The Software House

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CTO of BrickVest. We offer an investment platform for the commercial real estate market used by banks and financial institutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We engaged The Software House as a development partner to help build our platform.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed experienced developers with in-depth technical knowledge and Node.js expertise to help on a variety of projects.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We started working with The Software House before I joined the company. The co-founder—also the CTO at the time—was looking for a vendor with expertise in PHP Symfony—a codebase he was more familiar with. He ultimately chose The Software House.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The Software House first built the MVP of our platform. They have since been responsible for all further development of the product. The team later migrated our app from a monolithic architecture to a platform based on microservices using Node.js. They also helped us significantly improve the system’s speed and created white-label platforms for third-party clients.

We have several development teams working on different projects for us. One group is building a framework to support future products while another team is creating a technology that we intended to launch on a secondary market. Others work on a variety of individual products. 

What was the team composition?

Over 20 people at The Software House worked for our account. We collaborate mainly with Node.js developers, but the team also comprises QA testers, project managers, designers, and DevOps people.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

More than 650 real estate sponsors and over 5,000 investors use our products since our platform launched.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

When we decided to scale up the development team, The Software House provided us with a project manager. They now manage delivery and help us improve cooperation between The Software House and our company. They do such an excellent job at keeping projects on track that I can now focus on the business areas of our products.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Our continued engagement is a testament to The Software House’s excellent performance. We’ve been working with them for four years and have grown their team from two to 20 people. Their ability to scale easily without sacrificing performance or product quality stands out to us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the UX manager for a major IT consultancy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Software House?

We needed help with design and development for the various platforms we're creating.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had multiple projects for The Software House to help us with. The first project was a B2B platform, the second was an accelerated program for entrepreneurs. The third platform was a freelancing system for clients’ use in meetings and projects. The fourth was an e-commerce platform for business owners to post their homemade products online. For each of these systems, The Software House provides design and development assistance. We begin each project by giving them our requirements and the general scope of the work, and they create the platforms and perform QA for each. We continue to give them projects to develop.

 What is the team composition?

We work with a team of 5–8 developers, and they’ve assigned us a dedicated project manager.

How did you come to work with The Software House?

I joined the project after The Software House began working with our company.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $200,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2016 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work is very reliable, and they’ve been quick to meet all of our requirements.

How did The Software House perform from a project management standpoint?

Their scrum masters are aligned with our needs and keep our teams connected for each task. We primarily communicate over Slack and Zoom for video conferences. As a team, they’re responsive to our needs and change team members as needed to fulfill our requirements.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re an organized, flexible team who adapt to our changing needs. They consider our comments, and they’re effective at managing time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although their design team is great, it would be beneficial if their designers were as strong as the development and project management teams.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You can never go wrong by choosing The Software House for your project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the CEO of Frisco.pl, an online grocery store that provides home delivery services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We engaged The Software House to augment our internal development team and build new functionalities for our website and store administration panel. We needed the team to develop reliable features and integrations in a flexible manner.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to speed up development to deliver new features quickly and seamlessly. From a business standpoint, we needed to stay responsive to clients’ needs by providing frequent iterations and market testing.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The Software House had a great reputation in Poland and I had already worked with them on past projects. They were reliable during those engagements.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The Software House built a CMS and an API. They created coupon codes and did bug fixes. The team also brainstormed new ideas and supported our helpdesk

What was the team composition?

We worked with two full-stack developers and a technical project manager. The latter coordinated with the other technology vendors involved in the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The staff augmentation enabled us to focus on other priorities. As a result, we built a customer loyalty program, which The Software House has also helped with.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The team’s logistical coordination helped us clean the development process and focus on the business. In addition to planning sessions, we held on-site meetings at our Warsaw office. We communicated via Jira, Basecamp, and email.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were intelligent and engaged; the team felt like an extension of our company. They caught the domain knowledge immediately and actively participated in the whole process.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

No, we had didn’t have any complaints. The Software House was the perfect partner.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We a language service provider and the biggest independent localization business in Poland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

The process of managing translation services is quite complex and requires sophisticated software. We decided to build a proprietary platform to manage all our internal processes: quotations, project management, invoicing, accounting, a translators’ database, and our CRM. Due to the complexity of that project, we needed to augment our internal team with third-party resources.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to complete the project as soon as possible—it had lasted too long, and we were struggling to find appropriate resources, which meant we had a lot of pressure from management.

