Zagaran Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Communications of Massachusetts Commission For The Blind

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The mission of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind is to provide individualized training, education, and empowerment to people who are legally blind, and advocate for inclusive policies across the Commonwealth, with the goal of life-long independence and full community participation​.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zagaran Software to accomplish?

• Build an accessible data dashboard

SOLUTION

How did you find Zagaran Software?

Commonwealth of Massachusetts procurement process

Why did you select Zagaran Software over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Approach, Experience, Portfolio

How many teammates from Zagaran Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind contracted Zagaran to develop a user-friendly, public-facing data dashboard to display statistics about the agency. This initiative is part of the agency’s commitment to enhancing transparency. The primary goal of the design is to ensure full accessibility for legally blind residents of the Commonwealth.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Having the data dashboard be accessible to people who are blind or low vision

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

Zagaran’s project management was exemplary. Their team demonstrated a high level of expertise in both accessibility and technology. From the beginning, they made a concerted effort to understand our specific needs and the importance of accessibility in the dashboard’s design. Their methodical approach ensured every component met the highest standards of accessibility.

One of the standout aspects of working with Zagaran was their ability to explain complex technical details with patience and clarity. They provided insightful advice and guided us through each phase of the project, ensuring we had a clear understanding of the technical aspects.

Zagaran completed the project on time and within the allocated budget, showing efficiency and dedication to meeting deadlines while maintaining high-quality work. The result is a highly effective and accessible data dashboard that significantly enhances transparency.

We are deeply appreciative of Zagaran’s expertise, professionalism, and steadfast commitment to delivering user-friendly and accessible technology solutions. Their work was of the highest caliber.

What was your primary form of communication with Zagaran Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What I found most impressive about Zagaran was their commitment to accessibility and their ability to make complex technical elements understandable. Their team’s thorough approach to ensuring every aspect of the dashboard met high accessibility standards was remarkable.

Additionally, their patience and clarity in explaining technical details were unique and greatly appreciated, making the entire process smoother and more transparent. Their dedication to delivering a solution that is both highly functional and accessible set them apart.

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

There are no areas for improvement that come to mind. Zagaran delivered an outstanding product. Their thorough approach and clear communication throughout the project made for a seamless and successful collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director, Product and Engineering of ALKU

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Specialized Staffing and Consulting Solutions. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zagaran Software to accomplish?

• Build a user-facing application to manage a subset of our sales pipeline.

SOLUTION

How did you find Zagaran Software?

• Referral
• Past Experience Working with them

Why did you select Zagaran Software over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Zagaran Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Build an end to end web application for internal use at ALKU to manage and operate a subset of ALKU's sales pipeline. 

• Frontend to create and manage sales pipelines
• Calendar view to view upcoming milestones and pipeline related events
• Ability to attach candidates to open pipelines
• Integrated frontend and backend using Next.JS
• Backend setup for further expansion of other subsets of ALKU's sales pipeline

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Project was completed on time and within budget
• Application built to spec with no production bugs/issues
• Pilot users feedback was very positive

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

• Routine communication on project updates, upcoming blockers and risks brought clarity to the project
• All deliverables were made on time
• Given complex technical needs from our internal team they were able to adjust and pivot their approach to better suit our engagement

What was your primary form of communication with Zagaran Software?

Virtual Meeting

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

• Very skilled development team where recidivism was minimized
• Their clear and transparent communication allowed for much better strategic direction
• A lot less hours needed compared to other vendors resulted in cheaper overall builds

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

Not many but I'd say the only thing that comes to mind is we worked towards flexible technology choices but that could have been settled at the start of the engagement. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing and sales coordinator for a pharmaceutical company in the US. I coordinate our tradeshow, website, and e-commerce relations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zagaran Software?

We needed a user-friendly website that allowed users to understand our brand and how we differentiate ourselves from our competitors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In coordination with our IT department, Zagaran built our e-commerce website. They used a bit of the code from our previous website but most of the code wasn’t up to par. Their team basically trashed what we had to build a website that was up to speed.

