Travancore Analytics

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of Forklift University

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provide the required OSHA forklift training to companies, so their forklift operators can perform the aspects of their job in an efficient and safe manner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Travancore Analytics to accomplish?

• develop vr training system that matched real life operations
• reduce vr sickness from the training program
• develop a global training platform in vr that provided a more interactive way to teach operators

SOLUTION

How did you find Travancore Analytics?

Online Search

Why did you select Travancore Analytics over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

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

The project was to create a realistic VR training system that would assist forklift operators and trainers in teaching the skills that are needed in the supply chain today. The system would include both vr interaction modules that were based on real life situations and functions rather than gaming simulations that were currently on the market. 

The front end needed to use a higher end headset, and reduce vr sickness by increasing frame rates and graphic quality. The back end tracked the students performance and provided feedback for trainers that would evaluate and teach operators in the proper use of a forklift. All aspects of the project have been delivered and exceed expectations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Reviews from clients have been extremely positive, VR sickness is reduced over 100% from other systems on the market, the modular design has kept the industry acceptance at a high level since the training can focus on specific tasks.

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

responsive with scope, and weekly development meetings with the local team and overseas team. VERY responsive to every request, question and issue.

What was your primary form of communication with Travancore Analytics?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They listened and responded with insights and input on the concepts that we were trying to develop.

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

at this point there is nothing i would have changed

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of ReVision Training LLC, a company founded to help bring fitness to people who are blind and visually impaired. Our services include a fitness app that provides users with motivational speeches and other teaching elements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Travancore Analytics?

I’m blind myself, and I’m a personal trainer and long-time athlete as well. Thus, I had the idea to create a program where people who are blind could sign into it and use it to learn how to do fitness correctly.

Most instruction and fitness videos don’t have enough audio description to give a person who’s blind the right idea of how they’re supposed to be moving and what they’re supposed to be doing. Therefore, I started writing ideas for ways to present lessons to these individuals. I put a lot of material together but didn’t have a place to house it, so I started reaching out to different companies, trying to figure out how to build an app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Travancore Analytics helped me develop my fitness app based on the material I had put together. This is a standard app that users can download on iOS and Android. When users open it, they get a few basic options on the landing screen: to log in, to sign up, or to learn more about our program.

This app includes several elements that help screen reading technologies — iOS VoiceOver and Google TalkBack for Android — to ensure they know what they’re looking at. Sometimes, apps have unlabeled buttons that people can only know what they do by looking at them. That situation is very frustrating for individuals who are visually impaired because the screen reader only tells them that those are buttons, and they can’t know what they are for.

Therefore, Travancore Analytics ensured that everything within the app was labeled correctly and easy to navigate with a screen reader. The learn more button takes users to a page with FAQs and sample workouts. The log-in and sign-up features are very intuitive; on them, users can place their information easily because all the fields are labeled.

Once users go into the app, they can find a couple of main sections. One of these sections is a dashboard where I post updates, information, and new workouts, and users can comment on those updates.

Additionally, the app has a classroom section unique to my fitness program. This section has fitness lessons with very detailed instructions that I’ve written on how to perform certain exercises using reference points and clockface directions. This way, the user knows what they’re doing with the exercise.

The app also has another section, which is a fitness studio. This section has audio workouts cued up and built-in timers. Finally, it has a fitness plan section and a couple of other resources for fitness guides, recommended equipment, and other things like that that users can find.

I developed, wrote, and recorded all the content for the app using Microsoft 365, a good microphone, and Audacity. However, I’m not sure which technologies Travancore Analytics used to build this app, but I believe they used React Native. In addition to an iOS and an Android app, I also have a web platform for users who don’t utilize mobile devices.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Akhil (Software Engineer), who led the project and was my main point of contact. Still, we also worked with other teammates from Travancore Analytics throughout the project.

How did you come to work with Travancore Analytics?

When I was looking for a partner, an acquaintance recommended going with Travancore Analytics to build this app because they had done other apps that were very accessible for the blind. When I reached out to them, they were very professional and willing to help me figure out all of what was needed to get the project off the ground.

How much have you invested with them?

I paid them $15,000 for the app development project. Recently, I paid them around $15,000 more for updates, so I’ve spent around $30,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Travancore Analytics in September 2021, although the project started at least a year and a half prior to that. We launched the app in April 2022. However, we recently engaged again for a round of updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app that Travancore Analytics developed is very well-labeled and organized, making it very easy for individuals who are blind or visually impaired to use a screen reader. Before working with them, I worked with another agency that didn’t do a good job, so I started looking for a new partner. I’m very glad that I did because Travancore Analytics did much better work and delivered higher quality.

