Softjourn

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO at a benefit corporation, an education provider that strives to be a reliable avenue for women in the tech industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Softjourn?

I outsourced Softjourn’s engineering team to develop our new software intended to expand our charitable offerings.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I was tasked with forming an innovation group to address our need for a new technology that could help us deliver our services economically and efficiently. I hired Softjourn to do full-stack development for this new software, and their work is currently ongoing.

 We kicked off the project by undergoing a brainstorming session wherein I relayed our problems to Softjourn’s team, and over the past six years, they've been providing me with tech solutions to address our business requirements.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is their project manager, but the size of the team fluctuates depending on our development needs and the project phase we’re addressing.

How did you come to work with Softjourn?

I’ve known Softjourn’s team for over 20 years now — we’ve worked together on several projects for the previous companies I’ve been part of. They’re an integral part of any development or tech project I’m assigned, so hiring their team to create this product alongside the resources from my team was an easy decision to make.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in June 2015, and as I previously mentioned, their development work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Softjourn has built a flexible architecture that allows us to apply alterations quickly — this is the metric that I appreciate the most. Their high caliber engineers are keen on making sure that our system is being built to be functional and user-friendly, and this makes me confident that we’ll launch high-quality and high-frequency software solutions. Overall, I can say that they’re not just good developers, they’re good software engineers who have a deep understanding of their craft.

How did Softjourn perform from a project management standpoint?

Softjourn implements an agile approach to accomplish their development tasks. Each phase of the project requires a specific number of resources from their team, and they’ve been highly compliant in meeting those adjustments to ensure that our team is well-balanced before we proceed with a task. 

Additionally. Sojourn has always been cooperative when it comes to our brainstorming sessions. They manage our pitches well while incorporating their own ideas into them — we have a great working relationship because we work together in identifying the right process that suits our needs best.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a legitimate partner. I see through their efforts that they don’t just work to get things done, but they invest in my product and my success along the way — it’s a notable experience that I’ve never encountered in other development agencies. All the members of Softjourn strive hard to innovate solutions that can make our product better, and we’ll always be grateful for their ceaseless efforts.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s really nothing to improve. They rotate their resources well to meet our needs, especially when they're made aware that the assigned resources don't fit our team dynamics well. As we grew, we required a project manager that was better suited to our larger organization, but Softjourn addressed the problem right away by onboarding someone else. They know how to deal with our changing needs, and that’s more important to us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of an event ticketing company. We’re a startup for events and ticketing for movie screenings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Softjourn?

We had a technically difficult application to create as well as a media library event ticketing system. We wanted to build an app that’d solve a lot of the problems that event companies with movie screenings encounter, including building a backend library, digital rights management, et cetera.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they built a simple prototype, and then we did a four-week process of developing a manual with all the wireframes and descriptions of what we wanted. Softjourn created the wireframes based on our descriptions then went to work building the app from scratch. Their team delivered an app for Android and iOS. They also built a player app for Windows and Mac. They’re both customer-facing solutions.

What is the team composition?

It varied from time to time. There can be anywhere from 12–18 people, and we scale up and down as needed.

How did you come to work with Softjourn?

I did some online research and even looked at some companies on Clutch. Ultimately, Softjourn was recommended to us by a contact who had previously worked with them. We like that they had a lot of experience in the ticketing space.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $380,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After Softjourn built the prototype, we managed to raise our seed funding using that prototype because we needed to demonstrate something. We loved the product as well as its UI and design.

How did Softjourn perform from a project management standpoint?

We have two calls a week where the whole team is present; however, the project manager does most of the talking. Our project manager involves a lot of the team in explaining the problems or barriers they had to overcome during that week. We have a good sense of who they are and how they work.

This also means that everyone’s on the same page. If we talk about an issue on the Slack channel, anyone can pick it up very quickly and go ahead to fix it. Now, we ask for different types of advice from each member of their team depending on their expertise.

We’re really happy with their project management. We had some miscommunications early on because of the different styles in which we like to work with didn’t match well at the beginning. We brought it up right away and were transparent about it. We expressed that the expectations weren’t being met and it was solved within a week.

They shifted their team around and gave us a new configuration of a team. It was a remarkable change. We went from pretty good to amazing. It was so much easier to communicate after that. That gave us a lot of confidence going forward.

