Small Planet

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Vice President of Operations for Something Borrowed Blooms. We are a rent-and-return silk floral company that services people nationwide by providing a cost-effective and more sustainable floral & decor option for events throughout the US and Canada. In my role, I oversee our fulfillment, procurement, production and technology departments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

After experiencing a sitewide outage during a new product launch, the team began to grow concerned about our tech infrastructure and future scalability. Our current website was built on an open-source platform using custom logic and, at the time of development, was needed as there were no other 'pre-built' platforms that could accommodate our complex business model. We hired the Small Planet team to review our current tech stack and make recommendations on what changes are needed to better support our goal to 10x the business.

SOLUTION

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

The Small Planet team reached out, and after reviewing several other sites their team deployed and speaking with several of their references, we felt they would be a great fit.

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

We had several kick-off meetings in the beginning to formalize the scope of work & the tech and credentials that would be needed so their team had access to all the right tools before formally starting the project. Post kick-off, we had daily morning huddles, no longer than 10-15 minutes so everyone knew each person's goals or tasks for the day.

We leverage Confluence for documenting all of the audit findings, and a final deck was presented at the end of the 6 weeks that outlined both their short-term and long-term recommendations.

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

Our project manager was our main point of contact, however there were several full stack developers that worked on our project as well; it was the perfect mix of specialists and generalists consisting of about 5-6 people in total.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest takeaway for me was their level of thoroughness in their documentation - which was something we were in a dire need of. In working with the Small Planet team, we were able to get a glimpse at what tech & development support would look like when working with a larger tech enterprise, and we walked away with several viable options that would better support future growth.

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

I cannot stress enough how amazing their level of communication and organization was; this was by far one of the team's strongest attributes. We left the project feeling more knowledgeable which will empower our ability to make future decisions.

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

What I found to be most impressive was the team's ability to learn and retain the intricate aspects of our business. As a start-up with a very unique business model and a vast amount of custom aspects to our tech stack, their team's ability to understand and retain these key concepts was key to the success of the audit.

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

In the beginning there were a few rough patches in the team's attempt to work with our current developer, however, the Small Planet group quickly pivoted and before long was able to build the rapport needed to effectively work with our existing contractor.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at a lifestyle media company that aims to make it easier for millennials to live smarter.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Small Planet?

We already had our app on iOS but wanted to extend it to Android users. However, we didn’t have any in-house Android developers so we brought on Small Planet to do that for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with the project manager who posted tickets and a to-do list on their end. Next, we worked with the developers and analytics team members who provided analytics data and QA. They tested what they built in conjunction with myself.

What is the team composition?

There were four active team members. I’m sure there were others in the background who assisted as well. My main point of contact was Joana (Chief Operating Officer).

How did you come to work with Small Planet?

They were hired before I joined the company. From my understanding, my company conducted an online search and found them that way. Small Planet is also local to us. They’re in Brooklyn, and we’re in Manhattan. They were easy to contact and interact with.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $200,000–$999,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from May–July 2018. We’ve had various periods of work with them. Since the initial launch, they handled a second version. We’ve since done other projects with them as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Small Planet was really easy to work with. They were clear with the tickets. Their ticket and process were an improvement from what we had. It was nice to see that they were structured. What’s more, they trained us on every process they did in-house so we could follow along with the work. Our internal project manager and QA person coordinated with the Small Planet team.

Another measure of success was how much we learned from them. Small Planet gave us a lot of information. We didn’t know anything about Google, Android, or the Google Play store. We had some hiccups in our iOS app building process. It was nice that they were knowledgeable and had information we didn’t have.

They had a lot of team members who covered everything from start to finish. Their team members are phenomenal. We knew we had experienced professionals. It was nice that we didn’t have to have anyone from our side involved. We collaborated well throughout the process.

How did Small Planet perform from a project management standpoint?

They communicated effectively and were easy to contact. We had daily standups, and they used Pivotal Tracker. For high priority tasks, they told us what their system and process were for labeling. They caught bugs and resolved them quickly. Everything was clear across the board from start to finish. They met all deadlines. Their team even accommodated us when we needed a hotfix after the first launch.

