to completely redesign our site header and footer as well as navigational flow.  

How did you come to work with Slide UX?

My company already had a relationship with Slide UX when I started. I didn't find them, but I wish I had.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The cost was more than $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I am no longer with the company, but we used them on an ongoing basis for many projects while I was there.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did Slide UX perform from a project management standpoint?

Slide UX really stands up for what's right for the user. They are extremely collaborative with the team, use the latest project management and project review tools, and hold weekly meetings to keep everyone accountable for deadlines and deliverables.

What distinguishes Slide UX from other providers?

Slide UX partners with you to understand your business. They want to know what your goals are, what the users are trying to do, and what the user problems are. They approach projects holistically and start by sitting down to think through how the user should process the information in front of them. From the information architecture and UX perspective, they come up with innovative designs. We actually did a few bake-offs with other design firms while I was working with Slide UX because I think it's always good to keep it fresh. I was overwhelmingly impressed with their ability to understand the business and creatively go about solving the problem.

Is there anything Slide UX could have improved or done differently?

No. We used them for everything. We even had them do an online style guide for us, which was fantastic.