We used Trello to keep track of deadlines. Deadlines weren’t always critical because we understood that some of the things we threw at them to develop had never been done before. So deadlines were estimated and we weren't too concerned about them. Our project manager was great about following up weekly or biweekly to let us know how things were going and why they were stuck.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Softjourn is very adaptable. Their ability to pick up on everything that we’re thinking about is excellent. We throw everything at them and they never say no that can’t be done. They say yes and then suggest something else that we can do. Their team always builds on what we can give them and comes back with three different options, which are even bigger than the ideas we created.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be afraid to dream and then give them the authority to let them play with that for a while. Instead of creating all the designs and giving it to them, let them do their job. Their team gets inspired by trying to solve a problem.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Bullet, an automated accounts product for small businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Softjourn?

The reason we hired them was two-fold. I’d worked with them for another business and when I started scaling up Bullet, I decided to use them as my outsourced IT partner. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They manage our IT day-to-day. All of our new development and testing are managed by them, as well. They handle everything to do with software and IT needs for our business.

As far as specific projects, they worked on modernizing our payroll, which was a big project. They’ve worked on multiple pricing changes within the product and have done large feature updates, including software development and DevOps, as well. 

What is the team composition?

I work with around 4–5 people from their team. There are developers, a QA person, a project manager, and a client manager. 

How did you come to work with Softjourn?

I can’t remember how exactly we found them, but we got in contact regarding an earlier business I was involved in and built a product with them. I’d interviewed several companies and they were by far the best. I was so impressed with them that I decided to use them as my outsourced IT partner for Bullet.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent around €300,000 (approximately $350,100 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working with them since June 2008 and our relationship is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of service is just superb. The team they have deployed are all super professional and their advice and feedback is always very honest and clear. Their work and execution are always outstanding. If there are ever any issues, they take responsibility for them, which is pretty rare. They’re a super team to work with. 

How did Softjourn perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly correspond with the developers through instant messenger, so they have instant responses for us. We do weekly team meetings and then we speak through email if I need to get in contact with any of the project managers. As far as deadlines, they’re almost always spot-on. Since we’re in IT, deadlines are almost made up, but the ones we have had are always met. 

For the payroll modernization project, we have a very strict deadline and they delivered two weeks in advance. With the COVID-19 outbreak, we had to do a big update on our payroll and only had a week to do that for social welfare payments, but they did it on time with their developers. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication is very good and clear. They’re a very honest team and their work is always good — everything is delivered clean and ready to go. I never need to bug-check it. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we haven’t had any issues with them. We’ve had bad experiences with other outsourced vendors, but Softjourn has been great and we’re rolling our third business under their umbrella. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them. They know what they’re doing and are trustworthy. If they give you a price and timeline, that’s what they’ll do. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company was founded in 1997, with a specialization in e-commerce event products including VIP passes, event badges, printed tickets, raffle tickets, wristbands, etc. We also operate another brand, which has a software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool focused on online event management, marketing, and ticket retail. I am the chief executive officer. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Softjourn?

We needed more execution power around software development capabilities to help us cope with increasing demand and prevent quality dilution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Softjourn was initially hired for development work on our main ticketing site, but we eventually expanded their involvement to the separate brand. We have used a team of 5 people from Softjourn at peak capacity, and have been involved in the selection process. Our team included .NET senior developers and Java junior developers. We have interacted with most of them directly. There was no unexpected turnover during our collaboration.

How did you come to work with Softjourn?

We were referred to Softjourn by a colleague, but also had a shortlist of 3 companies. Softjourn not only had a very strong and qualified reference but also stood out through the quality of their management and senior developers.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Softjourn since 2011. Our latest project was concluded in June 2015. We're not currently engaged with them but anticipate contacting Softjourn within the next 6 months for upcoming projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of software development processes, Softjourn is very competent in handling the cadence of Agile sprints. It was made clear that they really internalize the methodology when it comes to development and design. The code quality was good, deliverables were brought in on time, and Softjourn's team was very pleasant to work with.

How did Softjourn perform from a project management standpoint?

Softjourn delivered the work on time and within budget. We used Skype for a lot of our real-time collaboration, as well as Google Hangouts, Basecamp, and Pivotal tracker.

What did you find most impressive about Softjourn?

The overall quality and competency offered by Softjourn are the best that we've encountered, in terms of outsourced software development.

Are there any areas Softjourn could improve?

No. Softjourn did a great job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the associate vice president of engineering for the company. We offer a pre-paid expense platform. Our customers can use a card combined with our software in order to manage their expenses. Corporate credit cards can require a lot of credit. They also aren't the best fit for companies who offer a lot of consulting work. Our customers use our product because they don't want to use credit or they don't want to hand over corporate credit cards to non-employees. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Softjourn?