The first version of this product was web-based. I had a website where I housed a lot of these lessons, but it only had around 26 subscribers. The other company told me that they could do an app out of the website, but they simply developed a shell around the website so that it could be used on mobile devices.

The platform was clunky and didn’t work well. However, Travancore Analytics was able to build an app separate from the website and still connected to it. Thanks to my clean and functional app, I now have around 215 subscribers. Travancore Analytics’ work in making a professional and easy-to-use app helped me get those results.

How did Travancore Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

Travancore Analytics was very professional, took feedback very well, and answered all of my questions. Moreover, Akhil was great because we frequently communicated via email, and he made himself available via WhatsApp. Having easy access to him to ask him questions about the project was great.

Travancore Analytics also provided us with regular updates and reports. We had weekly Google Meet update meetings with various members of their team. During those meetings, other software developers gave me updates on what they were working on and how close they were to complete their tasks.

Overall, our communication was very good, and Travancore Analytics was very flexible. Given that I’m in the US and they’re in India, our time difference was significant. Still, they were flexible in finding the time for us to meet, which made them very easy to work with. As far as payments go, paying them was very easy. They had various payment methods, so I decided to pay them through PayPal.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Travancore Analytics was very accommodating, so working with them was very nice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was nothing Travancore Analytics could have improved on — they provided a great service.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Techno Staff. We’re an inspection company for the oil and gas industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Travancore Analytics?

We’d been using Microsoft Excel, but there were many manual things to carry out. We also had quality issues due to human error during the copying process. Our goal was to eliminate human error and increase productivity.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Travancore Analytics provided custom software development services. We initially provided them with our specifications and spreadsheets so they understood our objective. Afterward, we started the project to create the new system.

What is the team composition?

We worked with five teammates, including three systems engineers, one QA person, and a UI designer.

How did you come to work with Travancore Analytics?

We found them by coincidence. My boss sat next to Travancore Analytics’ founder on a flight, and they came to know each other. We used them previously in software development, so when this project came up, we decided to go with them again.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from October 2022–February 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still testing the new software, but 95% of it works as intended. Some minor changes are happening, but what we wanted to achieve is already in our hands. We’ve been able to omit many unnecessary processes with the new system. Overall, the software will have a positive impact moving forward. 

How did Travancore Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered everything on time and within budget. We had virtual meetings each week, and I visited them in India for a week before wrapping up the project. All in all, the process was very effective.

The team responded quickly. We mostly used Google Meet and email to communicate. Sometimes we also used the Microsoft Teams chat to screenshot what was happening.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills were exceptional and made them stand out from other companies. For example, they responded quickly and went above and beyond to provide us with answers when we had questions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we were happy working with Travancore Analytics.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Both sides need to have a mutual understanding regarding meetings and communication. However, Travancore Analytics’ communication skills are high, and they’re easy to work with. I recommend working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a company that works on accessible technologies for blind and visually impaired people. One of our main focuses is indoor navigation. Our company maps buildings and gives blind users a mobile app experience that lets them navigate buildings by getting turn-by-turn directions. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Travancore Analytics?

We engaged Travancore to help us focus on our backend pipelines and complete our DevOps work, essentially making our development team more efficient. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During the first phase of our engagement, Travancore helped us move to a multi-cloud platform. We previously were only using AWS, but we needed to support Azure, too. As a result, Travancore helped us build our Azure environment. 

At present, they’ve been working on our automatic pipelines so that when we push our code, it gets deployed to both AWS and Azure at once. They’ve built these pipelines pretty much from scratch, though I’ve given them guidance on what we need. The team has been working using Bitbucket Pipelines and Docker. 

In terms of goals, we want to continue expanding our pipelines. Right now, we’re focused on backend services. However, we also want to do that for the apps and tools that we use internally. Given that, our end goal is to have one script that deploys everything all at once with the end user in mind. We want to deliver releases every two weeks for our end users, so the sooner we complete the above-mentioned pipelines, the faster we can deliver our goal. 

What is the team composition?

We work with two developers, and one of them serves as the project manager. 

How did you come to work with Travancore Analytics?

Our chief evangelist worked with Travancore in the past. They helped him and his previous company build accessible technologies, so there was already an established relationship between them. Our team chose to hire Travancore based on his recommendation. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project started in July 2022, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re working on bugs that pop up frequently right now. I’d prefer not to have bugs in the first place. That being said, the team has been responsive when bugs pop up, fixing them quickly. 