What did you find most impressive about them?      

Their developers are extremely knowledgeable. Not only do they implement features, but they also explain them in layman’s terms by covering best practices and why they’re implemented in a certain way.

They think holistically about how each feature will affect the app. Every single person on their team does a lot of work, and we never had to micromanage. It’s nice to have a reliable partner we could trust to complete the work on time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you want to get out of the project. Make sure communication is kept up on your side because they will keep up on their end. Small Planet will catch things that fall between the cracks and ask you if you’d consider X, Y, or Z. Have your assets and copy ready because they’ll move very quickly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product design at What To Expect. We’re the pregnancy and parenting division of Everyday Health Group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Small Planet?

We wanted new product features to serve our pregnant and new parenting audience. For this, we needed to augment our design staff's capacity.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We reached out to Small Planet to augment our team’s design capabilities for a while to focus on a particular feature. We were working on a series of personal tracking tools around health symptoms, weight, and mood. They collaborated with us specifically for our Android app.

They have development capabilities as well, but our team’s needs were in the area of design. We had already established a rough guideline of the specific feature we wanted to create and gave them a pretty detailed brief. We brought them in to help us bring it to fruition and also sit in through all the user testing that we did and iterate on that through several different rounds.

They were able to digest all the information and come to the table with several different rounds of designs, ideas, and questions on our template sketches, finished prototypes, animation sequences, and more. They helped us get to the final product that we’re building out now.

What is the team composition?

The core team consisted of a senior design lead, a junior visual designer, and a part-time project manager. They worked directly with me and our director of products to understand the problem at hand.

How did you come to work with Small Planet?

They had worked with some of my colleagues before on different apps. We wanted someone local and specialized in mobile apps that had produced top-of-market app experiences. When I looked at Small Planet’s recent work, I saw that they had a lot of stuff in the health and media space. They had clearly worked in our verticals before and were the right size shop for us to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $100,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August until November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to validate that this is one of the top features that our audience is looking for. It’s really specialized and is filling a need that's out there. The feedback we’ve received shows that the tracking feature is helpful and has a human touch. We’re presenting people with a tool that makes them feel reassured even when they can’t control the way they feel. Some of the designs bring a little bit of lightheartedness and human emotion to a time when maybe somebody feels sad or confused.

How did Small Planet perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication was great. We worked in our individual offices but we also had some in-person meetings to review the work. We spoke every day and worked mostly remotely, getting into a regular routine for our daily tasks.

I’ve worked with different types of agencies and creative groups in the past, but Small Planet felt like an extension of our team. We had a dedicated Slack channel and used tools for prototyping, GoToMeeting, etc.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They got our project right away and were flexible to work with us the way we needed. We had a pretty clear vision of what we needed to do and they helped us execute it exactly for our audience. I also appreciated that there wasn’t a lot of fluff.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more you come to the table with an organized idea of what you need to do, the more you’ll get out of the relationship.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a project lead at Voto Latino, a nonprofit that aims to register Latinos to vote and engage young Latinos in the political process.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Small Planet?

In 2016, we put all our resources together to design a simple and affordable app. In 2017, we knew it was time to redesign it to be more user-friendly and have a more attractive design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were in charge of developing our native iOS and Android apps. We looked into our existing app and it was put together by an engine that wasn’t native to iOS or Android. They ended up it and building on top of what existed. They were the and innovative, making sure that we weren’t exceeding the scope and that the costs didn’t get too high.

We had a design process where we discussed how to take a government voter registration form and make it a little bit more engaging and feel less like just a form. They gave us a few options for that, then, we came up with a hybrid option. They then put together design elements and workflows and pitched the idea to us.

One great feature is the ability to scan your ID. To register to vote, as long as the barcode on the back of your ID is perfect and scannable, you don’t actually need to fill out your information. We went through the full technical process of understanding all the different barcodes as it had to function in all 50 states.

They also did a very simple landing page just for the launch. It says our website is coming soon and includes a link to download the app.

What is the team composition?