We needed software development. As we grew, Softjourn continued to provide development on more features for our own customers. The resource pool grew accordingly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a domestic engineering team and Softjourn is essentially a virtual extension of it. Our ongoing work requires a dedicated team of software developers and QA testers from Softjourn. We're currently using 12 dedicated resources from Softjourn. From time to time, we also engage them in one-off projects. They would also provide design work, planning, and other standalone activities.   

How did you come to work with Softjourn?

We were already engaged with Softjourn when I started with the company. There was a request for proposal process which led to selecting Softjourn as a vendor, but I don't have specifics.

How much have you invested with Softjourn?

The cost of Softjourn's services is around $500,000 per year, depending on how many fixed-bid projects we engage in.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Softjourn for at least 2 years. It is a completely remote engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It's hard to gauge success, given that we operate as one big team. This in itself is a great success story; Softjourn seems to be very flexible in this type of engagement and it works well for us. Overall, we've been able to accelerate development. We have also been putting out monthly releases since engaging in this model. This is a significant result, considering the complexity of our platform.

How did Softjourn perform from a project management standpoint?

Softjourn has provided resources as needed and was flexible in order to accelerate our delivery timelines. For the most part, Softjourn has delivered the work within schedule and budget.

We use Visual Studio Team Services for managing our internal team and Softjourn’s team. They operate in the same way as our domestic staff. Going over that tool, there isn't a difference between someone delivering work in New York, compared to a Ukrainian developer.

What did you find most impressive about Softjourn?

I appreciated Softjourn's flexibility. They're responsive. When we wanted to ramp up the team even more, we received additional talent quickly. We're always fighting for resources in New York, so it's good to have access to good-quality developers when needed.

Are there any areas Softjourn could improve?

This type of collaboration is a new model for Softjourn. They've been good at it and, if Softjourn truly mastered this model, it would be helpful for us. Being able to stretch our team into a virtual offshore location is a valuable asset. Softjourn should keep doing what they're doing and get better at it. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We provide a mobile and web ordering platform for the hospitality industry. We enable customers to order foods and drinks, as well as any other retail items from their phone or the web, within various environments. We're fully integrated with point-of-sale vendors, payment solutions, and loyalty platforms.

What is your position?

I am the chief technology officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Softjourn?

We needed development resources for our back-end system.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

All of our development is done through resources from Softjourn. I work with a lead from Softjourn's team, and I am in charge of defining the product strategy as well as how the system should work. Softjourn has made some designs for us, but not in terms of strategy or road mapping.

We follow a certain development process that determines how the product will be designed and implemented and how defects are addressed.

The main technology used for our platform is .NET. We have a SQL server, and we've used Softjourn for integrations with third-party systems.

We've been working with anywhere from three to 10 people from Softjourn at any point in time. There have been changes in our team. There were times when we needed fewer people and some resources adapted to the project better than others. We do have a group of core developers who have been with us from the beginning.

How did you come to work with Softjourn?

We worked with an offshore sales company that introduced us to a number of people, out of which we selected Softjourn.

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

The total cost of Softjourn's services has been between $200,000 and $1million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with Softjourn for three years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I selected my own team from Softjourn. I have been working with the same people for three years, and I've recently brought them to Toronto. I wanted to have face-to-face time as well. Softjourn has been collaborating with us from the very beginning, so we've built our product with them. From a development perspective, Softjourn has had a major impact. We own the intellectual property for it, and we've road mapped it, but Softjourn has handled all development.

How did Softjourn perform from a project management standpoint?

We wouldn't have stayed with Softjourn for so long if we weren't satisfied with their performance. Softjourn is very competent from a technology perspective. They also care a lot about what they do and put pride in their deliverables. I treat Softjourn as my own team.

Softjourn adapted to whatever the needs of the client were, in terms of project management style and tools. This is much more important than having experience with a specific tool.

What distinguishes Softjourn from other providers?

Softjourn's flexibility gave them the ability to adjust to client needs. Ultimately, the delivery is what matters and providing value for the client. Softjourn is very focused on that.

Softjourn has good-quality people. I've worked with a number of technology companies, including offshore providers. The reason for sticking to Softjourn is that they are the best company out of all the rest, providing the best value and caring the most about the client's needs.

Is there anything Softjourn could have improved or done differently?

No. We've had a very good relationship with Softjourn, and I cannot think of anything negative about them.