Urban Insight

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a planning and urban design firm in Austin, Texas. I’m the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Urban Insight?

We needed a complete refresh and update of the look and feel of our website. We wanted to keep a lot of our content, but wanted to change our approach and the dynamism of the site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They completely overhauled our existing site. We gave examples of websites we liked in our marketplace and they proposed designs based upon our tastes. We made comments on all the wireframes they produced. They coded the design and worked with us to change the site from a staging server to the final server. From start to finish, everything was in their hands. They set me up as a dash administrator for the current site, which is hosted on WP Engine.

A powerful improvement was a blog function that ties directly to our newsletter and allows us to cross-post that information to the site. They helped us move from a text-driven site to something much more visual and image-focused. Currently, they manage our hosting and provide support. If we have future revisions, we can reach out to them.

What is the team composition?

I communicate directly with two team members on the frontend. There may be more people behind the scenes that work on our project.

How did you come to work with Urban Insight?

We worked with them in the past in a lot of other settings. Our biggest project to date is an ongoing zoning regulations project for a major city.

How much have you invested with them?

The upfront cost of the website was a flat fee of $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in June 2017 and recently launched in March 2018. They continue to provide support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new site is a vast improvement and the urban design team in our office is much happier. We sent a launch notice around to let people know the site exists. We just launched, but we already have very positive feedback. The website could be considered high design within our profession. Many of our competitors don’t dedicate the same amount of money or attention to detail to their sites.

How did Urban Insight perform from a project management standpoint?

They are amazing project managers and they marched us right along. We used Zoom almost exclusively for web conferencing so we could look at the same things at the same time. We were the cause of any challenges throughout the process. I’m confident the project would have been much shorter if we had moved at their pace. They were really excellent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their dependability is rock-solid. We were confident in their ability to execute our vision and that the end result would be successful when we launched.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They produced what we asked for.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you allocate the time on your side to provide comments and everything they need from you. That will help you stay on time and within your budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of finance and administration at Idaho Legal Aid Services, a legal services group for low-income people.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Urban Insight?

We needed new templates for our websites catering to legal aids, as well as a new website for our probono work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Urban Insight designed and built new templates for our websites on Drupal, incorporating terminology and a tagging convention for legal aids to access across the country. Their team created wireframes that we reviewed before moving into development. They incorporated interactive forms for users to access through the websites, along with videos, a donation button, and other custom features.

More recently, they built a website for our probono work within Idaho, which allows attorneys from across the state to sign up for cases that fit the kind of work they want to do. Urban Insight transferred our case management system to the website, allowing for notifications to be sent to attorneys when relevant work becomes available.

They continue to make enhancements to the websites and ensure their readability across devices.

What is the team composition?

I work mainly with Abhijeet Chavan (CTO, Urban Insight), but I've occasionally communicated with others on their technical team as well.

How did you come to work with Urban Insight?

We sent out an RFP across the country. Out of all the bids submitted, we liked Urban Insight's proposal the best.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $165,880 on the most recent project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've worked with them for about eight years, but the most recent website they built for us took place between October 2016 and January 2018. They continue to maintain the websites. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They've consistently been one step ahead of the rest of what the nation is doing in this space. We're very happy with their work and the interface of the more recent website they designed and built. We've observed minimal glitches and the feedback has been very positive thus far.

How did Urban Insight perform from a project management standpoint?

They've always been professional and met deadlines. I see Abhijeet a couple times a year at conferences, but we mostly communicate through phone and email, as they're across the country.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're extremely thorough, professional, and reliable. I've recommended them many times to others.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Knowing exactly what you want and communicating that to their team is the most important thing you can do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

I work at a college for a research center [that focuses on real estate]. We support faculty in their research activities, and we connect with the real estate professional community through a board that we have. We have a series of programs that serve our board and the general public.

What is your position?

I am the managing director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the main objective when you first approached Urban Insight?

They manage our website. We have used them for at least 15 years, perhaps even a little bit longer. We recently, through Urban Insight, transitioned to Drupal CMS [content management system]. We wanted a way to manage our website content more directly. Urban Insight pointed us to Drupal and in doing so, it means that our site would be hosted through them, too. They took care of the actual implementation of our Drupal site.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

They host the website externally, and they manage and help us with both designing the content and uploading it, too. When we transitioned to Drupal, they provided us with a training program so that we can now perform updates to our website by ourselves. They completed all the technical aspects of this project.

How did you come to choose Urban Insight as your partner?