There were about 10 people. They were split between the programmers and the design and creative. There was a senior producer, Michael (Executive Producer, Small Planet), that we worked with. He was very helpful, making sure everybody was on the same page at all times. We had their CEO also in the Slack rooms to ensure the project was moving along.

How did you come to work with Small Planet?

We’d seen prior work that they’d done for a large organization. We sent them an RFP, and two days later, we received the proposal, which was excellent.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is now a lot easier to use and doesn’t feel like filling out a boring government form. After the soft launch, we didn’t receive any negative feedback, and as they started using it, users were very happy with the app’s workflow and flow. Our partners that used the application were pleasantly surprised with the new and innovative method of it.

How did Small Planet Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They have an application that everyone collaborates on and they also gave us access to their Pivotal Tracker. We used Slack and have individual channels for specific issues that we might be working, checking for bugs, or any progress on different stories. The project had a tight deadline, but they were very transparent about what bugs they’re could get to before that. They wanted us to know why they weren’t able to get to certain things finished.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m very happy with the team they have. They have very talented people who know how to do their jobs; there’s not one member of the team that’s unsure about anything. Even though they usually work with private or non-political companies, they did a lot of research on their own. When we sat down for the first couple of weeks to brainstorm, they came into the meeting with the information they’d found themselves. It was refreshing to know that they were willing to put in this time because they cared about their product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We could have covered more ground if there were more people on the team. Just like any other nonprofit project, we’re stretched thin, and they are too. They did the best that they could in terms of the number of people they had.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come into it knowing exactly what you want your final product to be. You don’t need to know the technical aspect of it. That’s their job to figure that out, but you do need to know where you want to end up. Figuring it out adds up and costs money.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of digital innovation at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, part of a national federation that constitutes the largest reproductive health care provider in the country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Small Planet Digital?

We had an English-only iOS app called Zipper® that helps with booking appointments and provides information on STDs, birth control methods, and our locations and services. In an effort to more effectively reach under-served communities, we decided to prioritize its availability on Android and its accessibility to native Spanish speakers and audiences with low incomes. We hired Small Planet to address these issues.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We sent them the source code for our iOS version of Zipper®. They took a hands-on approach to understanding our goals by interviewing staff members on what our priorities were and who we were trying to reach with these upgrades. They came back to us with a proposal for recasting the user experience, with an emphasis on the ability to book appointments. We could have just done a strict translation/port to Android, but they worked with us to drastically improve the iOS app while also developing the Android app from scratch.

While this was primarily a development project for them, they also did the graphic design and helped us with outreach strategy.

What is the team dynamic?

The team was composed of about six people. There was a producer, project manager, graphic designer, a user experience, and a few developers. During the second half of the process, they brought in QA resources.

How did you come to work with Small Planet?

We were interested in using an integrated environment for multi-platform development work, so I spoke with our parent organization. They recommended that we contact Small Planet. While we initially contacted them to explore the option of working with multi-platform environments generally, they quickly expressed enthusiasm for our project and in working in Xamarin specifically, so I ended up hiring them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in May 2017, and have since completed the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t released the app yet, but the analytics platform is much improved, so once the app is released, we’ll have much greater insight into how people are using it.

How did Small Planet perform from a project management standpoint?

They use an Agile methodology, so we spoke with all members of the team in team-wide, biweekly sprint calls, and were encouraged to reach out to individual developers as needed. They were diligent about meeting their deadlines and holding us to ours, but always pleasant about it. By the end of the project, they hadn’t missed a single mark. The project played out exactly as planned.

They used a combination of project management platforms, including Slack for communication and collaboration, and Pivotal Tracker for tracking day-to-day tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understand users very well. They were able to analyze user experience and improve the app architecture so that it gave users what they wanted where they wanted it.  Every step of the way, they were collaborative, consultative, insightful, and pleasant to work with. They positioned us incredibly well for the long haul, and I’m confident they will be a partner of ours for many years to come.

Plus, they’re simply wonderful people. They have a sense of social justice that meshed well with our organizational values.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a non-profit focusing on closing the gender gap in technology. We run 2 different programs for middle school and high school girls, as well as an after-school one.

