tkxel

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO of a consulting firm that helps nonprofits raise money for projects. For instance, if they want to build a building or expand programs like homeless shelters, we help them raise money for it. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tkxel?

We had a proprietary campaign management software that was relatively simple but dated. As a result, we wanted Tkxel to help us imagine a better UI for it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, Tkxel interviewed a few of our clients and a couple of our employees to get feedback and ideas, which they used to design a better UI for the software. We had a kickoff call with their team, and I provided them the names and contact information of the interviewees. After that, Tkxel set up meetings and interviews through Zoom. 

During the interviews, they asked what could be improved about the software, focusing on end user pain points. From there, Tkxel resources started designing wireframes. They gave me iterations and I gave them feedback along the way. 

What is the team composition?

I had one main point of contact, but at least three other people were involved in the project. 

How did you come to work with Tkxel?

I didn’t know how, but Tkxel found us at the right time. Someone from their organization reached out to me when I was looking for help with our software. From there, I spent some time talking to their contact person and decided that we’d take a shot at this project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $5,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April–May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Tkxel provided us with creative ideas and a better-looking interface. For context, this was a small part of our business, and we provided the software for free to clients. It could become bigger someday, but we’ve been slow in this area, so there haven’t been many success metrics. 

In any case, the Tkxel team did their part quickly, giving us a better sense of what our software could be like. Overall, the project took only about a month to finish. It was a simple one, and they did it efficiently. 

How did Tkxel perform from a project management standpoint?

Tkxel was great at managing the project, especially when it came to deadlines. The only thing that slowed them down was me; they did everything they needed to do quickly and on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated the value they provided. They did great work for a relatively small price. In terms of the quality of their process, the team had a sophisticated framework of handling the project. Overall, I was impressed with their processes and the value I gained for our money. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Many of their resources were overseas, so I personally had a difficult time communicating with them early on because of their accent, especially when they spoke fast. That being said, it was a minor issue, and it didn’t get in the way of their work. In fact, I told them about it and they were good at slowing down for me. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let Tkxel do their job. In our engagement, I had the most out of our work with them because I let them do their work; I didn’t have to negotiate or chase them down to do what they had to do.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of technology and innovation at AXIM, a government contractor. We administer government contracts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tkxel?

We’ve worked with them multiple times. On this year’s initiative, we hired Tkxel to take advantage of their React expertise and augment our team with one of their developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we established the scope. We then met with the project manager officer (PMO) to outline the project, the number of hours, and so on. We were familiar with his work, so we set it up so he’d receive tasks daily. Then, we’d meet him at 9:00 a.m. to go over what he accomplished. We continued for six weeks, and then we added another two to complete the project.

What is the team composition?

We worked with the project manager on a daily basis, and we contacted higher management when we worked additional days or if our PMO had days off.

How did you come to work with Tkxel?

We’d worked with them previously. We liked them because they only dealt with small shops, and they had the skill sets needed. We can reach out to them, and they align us with the right resources by providing resumes and allowing us to interview and choose the contractor.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership in 2018. This project lasted from May–July 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We mainly work with Tkxel for their consistency. We know they’ll send someone with the skill set we need, and they check at the beginning of the project to ensure we have the right person. We don’t have to onboard their candidate — we benefit right away from using them.

How did Tkxel perform from a project management standpoint?

We took over the project management, and I think that worked for us. We just had to handle the resource, and since we knew exactly which were the tasks, we just made him part of our morning huddle.

We’ve had more than one resource when we’ve done other projects, but we’ve handled that differently.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have another plan to give you a resource for 40 hours a week, so we pay by augmentation instead of pure contracting hours.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ll continue to use them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be task-oriented. You have to do a lot of work upfront to take advantage of the hours you’ll work together. You can’t do that while you have the resource; it needs to be ahead of time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the systems administrator of a company that produces downhole finishing tools for the oil and gas industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tkxel?

We had a web application developed in-house over a decade ago. At the time, it was put together quickly to solve a problem, but it became an integral part of our business. Thus, we needed to bring our app into a modern codebase, which was outside of my range of expertise, so we hired Tkxel.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially looked at the app and its existing functionality together, and we discussed what we wanted to do moving forward. Tkxel then provided me with a scope of work and a timeline for this project. I provided them with a server, and they did all of the work on that server. It was an incredibly smooth process.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a core group of four individuals from Tkxel: a manager, a salesperson, and two technical programmers. I first interacted with the salesperson. Then, the manager was in charge of all of the paperwork and billing. Ultimately, I worked most closely with the two programmers on the development.

