Vardot

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a Digital consulting agency. The agency offers, project management for websites and apps development. We are specialised in Arabic websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

A client has approached 5G digital to assess them building a new website and a mobile app. Vardot was shortlist and later selected to be the partner for the job. The website is to offer news and VOD integration.

SOLUTION

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

Based on 5G digital previous experience, we looked for developers who understands the business requirements and is able to deliver in s tight deadline. A number of vendors have been requested to submit their proposals and so did Vardot. After a careful evaluation, Vardot was selected.

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

We had a needs-assessment session, initial business requirements have been revisted and confirmed by Vardot team. A project manager was assigned and the kick-off stage began quickly with clear instruction on the procedures and project platform. Project sprints were confirmed and within a couple of weeks designs were checked and completed. Development phase then began on time and deliverables were given dates to be delivered. All deliverables were delivered according to plan and launch dates were respected.

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

In total there were 4 people, Business development Manager, Project Manager, Project Support manager and project Lead developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Deliverables were following a tight plan as the client was bound by an anniversary. All agreed deliverables were delivered on time and according to plan. Finally launch was successful despite the tight deadline.

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

We had a weekly meeting after a few meetings in the beginning to insure a workable setup. Everything was documented on Basecamp and all project details and progress reports were posted regularly. When we had some design and a few request of changes it was dealt with in high professional manner.

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

The final product was great despite very tight deadline. Very organised project management fashion. Quality of delivery and communications were maintained across all project phases.

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

There were very few bug fixes and additional requests by the client that required Vardot to deal with at short notice. That was very much expected within any project of the size and nature.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Global Communities is an implementer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) youth project. We’re currently implementing a youth-led project called USAID Youth Power Activity, and I'm the communications manager for it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vardot?

We were tasked to design a digital platform for a large-scale website that was going to be used to engage youth, build their capacity, and ensure that they maintain a positive view of development. There was a challenge and a big vision behind the portal because it was basically four platforms in one. We engaged with Vardot to help us with this project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Before we initiated developing the portal, we had several brainstorming sessions and meetings. Vardot offered very interesting methodologies, and they were able to understand and transcribe our mission and vision behind the portal. Through this, we were able to overcome the big business complication, which was aligning the vision behind the portal with actual physical capacities and know-hows.

Vardot was our technology partner and implementer. They planned, designed, and built the portal and some of its components from scratch. They used Drupal, mainly in the open-source form.

Additionally, Vardot has been involved in technical support and continuous digital delivery, which is basically having them with us after the platform’s launch to maintain the portal and make sure that it's working. They’re in charge of supporting us and advising us on data storage servers and other technical aspects.

What is the team composition?

There have been around 8–10 people involved in the project from Vardot’s team. There’s a project director, a project manager, a technical supervisor, a senior UI/UX designer, a rich internet application expert, and a head designer. My main point of contact is the project director.

How did you come to work with Vardot?

We put out a request for application (RFA) on local newspapers through digital media, print newspapers, and social media, and Vardot applied.

When we drafted our RFA, we received lots of questions from different companies that were competing to win this project. Their questions were about the large scale of the work itself — they were feeling that we didn’t have a coherent vision of the portal. This was not the case with Vardot.

We didn’t personally choose them; there was an evaluation committee that went through all of the applications received through the RFA, and they selected Vardot.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2020. We finished the main product, but we signed with them again for the continuous digital delivery. Working on a digital website never ends because optimization requires an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When testing the responsiveness, scalability, and compatibility of the site, there haven’t been technical errors or bugs — our site is perfect. It’s optimized, and we can complete tasks within all of the areas, even with a poor internet connection. I'm very happy with this company because we ended up with a very good design with very high functionality.

How did Vardot perform from a project management standpoint?

Vardot meets all of the deadlines. During development, they utilized Agile methodologies, which were systematic — I really liked that about their project management. In order to meet the deadline, sometimes we had to follow the same line processes and do tasks in parallel, but eventually, all of the deadlines were met. 

Even in times where we didn’t feel that we would be meeting the deadline, Vardot was committed to having their staff work overtime. One time, we were expected to do some sort of a demo. A minister of youth in Jordan had the team working during the holiday for everything to go faster. For communication, they use Basecamp. We also have a weekly meeting via Google Meets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The aspect I like the most about Vardot is they’re very responsive and professional. I don't recall ever contacting them without having their project manager following up with us, either by email or phone. Whenever we have a concern, they always have a solution. Their dedication is also great. They're very client-oriented and tech-savvy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Vardot has been perfect in all areas.  