I am the director of product innovation for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Small Planet Digital?

One of the first things we were tasked with when I started working with the company in March 2016, was to come up with ways of keeping our alumni engaged after they finished our programs. After a lot of thinking and research, we decided to build a mobile app.

Since we are a non-profit, the goal is less to do with making money, and more to do with making sure that our alumni continue to feel engaged by us. Once they've graduated from a computer science school and have gotten a job in technology, they can say that the achievement was in part due to our programs and community support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Small Planet Digital designed and developed our iOS and Android apps.

How did you come to work with Small Planet Digital?

We went through a request for proposal process, speaking with many different agencies, most of them from New York. We felt that Small Planet was the best fit for our project.

How much have you invested with Small Planet Digital?

The cost of our development project was between $200,000 and $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Small Planet Digital at the end of April 2016 and launched a minimum viable product at the beginning of October. We have many plans for the app but aren't actively developing it at the moment.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have an alumni record of about 10,000 students. 10% of them downloaded the app within the first week. That number has increased since the launch. Girls are spending time in the app daily and weekly. These are users which would have stopped the engagement with our organization, but they continue it through the app.

How did Small Planet Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Small Planet was a great choice for the development of a first product. They were great at walking us through the process. I felt that Small Planet was very quick to respond.

What did you find most impressive about Small Planet Digital?

Small Planet did a great job of becoming a partner for us, instead of just being an agency. They took the time to know our programs and students, as well as what we were trying to accomplish. This shows in the final product.

Are there any areas Small Planet Digital could improve?

Nothing immediately comes to mind.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Small Planet Digital?

Clients need to stay flexible in terms of priorities and understand that the features of the product being built are going to shift. Knowing this, the initial idea will hopefully change for the better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work at Planned Parenthood Federation of America [PPFA]. We are the national office of the Planned Parenthood organization.

What is your position?

I’m the Director of the Digital Products Lab, which is a team that’s focused on building and launching great digital products quickly.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Small Planet Digital?

A big part of Planned Parenthood’s mission has always been to expand access to information and services to people, no matter where or when they need it. We’re an organization that’s a hundred years old. The challenge of working in the digital space is really new for us and something that we haven’t always necessarily been structured to do. When it comes to mobile technology there’s just a huge opportunity for us to expand access. That’s really why we went to Small Planet.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We had two different product ideas and ended up deciding to work with Small Planet on both. One is a period tracker called Spot On that we just launched. The other is an app that helps parents talk to their kids about sexual help, puberty, and relationships which is still to be named. We’re in the process of beta testing it right now and ultimately updating it. Both of these apps were really about getting people the information they needed, where they needed it, and in the way they wanted to use it. That’s what Small Planet has helped us to do.

How did you come to work with Small Planet Digital?

Wanting to work with an agency in New York was definitely a part of it. I think for us particularly, because we have a really small and agile team, we wanted to be able to work day to day with our team and to really learn from the vendor we chose. This is really a new space for us. We’re still building out our product function at PPFA, so to have a really strong and smart team that really wanted to be a strategic partner was critical in our decision.

People thought that what we were doing was cool, which it is. It’s a really fun job. People get really excited to work with us. Small Planet really went beyond the idea of these projects being cool, and really talked about the strategy, what could be, and how we could develop them. They were true partners in figuring out the app and expanding our concept of what it should be. I think Small Planet has done a really great job with that. They really are our partners. We work so closely with them. They’re experienced, particularly for the kids’ app. Their detail orientation is so critical for Spot On. That was the key.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Are there any metrics or success stories you can share?

If you go to the App Store and look at some of our reviews for Spot On, I think they really speak for themselves. They’re really, really positive. People love the design and the functionality. Many of the things that people are most responsive to, came directly from Small Planet. I’ll just give a small example. In the app there are emojis. When you select different emojis for your mood or body symptoms, or you’re tracking your period, they populate these little bubbles. When you move the phone they roll around. That was an idea that our lead developer at Small Planet came up with and we were sort of like, “Yeah, maybe, but it sounds like a lot of work. We probably don’t have time to just spend. Let’s think about it later.” He, over the weekend, did it just to show us what it would be like. When we saw it, we were like, “This is the best thing about this app. This is so funny. It’s so great.” People comment on it constantly.