Chris Steins [the CEO at Urban Insight] is a graduate of [the school], and I knew him when he was a student. When he graduated and formed his company, we kept in touch. He had been building a relationship with [the school] through his company and through our IT [information technology] office. When we made the transition from taking our website outside to an external firm, he was the person we knew, and he had already developed a relationship elsewhere at [the school], so it was an easy decision for us to make.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

On an annual basis, we probably invest between $10,000 and $50,000.

Is the work still all ongoing, or is it completed?

The relationship is ongoing. They currently provide hosting services, and they’ve done several updates to the site through the years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

We’re very happy with their performance. Through the years, we’ve been asked by the purchasing department at [the school] to go through a process periodically to see if there are other firms we want to use. We have looked at other firms, but each time we do end up returning to Urban Insight. They’re competitive price-wise but, mostly, it’s the attention we receive from them, which has been very important. We meet with them on a monthly basis. Chris himself comes, which I think is important. From a client perspective, it’s just more reassuring when the owner is present and engaged with the project. When they meet with us, and we go through a host of issues and each time, so it’s always a bit different. His staff works with me when it comes to setting agendas for our meetings. Sometimes, if it’s a specific project, the discussion is focused on that. Other times, we focus more on brainstorming ideas and leave the tactical work for afterward.

What I also like is that each meeting, they bring in something new that’s happening in technology that impacts our world and shares it with us. Our staff always enjoys that because we don’t come from the tech industry, but we use tech tools, and the fact that Chris and his team take so much time and care to educate us has been extremely valuable. Through that, he’s introduced us to some tools that help us monitor traffic and measure how effective our communication strategies are, and that’s been helpful to us in a big way.

When working with Urban Insight, is there anything that you would consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

I think it’s their personal attention. They really do look deeply into what we hope to gain from our website technology. They always have our best interests in mind. If they can’t provide the service we need, Chris is great about connecting us with the proper resources to meet our needs. It’s clear that they’re really invested in the success of their clients and they take care to cultivate that relationship.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

Not really. That’s part of a regular exchange we have with them. Chris and his team are very open to feedback from us, and he gives us feedback, too. It’s really an ongoing conversation that we have, so there’s never really been the need to say that we’re not happy with something. Things change, and we have run into issues internally here before. The important thing is that they have remained very flexible with us.

What advice, if any, would you give to a future client of theirs?

Think hard about how you’re going to engage with them on a regular basis. It’s not just about the project, but also about how you want the relationship to grow. These guys can really help you in the long term with your technology needs, so it’s definitely important to think about how requirements could change and evolve in time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

I work at the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. We are responsible for maintaining the general plan, the zoning code, the community plan updates, and all entitlement projects for the city of Los Angeles.

What is your position?

I’m a senior city planner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the main objective when you first approached Urban Insight?

The primary challenge is that we have just recently launched the revision to our 1946 zoning code. We believe it’s the largest planning project going on in the country right now. In addition to rewriting our zoning code, we wanted to provide an interactive, smart, Web-based code to go along with it. We did a search, and we found that Urban Insight was the best organization to help us with that. They were part of the recommendation process for deciding to use Drupal as our CMS [content management system] for the site.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

Initially, they helped us design a website for our recoding project. After that site was up and running, we took on some of its maintenance, although they still maintain the website for us. They’ve moved on to working more hands on with our entire consulting team and in-house team on the new zoning code, so they could understand what we were going for, and make sure they could provide us with a Web-based code. We meet with them every Monday to work on the details of what we want the Web-based code to provide.

Their primary objective is to develop a smart code for the city of L.A. They’re not coming up with zoning or any of that, they’re just coming up with the parameters and the ideas, and helping us figure out how to tag things properly so we get the best product. They did all the design. They come to us with options and make presentations to our team, then we collaboratively decide on the final product. We’re going through the same process when it comes to deciding how the Web code should look, and that’s all come from them.

How did you come to choose Urban Insight as your partner?

We had been familiar with them because they operate a website for another organization called Planetizen, so they are a really interesting hybrid organization of urban planning and technology. We did look for other agencies, but none of them seemed to be a better fit than Urban Insight. So, there was word of mouth, and there was also previous knowledge about them before we made our final decision.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this particular engagement?

It was more than $100,000.

When was this project launched?

The project was launched almost two years ago, October or November of 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

It’s a pretty good website. We’re very happy with it. Our users seem to be happy with the site, too. It’s intuitive and easy to use. We have presented the site as a model for the department as a whole because it seems to work better than the one we always have. As far as metrics go, they control that. They report back to us once a month or so about how many users we’ve had, but I don’t have those numbers in front of me. Overall, we have been very satisfied with that they do. We delegate a good amount of complex work to them and they’re always able to deliver on time.