How did Travancore Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

Considering that we don’t have a formal project manager, the Travancore developers are doing a pretty good job. Their communication has been good. Moreover, they work during our business hours, which is late for them — I truly appreciate that they do that. I’ve never asked for it, but they willingly do it. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They work through our demos and are available almost 24/7. On top of that, they try to adjust to our time, working super late hours without being asked. These two things are truly noteworthy. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Having a formal project manager would help our engagement better. There have been a couple of instances where deadlines weren’t met. Once, the team was going to be out, and we weren’t fully aware of it. In other words, having no official project manager sometimes causes issues for us. If they can’t have a formal project manager, a more formal and consistent approach to project management and reporting would be an improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a startup that makes an AI-powered Smart Video recorder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed great Android and iOS native apps for our users to use. We already had web-based UIs, but they had various shortcomings, especially so on cell phones.

SOLUTION

How did you select Travancore Analytics and what were the deciding factors?

We found them through a recommendation after we had a bad experience with another app development company. Travancore Analytics were willing to do some trial projects at no cost to us to demonstrate the capabilities of their developers and ensure that we would not have a repeat of the previous experience.

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

We needed Android and iOS native apps. The apps allow the customer to review and interact with their video surveillance cameras. As you might imagine, video is a key component of the app, and, in order to avoid having a lot of duplicated code, we were looking for developers that could develop in flutter.

The project has had many steps involving the development of the core functionality, implementation of a new UI, and ensuring that the app scales well even to large systems with many cameras.

How many people from the Travancore Analytics team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We started off with just one developer, and the team on this project has grown to 4 ... One shared project manager, and 3 developers. We also have been quite happy with the results and have engaged Travancore to help us with two other efforts beyond the scope of this project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have launched the first version of our iOS app and received a very positive reaction from our users. The Android app is taking a bit longer but it's not Travancore's fault ... It turns out that Android has some issues in supporting libraries that only appear when trying to handle several video streams at once.

Our Travancore Analytics developers are working on resolving these problems.

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

TA seems to be quite flexible in their approach. They can take on a project and manage it for you, or, as we preferred, they can offer lightweight management and support but allow the developers to function almost as if they worked for us directly.

Our management guy has been great ... He provides the right mix of in-person support to the team working on our products while also not getting in the way of anything. He has also been proactive in trying to help figure out how TA can help our company to be successful.

We have a weekly meeting to coordinate, and we are also able to chat with the developers as needed -- so it's very much as if they worked directly for us.

Timelines have been fluid as we learned about the restrictions of the technology we're working with and limts of various phones, etc -- but again, we feel like TA has been good at respecting timelines that we lay out, and that delays have been due to legit unanticipated issues.

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

I like that they offer a flexible model to let us manage the developers as much or as little as we would like. When you couple that with the fact that they are cost-effective and very transparent about what we are being billed for, it makes for a great and predictable experience working with them.

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

There are no major areas for improvement based on our experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Ceeya Inc. We’re a business launch platform for freelancers and creators; we build software applications for freelancers, solopreneurs, and creators who want to launch their own businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Travancore Analytics?

We were building a platform, but the features we needed weren’t simple. We needed full-scale frontend, backend, database, machine learning, and AI technologies. We need more technical resources to accelerate the development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Travancore Analytics offers flexibility and domain expertise in software development. They’ve helped us with our software for over a year. We give them tasks that involve technical resources; they assess our situation and provide the right talent to take on the project.

For example, we were building the frontend application. It was a profile builder that allowed users to log in, sign in to our platform, and decorate or edit their profile using a drag-and-drop UI interface. They provided someone with deep knowledge of frontend development, React applications, and consumer-facing products. Then, we needed a full stack developer who could build features in Node.js and React.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 6–10 developers from Travancore Analytics. They collaborate with our team on a daily basis.

How did you come to work with Travancore Analytics?

I used to work for Intel, and the team in that division had many developers from Travancore Analytics. I worked with them for several months and was really impressed with their work. I thought I’d eventually work with them when I founded my own company. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around September 2020, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re building specific features, and they always get things done quickly. The speed and quality of their work are excellent.

How did Travancore Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate with them every day, from Monday through Friday. Although they’re from Travancore Analytics, they’re basically part of our team. They only work on our projects, and we work on the deadlines together. We go through the general software development process each day, and they work extra hours or weekends if needed.

The primary management tools we use are Airtable, Notion, the entire G-Suite, Figma, and Monday. Our company works entirely remotely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The staff is flexible and affordable. Also, they have deep domain expertise; they can build pretty much anything.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My only complaint is the time difference, but it isn’t their fault. We work with developers in India, so sometimes, we can’t get immediate feedback when we need it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear and gather as much information as possible. Preparation and details matter, so do your own homework. Don’t expect everything to be done as you think it should.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Hyve Sports, an athleisure activewear brand focusing on activewear for cycling and running.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Travancore Analytics?