There’s also a dinosaur in the app which came out really randomly. We knew we wanted to be gender neutral. We knew we didn’t want flowers, butterflies and a bunch of pink stuff. Small Planet was pretty much aware of that. They ended up creating this little dinosaur that ended up in a part of the app. We all just loved it. It ended up getting into more and more of the app. Teen Vogue called the app a game changer. We got a really nice piece in the cut of New York Magazine and Glamour. There’s a lot of nice press around the app Small Planet delivered for us.

What distinguishes Small Planet Digital from other providers?

I really can’t overstate the importance of this, Small Planet's developers are involved in every part of the project. Their developers are even part of strategy conversations – they’re really there for all of it. That just makes all the difference. Spot On, in particular, was incredibly complicated to develop. Many of the challenges that we had just couldn’t have been solved unless a developer was in the room saying it was possible. I think having really strategic and engaged developers is invaluable.

I think they’ve been incredibly well-organized in terms of having single player contact. Our producer on this project is just amazing. She is really our go-to person. She knows this product in and out, better than anyone. That’s been really great in terms of helping them to work with us like partners.

We hit one point early in the project where we realized something just wasn’t working. Something we thought was settled we weren’t happy with. We had this conversation with the producer. It could have been a really touchy conversation. She just immediately went into problem-solving mode and managed it incredibly well on her side. It was managed on our side. The whole product ended up so much better for it. I think we’ve been really good at pushing each other to make this thing better. They really worked with us to figure out how it should be after we’ve explored multiple possibilities. They didn’t shut doors on things that were possible.

Is there anything Small Planet Digital could have improved or done differently?

I guess for us it’s been a learning process together about the value of bringing in real user feedback during the development process. We have been working in a really agile development focused way. This has a lot to do with our objective, so it may be different for others. For us, we basically sort of forced time into our schedule and our planning process as we got further into this, to get feedback from real users, get this thing out in the world, and then update and develop from there. I think there’s very few development shops that do that because it costs money and development schedules get complicated. I think everyone can benefit from that.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company is a fantasy sports company, and we run daily fantasy sports games.

What is your position?

I am a Product Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Small Planet Digital?

We were expanding into a new product category and we had an idea; a concept. We had some partners that were lined up to bring the new product to market, which is actually a new game. Our company didn't have internal app development capabilities, but we had our own back-end development team. We met with a few companies and really liked Small Planet, and hired them to do the front end game development for this app.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We were going for a design that was both simple but also really engaging. Small Planet was able to help us get that balance really, really well. They had a good sense of when to engage closely with us, work iteratively, and also when to step back and either let us come up with an answer to a problem, or to step away and figure out their potential answer to the problems. It was really just a great collaboration with them.

What platforms is it available on?

They’ve built the game for Android and iOS.

How did you come to work with Small Planet Digital?

I met with their team and we got along well. The price, if I remember, wasn't the lowest or the highest, but it was reasonable.

I think it was a combination of Small Planet’s professionalism and it was one of the bars because, surprisingly enough, some other companies didn't seem very professional. Small Planet was engaging, understood the problem and came back with some really thoughtful ideas. Their previous client roster was great as well. There were a bunch of other companies in the media space and other companies of high caliber. It was a much lower risk solution because we knew they had succeeded in the past. On a side note, my daughter is also an avid player of one of their games, so I knew that they were able to do something that people liked.

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

This project has been more than $200,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The product has actually not launched yet, so it's difficult to talk about the overall metrics. A test is going to be launched soon.

What distinguishes Small Planet Digital from other providers?

Great communication, that's so, so important. Small Planet always made us feel comfortable about where the project was, if deadlines were slipping or if they were ahead. It was all really clear and I felt like I was always in the loop.