Our goal was to get the project up and running by scaling up our team with experienced resources.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

One of our industry peers had joined The Software House shortly before we began this search. We had a call with them, followed by a public profile check. They seemed to be a company with well-established processes and were reliable enough to take a chance on.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The outsourced developer focused on several major areas of product development. First, they helped to build complex financial reports for the accounting department. Second, they took responsibility for the integration of the platform with QuickBooks. It was based on an Intuit Interchange Format. Finally, they supported the development of the vendor (translators, etc.) database search engine.

What was the team composition?

They added one developer to our team of three. There was also an internal project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We use the platform on a daily basis. The accounting module and integration that their developer worked on function well.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was managed on our side and we followed agile principles. Their developer worked remotely, but each month we had “internal work” days during which he visited our office, updated us, and we planned the next phase.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Our platform is in .NET, which was not their native technology. Despite that, they understood our needs and found a proficient developer to easily join our team.

Similarly, we were impressed by their ability to react quickly. The project was not the biggest one and the technology was not their main areas of expertize. Even so, they were responsive and able to find an excellent developer. They cared about us as their client.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

None.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief architect at Vaana. We provide service vouchers for municipalities that individuals can use to get healthcare or social services, instead of relying solely on public services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Software House?

We had an old customer interface that needed to be replaced. The aim was to modernize the platform for further development and modernize the look of the UI.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked on a new version of our software, using Java and PHP. The pilot version is an enhanced version of our old one, with a new look and feel. We’re going to add more functionalities to the interface.

Municipalities use the product to create and manage vouchers that are used to purchase services from providers. The municipalities are one user group of the software, and the other is the service providers. Private companies that offer healthcare, dental, and social services also use it to purchase these services.

What is the team composition?

We have three full-time developers, one part-time tester, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with The Software House?

Our sister company used them to build similar software. We were happy with how that was going so also chose to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received really good feedback—the new version is much more modern and better looking. It’s not in full production yet, but we’re happy with how it’s been built. They did everything in the correct technical manner.

How did The Software House perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive to any queries and are proactive in suggesting new ways to enhance our cooperation. They use good tools and good practices, including Slack, Hangouts, some email, and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical competency is quite good, and we always feel that know what they’re doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been some issues with communication. It’s not their fault., as the situation with multiple companies has been very challenging for all parties. We’ve all had a learning experience in that regard.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the VP of e-commerce at Prografix. We provide personalization and direct mailing solutions for company loyalty programs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We wanted to create a user-friendly self-service platform for direct mailing. This tool would enable smaller clients to automate the ordering process.

The build present two main challenges. First, we needed an algorithm that would set prices based on several variables: number of letters, format, and packaging. Second, the platform required a verification system to check entered data—such as home addresses—for misspellings and duplicated content.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to be market leaders in Europe for small- and medium-sized businesses. The project was also an opportunity to automate our key processes.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We looked for vendors in Southern Poland with expertise in PHP. 

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The Software House hosted a several-day workshop at their headquarters. We prepared a list of desired functionalities and planned development sprints. The team then delivered an early version of the software and conducted testing.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a project manager. Their team included two Symfony developers, one senior frontend developer, and one QA specialist. I acted as the product owner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The platform was user-friendly and generated a significant amount of business. Additionally, the solution was cost-effective because we no longer had to hire internal supervisors to oversee the ordering process.