How did you come to work with Tkxel?

I was searching for freelancers to do this job, and I had already gotten some quotes. The president of our company recommended Tkxel after founding them, but I’m not sure how he did so.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested an amount in the range of $10,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and the initial project went live in July 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Tkxel was able to make an extremely smooth migration of our app from an old to a new codebase. By moving it from a hosting system to a virtual machine, I reduced the overhead for this app by 80%.

How did Tkxel perform from a project management standpoint?

I was very impressed with Tkxel’s communication. I got weekly updates on the project, and they shared their GitHub with me so that I saw the codebase being developed in real time. I really appreciated all that because I always knew where we were, and we promptly resolved any small issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Tkxel’s level of professionalism is outstanding. I was very impressed by how they managed the development and the difficulties that arose.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get hold of them and tell them your idea. They’re extremely professional and have high-level technicians on their side.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Software Lead at viaPeople, a company specializing in HR Software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Tkxel, and what were your goals?

We partnered with Tkxel to do a UI Redesign/Refresh for a set of products. To take our somewhat dated design and bring it up to modern design standards, while keeping our user experience as simple and straightforward as it was in the older tools.

SOLUTION

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

We interviewed a number of firms and Tkxel had the design aesthetic, strong UI skills, portfolio work and value that we were looking for. Their strong partnership approach was also a key variable in our decision to select Tkxel.

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

We started with demoing the current products, as well as giving access to a sandbox site. As initial designs started coming in, we worked with the team to iterate (covering edge cases, clarifying intent, etc.) As the iterations happened the following designs were also incorporating our feedback so that everything had a consistent design.

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

Tkxel assigned us a Project Manager and a Designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clients and prospects have been very impressed with the new designs and we feel this will have a significant impact on future sales.

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

There was exceptional partnership between our two teams. Tkxel was very collaborative in their work style, soliciting/incorporating our feedback and then providing new designs. They were very iterative & responsive which jives with how we work as well.

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

The strong partnership, design aesthetic, and skill level of the Tkxel team impressed us the most.. Our products have many configuration options and Tkxel was very thorough in first understanding our features as well as the rationale behind them. Only after fully understanding our products did they address design and navigation needs. We felt this was the perfect approach to our redesign.

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

Nothing I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Aptima is the premier human-centered engineering firm. Since 1995, Aptima’s mission has been to optimize and improve human performance in mission-critical, technology-intensive settings. We apply deep expertise in how humans think, learn, and perform to today’s challenges. Whether for fighter pilots functioning in the cockpit, medical staff in the ICU, or teams collaborating across distributed networks, our solutions help measure, assess, inform, and augment human performance in defense, intel, aviation, law enforcement, and healthcare.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Tkxel, and what were your goals?

We hired Tkxel to perform a UX design refresh and implement front-end and back-end software development. Our goal was to rebuild a healthcare application with a more modern feel and tech stack.

SOLUTION

How did you select Tkxel and what were the deciding factors?

We issued an RFQ to several companies, including Tkxel, and had 1-1 meetings with them to answer their questions. We selected Tkxel based on three criteria (in that order): - Cost - Ability to complete the work within our timeframe - Availability of skills to use the specific tech stack we wanted

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

• Discovery: Tkxel led a 2-week discovery workshop with our team, in order to review the existing application and define key, general requirements and needs.
• Design: Tkxel was tasked to design and implement a refreshed UX/UI. They used Figma and gave our team access to provide reviews and comments in an agile way.
• Software: Tkxel was tasked to:

1. redefine the software architecture
2. re-implement the front-end using Angular
3. re-implement the back-end using .Net Core.

• Deliverables: They delivered the software code, the design artifacts, and supporting documentation.

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

All in all, we interacted with about a dozen people at Tkxel. At each step of the process (RFQ response, discovery, design, development, close-out), Tkxel was very clear about who the leader was on their side, so it made interacting with the team (using Slack) a breeze and very clear. We interacted with a business analyst, a project/program manager, a technical vice-president, designers, and software engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application was developed on time and on budget. The five milestones were met as expected. All requirements were met, The delivery occurred as planned. We are extremely pleased with both the outcome and the process to get there.

