SoftGeneral

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a consultant at an international research company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SoftGeneral?

We developed the internal analytics tool to help our researchers with forecasting models.

SOLUTION

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

We have an internal team of engineers, but for some features, we needed to scale the company, so it was crucial to have a partner with engineers located in the same time zone and whom we could interview before staffing. SoftGeneral was shortlisted for its price and smooth communication process.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Our solution is a cloud-based one, with on-site installations, to let our researchers work offline and later combine all their results in one cloud-based version. We needed a few Node.js engineers to deliver the project faster.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We needed a team of three Node.js full-stack senior developers. SoftGeneral delivered us a list of 20 pre-chosen candidates, and we've selected 10-12 for the interview. Actually, the level of candidates was really high, so it was challenging for us to choose only three people.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With SoftGeneral, we've delivered a final product 3 months earlier than expected, bug-free and well-architectured.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We organized 5-min daily standups to coordinate the daily routine and bi-weekly retro team meetings to analyze the deviations from our plan. This allowed us to plan our next steps in detail and be generally on time.

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

High professionalism of developers and smooth communication with all the team members.

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

Possibly, I'd advise engineers to be more proactive and less shy when they see how some actions can be done differently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm an analyst at the international market research agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SoftGeneral?

We required re-platforming of our publication platform for better performance.

SOLUTION

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

We have conducted a thorough market analysis and selected Softgeneral based on competitive parameters. In addition, they have already worked with our partners who left positive feedback.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We had a publication platform that was created about five years ago and it needed to be revamped using a different technology. We decided to use Node.JS and React.JS. No one on our team had experience with technologies so we hired Softgeneral because that’s one of their skill sets.

Softgeneral’s specialists have been engaged in the web application development process. Their developers have worked as part of our internal team under the guidance of our project manager. In particular, they focused on rebuilding a web-based publication platform.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

One of our partners had worked with them in the past. He recommended scaling up our dev team using Softgeneral support, and due to our goal of launching the product sooner rather than later, we agreed to hire two engineers.

The efficiency of our communication was based on the agile approach to the project development, daily standups, and constant availability of hired engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Softgeneral’s initial involvement was around code refactoring for relaunching our site’s frontend and backend. Most of the work was Node.JS development. We had our own design team. The project has achieved all the objectives. We have developed a high-performance and secure system that successfully facilitates all the publishing/ content procedures, and improves the platform experience for our visitors.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between our teams has been excellent throughout the project. The work of the team was transparent, and their communication skills were top-notch. Internally, we follow an Agile methodology; we move fast, and Softgeneral has to move fast as well.

With that, resources are prone to making mistakes and having some accuracy issues. However, because the bar is low and we need solutions quickly, we are amenable to that as long as we all run fast.

Our teams work closely together, and when an issue arises, we all learn from that and make sure we don’t repeat the same mistake. We continue to iterate and improve the process.

After just six months of working together, we’ve built an even more solid framework, the number of errors has been minimized, and our turnaround time has improved. Initially, we set a 70% accuracy expectation, but it has become 95%.

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

Softgeneral proved to be an excellent partner for our software development projects. We’d like to highlight their punctuality, responsibility, extensive expertise in Healthcare IT, and excellent knowledge of technologies. To sum it up Softgeneral has domain expertise, flexibility, and a customer-first attitude. Additionally, they’re cost-effective. That’s a rare combination, and we had it with Softgeneral.

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

Generally, no. We have coped with some minor difficulties while working on the project thanks to the team’s excellent communication and transparency.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO at Future Proof Technology - software development company. Our main focus is on providing high-tech solutions to quickly achieve business goals. Areas in which we are involved:

• aircraft ERP system
• healthcare financial management system
• monitoring and root cause analysis system
• marketing data analysis system

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SoftGeneral?

We need to find the best developers, fast. We hired Softgeneral for an existing project, it was an AI platform for a global group of energy, hydrogen and petrochemical companies. Softgeneral staffed a team of engineers to assist with a technology company's development. They provided frontend, backend, and blockchain developers for us. 2 teams to work on various parts of our overall solution. These teams would function as co-equal teams alongside the domestic development teams.

SOLUTION

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

We went through an RFP process and selected them via their knowledge, other client examples, and "easiness" to work with.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

They continually participate in the planning and implementation phases of our product. They are in our on-call support rotation and lead teams and initiatives.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We are currently working within a staff-augmentation model, so we have individuals as part of larger teams. We also have one team that is currently run completely by Softgeneral.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I wanted to double my development capacity for two key areas of our product offering. There were strategic opportunities to increase our feature output to our clients, and hiring additional teams allowed us to accelerate our output.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Day-to-day management of the project was handled by domestic development managers and business analysts. This was chosen to ensure timely feedback on work-in-process and to make sure the teams from Softgeneral understand the critical nature of the work they provide to the overall success of our company. CEO Softgeneral Anna also interacts with the team on a regular basis to ensure the teams are satisfied with the level of engagement and as a way for Softgeneral employees to feel comfortable providing feedback to our company.

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

They did what they said they would do - they helped us quickly onboard two very talented teams of individuals. I found it highly unusual they were able to follow through so quickly as I always expect the sales cycle might exaggerate what will be delivered once a contract is signed. I was thrilled at how closely they worked with us to provide a great outcome. We’re most impressed with Softgeneral’s responsive and personable nature, which makes our project flow seamlessly. They’re a very honest team — they don’t make promises they can’t keep.

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

Any areas of concern or improvement are communicated to Softgeneral, and they always respond promptly to address those areas. Softgeneral is a flexible team that adapts well to its client’s processes.