During development, the team’s efficient work enabled us to accelerate the timeline. We completed testing faster than expected. The initial analysis enabled The Software House to understand our business goals quickly. Their team started development with impressive speed.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The developers were agile and accommodated our team’s slower decision-making process. Regular meetings and constant contact via Basecamp benefited the partnership.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The took care of everything, from initial analysis to final delivery.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

Nothing needed improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the owner of Torchlight Software. We’re a Phoenix-based software consultancy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We needed to develop a hybrid event management mobile app for a client. We were on a tight budget, but we still wanted to build a high-quality solution, so we looked for an outside vendor.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to deliver a comprehensive event management system for iOS, Android, and web-based devices.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We’d worked with The Software House on a previous project, and we were really happy with the results. When we needed more staff on this project, they were the obvious choice.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The Software House built and tested a hybrid mobile app, then deployed it to both the iOS and Android app stores. They mainly used Node.js and React technologies. The app guides event coordinators towards success through proven management strategies across communication, billing, and ticketing processes. The Software House handled the majority of the work for this platform, building the high-level features and extensive functionalities. With their understanding of technology in relation to our goals, the team alerted us to any risks or gaps in our service that had been exposed during their development process.

What was the team composition?

We worked with three software developers and a QA tester. There was some team turnover, but we have no complaints. They handled the onboarding process for new members, and it was seamless.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The client hasn’t launched the software, but they’re very pleased with the delivered project. We believe this will be a best-in-class application.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We record tasks in Trello and use a Kanban process to manage our work queue. The team has a lot of autonomy in prioritizing tasks and implementation strategies. They’re responsible for pulling requests from our ticketing system and initiating deployments. It has worked out really well. They’re very intelligent and developed a great understanding of our goals.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their technical skills are rock solid. They make good decisions, and they bring issues to our attention when necessary.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I’d like to see more discussions regarding crucial decisions in their Slack channel or be CCed on a Trello card when the developer is uncertain. Sometimes I’m not totally on board with their decisions, so I’d like to be more involved in the conversation. With that said, I understand it is tough to navigate the time difference, so I appreciate that everyone is doing the best that they can.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the marketing director at Abplanalp. We deliver hi-technology in the machining industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House?

We wanted a simple Android application that could be used by engineers that work on the production floor.

What were your goals for this project?

Mobile technology is just getting prominent in our industry, and we wanted to incorporate it into the client perception of Abplanalp. We aspired to use the app as a marketing channel. For the app to be a success, our company needed it to be useful and reliable. We had one unsuccessful trial, and nothing came of our idea until we met The Software House.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The Software House approached us at the ITM trade fair. We had a brief conversation about what we needed, and their team got back to us after a couple of days.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The idea was to build a calculator for CNC (computer numeric control) machine operators, providing mathematical formulas, tables of data, and an optical protractor for drill head angles. The app also contained a marketing element.

The first part of the application was the smart and quick calculator. We liked that users can get a “real” drill head angle measure by using a cell phone screen to check if the angle is correct. The Software House made the complex data table easy to read on small screens.

The marketing component contained news on trade fairs and the latest information in the industry. It also linked to product information. The section is dynamic, and our team can quickly change it.

What was the team composition?

We worked with an Android developer and a project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Currently, thousands of engineers have downloaded the app. There are 40 new users each month. Our team considers the app a success.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We worked in weekly sprints. The product owner was on our side, and our teams used Basecamp as the primary communication tool.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The Software House was eager to do something new. We appreciated their open-minded approach and their drive to searching for solutions, even when it doesn’t affect them.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

No, nothing they need to improve on. We were under excellent care. We’ve received feedback that we should launch the app on iOS, so it may be time to work with The Software House again.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of WeAreDavid, a company that facilitates dialogue between companies and private consumers in regard to personal data. We provide ways for private consumers to easily request data from the company, and we help the companies store and modify their consumer data.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Software House?

We had a bad experience with our past agencies, and we needed a good partner to do our mobile app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a team building our backend services and preliminary APIs, and The Software House improved those APIs and integrated them into the web platform. We have just one user interface for customers on the web and mobile apps, and The Software House is responsible for both the native Android and iOS platforms (written in Java and Swift, respectively). They’ve integrated features such as user profiles, social media login, and chat functionality.