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

We used a combination of email, Slack, Jira, Git, and Zoom for project management and communication. Tkxel made their environment accessible to our team for transparency and to avoid delays. They were very open and proactive, which was effective for this project on a tight deadline.

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

With a team split between the US and Pakistan, we were concerned about time difference. But that never was an issue. Meetings were scheduled at mutually-convenient time. Also, they were able to quickly 'get' what it is that we are doing, thereby accelerating the timeline and delivery.

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

Not that I can think of - they performed high-quality work within the deadline and budget!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work as the development manager at an energy non-profit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Tkxel, and what were your goals?

Working for a non-profit with a small IT staff there is much we can not do internally due to limited personnel resources. For our first project we asked them to build a Survey application allowing us to collect and report on specific data from our members. For the second project we had them build a mobile app version of a data driven website we had built in house.

SOLUTION

How did you select Tkxel and what were the deciding factors?

For our first project with them, we looked into a handful of vendors with the skill set we were looking for. Txkel cam across as quite professional, and had the full range of skills we required.

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

We wanted a system built in C#.NET with a SQL Azure back-end. The first project was a survey application, allowing a non-technical internal user to setup and push a survey out to our Members, and report on their answers.

The surveys can change from year to year and the reporting needs to be real-time. The second project was a native mobile app version of an existing data driven website. This project in much larger in score and required a good bit more back and forth.

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

I believe there were a project manager, a development lead, a UI developer, a back-end developer and a front end developer for each project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched both projects on time and in budget and are currently beginning work on another project (potentially two additional projects).

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

Weekly meetings did a great job of keeping our team informed on progress as well as giving us a chance to answer any questions as they arose.

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

Their ability to adapt to our needs, and no push back to do projects 'their way' was refreshing and was impressive

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

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of IT at a company supplying freight car parts and reconditioning.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Tkxel, and what were your goals?

We partnered with Tkxel to develop a rail management system. We wanted to build a new platform which will serve the railroads. The platform will help customers to become more aware with their operations.

SOLUTION

How did you select Tkxel and what were the deciding factors?

Tkxel’s team approached us and provided detailed information how and why they were the team that could help us accomplish our goals. At that time, we were looking at several software companies and finally decided on partnering with Tkxel for this project.

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

They helped us from beginning to end on our product development project. They were deeply involved in the requirement analysis phase, which led to prototyping and final development. We are at the UAT stage right now.

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

1 Project Manager, 1 technical lead, 1 backend developer, 1 frontend developer and 1 UI resource

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product will be launching soon, considering the amount of work we and Tkxel have put into it. At this point the project has been mostly on time considering some side changes and other blockers.

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

Tkxel used several project management tools to stay on schedule and keep our team informed. Overall it was very well managed.

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

We were impressed with their ability to put a project together quickly

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

As with mostly any company, verifying expectations between each other before getting very deep in it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a software engineer at a mass media conglomerate.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Tkxel?

It was a challenge for my company to manage all the leads, all the customers’ information, all the quotations, etc. I was trying to do some of it with Excel sheets, but it was becoming complicated. We decided to have a CRM developed and needed help with it.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to have a custom built CRM that can streamline our prospecting process as well as our marketing campaign process.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us by someone who has an existing relationship with them. After seeing their quality of work, we decided to go with them straight away.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Tkxel custom-built a CRM for us. It helped my company manage its prospects all the way down the sales funnel, allowing us to create marketing campaigns. When we’re dealing with customers, we often have to generate quotes that may or may not convert to orders.

We can manage those in the CRM. For fulfilled orders, we do invoices. We're also able to manage order servicing requests within the same system. Since we’re able to manage this in one single place, we can better serve our customers.

What was the team composition?