As an apparel brand, we make a lot of our sales online. A very important aspect of our online sales is to provide an extremely comfortable experience for the consumer. Thus, we needed help with custom software development and web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re working with Travancore Analytics on developing technologies to make online purchases extremely smooth and hassle-free for our consumers. On our most recent project, we’ve been working on a 3D customizing tool that allows consumers to personalize their activewear online and then purchase it.

Currently, Travancore Analytics is also working on developing a WordPress website for us. Thus, the customizing tool will work as a plug-in, integrating with our website and our WooCommerce backend.

Through this plugin, the consumer will be able to change various aspects of the activewear they like, such as the fabric, color, sleeve type, and collar type. Furthermore, they will be able to add certain elements like reflectors and zippers. Then, the customized product will be transferred back to WooCommerce so that they can place the order online.

We’re doing the project in multiple phases. Phase one is now finished, and we have a set timeline for phase two. After that, we will work on phases three and four.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with about 10 people from Travancore Analytics. The project has been led by two people with whom I’ve worked very closely. Additionally, we’ve discussed some technical aspects with a senior engineer. Those three people are my main points of contact.

How did you come to work with Travancore Analytics?

We found Travancore Analytics through a local technology hub. In there, we also found plenty of other options, but Travancore Analytics was extremely easy to work with. They seemed to be a great partner for us.

How much have you invested in them?

For the first phase, we’ve spent under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around October 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Initially, we were very specific about our requirements, which included fast loading times. So far, we’re very happy with the results. Travancore Analytics has improved our online store a lot, adding a lot of value to our project.

How did Travancore Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

Managing our project has been very easy because we set the goals and timelines from the start. We hit the first two milestones with a delay of a couple of days due to a confusing situation, but other than that, the entire execution was very smooth.

We communicate with Travancore Analytics through email and Google Meet. Most of our meetings have been online due to the pandemic, but we did have in-person meetings initially and when we wrapped up the first phase. As for project management, our technical team uses a platform to coordinate with their team regarding tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Travancore Analytics has core competencies in AR and other modern technologies. Additionally, they focus on future technologies, which makes them attractive and unique.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve already advised them to test products in all scenarios. Although they have some QA resources, that part of their work needs improvement. However, this hasn’t been a serious issue for us; it rather is an area of opportunity for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think of them as discovery partners; there is where they provide the most value for the money. They will strive to understand your business, so take them on that journey with you, and they’ll contribute to improving your vision with technology.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was CEO of Sendero Group, which developed the first accessible GPS products for the blind.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

TA handled almost all of the software development for our iPhone and eventually Android versions of the product.

SOLUTION

How did you select Travancore Analytics and what were the deciding factors?

TA was recommended to us by another U.S. company. We kept using them because they always delivered within budget and on time.

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

We gave TA guidance based on our hardware GPS products and they created the smartphone versions. We worked with them weekly to design the features and to work through development and testing.

How many people from the Travancore Analytics team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with everyone from the CEO, CTO and various engineering team members over the years. I used them with Sendero and then when I took the product to another company where they helped with segments of our indoor navigation development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bottom line, blind people around the world are using the various versions of the products TA helped us to create. I appreciate that despite the distance and time zones that communication was good both in writing and online.

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

TA worked around our development schedule to meet our timelines. Typically, we met once a week. They sent progress reports and scheduled additional meetings as needed.

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

I am impressed that over 10 years and several developers we worked with that TA maintained high quality for a very afordable price. I have met some of them in person and like them all as individuals as well as a company.

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

There is always room for improvement. I am most impressed at how a company fixes problems when they occur. This rarely happened and they always followed through.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the director of engineering for a technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Travancore Analytics?

We needed a company that could provide us with mobile app and AR development support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Travancore Analytics as an extension of our teams to work on projects related to mobile app development, specifically in the fields of immersive media experiences, VR, and AR. They provided our internal team with additional resources depending on a specific project’s needs. There were also times when we just provided them with the entire scope of work and let them handle it, which was more of a statement-of-work-based engagement.

In both those types of engagement, we provided them with our skillset and seniority requirements, and they were tasked with finding the right candidates for us if they didn’t already have them on their team.

Travancore Analytics was responsible for developing and deploying iOS and Android mobile apps for us. They also worked on some VR platforms that run on top of Android-based development environments. One of their most notable works was a cross-platform VR media experience library for both iOS and Android.

What is the team composition?

