VAO

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an oil and gas exploration company with a focus on offshore islands. We are based in Dublin, Ireland. I am a geographic information systems specialist for the company. I acted as the contact person for our work with VAO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VAO?

We wanted to update our website, which was the main reason for working with VAO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

VAO designed and coded our new Drupal website.

How did you come to work with VAO?

I am from Poland, so I knew of VAO's team and their capabilities. They also had competitive pricing compared to offers from Ireland. Specifically, VAO's maintenance fee was three to four times lower by comparison.

How much have you invested with VAO?

The cost of VAO's work was around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with VAO in August 2015. Our website was completed in October of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Shareholders congratulated us on the new website, but I don't have any metrics to share.

How did VAO perform from a project management standpoint?

If I had any inquiries, I could call them or talk via Skype with VAO's project manager. Even though VAO is based in a different country, there were no communication problems. We could speak in Polish and English equally well.

What did you find most impressive about VAO?

VAO's team was very helpful during the process.

Are there any areas VAO could improve?

No. Everything was fine from our perspective.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with VAO?

I don't have any specific advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Hyperlync is a B2B company focusing on content maintenance on phones – which includes moving content from an old phone to a new phone and backing up files and restoring to another phone, even if they're different operating systems – and accessing of content on various clouds via the web. I'm the CTO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VAO?

We had requests from customers to locate online, lock, and wipe lost Android phones. We gave the entire project to VAO to write that for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did a graphical mockup of the website that we wanted. This project had three parts to it: a website, a web backend, and a mobile site. For the backend and mobile, which is also a backend to an extent, we gave them the design and mockup. VAO developed the web server and the mobile side for us. They delivered it to the web so we could then incorporate it into our applications in a library. In practice, it was never shipped. By the time we finished this, Google had also come out with locate, lock, and wipe. We still have it in our app, but it's dormant. The other thing would be that was just a business thing on our part.

How did you come to work with VAO?

There was a person we met at one of the European mobile companies. He was also doing some private work, and he highly recommended VAO as a very technical team that delivered good quality work on time. We took his recommendation, and that's how we got to VAO. We do other outsourcing with Indian firms for other stuff, but we wanted independent workers who were more technically skilled. That's why we went with them.

How much have you invested with VAO?

It was $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them beginning in June 2014 and finished November 2014. We went out to pilot once where we met them for a few days and designed it. It wasn't just documentation. I assume we gave them another quote for something else.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We certainly created a lot and went through a period of debugging together with them. It worked very well and was effective. There was no doubt about it. It's a nontrivial piece of software in a way since you've got to communicate between the server and the front. The website was also nicely put together. We had all the source code, and we could see that it was written fine. They're experts in the field they claim to be experts in – Android development, web backend, and frontend.

How did VAO perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. Everyone who I met there has at least a master's degree in computer science. I met three different teams there. The three teams that did each field were experts. The two project managers were on the ball every time. I could get to them at any time with communication being always open. As far as an outsourced project goes, it went smoothly. They took much responsibility for their problems and fixed them.

What did you most impressive about VAO?

We are very satisfied with them. They did the job perfectly. Every software has got its problems, but VAO solved those problems and got it working perfectly. The only reason we didn't use them again because we never needed them again.

Are there any areas VAO could improve?

I found the server backend technology was in Java and Tomcat, which are a bit cumbersome for my tastes. I prefer a lighter toolset. But, that was what they are good at, so that's what we went with. If I were to do another project with them, I would tell them to do it with an Atlassian technology.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company has developed a social dating app allowing users to browse events and use them as meeting places. I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VAO?

We needed to build our app. We had used a different development company, but the relationship didn't work out.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had many of the app's screens and wireframes laid out when we started working with VAO. Their team handled programming for iOS, and continue to make addendums to the app. We are considering building an Android version in the future if the current app is successful.

How did you come to work with VAO?

A friend recommended VAO to me after he'd used them in the past. I was hesitant to use an overseas company initially, but everything worked out.

How much have you invested with VAO?

The cost of VAO's work was $40,000. By comparison, I received a $300,000 quote from a US company for the same work, so VAO's price was extremely competitive.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with VAO four or five months ago in mid-2016. The app was successfully launched, and VAO has continued to provide updates to it almost on a daily basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

VAO delivered everything we asked for at or under budget. The app was only launched 2 months ago, and we've been advertising it for one month, so there aren't many reviews yet. One of the reviews we received said that the app looked good and functioned well.

How did VAO perform from a project management standpoint?

VAO has been responsive on a daily basis. There are 2 other people from their team working on my project, who have responded equally well to the random questions I've sent over time.