When working with Urban Insight, is there anything that you would consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

Because they know our field, and they know technology better than we do, it’s been pretty smooth. They really are able to grasp our profession a lot better than other tech firms that we’ve talked to because they are involved in our field. They’re very on target and very organized. I think when it comes to urban development that these guys are the best for creating and maintaining effective sites.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We create clinical database applications specializing in the health care industry.

What is your position?

I’m the chief executive officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the main objective when you approached Urban Insight?

We deal with the hardcore programming of databases. We don’t do usually deal with forward-facing websites. A good customer of ours needed a new website. Since we don’t have that expertise, I tapped into Urban Insight. This was mainly a front-end design and development project. The customer wanted to use PHP, exclusively, but I don’t recall any other technologies requested for this project.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

When it comes to doing the Web design or the departmental intranets sites, that’s not our core expertise. We pretty much let Urban Insight work directly with the end customer. They went in to gather the user requirements, conduct interviews with departmental staff to get a sense of what they were looking for and assess what their skills were, what they can contribute and maintain. That was the first step. Then, they’d go back and put together some prototypes, and have the rounds of interviews with the customers until they refined it. They pretty much took care of it all the way from beginning to end.

How did you come to choose Urban Insight as your partner?

We had some smaller projects with them in prior years, which worked out pretty well, so I thought I would give it a shot and try them again with something larger.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

It was around $200,000.

Do you remember when the project was completed, or do you maintain an ongoing relationship with them?

The project was completed in August 2014, and the customer now maintains the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

I don’t have anything quantitative to share since we let the end customer interact directly with Urban Insight. We’ve gotten some really good feedback, though. What pretty much everyone said is that the user interviews were conducted in a very professional manner. Urban Insight asked real spot-on questions. They respected the customer’s time. That was the main thing we heard. Of course, everyone was very pleased with the website, too. They felt like it was exactly what they were looking for, and their expectations were definitely met. Being one of our longest customers, we were quite pleased with that report. We are very satisfied with the engagement. There were never any issues, and it was a very calm project considering what I’ve seen elsewhere.

When working with Urban Insight, is there anything that you would consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

I’ve come across other vendors, and they’re either too technical or not technical enough. Urban Insight has struck the right balance. They understand technology but not to the point where they’re just tech-heads. They can work with the customers directly. Our customers were mostly clinicians, not necessarily techies. The people at Urban Insight were able to speak to them, and the clinicians were able to understand what they were talking about. There were no communication issues and nothing was lost in translation between the two. I found that very impressive.

What advice, if any, would you give a future client of theirs?

Customers need to get their requirements down as tight as possible before beginning the development process. The more they can gather up what they want to do, that’s always better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Chief Executive Officer of a real estate company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company invests in transformative workforce and affordable housing communities that create positive social impact for residents and generate strong financial returns for investors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Urban Insight to accomplish?

• Website Host

SOLUTION

How did you find Urban Insight?

Online Search

Why did you select Urban Insight over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from Urban Insight were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Urban Insight assisted with digital strategy, design, and development of our website. 

Urban Insight developed strategies to organize and present our content in a user-friendly manner, aligning with our goals and priorities.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Urban Insight delivered top-notch service. The project was completed on time, with great attention to detail and creativity. We highly recommend Urban Insight for anyone looking for reliable and high-quality digital solutions!

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

Urban Insight delivered their project on time and always responded to our needs. 

What was your primary form of communication with Urban Insight?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their team was professional, responsive, and truly understood our needs. Reliable and high-quality digital solutions. 

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

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am a department director at a healthcare company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Leader in Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring (IONM), a technique for improving safety and patient outcome in surgical procedures.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Urban Insight to accomplish?

• Create a new web app
• Excellent user experience
• Beautiful Design
• Develop complex features

SOLUTION

How did you find Urban Insight?

• Referral
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Urban Insight over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Urban Insight were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Urban Insight created a marketing website for our company that serves the medical industry. They also developed a web app to help manage staff assignments. The web app was built with a headless or decoupled architecture to optimize performance. Key deliverables included detailed strategy and user experience documents, interviews with users, usability testing, technical architecture documentation, quality assurance, training and ongoing support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Measurable outcomes from the project include it being delivered on time and on budget, adoption by users, increase in website traffic and conversions and high ratings from website users.

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

Overall, they did a great job and we look forward to working with them again!

What was your primary form of communication with Urban Insight?

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

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

Flexibility to our specific challenges and the time put into understanding our field.

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

I don’t think so.