Any advice for potential customers?

Listen to their advice. If you have any concerns, reach up to them because they have business insight and technical savviness. Make sure to maintain a transparent approach with them, share with them your deadlines, and discuss everything with them. Always make sure that you get a time estimate from Vardot before jumping into the project and guessing how much time things will take on the go.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a consultant at a company that’s not publicly launched at the moment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vardot?

I’m doing a media project in Iraq and needed a partner that had experience working in the Middle East. We needed a team that was familiar with Arabic that could do a knowledge transfer to help our internal team manage the project themselves.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vardot helped us come up with the technical architecture and strategy for our Drupal site. The team was able to come with a plan to get us to market. They helped us devise a plan of what to build, how we’d build it, and why.

The team also worked on the entire UX. They did the wireframes, the user journeys, flows, and design concepts for each screen. Vardot carried that design into the implementation. They delivered developed features of our website in incremental phases.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager as our main point of contact. We also worked with a technical lead from time to time.

How did you come to work with Vardot?

I’ve known them for many years and have worked with them to build other media projects in the Middle East. I had a high-quality experience with them in the past and knew they’d be able to fill in the gaps with any uncertainty based on their expertise. I also chose them because they had the best experience in Drupal.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $67,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2020, and we wrapped up in October 2020. They completed the project but we haven’t launched due to some staffing issues.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The overall quality was great. It was a project that was being developed and tested at the same time. It was a very unconventional development style but Vardot was good at quickly addressing issues that came up. The CMS is stable and we’re happy with the current state of the project.           

How did Vardot perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Basecamp for primary communication. We also used issue trackers. Once the development was completed, we also used a different bug tracking tool that was managed by a separate team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their foresight was impressive. They were able to aptly anticipate the needs of the project and the client. I’ve worked with other teams on CMS projects. It was refreshing for them to be a few steps ahead and anticipate the challenges I’ve faced with other companies. They went above and beyond and added some features that weren’t even in the scope at no additional cost.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

This project was a bit bumpy. Any issues I had I can attribute to the project itself. There was a shift in management during the project that shifted a lot of components. Vardot didn’t let those internal politics get in the way of their delivery.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you have someone with project management experience working with them. Have someone who can act on behalf of the customer and the client.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior ICT and operations manager at Questscope, a nonprofit organization for social development in the Middle East. We have a mentoring program that helps juvenile centers and refugees overcome any traumas from war or experiences they’ve had.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vardot?

Our website used an old technology that was obsolete. We had many major security problems. We needed a comprehensive website that would reflect the work we’re doing in the field. We needed to include more information about our work and overcome the challenges we had with our old website. 

We decided to allocate a budget for that. We wanted a website that was user-friendly with a good CMS that could help the non-technical users like my team add new content and update the website on a regular basis.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an initial meeting with them. We were introduced to the team and chatted about our current problems with the website, telling them what we needed. Then, we had the kickoff meeting for the whole project, which started with the analysis of information. Following that meeting, they returned with a solid project plan that detailed their vision for the website as well as the general timeline. I agreed to the project plan, and we started the work.

They provided the concept design for the website. After selecting that, they started building the homepage. After our approval, they started expanding to the wireframes of the whole website. They started to add new pages. We were including every step of the way, checking with us about large and small details. After approving the design, they started adding the content. In the RFP, I mentioned we needed a bilingual website Due to lack of content from our side, I asked them to finish the English side and we’d continue with the Arabic content after receiving the content.

They continued with the design and development of the website. After approving all the content and pages, they started moving to the actual development side. Until this moment, we have the staging environment and the live site, which provides me with the ability to test things before launching them. That’s a great feature. They built the website on Drupal. After the go-live, we kept a maintenance and support contract with them.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the account director and an account manager. From the development team, I worked with some of the engineers. My main contact was the account manager. There were three people from our team working with them.

How did you come to work with Vardot?

I did an online search for local companies here in Jordan. We interviewed different companies and chose Vardot. They stood out to me in the reviews I read. 

