Solvd, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CEO of a health and fitness community. We helped people make better decisions about what to eat, with over 200 million members.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Solvd Inc?

We've worked with them for years. Originally, they helped us with QA. We were a small team, and we faced challenges with bugs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did a phenomenal job fixing our QA process. Together, we did manual testing, and they added a lot of automation over time. That work dramatically changed our development process and gave us the ability to test faster. The platform was built for iOS, Android, and a Ruby on Rails web app. We recently moved to React on the frontend. Solvd helped with all three platforms.

At the end of our relationship, they did some development work for us. We were acquired by a larger company, and Solvd eventually became responsible for all the apps and sites that fell under that new umbrella.

What is the team composition?

At its largest, the team was somewhere between 20-30. I'm not sure exactly how many people were directly involved or what their specific roles were.

How did you come to work with Solvd Inc?

We hired a QA manager, and he brought in Solvd. He had a relationship with one of their founders, and we relied on them more and more over the course of our relationship.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $1 million-$5 million on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on our main platform between September 2012–February 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The automation they added to our QA process sped up development and dramatically changed the way we executed tests. The quality was higher, and our release schedule was much denser. The work was quicker than anything we had done before and faster than what we thought was capable.

How did Solvd Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

They were terrific project managers. They're very responsive, and they took on a lot of the burden. We really depended on them, and they were great to work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They did everything well, and they're fantastic with QA automation. A lot of their team is based in Eastern Europe, but they shifted several people to US hours. They were very accommodating, and they made the process so easy for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn't anything I can think of that they should improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear idea of what you hope to accomplish and how the product should work. If you give them direction, they will give you what you want. They helped us figure out what we needed, but the clearer you are, the easier the process will go.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of engineering at Famous Industries, a startup. We make software to help everyone create and publish progressive web apps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Solvd Inc?

We needed to scale our QA and engineering capacity very rapidly, while still ensuring reliable results.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There are two components of what Solvd Inc does. First, they do a full test pass of overnight QA. The QA is for our full spec software.

Second, they do software engineering, the primary focus of which is to reduce our bug backlog. They work in our stack, which is almost entirely JavaScript sitting on top of many standard JavaScript libraries, like React and MobX.

What is the team composition?

We work with about twenty team members. My team has two main points of contact, one for QA and another for engineering, who we communicate with daily. We also have monthly communication with business contacts.

How did you come to work with Solvd Inc?

Our head of QA had previously worked with Solvd Inc. They were originally brought on just for QA, but last April, they let us know that they also had engineering resources available. We did a small trial with two engineers, and we were happy with the results, so we scaled up from there.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in December 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Solvd Inc does a thorough and careful job while moving very rapidly. They’re a fantastic and reliable partner.

How did Solvd Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

Solvd Inc’s communication is professional and dependable, which is a big factor of why we like working with them so much. The key to navigating mistakes or delays, which are inevitable in software development, is to be transparent in communication. Solvd Inc makes every effort to keep us fully updated.

They participate fully and very well in all of our processes, such as tracking the project.  They’re also very accommodating; when you scale up quickly and get a lot of people all at once, not everyone is going to be a fit. Solvd Inc has been outstanding at swapping out team members if they don’t meet our needs.

They’re also great at tracking and billing. Their invoices are extremely thorough and tell us in great detail what we’re getting for our money.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with many external engineering and QA providers for several decades, and inconsistent skill level is typical. Solvd Inc offers a high level of consistency, which means they must have a thorough vetting process.

A majority of their team also has excellent technical communication skills in English, which certainly sets them apart. The extent to which their organization goes out of their way to be professional and accommodating of our needs cannot be overstated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For what they do for us, I can’t point to anything. The cost and reliability are excellent.

Any advice for potential customers?

This is general advice for anybody outsourcing, but you should have a highly structured need and be able to describe that need.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is an international cloud and edge provider in content delivery, public cloud, hosting and security solutions for any business. As a Lead Web Developer, I had the company’s website-related tasks as a part of my responsibility.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Solvd Inc.?

We were about to release an up-to-date corporate website to help us promote our brand and services. Before the release, we wished to check the website for possible web development issues. As we lacked in-house QA resources, we needed someone to conduct rigorous pre-release testing. So we decided to turn to a reliable QA provider, qualified to help us save the project from pricey failures before they occur and save our time and development costs in the future.

SOLUTION

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

Our partners recommended us Solvd, the provider that they knew to offer reliable Software Testing and QA Services and have an extensive portfolio of servicing renowned customers. We chose Solvd for their straight and transparent communication with us, explicit KPIs that guaranteed predictable project costs, and for their ability to perform tasks quickly and within the deadlines. We were sure that with their help, we would promptly release our project to the market.

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

We needed testing of over 100 web pages. In response to individual requirements that we shared, their consultant gave us an outline of a testing strategy, reporting procedures, and schedule and allocated needed resources. As the next step, Solvd’s QA engineers started testing. They added each bug to a defect-tracking system on a regular basis. Their engineers were in sync with our developers, which allowed us to fix bugs instantly.

After each development iteration, we got comprehensive test reports from Solvd. Consistent reporting allowed us control over the quality and release schedule. Their excellent and prompt service helped us release the website bug-free for various browsers and extensions. They helped us fix problems and oversights that we made during the website development and design phases.

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

1 consultant and 5 QA engineers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've released a website of the finest quality and free of errors. It runs correctly on various types of devices and in multiple browsers, which is paramount for our existing and potential customers. The website loading speed has increased, and the conversion rate has grown dramatically due to tests done and bugs fixed.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Throughout our working together, we enjoyed transparent communication and had clear KPIs. Solvd's professionals completed tasks quickly and efficiently.

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

Solvd shares common values with us, which gives the important feeling of being on the same page. Clients are at the heart of everything they do, and the company’s decision-making process relies on a simple rule: deliver the clients the value they expect.

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

They’ve done amazing work. We've received exceptional service quality.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a CEO of a digital marketing agency. We provide B2B services, from digital marketing strategy creation to content marketing and lead-generation SEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Solvd Inc., and what were your goals?

We needed QA to test the agency's website, fix bugs, add new features and maintain website functionality.

SOLUTION

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

We selected Solvd based on the Clutch reviews and their relevant experience.

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

Solvd's QA engineers conducted manual testing of the website. They reported bugs and discrepancies that the development team fixed in the short run. They also added the additional features in which we took interest. The engineers used WordPress and PHP technologies.

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

Solvd provided us with 1 PHP developer, 1 front-end developer, 2 QA engineers and 1 project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website functions as it should, with no bugs. We added several new customized pages.

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

To manage communication on the project, the team used email, Jira and Slack.

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

The qualifications of the Solvd team and the degree of their involvement in the project set them apart.

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

No, the quality of their work was beyond our expectations.