Spork

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the C-Level of an information technology company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We deliver technology to B2B and B2B2C users.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Spork to accomplish?

• Design and build an MVP of our platform under a probe-based delivery model.
• Deliver scoped product functionality across sequential probes, in alignment with an agreed product planning roadmap.
• Establish and configure the core technical infrastructure, including cloud environments, CI/CD, and baseline security controls.
• Implement compliant integrations.
• Translate prior product-discovery and market-validation inputs into executable product requirements and UX flows.
• Provide predictable, time-boxed delivery with clear acceptance criteria, quality gates, and change-control governance.
• Support compliance and audit readiness, including documentation and evidence required for security and regulatory review.

SOLUTION

How did you find Spork?

Referral

Why did you select Spork over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Spork were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The engagement covered end-to-end product development for a regulated software platform, delivered under a probe-based model intended to de-risk early execution and validate feasibility across sequential phases. The scope included both technical delivery and product definition activities, with each probe operating against defined objectives, timeboxes, and acceptance criteria.

Key elements of the scope of work included:

• Product planning and roadmap development based on prior market-validation and product-discovery inputs
• Design and implementation of core application architecture and infrastructure (including cloud environments, CI/CD pipelines, and environment setup)
• Development of initial product functionality across multiple sequential probes, with overlapping dependencies
• UX research and design, including form workflows and complex conditional logic
• Integration readiness for external APIs, including preparation for a time-sensitive external demo
• Establishment of security, compliance, and audit-support materials
• Defect remediation, stabilisation work, and iterative refinement identified through demos and testing
• Ongoing delivery governance, forecasting, and change-control activities

Key deliverables included:

• A multi-probe product planning roadmap
• Deployed application environments and source-code repositories
• UX designs, prototypes, and workflow definitions
• Infrastructure and integration configurations
• Compliance and audit documentation
• Demoable software increments and supporting delivery artefacts

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The engagement produced several measurable outcomes that demonstrated progress during the course of the project, including:

• Establishment of a structured, multi-phase product roadmap aligned to defined delivery probes
• Implementation of core application infrastructure, including cloud environments and CI/CD pipelines
• Development of initial application functionality sufficient to support internal demos and early validation
• Creation of UX designs and workflow schemas addressing complex, regulated form logic
• Identification and documentation of technical, compliance, and integration complexities earlier than would have occurred in a single-phase delivery model
• Generation of a detailed backlog of defects, edge cases, and acceptance criteria that clarified the gap between initial assumptions and production readiness
• Improved visibility into delivery risk, sequencing dependencies, and feasibility constraints for subsequent phases

These outcomes contributed to a clearer understanding of both the technical requirements and execution challenges associated with building the platform, informing subsequent delivery and vendor decisions. Good during discovery and planning, but delivered outputs that required substantial post-demo remediation and stabilisation to meet expected quality and acceptance standards. Well-intentioned team, but execution challenges and delivery variability limited confidence and overshadowed the strengths shown earlier in the engagement.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Project management was structured, with shared planning artefacts. The team was generally responsive and engaged in day-to-day communication, and they demonstrated willingness to adjust plans as new information emerged.

That said, several deliverables did not land within the aligned scope or timeline. Delivery risks and slippage were not surfaced on a timely basis, which made planning challenging. When issues were identified, the team did not work collaboratively to address them, and resolution often required additional time and re-prioritisation. Predictability of delivery and early escalation of risks were areas where execution needed to improve. Timelines were collaborative, but delivery slipped as execution progressed, with risks escalated later than expected and milestones ultimately not met as planned. Pricing was competitive relative to peers, but overall value was impacted by rework, delays, and the need for additional effort to reach production-ready outcomes.

What was your primary form of communication with Spork?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The team demonstrated domain knowledge and engagement during early discovery and planning. They invested time in understanding the problem space, regulatory context, and user needs, and were proactive in suggesting approaches and frameworks. Their collaborative style and willingness to engage at both a strategic and tactical level stood out, but only in the early phases of the project.

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

Consistency in delivery predictability and earlier escalation of risks. While discovery and planning were thoughtful, execution surfaced unstable variability as the project progressed, particularly around scope stability, sequencing, and timelines. Earlier and more explicit alignment when delivery assumptions changed—and internal validation (which was completely lacking before demos)—would have reduced downstream rework and improve confidence in execution.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CPO of a global legal services benchmarking platform that evaluates law firms and provides trusted insights and rankings to help clients make informed decisions in the legal market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spork?

We needed help with the installation of Agile, the design and build of a brand-new frontend, the overhaul of the underlying architecture, and the recruitment and resourcing of a reengineered development team. Our platform was built on outdated architecture and didn’t have sufficient development processes or resources in place to match our ambitious project goals or develop efficiency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spork was given the challenge of upgrading our web platform, which was built on outdated architecture, and without sufficient development processes or resources in place to match our ambitious project goals or develop efficiency. Spork has prioritized which elements to overhaul first to allow us to maintain BAU and commercial commitments to a high standard. The team has also future-proofed our development team for ambitious development expectations while simultaneously generating an updated, high-quality frontend to replace our dated platform.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 10–15 members of Spork’s team.

How did you come to work with Spork?

We found them through direct sales. We chose them because their pricing fit our budget, they were a great culture fit, and their company values aligned with ours.

How much have you invested with them?

The project's cost is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Spork has released a new frontend to considerable acclaim and overhauled our architecture. The team has also expanded our resources, installed Agile as a basic development process, and enabled new product development. Overall, we’ve received external acclaim for the new platform and internal acclaim for the increased efficiency and transparency of the development process.

How did Spork perform from a project management standpoint?

Spork has effectively managed the project and delivered on schedule. We communicate via in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Spork’s adaptability, culture, and agility are impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any.

BACKGROUND

I’m the CEO of dotdotdot, a consumer software business. We’re building the future of inspiration, discovery, and decision-making in travel through a single, intuitive platform that effortlessly connects people with their perfect place in minutes, not days.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We needed help with developing the MVP of our travel technology product; a way to prove that our concept was technically feasible before investing further in developing the product, ready for market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This wasn’t a simple design and build. Instead, it required the innovative use of multiple technology streams, the integration of both static and dynamic data, and custom logic to piece it all together. The objective was to deliver something that could prove the concept of our platform, allowing us to go to market and seek investment to develop the product further.

We managed this in two stages, the first of which was through Spork's MVP in 5 Days product. After a kick off workshop we set out a specific list of deliverables, success criteria, and key checkpoints- all focused on the goal of proving the concept we challenged them with.

After the concept was proven, we tendered a further engagement with Spork to develop the platform further, based on both the learnings from Stage 1 and the direction we wanted to take the platform in. Spork were happy to do this, building a Scope of Work tailored to the direction we wanted to take the product in, and always with dotdotdot's goals at the forefront of our partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We went from nothing to something, which was what Spork was initially hired to deliver. We’re now building on this with a real focus on two core areas: efficiency and effectiveness. The platform is set up to deliver the best possible results, and it’s doing so in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

To measure this, we worked with Spork to develop a consistent set of success criteria, the success of which to be continually measured as the platform developed. These success criteria have consistently moved in the right direction, thanks in no small part to Spork optimising towards them at every stage. This has kept us on track and ensured that we’re building towards a common, and effective goal.

Our experience with Spork has been nothing but positive. They're a collective of incredibly bright, intuitive, and technically knowledgeable professionals who don’t only deliver against objectives, but do so in a caring and empathetic manner. 

At the startup stage it's important that founders find agencies who aren't only focused on delivery, but also on partnership. I'm happy to say that with Spork, we found that.