In the original proposal, we put the scores in front of the vendors and told them we’re going to be analyzing their offers. It wasn’t solely based on price— other companies provided more affordable estimates. However, their online portfolio, the list of clients that they’ve worked with, and testimonies from past clients made them stand out. The technical approach they provided in their original offer is what made their offer the most competitive.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $15,000 JOD (approximately $21,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They provided a very good system. The end result was totally approved by us. When we went live, we did an internal meeting with our top management and shared the website with them. The response was quite satisfying. This is when we knew they did a great job. I’m satisfied with the CMS, the look and feel of the website, and the user journey. 

They added new features that we weren’t able to add to the previous website— that was a success. They also gave us great technical training on how to use the website and CMS. They’re very knowledgeable in that field. We trying to add new pages and content ourselves, and it’s been working great so far. I only had to extend a customer support ticket a couple of times for something that was deeply technical and needed a programmer to solve. One of our key success factors from the project is our ability to able to continue the work with minimal interference from the service provider. 

How did Vardot perform from a project management standpoint?

We received updates on a daily basis using Basecamp. It’d show the progress and any issues. They introduced us to all the tools necessary for this project. We had weekly meetings to show progress and resolve any issues. I’d call them as well and confirm tasks on Basecamp.

They were very flexible and task-oriented. They stuck to the timeframe and delivery schedule. If we missed any deadline, it was because of us. Our main issue was with the preparation of the content, which was on our end as well. At the same time, they showed great flexibility in helping us with design deliverables that were beyond the scope.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had a high attention to detail, flexibility, and were committed to timelines. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could take their prices down a little bit.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go for it. Remember to do your homework first. Know what you need to have prepared— there’s no shame in asking them. Have everything written and approved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the communications officer of an international organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vardot?

We wanted to revamp our website in terms of its design and look. However, we also wanted to build some more features because the site was a bit outdated and not editor-friendly. We wanted to have the ability to add more images, play around with videos, tweak colors, and those sorts of things.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vardot revamped our website from our existing Drupal code. For some of the features we asked for, they had to completely build those from scratch. For example, we asked them to build a searchable menu. Because we didn’t previously have that functionality, the Vardot team developed that feature from scratch. The overall work was a mix of building from our existing code and developing new functionalities.

They built our website with SEO in mind. For example, we have headers. Their team created a graphic that allows us to see if a title in a header is too long. So, the overall site is SEO-friendly because of the details they implemented. The Vardot team gave us some training as well. They provided us with some documentation as well as steps and tips to undertake internally in efforts to increase our SEO rankings. Their team is also tasked to do ongoing maintenance and improvement.

What is the team composition?

There have been 5–6 people working with us. We have a project manager who is our main point of contact. Sometimes, her supervisor steps in as well. They also pull in others as needed. For example, there was an issue with Google Analytics so they called in their Google Analytics expert. There were also different team members who gave the training.

How did you come to work with Vardot?

We had an open procurement process. Our organization had a call for orders, and there were many companies who applied. We put together the terms of reference for what we wanted and companies applied for about two or so weeks. It was an open competition, and we had some internal parameters as well.

Our selection was based on a matter of budget as well as reputation. One of the conditions was to provide reviews. Our team checked references and previous work. There were a lot of elements that went into the decisions and selecting who would receive the award under the contract. We had about 50 companies apply, and we chose Vardot in the end.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just launched two weeks ago and are already receiving positive feedback from our audience. They praise the website for how nice and modern it looks. Our team is very happy with the result. The website is much more appealing in terms of its visual identity. It has a lot of new features. We’re still trying to figure things out internally because we have a lot more capabilities now in terms of using graphics and photos. There are different types of displays that we didn’t have before.

What I appreciate about Vardot’s work is their availability. They really listen to us. We enjoyed their training and availability to show everyone how the different features work. Having a website that’s more user-friendly, editor-friendly, and has more features that allow us to show the results of our work in a more appealing way is a huge improvement.

Vardot built a knowledge library, and we’re now populating it. We’re an organization that generates a lot of knowledge in terms of publications and reports. These aren’t just from us; we’re a member-based organization so there are a lot of organizations involved. We want to use the knowledge library to reflect on all of the work of our membership. They’ve opened up the possibility to better display and raise our communications profile on the web. I’m confident about the new features and capabilities.

How did Vardot perform from a project management standpoint?

We really liked that they implemented a clear project management process. Vardot always told us what was happening and what they were working on, walking us through phases and timelines. Additionally, they were good with meeting deadlines. Their team required input from us. It was a challenge for us to be reactive, on time, and to keep to the timeline. Sometimes, that was a bit of an issue but it was more on our side.

