SmartBox Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive of Nascent Ventures

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Nascent Ventures develops and invest in highly scalable & disruptive solutions supporting the creative arts sector gig-economy with a sustainable social impact.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire SmartBox Software to accomplish?

• Support the mobile app development of a unique, innovative and dependable mobile app platform with an appealing design, smooth user interface, great user experience and robust infrastructure.

SOLUTION

How did you find SmartBox Software?

Referral

Why did you select SmartBox Software over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from SmartBox Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Services associated with the development of a new mobile application for iOS devices and Android OS devices (including associated design, engineering, testing, project management and consultation).
• Design & programming of the mobile app on Flutter cross-platform
• Complete working functionality, secure backend API and frontend CMS, source codes, and associated app programming (Stripe payment processing, Firebase project set-up, analytics interfaces, user content upload features, etc)

Software components include:

• Task Management (Asana)
• Prototyping & UX/UI Design (Figma)
• Repository & Version Control (Bitbucket, Atlassian Source Tree)
• Mobile Development (Flutter)
• Testing and Builds Sharing (Testflight)
• Communication (SendGrid)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Successful release onto the App Stores across the UK, Europe and USA.
• Positive user feedback and ratings.
• Effective app performance monitoring, development and enhancement with new features / improvements

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Their team is experienced, professional, trustworthy, collaborative, and dependable.

What was your primary form of communication with SmartBox Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

High motivation and drive matched with capacity to develop mobile app solutions that are unique, innovative, and successful that deliver effectively on the customers' needs.

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

We look forward to SmartBox expanding their already great service offerings to also include web3 and blockchain development solutions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a software development company that creates products for local clients in the Milwaukee and Chicago area. We primarily serve startups and small businesses with the goal of helping them improve their processes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartBox Software?

We rely on SmartBox Software for various complex projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve assisted us with backend development and UI/UX design. They’ve also delivered iOS and Android apps for us. Their tech stack has included Swift, Sketch, and Node.js so far.

What is the team composition?

I work with 1–2 people. I worked directly with Anton (Business Development Director, SmartBox Software).

How did you come to work with SmartBox Software?

I came across their profile on a freelance website. After interviewing them and seeing samples of their work, we decided to move forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together for two or three years now. I believe we began working together in 2016, and the work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their UX/UI designs have been excellent. Their designs have been received very warmly both internally and externally, which has been great for our business. The rest of their development has been up to par, as well.

How did SmartBox Software perform from a project management standpoint?

If they tell me that they’ll deliver by a certain time, they always manage to. In the rare event of a hiccup, they’ll tell me well in advance so that there aren’t any surprises down the road. We’ve used JIRA and Trello for project management. Their communication is very effective, so it’s worked well for me.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I greatly appreciate their integrity. They hold to their word and will do their job as promised. I can trust that the job will be done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While they do an excellent job on the backend, they could improve the variability of their designs on the frontend side. They excel at a minimal design, but they could improve their ability to deliver fancier or more vibrant designs.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you have a complex project, I’d definitely recommend SmartBox Software.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Convergence Compliance, a SaaS provider that works with the mortgage and financial services industry. We provide risk management software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartBox Software?

We hired SmartBox Software for staff augmentation services. We wanted to outsource development work, so we wouldn’t have to hire employees internally.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team at SmartBox Software rewrote an existing platform from scratch. We’re a risk management software that has well-defined rules for companies to comply with. The platform was outdated and beginning to fail, so we had to start over.

The original platform was built with the ASP.NET framework, and we were looking to shift that to newer JavaScript-based technologies. The technology stack was all JavaScript and SQL. Since we’re customer-centered, we take a look at the process and stakeholders involved when building a system. This ensures that it’s mutually-beneficial and focuses on the user experience.

What is the team composition?

I was only exposed to two or three key people, so I’m not sure how many developers were working on the entire scope of the project. I had a project manager and a business analyst I worked with daily.

How did you come to work with SmartBox Software?

The existing UX designer that I was already working with knew of SmartBox Software. They referred them to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with SmartBox Software started about five years ago. We still use their team on an ad hoc basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This project launched after a year of development. Once the big effort was completed, we engage with their team when we need their services. We focus on user experience, and our risk management platform is quite complex. It has a lot of workflows and more than 50,000 users. There’s no training required, so those users are able to use our system without any training or support. That speaks to how well the system was designed and how easy it is to use.

How did SmartBox Software perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’ve been great. Before working with SmartBox Software, we were outsourcing to a company that used an agile methodology, but we never received a demo of any sprint being completed. It went months and months until we figured out that they didn’t hire any resources or did any work.

When we shifted to SmartBox Software, we had a demo at the end of every sprint. They let us know what each sprint would involve and they did what they said they would. We also had production releases. It was all well-managed; we used JIRA and different tools for UX design like InVision and Sketch.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re offshore, so what stands out to me is their ability to communicate well enough to execute our vision. With previous engagements, there were language barriers with other vendors. I found that the team at SmartBox Software is easier to work with than previous vendors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have dedicated resources to work with SmartBox Software. A lot of people think that you simply tell them what to do and walk away and that the developer returns with the final product. The developer thinks what they did is great, but it turns out that isn’t what the client wanted. It’s a collaborative process. People need to prepare and be involved in working with offshore firms.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the principal of a company that provides a software for the medical industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartBox Software?

We wanted to develop a new product and needed full-service development work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SmartBox Software developed our software product from the ground up. The platform offers a space for communication between physicians and other service providers. At first, we gave their team a small piece of the product. They did well, so we gave them the full scope. Their team built mobile applications for iOS and Android as well as a web-based platform. They also created the backend base. Their team essentially completed the first version of the product.

What is the team composition?

We interfaced with Anton (BDD and Co-Owner, SmartBox Software), Pavlo (CEO and Co-Owner, SmartBox Software), and one of the main developers. We didn’t communicate with other developers including iOS, database, and Android specialists who worked on the project.

How did you come to work with SmartBox Software?

I’d worked with Anton on different projects previously. He formed SmartBox Software and I’d spoken to them about creating the UI/UX for the product. We explored a couple of other options, but SmartBox Software said they could handle the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started this project in 2018 and their work’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our initial users and we tested version one of the product. It’s basically doing what it needs to do. It hasn’t gone through full user-testing yet but the project’s going along as it should. Their team doesn’t cut corners. They take ownership of the issues that their team isn’t able to solve right away. Instead of saying that they know everything, their team says they don’t know and will investigate.

How did SmartBox LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate with them during bi-weekly meetings. SmartBox Software’s reasonably strong with project management. The project slows down sometimes, but SmartBox Software sticks to timelines generally. They’re responsive and have talented people on the team, but they still have to mature. Since I’ve worked with them, their team has progressed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and transparency are their most impressive qualities.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their team has areas for development. They’re a good team but also new. Their team needs time and experience to become outstanding. SmartBox Software has only been a full-fledged company for a couple of years.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand your needs. SmartBox Software’s not a 500-person company and no one can do everything, so there are going to be gaps in what they can and can’t do. Make sure that their team has the experience to cover your needs. Their team will tell you what they know.