ZDEV

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an on-demand carwash marketplace. We’re a mobile app-based service that connects washers to customers in London. Currently, we have apps for Android and iOS.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ZDEV?

Initially, I built the minimal viable product myself for iOS. However, that iteration didn’t have the capacity to scale our business in terms of opening new markets. We needed resources to rebuild the app based on our market research.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Not only did they rebuild our app completely from scratch, they managed the entire project structure from wireframe to coding. The founder served as a liaison with a qualified freelancer who provided the wireframes and UX. We liked the designs, so the ZDEV team proceeded to create the app for iOS and Android using React Native and JavaScript. They also developed a Firebase backend for our database.

Beyond simply remaking the app, they built additional functions to improve the user experience while allowing us analytics tracking tools to grow our business. The app featured an automated system that allowed customers to request a carwash, connect with a local washer, and then pay for the service. The system adjusted for timing, giving customers updates on when the washer will complete the job.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning, we primarily worked with their founder who acted as our project manager as well as one of their developers. Currently, we’re working with two developers. For each case, we were heavily involved in selecting the team members.

How did you come to work with ZDEV?

A friend of mine used to work with their founder, so he put me in contact with them. Once we assessed their skills and expertise, we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent £50,000–£70,000 ($65,000–$95,000).

What is the status of this engagement?

Their main work lasted from October 2017–April 2018, but we’re still working with two developers for general maintenance work (e.g., fixing bugs, releasing new features).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

ZDEV rebuilt our app in a way that allowed us to essentially build our business faster. Since launching the app last month, our monthly revenue has increased by 30–35%. In terms of user conversion from signup to purchase, we’ve seen a 40% increase compared to the previous app. Before, people would sign up without booking any washes, but, now, they’re much more likely to request jobs. While these figures are still fresh, we attribute our dramatic basic sales conversions to their built-in tracking functions.

In terms of development, each team member adhered to strict coding guidelines, which resulted in a product that has worked very well. Despite a few bugs, I’ve been impressed with the quality of the work.

How did ZDEV perform from a project management standpoint?

Their collaboration spoke volumes of their effective management. Besides the developers, the founder was heavily involved throughout the engagement and maintained consistent contact. We had numerous phone calls to manage the project structure, making key decisions together. They were flexible enough to accommodate how I wanted to run the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The size of the company allowed them to remain agile with what we do. Furthermore, their team cared about more than just producing the app. Instead, they strove to create something that worked for our business, rather than just sticking to the initial brief.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While we were generally satisfied with their involvement, they might benefit from keeping the client up-to-date in a more official manner during the last few months of work.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to create a relationship with ZDEV’s founder to manage the actual project. They care about the project as much as they care about delivering the app. Establishing a good relationship helps them better understand the client’s vision. This, in turn, allows the team to make strong decisions on the client’s behalf to get the product out faster.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Actfit is a platform which aids discovery and provides booking options for fitness-related activities, such as gym classes and personal trainers. It gives our users the ability to access the schedules of trainers and studios directly. I am a co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ZDEV?

My co-founder and I both have other full-time jobs. While I am a software developer by trade, neither of us had the time to actually build an app for our idea. We were looking for someone who could help us rapidly build a prototype and iterate through our feedback.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ZDEV provided both mobile and web development. We initially built the website using Ruby on Rails backend and AngularJS frontend. That gave us the ability to add the various locations where training could take place and the details about classes. The site had geospatial search, so if someone typed in a postcode, it would set boundaries on the locations returned (on a 2-mile radius, for example). We also had user signups and profiles on the site.

We started building the app when we realized that a website isn’t the best way of getting users to interact with the platform. We originally thought we’d do it in Objective-C, but ZDEV introduced us to React Native and gave us a quick demo of it. It impressed us because it’s based on JavaScript so is accessible and quick to build. ZDEV built an app through which users could sign up using their phone numbers, with confirmation codes and login information using Twilio. The app could match users with personal trainers and gave them a calendar view of availability, where they could pick slots. We also integrated credit card payment for the sessions and notifications for users. The initial app was iOS only. It was done before React Native supported both Android and iOS.

What is the team dynamic? 