In the end, there was a two-week delay but it’s because there were a series of things we needed to do first. Pages had to be changed and rebuilt. It took us longer to handle those. Vardot follows through on commitments. They do what they say, and say what they do.

We use Basecamp for project management. Our teams utilize it for messaging, tasks, and topics. Additionally, we have weekly check-in calls as well as ad-hoc calls but we’re in contact daily. They’re responsive, and we get answers quickly. Vardot is definitely client-oriented. They’re active listeners and great at solving issues. Working with them is very smooth.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness, client orientation, and the well-structured way they communicate and work in general. The kickoff meeting was super clear. From our first interaction, we could see they work with high-quality standards as well as were very reliable and professional. Over time, we built a trustworthy relationship which is very important for the implementation of this type of project. 

They thoroughly laid everything out, leaving no details behind. That was extremely good for us because it allowed us to plan on our end. They provide excellent communication and availability. Whenever there’s an issue, we can talk to someone quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve had some issues with our web hosting, which needed to be improved to match the needs of the new website and be able to run all the new functionalities. This is managed by a different company so there were some delays due to the needed coordination. This was unexpected but the issue probably could have been identified earlier.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you want and what is required from you at each step of the process. If you present a clear agenda, they will meet your needs and expectations and deliver high-quality standards

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Project Officer at International Organization

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were seeking fine quality development company with advanced capabilities, Vardot did meet the requirements to support our project design, programming and launching

SOLUTION

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

Post a thorough tender procedure and interviews, we chose vardot based on their proven well records, rich company profile, and high performance standards

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

we started with a kick off meeting, set up of communication channels, timeline, and deliverable timeline. The project went smooth, stretched over a good timeline, and vardot were very flexible over the project cycle. the project steps included initiations, design, content collection, web development, delivery of sprints, launching all accompanied with timely support.

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

Mainly the project focal point, account manager, delivery managers, development expert, and quality assurance coordinator.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Together with Vardot, we launched and friendly user website with high standard functionalities. our experience with vardot was very pleasant and we are very proud of the end results.

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

Vardot are very precise in their timeline delivery. Their communication methods are very clear, friendly with high response rate.

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

Flexibility, support, and can-do attitude.

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

In our experience, we think Vardot are at high standards of delivery and management. in our experience, we did not experience any challenges.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an outsourcing company that hires people from different professions at different professional levels. We have 3,000 employees, including the head office and the outsourced employees themselves.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vardot?

We brought Vardot on board to develop our company’s website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vardot managed the project, which had three phases: requirements analysis, development, and deployment. We asked Vardot for ideas, and their team gave us three design samples. After we fell in love with one option, we gave Vardot the greenlight to use it. Their team built the website in Drupal.

What is the team composition?

We exclusively communicated with Vardot’s account manager who was with us from beginning to end.

How did you come to work with Vardot?

Our internal process requires that we get quotes from three vendors. We chose Vardot based on their technical experience and financial bid.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Vardot between July–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We established a committee with members from our finance, HR, business excellence, and technical support departments. Each member provided feedback to Vardot and approved each stage as their team finished them. We never ran into obstacles with a committee member. The committee immediately gave us their consent to proceed to the next phase of the project. We announced the successful delivery of the website to our CEO who was happy with it.

How did Vardot perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication made this project easy. We had one point of contact from Vardot’s and used Basecamp, which was a useful tool that I could use on any device. When their team posted or replied to one of our messages, I received a notification. After Vardot posted a message, we made comments until our teams reached a unified agreement. We also attached the required documents to posts. There weren’t any overwhelming email chains.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Vardot created a page for tickets that transferred to our internal Salesforce. We didn’t know how to build this page and handed Vardot our Salesforce code to embed it into our website. Even though this request was outside the scope, they designed and built the page for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The whole process was really smooth, and we had no troubles. Everything was perfect.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I would recommend anyone to Vardot, telling them to go ahead.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Company, Radiant Vision Systems, designs and manufactures high-end electronic systems: imaging photometers, colorimeters, and specialized lenses for light and color measurement. I am in the marketing department and was responsible for coordinating the website project with Vardot

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had a large B2B website, content dense, integrated with Marketo, in two languages (EN and CN) that had been built on Drupal 7. Due to Drupal 7 end of life, we had to migrate to Drupal 8, which would involve a complete rebuild of the site structure, and then migrating over the hundreds of pages of content and content assets that we had.