The size of the team that we worked with varied over the years, depending on the project that we were working on.

How did you come to work with Travancore Analytics?

Travancore Analytics was referred to us by another company that we had worked with.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $3 million on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2017-July 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Travancore Analytics had very good validation and release processes. Whenever there were issues after releases, they were very quick to respond and address them. Their commitment and the SLA that they provided for the resolution of issues that came up were excellent.

How did Travancore Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

Travancore Analytics performed well in terms of project management. There were some hiccups and differences between the way their team and ours managed our tasks, but that didn’t really affect the engagement. Overall, they provided frequent updates and reports and communicated effectively throughout our partnership.

We used Jira and Confluence for project management and documentation, Bitbucket for source code management, and Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were very impressed with the quality of the software engineers that Travancore Analytics provided over the years. We had worked with many other development companies before, and we found that their engineers were better in quality compared to other vendors.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to have a very clear goal and requirements in mind. It’s also important to overcommunicate, especially when working with overseas vendors.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at a company that manufactures traffic radars. These radars are used in the electronic signs at the side of the road. The Department of Transportation also uses our product to measure speed and traffic volumes on highways.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Travancore Analytics?

We needed software development services, and we had trouble finding resources in our area, so we decided to outsource.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Travancore Analytics helped us with staff augmentation. We requested PHP and Javascript developers with experience in large cloud databases. They offered us some candidates’ resumes, and we initially picked two people. 

Their team developed our radar cloud software. Multiple radars from different countries call into this cloud software, and our customers can visualize the radar data on a cloud server, check radar status, and generate reports. The team from Travancore Analytics provides maintenance and adds features to the software. They also fix bugs when necessary.

The development team works remotely. Travancore Analytics provides them with tools and infrastructure, ensuring that they are adequately compensated and have growth opportunities. We work with the developers directly, providing requirements, oversight, and reviews. I give them tasks, and when they complete them, they report to me. 

Recently, we added additional teammates to develop an Android application, and we’re planning to kick off a project to create an iOS with them soon.

What is the team composition?

There are currently four people from Travancore Analytics working on our project. We have two teammates working full-time on the cloud software, and we recently added two more teammates for the Android app development. Additionally, a project manager provides oversight and technical support for the developers. 

How did you come to work with Travancore Analytics?

Since we had trouble hiring in our area, we searched for software companies in India and shortlisted Travancore Analytics.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

We anticipate that we’ll keep working with Travancore Analytics, adding more teammates every year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been very happy with Travancore Analytics’ work. The system they’re working on is still in production, and sometimes defects can leak to the customer. The Travancore Analytics team has been very good about preventing these defect leaks as much as possible. 

Most of their tasks have been 80%–90% on time, which is remarkable because these are very complicated technical products, and delays are very common. 

How did Travancore Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Mattermost for communication, and we have four meetings a week with the development team and the project manager. The developers work off of bug-tracking software, and we use Agile cycles. For example, I give them six tasks to work on, and at the end of the week, we review and deploy them. 

Though there have been schedule delays, the Travancore Analytics team is very open about them. We’ve never really been upset about a schedule delay because they happen for very good reasons. 

Travancore Analytics provides a project manager on their side even though we don’t pay for that resource. The project manager oversees our outsourced team, and they do 3–4 reviews a month. They’re also good about asking for our feedback through a questionnaire they send us. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I find their proactiveness and honesty impressive. For example, sometimes we can’t see certain issues from here, such as a teammate having health issues or other personal problems that might cause changes. Travancore Analytics is very mindful of identifying these issues and letting us know upfront. 

Many outsourcing companies keep their clients in the dark about who they’re working with, whereas Travancore Analytics is very straightforward — if there’s a problem, they’ll be the first ones to tell me. Thanks to their proactiveness, I don’t have to worry about whether their operations are working, and I can focus on my local team.

I also appreciate that they’ll let me interview new resources and put them into my project free of charge for 2–3 weeks while I evaluate them. Travancore Analytics has many types of resources that are hard to come by here in our area. As a result, they can ramp up operations pretty quickly. For example, if we need a new developer and no one is available at the time, they’ll find someone as soon as possible and be attentive to what we want. Some of their teammates come from a satellite research project, so they have a lot of helpful resources with many capabilities at Travancore Analytics. They’re a reliable partner, and they’ve done a pretty spectacular job so far.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn’t anything they need to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend you break up the project into small steps. I’ve been managing offshore teams for a very long time, and it’s hard work. A good partnership doesn’t happen automatically, and it only works when you talk continuously with your outsourced team.

Don’t try too many things at once; break the project into manageable, bite-sized parts and verify everything they do.