Theodo

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former product manager for Hostmaker, a property management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Theodo UK?

We engaged Theodo UK to create features for our website so that we can grow our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Theodo UK provided technical assistance to build out new functionality for our existing website. They built a new user onboarding flow, various landing pages for marketing efforts, and other features to improve the customer experience.

We didn’t have a solution before we came to Theodo UK—we only had a challenge we wanted to solve. Theodo UK worked with us to fully scope the project and flesh out what we wanted to build before we started development.

What is the team composition?

I mainly worked with two developers and an agile coach throughout the project. A project director came in every few weeks to check on progress and make sure the team was meeting the agreed-upon budget and timeline.

How did you come to work with Theodo UK?

We worked with another team at Theodo UK on a previous project. We hired them to build a mobile app, and we were so impressed with their work that we asked them to come back. I believe we had found them through a referral.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My team and I were thrilled with Theodo UK’s work. We set key performance indicators (KPIs) at the project’s beginning, and we hit or beat them nearly every week. Some members of my team weren’t used to Theodo UK’s processes at first, but after a week or two, we all saw the benefit.

How did Theodo UK perform from a project management standpoint?

Theodo UK managed the project well. I worked closely with the team. They stayed on top of every task and demonstrated experience from start to finish. The agile coach kept the team in line, making sure we stayed focused and taking the pressure off of my role. Theodo UK also regularly sat down with me to ask for feedback on their performance. They were always looking to improve, and it showed in their results.

We used Jira to manage tickets and Trello for other project management aspects. To communicate with all of our remote workers and stakeholders, we had Google Hangouts and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Theodo UK kicked off our project with little need for onboarding and executed our goals quickly. We were surprised by how good every team member was at their job. They never turned down a task.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. Theodo UK did an excellent job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at Wonderspace, an online marketplace for flexible workspace. People use our service to find coworking and short-term office space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Theodo UK?

I had the idea, some wireframes, and a clickable prototype, but I needed a partner to develop the platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Theodo UK developed a minimum viable product (MVP). I told them what I wanted, then we drew up the user flow and tweaked my original wireframes and prototype. They made significant changes, stripping back about 50%, but it was for the best. They suggested improvements that would make the app run smoother and function better. They use AWS, React for the frontend, and Python on the Django framework for the backend. The app was ready to go live in five weeks, and they’re currently working on minor fixes and additional features.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, developer, architect, and agile coach.

How did you come to work with Theodo UK?

I searched for dev agencies in London and actually chose a different partner at first. That didn’t go over well, though, so I went back to searching. I messaged Theodo UK, and they responded within an hour. The next day, I went to their office for a meeting, and they had a project proposal the next morning. The team was efficient and competent, so I hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered in February 2019, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The previous company said it would take 16 weeks to go live, but Theodo UK got us there in five weeks.

How did Theodo UK perform from a project management standpoint?

They have excellent communication and always respond promptly to our concerns and questions. We use Trello to monitor what the developers are working on and provide feedback on different tasks. We also communicate via WhatsApp, email, phone calls, and in-person visits.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re extremely knowledgeable and work closely with us to make sure we know what’s going on. Their team is phenomenal and have both dev and interpersonal skills.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be nice if they had local designers.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have an open mind and listen to their feedback. They may change your original ideas, but it’ll be for the best. They care about your products, so trust them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Online e-marketplace

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Theodo?

Optimisation of our e-commerce booking site

What were your goals for this project?

To fix and enhance parts of the UI flow

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Recommendation from a contact

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Web development for node and react, for booking flow. Some project management

What was the team composition?

Web developer Architect Part time project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Initially, improvement in checkout metrics

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Not so effective. Pitched a more senior project manager when securing the work, then switched to a junior one. Was not so hands on for the project vs their costs

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are good developers and architects who pay close attention to detail.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Tech project was decent but experience soured by senior management’s unnecessarily aggressive obsession about payment timings. Having promptly paid the first invoice within 2 minutes of receiving it, we were forced into a 30 minute debate on whether we will pay the second, final invoice minutes before or after delivery of their code, despite us having no history of payment issues with them as a first time client!

Turns out they’d been stung by some other client so projected their anxieties into us - that all left a bad taste in our mouth. Also, whatever quote they give, add a notable contingency to it.