During it's lifetime, the D7 site had also accrued a number of changes and features that made it very unwieldy and frustrating to use on the back-end. The website is a very important tool in our global marketing and lead generation, a critical channel for providing the rich technical content (e.g., Webinars, White papers) that our engineering customers want to see. Our goals with the project were:

1. we wanted to make some improvements to site design, navigation, and user experience
2. Needed to ensure continuity of all site functions, integration, etc. for lead gen and extensive tracking
3. Wanted an improved back-end experience for our internal users who are on the website almost daily updating and creating content.
4. We wanted a partner who would not just execute the migration effectively, but who would also contribute design recommendations, help us adopt best practices for a modern, mobile-responsive site an optimize the user experience.
5. We had not been happy with our prior vendor's customer service, effort to solve problems, or even just basic QA of work they did as our ongoing maintenance/service vendor.

We really wanted to find a vendor who would be more responsive and quality oriented.

SOLUTION

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

We did a broad search for Drupal vendors, talked to and solicited proposals from about 6 different firms.

In their proposal and in video presentation and conference calls with Vardot we were impressed with their professionalism and polish, with their expert level of competency with Drupal, their clean design aesthetic, and their responsiveness/customer service focus that was evident from the very first contact.

There were 4 of us who participated in the decision-making process to select a vendor, and we were all unanimous in our choice of Vardot.

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

Migrating a large B2B website from Drupal 7 Drupal 8, including: Discovery/discussion of both design and functional requirements, goals, preferences Design phase - we were presented with redesigned pages for review and approval, allowing for multiple revisions until we were completely happy with the proposed designs.

Then moving into the development/building phase, followed by automated migration of large amounts of our content (saving a lot of time!) We were able to see and test all site pages on a staging site prior to launch.

The launch itself went so smoothly, we just went to bed one night and came back online in the morning and there it was without a hitch. Subsequently, Vardot has continued to be fast and responsive doing the inevitable minor changes and fixing little glitches that only become evident in live environment.

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

We had one dedicated project manager who coordinated with the designer and the development teams on our behalf. She has been awesome. We also had a regular technical/development contact as we worked on various site elements.

A director and other various team members have also been part of the communication loop, ensuring that any questions we had or requests we ,made were addressed promptly.

On the support side, there are several folks responding to any tickets or questions we submit, always within LESS than 24 hours of when we submit even the most low priority request. Responses are always thorough and accurate, fixes applied are correct and effective. The service is fantastic.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Both our marketing project team and others in the company (including our CEO) are very happy with the result. The launch went smoothly in both US and China simultaneously.

Everyone likes the new design and improved features of the site for user experience. And our internal admins and content managers are very happy with the improvements in back-end site operations. Project came in on time and on budget.

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

Project management style is communicative, collaborative, and very hands-on, with thorough (but not excessive) documentation of project steps, dates, deliverables, and both client and customer expectations and responsibilities.

Excellent communication and responsive with tracking tools and systems that kept things moving forward. Such as Basecamp for managing tasks and sharing files, and a collaboration tool during the design processes that made it easy for us to review and add comments directly onto page designs.

We are in Pacific Time zone and much of the project team was in Jordan, but we barely noticed any communication issues due to time zone, due to their rapid responses.

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

Their customer service is top notch, we always felt well taken care of, problems were solved quickly, new solutions and options suggested, and proactive management of many elements we didn't even think of such that they never even became issues.

These folks really know their stuff re: Drupal and website design/dev/function/best practices. We have been delighted with the whole process and the ongoing support/maintenance service we're receiving.

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

Not a thing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work as a Marketing & Communications Specialist at the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development in Jordan. The Queen Rania Foundation was established by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah in 2013 with the aim of improving education outcomes in Jordan and the surrounding region.

