SozenTech Consulting Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Making Changes is a community of women helping women, and their families, through life transition by providing them with the skills and resources to support their pursuit of meaningful work and educational opportunities. I am the Program Manager for the Women in Technology (WIT) Program at Making Changes Association.

I ensure that our participants are successfully recruited, trained, and supported by giving them the hands-on skills and exposure to be build a solid career in STEM fields. WIT employment training program strives to ensure our students have the confidence, skills, and networks needed to reach their potential.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our WIT program consists of three components:

1. Employment and Power Skills Training (job readiness and soft skills development);
2. Technical Training (Full Stack Web Development with Python Programming);
3. Workplace Integrated Learning (practicum placements).

SozenTech was hired for its expertise in the IT field. They were asked to design and implement a curriculum for the technical training component of the program.

SOLUTION

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

We selected this vendor because of their technical knowledge and experience as well as their commitment to empower racialized and newcomer women through technology training to launch their careers in the innovative and growing tech industry.

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

We run two cohorts per year of the Women in Technology Program. Each cohort is six months in duration and has approximately 17 participants. SozenTech engages actively with us to delivery the technical training component of the program. The instructors from SozenTech are up-to-date on trends and job market requirements to help our students develop the right skills to meet the changing needs of tech companies and recruiters in the Calgary area.

We actively collaborate with the professional staff from SozenTech, who help prepare our students for a typical work environment by focusing on self-directed online study, group and individual projects, peer and instructor feedback, group discussions, and instructor-facilitated lessons.

SozenTech has developed a comprehensive curriculum to teach WIT students about various platforms and coding languages (including: Python, Scratch, Figma, HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JavaScript, jQuery, Git, React, Express, SQL, Firebase, Test Driven Development using Mocha and Chai).

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

We’ve worked with 4–5 people from SozenTech, including Nageeb D. (COO), IT instructors/facilitators, and a project manager. Nageeb act as intermediary between the instructional team and MCA. Nageeb also acts as a co-instructor and mentor for students of the program.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Evaluation results in 2021 showed that participants experienced changes in a variety of aspects of their lives on their journey towards a more sustainable livelihood - from skills and confidence to further education and income opportunities. 94% of participants surveyed gained new knowledge and learned new skills or improved existing skills that will support their future career direction.

The top three new or improved skills were:

1. Coding and Development
2. Information Technology and Computing
3. Technical Communication.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

SozenTech is very proactive in addressing challenges of participants in the program as well as at identifying and acting upon trends in the IT sector. Nageeb is very adaptable and can easily shift priorities/schedules to accommodate requests form industry stakeholders and partners. We are able to build synergy with them and discuss plans for future growth in areas of mutual interest.

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

I appreciate that they take time to understand the individual learning needs of every participant in the program and incorporate a plan for them to be successful (i.e., Nageeb creates customized projects and assignments for the students who's grades are lower, so that they can get extra credit and still successfully complete the program).

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

There are no areas to improve. Whenever we have any concern with SozenTech they are open to accommodate and flexible about coming up with a mutually beneficial solution for all parties involved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a founder and president of the company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to disrupt homeownership through a trust-based offering that provided homeowners with local advice and support for home maintenance thus reducing their risk, increasing the value of their home and improving their quality of life.

SOLUTION

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

We worked with a competitor for a period of time but were unsatisfied with the level of service and projected costs of the project so we decide to give Sozentech a chance. As a new business, they came with strong backgrounds in their field, but most importantly, they had clear systems and processes and were willing to work with us at a level that other providers couldn't match.

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

Scope of work included meetings to theorize about our idea and how it might translate into an interactive smartphone application, development updates, test scenarios, and even attending marketing events to better understand our needs and vision.

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

The vendor's team is small, only two people, and they both worked with us extensively. Faraz, CEO and Nageeb (?)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sozentech went far above and beyond in their efforts to help us be successful really becoming part of our team. Not only did they shape the way we thought about our idea, they took us in a direction we would never have thought of and even helped us with non-app related marketing and strategy. They were instrumental in the success of our venture.

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

They are very engaged, prompt, and professional. They use visualization, model building, presentation and other forms of communication to paint a picture and seek clarification. We attended multiple brainstorming and tasking meetings with them where they walked us through a well-defined process for ideation through to final testing of the product.

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

Sozentech's engagement with us and hard work to truly understand what we needed even if we didn't was impressive. They really "got" us.

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

We aspire to be the kind of company Sozentech is growing into. There is nothing I can think of that they could do differently to make things better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a mobile app development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SozenTech Consulting Inc.?

We needed someone to help us design UI/UX mock-ups and develop the backend of a couple of apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SozenTech was our primary UI/UX design and mobile app development partner. They created wireframes for our iOS and Android-based platform, including the color scheme, infrastructure, and visual design. They mainly utilized Sketch for the product's design and LITE Technologies for the backend.

What is the team composition?

I worked mostly with Nageeb (COO), but I also communicated with their UI/UX development team.

How did you come to work with SozenTech Consulting Inc.?

I came across their company while researching through Google.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $15,000 CAD (approximately $11,200 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2016–July 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The designs that SozenTech delivered kickstarted the development process, much to the client’s satisfaction. We were very happy with their designs and appreciated how quickly they accomplished their tasks.

How did SozenTech Consulting Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well from a project management standpoint because they were highly communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their biggest strength is their UI/UX design expertise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they needed to improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would just say to go ahead and work with SozenTech because you’ll be in good hands.