They had three developers, one project manager, and a QA person. There was a CRM architect available if required.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product does what it’s supposed to do, making more of our clients happier with our services. With the CRM, we have much more information about our customers at our disposal, and consumer activity is tracked. When a customer calls about a technical issue with a product, we’re able to deal with it on time because we have that complete history. Our business has grown as a result.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The communication and information exchange was great. They were on time, clear, and transparent. I could trust them because they always came back with a nice solution that filled our needs. I appreciated how they manage their communication and project management despite working remotely.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They’re encouraging, straightforward, and transparent. Since I have a technical background, I could actually understand their work. They brought me up to speed in ways that I was able to easily comprehend.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, there’s nothing they can do better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a software development company serving organizations in Sweden and partnering with companies in Pakistan on a variety of different projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tkxel?

We brought them on as a consultant to help us deliver on one of our projects which involved particularly unique technologies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project was a mobile development project for Native Android and iOS, but it was very unique in its own way, so the first step in the project was to onboard them to help understand the existing code and where we needed to move from there.

We worked directly with developers from their team to support our ongoing development processes, integrating them directly into our workflows for the frontend of the application. They helped us to fix a lot of bugs and clear out all of the leftover issues from the previous development team.

What is the team composition?

We hired 2–3 Android developers and one iOS developer from their company.

How did you come to work with Tkxel?

Their CEO introduced himself to us at a startup event in Pakistan, so I knew about their company and their reputation. When the need for a new development partner arose, they were the first people I thought of.

How much have you invested with them?

Our total investment came to around $55,000–$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered with them between May–October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because of the work that they did, my client was able to present an MVP that raised almost a million dollars for their project, so it was an incredibly fruitful collaboration. I managed their developers directly, so I was always up to date on their progress and the quality of their work.

How did Tkxel perform from a project management standpoint?

The collaboration worked very smoothly because of the structure we were able to establish with them. Since I have the development experience to directly oversee their work, I could assign them tasks individually and make sure that the core problems we had were being solved. Internally, they had an individual on their end who communicated well and helped to coordinate whenever they had updates about personnel or other changes from their end.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their hiring and onboarding process is very well set up, allowing their teammates to tackle a really steep learning curve with impressive speed. They offered a lot of good ideas on how to improve the quality of the overall project and really helped save the development in the end.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they should have done differently. Because we worked with their developers directly, we were able to solve everything internally.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Knowing how capable they are as a company, if I worked with them again I would hire an entire team instead of just individual developers because I know I can trust them with the whole process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO at a professional car wash production company headquartered in Augsburg, Germany. Our company has about 200 employees and we serve corporate clients in Europe, Asia and North America. I oversee our digital products and vendor our relationships.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Tkxel?

Our company is focused on mostly hardware driven business solutions. But as automation becomes a bigger point in society we also must move on in terms of software. As we do not have in-house software engineer team, we had to outsource our development to keep pace with market change.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a product extension with a higher value for our customers to increase customer loyalty. So we needed an operational safety on the one hand and a user friendly interface on the other.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

TkXel was recommended to us by a trusted cooperation partner.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected TikXel, we had a series of calls to present and discuss our goals and objectives. Within the first three weeks, we received mockups and 2 initial designs for our customer application, which was perfectly matched with our CI.

After a few iterations and discussions with our customer support and head of sales, we finalized the necessary functions and provided feedback on how we wanted the rest of the site to look. The vendor even visited us in Germany for the first live testing.

What was the team composition?

Initially we were assigned a project manager to support us and serve as the main point of contact throughout the project. I normally spoke with the project manager but also had the contact details of one frontend and one backend developer. I was made aware that there are in total 7 people working on our project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within 5 months, our new application was finally ready to use and we had the chance to present it in front of big clients of ours. They instantly loved the application and ordered the necessary hardware for their car wash machines to keep the software running.

Throughout the process we also had many feedback and testing sessions to make sure that we are on the right track with our application.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager that we were assigned was super easy to communicate with and provided us with frequent updates. We used Slack, Jira & Github for all the communication and skyped at least once per week. The cooperation was a real success: We had the chance to focus and communicate our hardware solutions which were supplemented by the software from TkXel.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was really impressed by the professional competence TkXel had about Application development, user experience and practical understanding of our problem. We learned much more than we thought we possibly could.

We've worked with other developers in the past, but this was a particularly collaborative and positive experience. As soon as we need another application, we will definitely come back to TkXel!

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very satisfied with their work. Even if it would be great to short down the timeline it was an absolutely great, collaborative work which ended up in an incredible product.