Since then, we have endeavored to achieve this objective by focusing our efforts on a range of overlapping areas including Early Childhood Care and Development, innovation in learning, and teacher training. Today, the Queen Rania Foundation continues to carry out research, design innovative programs, and support policymakers as they develop education programs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Vardot is and were responsible for the below:

• Developing, hosting, and maintaining QRF's 'Education Entrepreneurship Award' competition's website: https://www.educationentrepreneurs.org/ 
• Hosting and maintaining QRF's website: qrf.org  
• Developing different sections in QRF's website

SOLUTION

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

We've approached over 3 companies and set up a procurement committee where all three companies were evaluated based on a scoring form. Vardot were chosen based on the below:

• Quality  
• Cost
• Experience in Drupal and our requirements
• Flexibility when it comes to deadlines

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

Hosting & maintenance: Multi-environment setup (3 environments) Multi-layer caching SSL support on all environments Content Delivery Network Drupal 8 Amazon hosting: Linux operating system, Nginx and Apache web servers, PHP 7.1 25 GB disk space 50 GB data transfer per month 1 x 25 GB MySQL database Security updates to CMS core and plugins Website updates Checks to security, analytics, SEO, backups, recovery as well as general spot checks As for developing sections on the website:

1. Design and develop a new section for the Parental Engagement Guide to follow a combination of these pages in the design
2. Develop a new content type that allows for resources to be uploaded and categorized under Parental Engagement Guide
3. The section will also include Main Recommendations listed on the landing page along with the resources.
4. Resources should have the categories as such Presentations, Guides, Handouts, Case studies, etc
5. Resources should also be grouped and categorized by type on the landing page
6. The landing page for the Parental Guideline will include content about Why this Guide and How to Use this Guide.
7. Each resource will have a detailed page template with information about the resource and download information
8. Develop a new section for Recommendations to be viewed as a widget with a background video
9. Develop a new content type that allows for resources to be uploaded and categorized under Teaching Resources
10. Resources should have the categories: Worksheets, Exercises, Lesson Plans, Teaching strategies
11. Resources should also be grouped and categorized by skill
12. Users should be able to filter and search for resources by skill, keyword search, and type. The type of filter will be user-focused such as “I want to help my student in pronunciation”
13. Landing page for Teaching resources can and might include sections such as Why these Resources, Values, Benefits, etc
14. Each resource will have a detailed page template with information about the resource and download information
15. Design and develop a landing page to display all the EEF toolkits on the website with its detailed information.
16. Development of the landing pages for all resources and an individual page for each resource will be done

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

We typically one point of contact. And then we have various people 3-4 from account manager to developers and designers that work with us on the product

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• All deliverables are being met within the specified deadlines. 
• A vendor comes with innovative and practical solutions to what we envision the website to be  
• We've witnessed a 10% increase of users on our website after launching one of the sections

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

We currently use the below:

1. Slack
2. Basecamp
3. Google docs and sheets to track progress
4. Meetings

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

The fact that they also train us on the different areas in which their scope lies.

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

Not in the time being

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Communications officer in charge of managing websites' developments

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was old, cumbersome to add content and difficult to navigate on a mobile. We desperately needed to move to a more agile and easy to navigate site.

SOLUTION

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

As part of the United Nations, all our procurement is through and open and transparent process. There were over 20 companies bidding. The procurement process involved 5 staff reviewing following a rigorous evaluation process set by the UN.

Vardot was selected as they offered the best price, the best services and put together a strong proposal. They also offered a good customer service policy once the website was to be launched.

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

We had initial virtual calls then Vardot's team came to our offices to meet with our Comms team. They led an all staff meeting to get our staffs' feedback into what the new site could/shouldn't be. They held departmental meetings with each Unit to get their feedback and to learn what content was needed for the new site.

They met with the Senior Leadership Team to learn what their needs and expectations were. They took all this information back and put together a detailed workplan with key deliverables. Using Basecamp progress was tracked. When we missed deadlines, Vardot was good at reminding us and shifting plans so that they could deliver on time. Vardot delivered on time and the site went live in July 2020.

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

To set up the contract and initial meetings, we worked with the CEO and project manager. Our day to day work was with the project manager, a coordinator and a site development team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clients love the new site. Our board of directors is impressed with the way our impact is presented (spend rate, numbers achieved). Traffic continues to increase to our site. They provided 4hrs of virtual Drupal training.

They have provided additional training when we requested training on SEO and google analytics. The Project manager arranged for a person from their marketing team to give us the training. This was over and above our contract and their genuine interest in helping our organization succeed was appreciated.

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

They use Basecamp as a communications tool as well as google docs to share online tables and progress.

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

They provide excellent customer service. They are always approachable. They don't make you feel silly for not understanding web development or CMS.

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

They are an excellent firm.