Zagaran added video capabilities and a newsletter link that subscribes users to receive our newsletter every month. They were also able to incorporate Google Maps and other trucking activities into the platform. This allowed users who might be on our freight lines to find docking stations. Their team also gave our customer relations department direct email access to our website.

What is the team composition?

I directly worked with Alvin (Full Stack Developer) and Grace (Full Stack Developer).

How did you come to work with Zagaran Software?

I found Zagaran through our IT department. After meeting with them, I chose them over their competitors due to their organization and communication. They could build what we required and provided ways for us to build a relationship. We’re a family-owned business. Zagaran was more private and that allowed us to create a better relationship with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our project in August and finished it in November 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They produced a website that was more user-friendly on mobile and desktop devices. Their team was able to build everything we needed them to build. They were able to crank out a completely new website. Our relationship allowed us to change our website much quicker than if we had chosen to work with a publicly-traded company.

We've seen more website users and viewers on our LinkedIn profile. That’s partially attributed to telemarketing. However, it’s also attributed to people being able to see our brand online.

How did Zagaran Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They had a 60-day or less turnaround, which was imperative to us. Their team never missed a deadline. They always had materials for us to review before our meetings. That way, they were ready to deploy anything with our approval. I haven’t worked with a more organized company than Zagaran.

We mostly communicated with them through email because we had an existing internal relationship with them. Their team communicated with us within a 24-hour notice. If we wanted to change anything, they would immediately make adjustments to our website.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated that their team was organized and provided us with a lot of options. However, I also came into the engagement with what I needed for the website. If I hadn't, their team could’ve provided a lot of different options for our organization. Their organization and willingness to get the project done was great. We created a relationship with them beyond the transaction, which was vital because our project had many moving parts.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I caught a few elements that weren’t uniform throughout the website. They also chose a less glamorous option due to cost and time restraints. However, I honestly wouldn’t change our website. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend Zagaran to any client. I would recommend coming into an engagement with ideas, and they will be able to meet your needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO at a healthcare startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zagaran Software?

We were working with another dev shop to supplement our in-house team. After encountering some problems, we turned to them to evaluate our current technologies. However, we also wanted a more timely and flexible dev partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did a tech reset and brainstorm before letting them rebuild our apps from the ground up. Selecting the new technology for the apps was a partnered discussion that they added a lot of value to. They worked closely with our team, who was kept focused on the existing version of the software. Once the basics were in place, they handed their development work back over to our team. 

The completed software manages clinician compensation. We take in a variety of data and run calculations and analytics on compensation. There’s also a visualization tool involved. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Ben (CEO) and Chris (Frontend & UX Developer). 

How did you come to work with Zagaran Software?

I met Ben at a networking event, and we had a couple of friendly chats since. They were willing to meet us where we were as a company, helping us with anything we needed even if it was unusual. For instance, they were willing to help us hire additional tech resources if needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $25,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They finished the initial engagement recently, so it’s currently in the testing phases. They’re still super responsive to us about the product, regularly keeping in touch. We appreciated them jumping on top of problems when something became a constraint for us.

They delivered completely new technologies in just a few weeks with limited resources. We’ve already been able to shift a major enterprise client to their platform, so the timeline has been very impressive. They’ve exceeded our expectations.   

How did Zagaran Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Zagaran's project management is top-notch; they kept our project on budget, on time, and maximized their output for the constraints of the project. Communication was timely, reliable, and friendly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Zagaran tackled this project with the same sense of enthusiasm and passion that I would expect from an in-house team. They were fully engaged in our success and in delivering an amazing product for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

None.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them more of a free reign that you may think necessary. Their creativity and problem-solving abilities pay dividends.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of IT at R&S Solutions, a pharmaceutical logistics company. We warehouse and ship pharmaceutical products for manufacturers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zagaran Software?