It was collaborative, not just from a design standpoint but from a technology standpoint as well, where we were building the back end, they were building the front end. This methodology could be really challenging, particularly when it's a new product. Small Planet really integrated well with our team. That's a quality that is special and under-appreciated. Small Planet helped us make our own process better in terms of providing the feedback that we needed, to make changes on our side when necessary, and even working directly with our engineers.

Small Planet has a great passion for their work; that definitely came through and showed they cared about the success of the project.

Is there anything Small Planet Digital could have improved or done differently?

I think there were times when the team that was assigned to the project initially weren’t always the right fit for the project at that point in its lifecycle. Sometimes they made adjustments and it wasn't completely transparent when and how those adjustments were being made. More visibility into that specific process would have been helpful.

There probably were times when there should have been adjustments and they didn't happen. I partially take the blame for not providing that feedback. A suggestion would be to have a more open channel of communication around resources.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company, and your role and responsibilities?

I am the editor of Cooking Light magazine, which is the largest food magazine in the country. We're part of Time Inc., which is currently part of Time Warner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Small Planet Digital?

We wanted to build a cool food and cooking app for our readers and other customers. It was fairly early in app development, just a few years ago, and we wanted to build a great app. We certainly needed to break even or get to profitability, which we did. The goal was a user-focused goal. We wanted to create a menu-making app that showed the power of our recipes to come together into full menus. We wanted to make the UI [user interface] on the app be fun and intuitive, rather than a list and complicated. It was focused on user experience, rather than audience growth, per se.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Small Planet was highly involved in the conceptual approach, and they listened to us and worked with us conceptually. We put some ideas in front of them, and they iterated the ideas through design. Then, they went into actually building it, and they built and delivered the final app to our specifications, including working with very complex ad serving issues with that part of our company. Then, they worked with the security issues because we have extremely stringent security issues around anything we do. Then, we worked with Apple to ensure we understood what Apple's parameters were for getting an app accepted quickly into the App Store, which it was immediately. It got some awards from Apple as a top lifestyle app of the year.

Their scope was very broad, from conceptual through visual and graphic design through building the app itself. Small Planet staff loves food, so they got what we were trying to do. The app was for iPhone and iPad.

What was your process for selecting Small Planet Digital with which to work?

I had called a friend in Brooklyn who knew them, and I trust him implicitly. He said that they were the best. I phoned them and did an interview, and they had to go through some due diligence on the corporate side to make sure that they met the standards that the company has. They did, without any problem. It was largely me talking to the team, meeting them, and realizing they were the right people.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

We were inventing a whole new user interface. They put in a lot of hours. This project went on for months, and they had a small team that was dedicated to it. They were involved very intensively over many weeks to get it finished. It was quite a heavy lift. It wasn’t just a simple app. They had to create a project management system for it, and they had to create an engine that did the calculation for the nutrition. The whole structure was fairly complex compared to a basic app. The ad serving part of it was quite complicated, and there was personalization and sharing as well. It cost north of $250,000. It was not a small project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

The price of the app is $3.99, and it sold very well, and continues to sell well. It sold above other apps that had a lot more promotion within our company. It sold on its own merits and by word of mouth. It did very well and ended up being profitable. Now that I see it in retrospect, that is extraordinary. It wasn’t a mind-blowing sales level, but I thought they overdelivered on the app. It did well, and we're very happy with it.

The usage metrics are very good in terms of people coming back as well as time spent. The app is two years old, and we've only been able to refresh the content once. It's a self-contained app, and it needs to be refreshed again. It does well in terms of usage metrics, given the fact that it's not being supported at this point. It was built as an ad revenue-based app as well, and that died out as a model.

How did Small Planet Digital perform?

I would give them an A.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

From my point of view, they seemed to understand what we wanted to do. They weren’t trying to impose their external ideas and assumptions on the project. They really listened to us. Because they were into food, even though they had done no food-related projects, they brought a great level of service. They were on the phone and responsive. They were very flexible and overdelivered in terms of service. I rank them very highly, both creatively and technically.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

I think we would tackle the entire project differently, but it doesn’t have anything to do with them. It has to do with how much things have changed in two and a half years. I think we would build a different kind of app now than we did at the time. When we were looking at doing a second app, my immediate choice was to work with them. We ended up going in a different direction, but Small Planet was my first choice. I would use them myself again, with no question.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your role and responsibilities.