They also provide a dedicated design resource who focuses on the mobile experience and works with our in-house graphic designer. The entire team advises us on technology choices, specifically API implementation and integration. The product is currently live in Denmark and undergoing testing.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is the account manager, and they also provide two full-time mobile resources, a QA engineer, and a mobile lead.

How did you come to work with The Software House?

We wanted a partner who solely focused on mobile dev. I asked around, and a friend recommended The Software House. They approached the project holistically and treated it as their own business, so we decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since June 2018. They’re in an advisory role right now, helping us optimize the mobile experience.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re only in the initial testing, but feedback has been highly positive. The UX/UI is great, providing a clean and streamlined experience for users. The Software House is currently gathering lots of data on processing times and error handling.

How did The Software House perform from a project management standpoint?

We have biweekly sessions with the account manager and weekly sessions with the dev team. They’ve been extremely helpful in making sure we’re all on the same page and optimizing our partnership. We use Slack, Trello, and Jira to communicate and track progress. They proactively include me in their process, and they work closely with our other teams to facilitate communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a lot of experience in mobile app development, and the entire team is professional. They provide great advice, which is something we wanted in a partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m extremely happy with their service. I don’t have anything to complain about.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have all teams collaborate to improve the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product owner at Takamol Holding, an IT solutions company. We have many services that help small and medium enterprises improve from a technical or business perspective. Most development projects for social services take three months. 

I’ve been working here around five months. My role is to communicate with The Software House, our team, and the users and try to come up with the service. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Software House?

Our website was very basic. We needed to enhance the UX.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Software House delivers the features we specify each quarter. During the following quarter, we start another partnership. I describe features I have in mind, and they give me advice based on their experience and tell me what they can do. Aside from development, they also maintain our website. If we have any issues or bugs, they’re in charge of solving the problem and providing support.

We recently launched a new homepage redesign and introduced a new RFP feature for our users. Before, we only had a request for quotation feature. The team helped us create a chat function for suppliers and buyers to communicate. With their support, we’ve added 12 new features to enhance the UX and make the website more user-friendly.

I write user stories in Jira for The Software House to use. They ask for more explanation if needed. I also usually share wireframes that describe the videos and images we need in detail. I also prioritize the tasks based on high, medium, or low importance.

What is the team composition? 

We follow the Agile methodology with a scrum master, one developer each for frontend, backend, and to support operations. A QA resource was involved during the last quarter for testing. I’m the project owner.

How did you come to work with The Software House?

We considered two vendors and received many positive recommendations for The Software House.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2018, and our work is ongoing.
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we first launched, our website had very low satisfaction rates. The Software House solved a lot of problems and made it clear and user-friendly. After implementing new features and completing more development, the satisfaction rate has increased in a significant way.

The Software House developed tools we can use as admins. A business intelligence feature shows the website’s performance.  Visualizations improved the reports and helped us present information to our management. 

The developers on their team are amazing to work with and communicate well. They’re always on time and are willing to listen. They work even later than the hours we’ve agreed on.

How did The Software House perform from a project management standpoint?

The Software House meets all our deadlines. They’re always on time and available to help. Even when we change requirements, they’re still able to finish on time. We use Jira and have Slack channels for development and support. We have video calls through Zoom and hold weekly meetings to discuss progress and status. 

Right before we launch new features, we host a demo meeting. Once a feature is done, they usually deploy it to the user acceptance testing environment (UAT) for me to test. When it works as expected, we deploy it to production, which is the actual website. We meet again to follow up afterward to make sure it’s working. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We want to keep working with The Software House as much as we can. It’s incredible how they’re always on time and meet every deadline we set. They’re highly professional and work diligently to ensure they do everything the way we like, even if we change the requirements during development. They’re very professional. We rarely cancel meetings because they’re always able to attend. They even work night and weekends. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We’re very happy with The Software House.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

 I highly recommend The Software House to any company. There’s a huge difference in the comparison between the website when it first launched and the current version. I credit that improvement to their hard work. They’re impressively qualified and can handle any challenge.