We had an e-commerce site that was developed by another company, but they didn’t build it to our specifications. We were unable to correct their mistakes, and we were about 30 days from our go-live event without a functioning site. We engaged Zagaran to help us get to where we needed to be.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zagaran offered us a range of services in order to get our site functioning. They provided us with PostgreSQL expertise, as well as some coding in Django and Python. 

They worked to correct our process workflows for registering new customers, invoice generation, and order creation. The team also added some UX improvements, from simple text edits to complex relationship matrices within the account creation process.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Kevin (Co-Founder), but we spoke with a total of three people from the team. 

How did you come to work with Zagaran Software?

We searched online for a Django provider, and they came up as a recommended partner.

How much have you invested with them?

The initial investment started at around $20,000. Since then, we’ve added an additional $60,000–$75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since January 2020. Zagaran corrected the issues we needed fixed in under 30 days, and since then we’ve been utilizing them for additional tweaks and enhancements to the site. We plan to continue partnering with them on a long term basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been extremely satisfied with their work. They completely saved our roll-out; our project would’ve failed without Zagaran’s intervention. The team was instrumental in correcting it and bringing the final product to fruition.

How did Zagaran Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Kevin worked side-by-side with our team to get the site finished. We’d never had such a collaborative experience on a web project. As a team, Zagaran is always available for phone calls and emails. 

Their ability to recognize project priorities has been extremely helpful. The team is easy to get along with, thorough when asking questions, and they understand the business requirements—all of which make them feel as though they’re an extension of our own workforce. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their willingness to help really makes them stand out from their competitors. They readily picked up the pieces of something another provider built. In short order, they threw resources at the problem to understand and solve it. Zagaran did all of that for a project other companies didn’t want to touch. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of. They’re wonderful to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have all your questions and pain points ready at the start of the engagement. It will make the process go a lot faster.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a lecturer in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zagaran Software?

We were trying to develop a system that would allow us to track participation in our courses and identify the blind spots. We needed a vendor to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them specifications and loose wireframes, and they coded the application in Python. We met every week and they managed the whole project. We also showed them a proof of concept that served as a baseline for our conversation. They've completed the MVP, but they're still helping us manage bugs and plan the future development.

What is the team composition?

We've interacted with three members of their team and two interns.

How did you come to work with Zagaran Software?

They were recommended to me by a faculty member. We asked for a quote from them and compared it to the other quotes we got.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback has been extremely positive. The interface is very fast and easy to navigate. It's a better functioning application than the proof of concept version we had. The new app relies more on web standards and works easily on different browsers and devices. Also, it's very smooth, effective, and has more features.

How did Zagaran Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a lot of in-person meetings, but we also used Slack to communicate. Our original deadline was pushed back because of the university bureaucracy. I was concerned that we weren't going to produce a viable product by the start of classes. However, in addition to coding a very good software, Zagaran managed tasks and prioritized needs extraordinary well, so we ended up with a product that exceeded my expectations. They were able to communicate effectively with the faculty in a way that even not high-tech people could understand.

Also, they ended up working closely with the Harvard IT department that has very strict requirements. Zagaran was flexible and carried themselves extremely well in those meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciated their responsiveness and the ease of communication. They understood all of our needs and were able to work with our schedule. If there was an issue, they'd jump on it quickly (they even created a system that let us report the issues we had, so they could respond immediately.)

We were a bit skeptical that they'd be able to deliver everything we had talked about, but they delivered what they had promised.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We planned the budget for the project with them and they were very good at letting us know if something unexpected came up. But it'd be nice if they were a bit more proactive about keeping us informed in terms of where the budget was going.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product manager for a mobile payments company. We create mobile applications for iOS and Android that allow customers to order and pay at fast casual restaurant chains.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zagaran Software?

