3ort Inženjering

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are IMC GmbH. I am the president and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 3ort Inzenjering?

We don’t have a software development department in our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We work in the space of managing physical infrastructures. We are consulting with owners on how they should work with their infrastructure and what decisions they should make about their data. This is very data heavy activity. We can’t do it from paper. We need computer support. There are quite a few infrastructure managing systems that are tools that are developed, too. We do provide algorithms for this software, but we are not developing the software itself. User communication is mostly designed by us while the coding was done by 3ort.

How much have you invested with 3ort Inzenjering?

The cost was between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement is ongoing [as of September 2016].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We wouldn’t work with them if we weren’t happy. These guys are very conscientious. When we have discussions, they’re clearly defined. We specify what should be done, and we do the quality check after we get the coding back. The clients are happy as well. The best part of their corporation is their responsiveness.

How did 3ort Inzenjering perform from a project management standpoint?

They have done very well. They have all the tools necessary. We have a team, and they are well organized. It’s not difficult given that 3ort is very large.

What did you find most impressive about 3ort Inzenjering?

We were hired to make a concept and supervise the software development. You lose the most time explaining what needs to be done. Once you work with somebody awhile, they know what you want – they think the same way you do. It’s very efficient.

Are there any areas 3ort Inzenjering could improve?

Not really.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I have a consulting business for software development based in San Francisco and work with contracted programmers to build software for life science or biotech research as well as medical devices.

What is your position?

I am the president of Luminous Point LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with 3ort Inzenjering?

I'm always looking for contractors for projects whether they are groups or individuals that are able to produce a high level of quality.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

One project we worked with 3ort Inzenjering on was a biotech research device. It included a rich interface that included dialogue boxes and graphics. Their specialty is developing in the .NET environment and JavaScript. There was not any web development, but mostly .NET. I wrote a very high-level specification of what the application had to do, and I served as an intermediary between the customers and 3ort Inzenjering. I would meet with customers and capture what they wanted and relay that to them and they developed the entire thing. We worked in the short development cycle – a few weeks at a time and the end user would review and give them feedback. Then they would continue on the next phase. That went on for at least a year. They developed a complete desktop application with installers. They even did a little bit of graphic design. It wasn't important, but it made it look polished and they did a great job. The project was a success, and we're continuing in the next phase.

How did you come to work with 3ort Inzenjering?

I knew one of the people that worked there before from a colleague I worked with. He had worked on a pilot project, and it turned out well. I made the contract so that we could disengage if things didn't end up working out. They did some preliminary work, and it went well.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The arrangement was that they would not exceed $5,000 per month. I wanted them to limit their hours. I don't know what the total is so far, but I think my involvement with them would be less than $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It's an ongoing contract, and I plan to increase the volume of work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

They were billing me in hours, and what I found was that from their output and the billed hours was that they have a very strong work ethic. I have experience outsourcing, and I believe they are honest and their billing is fair. We were very happy. Often with outsourcing, I feel there is overbuilding or slack. In their case, there was no such thing.

What distinguishes 3ort Inzenjering from other providers?

They provided a high level of service, and they were a great value for the money.

Is there anything 3ort Inzenjering could have improved or done differently?

The thing that I would like them to improve would be writing native applications in C++ and maybe bringing on more people.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Unit Solutions is an IT [information technology] company located in Switzerland. Our special skills are development of modern web-based and mobile applications, IT consulting, and deployment, training and support of IT systems.

What is your role at the company?

I am the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 3ort Inženjering?

[We needed to] bridge a staff shortage and overcome cost pressure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was the development of a specific module of a complex software in the sector bridge management. The module permits to calculate the capability for a truck – oversize transports – to cross specific bridges. The challenge was that the module has to be integrated with other modules.

How did you come to work with 3ort Inženjering?

The company already had experience in a similar project. The contact was initialized by a third-party company.

How much have you invested with 3ort Inženjering?

It was between $70,000 and $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

[The project ran from] 2008 to 2011.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our customers regularly use the module since the its deployment. It is stable and requires nearly no maintenance. The work that 3ort Inženjering did was high quality.

What did you find most impressive about 3ort Inženjering?

It was the first company with whom we collaborated with long distance and in a different language other than German or French. But, with existing applications like Skype, remote access, and so on, these obstacles were easy to overcome.