I am the manager of digital creative services, which involves generating creative for any Web, app, or any other type of digital projects. My role also encompasses project management. I also fill a producer role if we're working with an agency that may be doing a lot of development. In that case, my role is less of a project manager and more of a producer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Small Planet Digital?

Small Planet helped us on a number of different projects. The first project was a tablet iOS app that was created to explain our technology to serve as a visual aid for store associates to use with a customer. We generated an app that showed a lot of visuals demonstrating what polarized lenses do in environments with glare, for example. Other technologies include impact protection and other features that provide a benefit that could be demonstrated on an iPad in a mall or store setting. These demos are intended to increase sales in a retail setting. The projects we used Small Planet for are all very different, and they did a great job on them.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

The first project with the in-store app wasn’t just for our firm. It was to be used in retail stores. This app would be distributed anywhere our parent company has operations.

The second project was an app related to surfing, which we put out in about 2008. We never really updated it for years. We used Small Planet Digital to update the app and make it friendly with iOS 7 in design and functionality.

The third project involved snowboarding goggles that have Google Glass-type technology in them, like a heads-up display. That is very forward-thinking, leading-edge technology to be able to do an app in a HUD, and it turned out great. Small Planet did all the nuts and bolts development as well as the refinement of the UI for the HUD app.

Did Small Planet Digital provide training or support?

Small Planet did a second version of this sales associate iPad app, and they changed the intention of the app. Rather than being a visual aid that a store associate could use with a customer to explain technology, they're turning it into an app that trains store associates. With this version of the app, Small Planet is going to help with our go-to-market team, our global sales development, to train the trainers on the app.

Small Planet has done a lot of backend work for us with analytics, servers, and with data to make sure the data is always available to the app. We lack strong backend coding capabilities, so we leverage Small Planet quite a bit.

What was your process for selecting Small Planet Digital with which to work?

We had a VP here who ran the entire digital department, and he had experience with Small Planet Digital from a previous company. We have used a number of agencies on Web projects and app projects. Small Planet always over-delivers.

Can you provide a ballpark figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

They always deliver on tight timelines. They may be burning more hours, but it sometimes takes us time to generate assets to give to them to put into the app. We work on any timeline we give them within certain boundaries. They’ve always been very flexible and hit every deadline we've ever given them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

We have analytics on everything, but I wouldn’t know how to attribute anything that links directly to Small Planet. The store associate training app was something the company tried to create for years. There have been different versions put out, and it never really generated any interest companywide. When Small Planet came on and showed everybody what this app could be, all the departments wanted to contribute to the budget and do it properly. Our global sales development team were very impressed by it.

How was Small Planet Digital's overall performance?

They are great communicators, especially when it comes to time and cost estimations. They also stick to their cost and timeline estimates closely. If any change management needs to happen, they communicate quickly and in a straightforward manner. There are no games where they throw out a number, and we have to come back and negotiate.

After an app launches, there are always minor bugs to fix. They always jump on them immediately. They are available to us to fix anything that comes up after a project launches. A lot of agencies will give just 30 or 60 days of bug fixes, and then they're out. Small Planet wants to know what we need, and they fix it or communicate with us on whether it's a simple bug fix or if it requires a new statement of work.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Gavin [Fraser], the CEO, is very personable. He comes in to help define what the projects are and helps with the kickoff. He's fairly hands off after that, which I appreciate. You want the people who are on the projects daily to be the ones who are hands on with it. Their project managers, creative directors, and developers are all top notch. Their project manager is a good communicator.

They are three hours behind us on the East Coast. That has never been a problem. They undersell and overdeliver. That is why every project that is app-related goes to them.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

This might be a matter of us not asking for it, or writing it into the statement of work. Post-project documentation is important. After the project launches, send us the diagrams of the architecture, any kind of API [application programming interface] information. If someone new comes in, we can hand them the documentation so they can be brought up to speed quickly on an app. That may be something we can improve on as a deliverable.