We needed a new product offering for web ordering.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zagaran is helping us extend our product offering to web ordering on Yelp. The solution allows users to place orders directly through Yelp for some merchants. It allows for online ordering and payments, as well as incorporating our loyalty reward structure. The more a user orders from a specific merchant, the more they benefit. We brought them on to make sure things were running smoothly with the Yelp integration, and to bring the existing product to a place where we can start distributing and selling it for our clients.

Zagaran serves as our agency partner for the development resources. They gather the requirements and plan out the process. We give them designs and they work through the front- and backend integration; they use AngularJS for the frontend and Ruby on Rails for the backend. They created a staging site so we can test everything out. Then they fix any bugs so we can ultimately deploy the live updates.

What is the team composition?

The team fluctuates based on our resource needs. On average, we work with two full-time engineers.

How did you come to work with Zagaran Software?

They had an existing relationship with the company when I started. Our CEO knew their founder.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2016 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just launched one version and the clients love it. It highlights the main value of the product, which is ordering. The user experience is clear, straightforward, and easy to use. We’re really happy with it.

How did Zagaran Software perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m really happy with their project management. We’re able to meet weekly because they’re based here in Boston. They’re really easy to work with and super accommodating. They’ll build whatever we want as long as we have the time and money. I have constant communication with them via a direct Slack channel. They’re very quick to respond. They’re great about setting expectations on the level of effort and what resources a project will require. They’re also very transparent. If I ask them where we’re at in times of hours, they’re able to let me know exactly. They only charge us for the hours we actually use.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Zagaran is really easy to work with. I’ve worked with other agencies and developers where communication has always been a struggle. They have really sharp engineers that code to the current standards, but they can also describe and talk about things in non-technical terms. It’s very easy to understand their approach and they’re also able to meet our vision. It’s always been easy to resolve any issues, and they let us know how it impacts resources and timelines.

They’re strong with UX. They approach user flows and problems holistically. They’ll develop a feature and make sure it works for one use case. They also make sure any feature is accommodated across all use cases, whether it’s different screen sizes or other scenarios. They’ll bring ideas to me that we didn’t even think about initially. They’re really good with ramping up for new projects. It’s really enjoyable to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Right now, they’re just a development shop. If they want to round out their services, they could add more design-focused individuals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an apparel company that specializes in e-commerce. We produce and ship apparel on demand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zagaran Software?

I wrote the software that creates our product designs, but it was only running on my computer. We needed a development firm to build that software into a web application all of our employees could use.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our first project with Zagaran was fairly straightforward. We provided local Python scripts that they built into a Django app. The finished product is an internal tool, so the UI is basically nonexistent. This facilitated a quick development process.

After a successful first project, we hired them to be our primary software development team. In addition to our product design app, they’ve taken over the development of our fulfillment and manufacturing app. This app is a vital component of our business as it manages transactional email. It also executes processes like batching orders and passing them to our manufacturer. Zagaran continually integrates both systems with new features and provides general bug fixes.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with three developers.

How did you come to work with Zagaran Software?

Zagaran was recommended to me by a colleague and I decided they’d be a good fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2014 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We all love working with Zagaran. They’ve become a dependable part of our team. Our staff uses the software they’ve built daily and appreciates the responsiveness and stability of each app. As internal tools, they’re not flashy but they get the job done. We consider the software a big competitive advantage over other apparel companies.

How did Zagaran Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They willingly integrated into our Asana system and are extremely responsive to email as well. Those are our primary forms of communication, but we also have quarterly phone calls to catch up on priorities.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve worked with a lot of software developers, but Zagaran’s quality code sets them apart. As a developer myself, I know how difficult it is to build complex and stable applications. We’ve built trust with them and they work quickly, but their top-notch code is why we’ve continued the engagement for so many years.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re expensive and other firms could certainly build a project for less. However, the software they maintain is a crucial aspect of our business, so we’re willing to pay more for quality. Not having to fix bugs ourselves makes it worth the cost.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We’re probably a non-standard client considering my technical background. I don’t have any specific advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a senior web applications developer on a digital health software team. We have a mobile app, a Django backend, and web dashboards.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zagaran Software?