We started with only an idea. We had a designer whose work was used as a basis for the journey. He had worked on ad campaigns and came up with a beautiful logo and color scheme, but I think that his design lacked any insight into UX. Richard Gill, their founder of ZDEV, helped us by getting another designer onboard. That person had a lot of ideas, especially in terms of what made practical sense in terms of implementation.

Richard came in and sat with us, temporarily becoming part of the company. He helped relieve the effort of developing both the website and the app.

How did you come to work with ZDEV?

I started looking for developers online, using Upwork. That went terribly, so I started looking at different options, and Richard got in touch. I had worked with them before and knew what quality I’d be getting. It was a natural fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of the work was between £10,000 and £20,000 [$13,500–27,000].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with ZDEV in July 2015. The initial phase ended in September, but they made some enhancements based on feedback after that. The last piece of the work was done in January 2016. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had focus groups with users, and discussions around how they felt about the app, and what their experiences were. This was all positive, partially due to the fact that we first built a prototype, had a feedback session, and iterated on it.

The feedback was mostly about the problem we were solving. The fact that no one had an issue with the app was a big plus. I develop software and know that there are typically a lot of comments about things like where a button should be. We didn’t get any of that, which I interpreted as the app had been done well.

How did ZDEV perform from a project management standpoint?

We were so busy that Richard had to take care of much of this himself, which I’d give him high marks for. We had a Slack channel through which we talked constantly throughout the day and set milestones together. We used Trello, GitHub, and a tool which ZDEV recommended for managing defects.

They always explained what they’d done, and why certain things were implemented in a certain way. It always made sense, and the quality was excellent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were willing to share ideas. Instead of us specifically requesting what they should build, and with what technologies, when ZDEV identified a different way of doing things then they were happy to show us. That was often done for free, not as part of the project and meant that we ended up with something that fitted us best in the long run. 

ZDEV introduced us to React Native, and now we’ve switched to using it for everything, including rebuilding the website through it. They identified things which we hadn’t thought about or put in our spec. The software engineering part was very good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We wanted to build quickly, and ZDEV didn’t have enough resources at the time. Since then, I think that the team has grown significantly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a founder and CEO of an app that does ticket exchanges. Users can buy sell tickets for a cheaper price than what competitors charge. I help with pretty much everything.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ZDEV?

I needed to build the app. My business was just an idea at the time, and I needed some support in developing it.

I'm a developer myself, so I did some of the work, but I needed someone that had expertise in the development stack that I was using. I hired ZDEV to help me do that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I knew that I wanted to use the React Native stack, which is React Native, Node, JavaScript and Firebase. That was going to help me achieve the three-pronged approach of Android, iOS, and web. ZDEV had experience and offered all of those skills, so it worked well.

When the work started with ZDEV, we had some basic wireframes but the designs weren't complete. As ZDEV worked on the development, they made some tweaks to the design here and there.

ZDEV was very good at finding the easiest course of action and the most efficient way to execute something. They did their research to figure out what's the best best way or best API in order to implement parts of the solution.

The solution includes a web application as well as an iOS and Android app. Using React Native, we were able to code in one language and then able to build all three apps. Richard has a Java background, so that helped him understand the details of what's behind the code.

What is the team dynamic?

I had two members assigned to the work, John and Rich.

How did you come to work with ZDEV?

I found ZDEV was through a freelancing website.

How much have you invested with them?

The work cost a little more than $3,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March of 2016, and the work was completed in January of this year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When you're developing, you want to make sure that the designs are similar to what you develop. The end product is probably 95% matched to what was designed originally, and the other 5% was adjusted in order to move from paper to an actual product.

In terms of reliability, the solution certainly works. There are always bugs in the development, but everything has been fixed within a few hours of finding it.

How did ZDEV perform from a project management standpoint?

It was good. We had a meeting every morning at 9:00 o'clock my time, which was 5:00 or 6:00 their time (depending on daylight savings). We made sure you know we had a 5-10 minute stand-up, and we figured out what we all needed to do that day in order to move forward.

We used Slack to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

ZDEV cares about more than making money. They care about whether or not the idea is going to work and how to adjust that idea in a way that might make it even better.

I don't think a lot of developers or freelance contractors would actually do that. Rich likes to have that conversation, and it makes the product better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only problem was that when they were going to sleep, I was waking up due to our time zone differences.