Because of the time difference, communication is mainly done by email, but VAO's messages have been easy to read, direct, and responsive. VAO uses a program called Eventum, through which we can log tasks and issues. I am given cost estimates within 1–2 days for the tasks I enter.

What did you find most impressive about VAO?

Especially compared to our experience with the previous programming company, I've been very happy with VAO's work.

Are there any areas VAO could improve?

Not that I can think of.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with VAO?

Like with any other project, if the client has a clear idea of what they want to be done and is very direct about it, the work can be steered more easily. VAO was always responsive when we had a clear task to complete, although I can't comment on their creative side.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and CEO of Profundo, a business consultancy and B2B corporation based in Poland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VAO S.C.?

The purpose was to build and develop a B2B internal system which would allow me to cooperate a virtual tracker with my business partners. I don’t have an IT team on my end, so this was a completely external assignment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I supplied requirements and documents and then handed it over to VAO to complete the system. We later agreed on project details and goals, clarifying requirements with them, and moving parts with an Agile framework for delivery. The technologies we used for the backend were PHP and Zend, and JavaScript and CSS for the frontend. It made sense to me that anytime in the future, this will be following a framework, not like a native PHP. It will help make changes and maintenance easier.

It was a B2B system, so the functionality was in connecting my business partners, allowing them to issue invoices electronically, and pass that to my account. We used an EDI [electronic data interchange] scheme as a formal approach for processing the data instead of having to send PDFs. Apart from that, there were partner log-ins and other things referring to user management. Features included allowing to issue invoices, create an agreement between the parties, submit requests for proposal, calculate internal costs based on an internal cost database, and other features. At the time being, this is being used.

There were iterations where we cooperated and had a review of a demo, which was like a part of the system that they delivered. A subsequent reiteration came with another review until the project ended.

It was an Agile team of 7-10 people, including Agile roles like a proxy product owner dedicated to the project, and another person as a Scrum master.

How did you come to work with VAO S.C.?

We did an RFP [request for proposal]. I contacted some other agencies and had meetings with all of them. I wanted to be sure that our business goals were met. I thought VAO was a good choice since they presented project management frameworks, which I knew could be something really important when managing that size of our project. Our work was not a temporary thing where people are collecting requirements; it was a well-established process. No other vendor approached us in that way, except VAO, so that was one of the things that convinced me. Apart from that, I investigated their references. I called my other contacts to see if it made sense working with them because they had some previous relationships with VAO.

How much have you invested with VAO S.C.?

It was between €50,000-€70,000 [approx. US$53,000-74,000] for the first iteration.

What is the status of this engagement?

The previous vendor selection took some time, but we started working with them at the beginning of the second quarter of 2016. The phase of release, which allowed me to work on the project, took 6 months to complete. Towards the end of September 2016, I started to use the system. The work is ongoing because I’m maintaining it with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

From the very beginning, we were following an Agile approach, trying to get those learning loops as short as possible, and improving in an ongoing way. We worked out the most important things mid-2016 when 4 or 5 sprints were going on. It was a smooth relationship through the whole project. Some things needed clarification, but they were helpful to meet me halfway and try to make things go smoothly.

How did VAO S.C. perform from a project management standpoint?

At the very beginning, I had a good impression of their approach. I thought it was well-established on their end. VAO understood that it’s an important part of the website and to the project itself, to make it successful and achieve our goals with Agile and Scrum. We improved communication and moved into more face-to-face meetings. We introduced project management tools which were not there at the beginning, especially when it moved into maintenance. We are using YouTrack to manage change requests and tickets. For the project management, it worked out fine, and they followed the principles behind that approach.

What did you most impressive about VAO S.C.?

Their communication was excellent. VAO is really responsive and provides feedback to meet me halfway. Even if I don’t expect the feedback, it’s there. I’m pretty comfortable with the status of the project, and with the changes we are now doing.

Are there any areas VAO S.C. could improve?

I have nothing to suggest. Right now, it’s a smooth relationship. We’ve already implemented changes during the course of the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Spacecamp is a global digital agency. We design experiences, helping brands to connect with consumers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire VAO?

We were looking for a stable and reliable partner who would support us in the implementation of projects based on Drupal for our clients.

What were your goals for this project?

The main goal was to build a new Drupal website that will be useful for the end customer, effective and stable. VAO developed a global brand website for our client with several language localizations on the Drupal engine.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Recommended by another agency. Internet research.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Drupal 8 development. Development in PHP, JS, maintenance and technology support.

What was the team composition?

4 Backend developers 2 Frontend developers 1 Project Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

VAO developed a global brand website for our client with several language localizations on the Drupal engine in a reasonable time and cost.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Always responding very well to our requests and we didn't have issues with delivering the solution.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their developers have expert knowledge of Drupal and are able to handle projects of any size.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No