They provide staff augmentation services. We prefer to hire external consultants when we needed more capacity.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the last year, they’ve provided at least two resources for continuous integration set up and Django implementation. The team also assists with backlogs, bug fixes, and new features. Depending on our team’s needs, Zagaran will either fix or suggest refactoring solutions for our mature codebase. A past feature project involved updating all our libraries to improve performance.

What is the team composition?

We work with at least two members, but sometimes up to four. The resource allocations are equivalent to two full-time positions.

How did you come to work with Zagaran Software?

We met an industry conference for Django users. My colleague heard them talk.

How much have you invested with them?

I don’t handle the invoices, but I believe it’s roughly half the cost of two full-time employees.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in March 2017 and is ongoing. I expect it to continue for another six months to a year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a former consultant, I know they do good work. The team resolves issues in a careful and thorough manner, and without the need of external supervision. I’m delighted to work with them; I couldn’t ask for better.

How did Zagaran Software perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m the point person for my company. We work in sprints and have weekly status meetings to review the backlog and identify priorities. Zagaran communicates clearly across multiple platforms. We use Slack for day-to-day interactions and Google Hangouts for status meetings and complex matters. As a local company, they’ll come to our office when backlog and coding projects require it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have deep expertise that exceeds our own knowledge.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing outside the normal experience of working with someone new. If there were issues, I would’ve told them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have any advice. They’re a mature enough to make any engagement work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior research associate at The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab. We’re a network of researchers around the world who conduct randomized control trials in the context of social policies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zagaran Software?

Our product sends mobile credits for talk time to mothers when they bring their kids to get immunized. We also maintained a backend database to deliver these incentives and text messages as reminders. The backend was set up by someone on our team, but that person is no longer working with us. We started facing problems with the software and we needed urgent help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with a large-scale evaluation of a program designed to increase immunization rates in collaboration with the state government operating across 2,400 villages in India.

The code had already been written and the server had been set up. While everything was running, we didn’t have any proper documentation. I knew the basics of how the overall system worked, but some processes were more complicated, like those that rely on threading and parallelization, which I didn’t have any experience in.

They jumped in, took a look at our code, worked with me to try and build out how it’s supposed to function, and put together some documentation. They helped us fix the parts of the code that were causing the issues and implemented it so it would be more efficient. They helped us reconfigure in a more efficient and cleaner way. They came in as managers plus emergency helpers.

Our code base is in Python and our database is in SQL. The server we query from uses Django interface. The code uses a combination of different Python libraries to kind of tie these three pieces together.

What is the team composition?

There were three people. In the beginning, we worked with Kevin (Co-founder, Zagaran Software) and Alvin (Senior Software Engineer, Zagaran Software). Then Chris (Frontend Developer, Zagaran Software) came on later. I interacted directly with the developers. On several occasions, we met in person.

How did you come to work with Zagaran Software?

They were recommended by the Office of Digital Learning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $10,000–$49,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–September 2017. They’re no longer actively involved, but we still have a contract with them for a few hours. We have an agreement that they will step in if anything goes wrong.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The code is mainly on the backend. The success rates of the API processes ran in the 95% range.

How did Zagaran Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re really efficient and they definitely know what they’re doing. They’re very systematic and methodical in gathering the information they need and making sure they have it right. They figure out what the problem is and come up with a few very clear options to move forward. That was very helpful for us. We met in person and used phone and Skype, but mainly communication was through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very organized, methodical, efficient, and easy to communicate with. They’re honest about what they can and can’t do.

They helped minimize the cost for us, which was nice because we don’t have a lot of funds. They were great about helping us figure out how to best leverage them given our resources and our setup.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent about your needs because they have a lot of experience that customers tend to gain from.