10Pines

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of engineering for a software company. We provide employee motivation and performance software for other businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 10Pines?

I was looking for a company to supplement our engineering team. We needed a company with experience in the technology stack that we use.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

10Pines works hand-in-hand with our internal team. They provide engineering services using the technology stack that we use. Their team uses Ruby on Rails.

What is the team composition?

When we first started with 10Pines, we had three engineers working with us. Over the years, the number of team members fluctuated between 3–5. Currently, we’re working with five people.

How did you come to work with 10Pines?

I chose 10Pines based on the technology stack. I researched and created a shortlist of companies that seemed to have a team engagement model as well as the experience in Ruby on Rails. We had a call with three companies in total. I felt that 10Pines had a culture that was a good fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re charged on a monthly basis based on the number of hours each engineer works on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around 2016 and our relationship’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They deliver on their assignments. Their team doesn’t just take the assignments and check them off. They have their thinking caps on and find the best way to solve the task. There’s a feedback loop built in that I appreciate because they’ll point to a better way of completing an assignment.

How did 10Pines perform from a project management standpoint?

The vast majority of the engineers that I’ve engaged over the last four years have had good communication skills. There are times when I expect assignments to be done sooner. When they see a task that’s way bigger than I thought it would be, they bring that to my attention.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have engineers working with other clients who have built up different expertise. When we want to try new technology, they have teammates with that expertise and can provide feedback.

Are there any areas they could improve?

After working with us for a couple of years, their engineers may want to move on to change their skillsets. That’s not always the case but I wish I had more control over that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager of a broadcasting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 10Pines?

We needed to develop software for a cloud gaming platform. We started this project with another company, but they quit.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

10Pines first worked on an integration for a different platform. Once we saw the quality of their work, their team took charge of building the main module. They managed frontend and backend development for the cloud gaming solution. They created the platform from scratch, helping us build custom software. 

What is the team composition?

We started working with six people. By the end of the project, the team grew to 12 people.

How did you come to work with 10Pines?

We found 10Pines through a referral. We don’t usually hire local companies but reached out to them. We were impressed by their pitch and decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $500,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between March 2018 – September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

10Pines picked up the project, started from scratch, and completed the solution. They understood our vision, and we were pleased with their work. They did a great job.

How did 10Pines perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked following an Agile methodology. We spoke with the project manager daily. 10Pines did great work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Rather than an external vendor, they felt like part of our team. It was impressive that their entire team stayed on the project from beginning to end. My experience with other companies involved a lot of staff turnover, so we had to adjust to new team members throughout a project. 10Pines was committed, reliable, and capable, which instilled confidence in us. We were satisfied with their work and would love to have them on board again.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m very happy with their work. I enjoyed working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be concerned about the youth of the team. They’re good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of technology at an e-commerce platform for creators. We allow users to design and sell merchandise through our site.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 10Pines?

We wanted assistance with development. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided development services using Ruby on Rails, React, and Python. Their work included both front- and backend development of our platform. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with about 14 team members. 

How did you come to work with 10Pines?

I’m not sure how we find them since I wasn’t involved in the hiring process. I know that initially we started with a few developers, and based on their performance, we decided to expand the team. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably invested about $3,000,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2015, and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve become part of our team. Any success we’ve had overall as a company, they’ve had a hand in. We enjoy working with them and will continue to do so in the future. 

How did 10Pines perform from a project management standpoint?

They follow the same process that our in-house team does. They were happy to use our existing processes and make suggestions on how to improve our processes. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They engage with, care about, and work towards our high-level goals as a company. They expressed a strong interest in understanding our strategy and how their work fits into it. This shows in their work. They possess strong critical thinking skills. It’s rare to find this kind of dedication in a third-party vendor. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

They don’t always have spare teammates that are ready to jump on a project when we need more support. We need to give them advanced notice if we’re thinking about expanding the team. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We manage Starbucks and Burger King franchises in Argentina. My role is IT Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 10Pines?

We work with 10pines for more than 10 years uninterruped in projects from Sales Reports , Labor schedule system, Inventory/Recipes/prediction system for internal buying of sku's, digital invoice workflows, suppliers invoice submitting, Starbucks Rewards Argentina.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was implement Starbucks Rewards program in Argentina.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have experience from previous developments.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed and developed the backend system for Starbucks Rewards Program. This backoffice comunicates with Mobile and Web apps, with antifraud systems, credit card processing system, digital wallets, First Data's Valuelink and Oracle-Micros Res Point of Sale System, Mail platforms. They developed all integrations and backoffice functionality to support the program.

What was the team composition?

The team was about 7 people from developers to architects. They use Agile method of work adjusting the development to our needs (that had a lot of changes).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The original idea was a system to support 20000 members the firts 8 monthes but we had 20000 members the first month and near 100000 the first year. The system supported the overload without a glinch and the Program is vital to our sales. It was a business case for other countries with a fraction of the cost in compare with others solutions.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They use Agiles methods so we met every 2 weeks in a demo of new functionality and to define new steps. They track the development with Jira, GitHub, Grafana, etc. A 2 week meeting was fundamental to us because we had a lot of project deifnitions changes.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The way they contribute to the project from the business perspective. At the end they know more than us about how the things works in our company. They are very flexible. Also they made field tests in our stores not only to know if the system works but for analize others interactions that they can affect the development.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really. They are very professionals and incredible felixible to the client needs. They are partners.