4DEVCODING

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a project manager at a company called DESFO, a holding company with a presence in the retail, logistics, and service industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 4DEVCODING?

We hired 4DEVCODING to develop a web app for us because we wanted to digitalize the process of the annual performance review of our employees.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Before partnering with 4DEVCODING, we've done our annual performance of around 1,5000 employees on paper. We brought their team in to develop a web app to streamline and digitize our processes for the HR department.

They're now developing a software similar to an ERP, and providing us with ongoing maintenance and consultation.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with two people from their team.

How did you come to work with 4DEVCODING?

They were a reference by someone inside our company.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested about €25,000 (approximately $24,600 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started around July 2021, and it's still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As the main contact person, my feedback about their work is extremely positive. The web app has improved the daily activities of not only our employees, but also the HR department — the app essentially shortened the period of our annual performance review by about two months.

Moreover, the app improved communication and transparency within our organization because the information is now readily available, instead of being on a piece of paper.

How did 4DEVCODING perform from a project management standpoint?

We're always on time with our weekly meetings and work together on a Sprint basis. We utilize DevOps to manage the project and Teams to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We're impressed with their flexibility, easy-going nature, cost-effectiveness, and transparency in communication.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think they could be more focused on implementing one aspect of the project, instead of doing many things at once.

Any advice for potential customers?

I'd just advise you to go ahead and work with them. It's very easy to talk with the team, so you can make them understand your needs without compromising anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Supervisor of Management Control & Information Systems at Centrocar. Centrocar's business consist in selling industrial machinery such as excavators and wheel loaders, mostly to construction clients. Additionally, Centrocar supports the sales of the machines with the sales of parts and providing assistance to all our clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 4DEVCODING, and what were your goals?

We wanted an app for our technicians to be able to register their time clocks all through their day. That process add unnesIn order to do that, we reached 4DEVCODING with this challenge, that involved developing an app from scratch, and designing the integrations with our ERP.

SOLUTION

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

We searched the market, and by collecting opinions from other customers we chose 4DEVCODING to present our project. ON that first contact we realized they were a valid partner and someone who understood our needs.

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

We had a basic plan of what the app should look and function. We presented that version to them, who quickly developed a mockup for us to validate the raw structure of the app. Only after our validation they started developing the android app.

The app communicates with an intermmediate database and only from that database is that the data goes to the ERP through webservices, in order to check all the security needs. The app allows to send .txt data as well as pictures and all kind of files. As a requisite from the beginning, due to our technicians not having internet connection sometimes, it works both on and offline.

When internet is available itsyncs the data and files. Also, it has the service URL as a parameter, which allowed us to use the app in Portugal, Spain and Mozambique with easeness. The development was made with constant interaction between us and 4DEVCODING, allowing a dynamic project.

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

We only interacted directly with 2 project managers, but it was clear there were more developers assisting when needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within the space of a month, our invoicing time was reduced to half, and clearly there was an improvement on our technicians daily life.

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

The project manager was in constant contact with us, and available for our doubts and requests. We mostly communicated by e-mail.

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

The easiness that the contact was made and how quickly they understood what our needs were and how to deliver us the project we wanted.

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

The flow of the project was very well defined, but there were times were the e-mail exchanges caused some confusion, maybe something more "online" in order to track developments and decisions taken.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager and product delivery lead at Solocal. We focus on marketing, online publicity, and website development to maintain our clients’ online presence.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 4DEVCODING?

We engaged 4DEVCODING to help us with development initiatives. For our main project, we needed them to help us develop an application workflow engine to connect our employees.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The 4DEVCODING team has helped us develop an internal web-based application for our employees to manage their workflow. We’ve shared our business goals with the team, and they’ve used C# and other Microsoft technologies to develop the application, which concerns several microservices and interfaces. Their full stack engineers have performed back- and frontend development. 

They’ve also helped us with Python scripting and supervised other minor development projects. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with the full stack engineering team at 4DEVCODING.

How did you come to work with 4DEVCODING?

Our company had already partnered with 4DEVCODING before I joined the team. My team was happy with their work, so we continued to involve them in our projects. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with 4DEVCODING in January 2016, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Due to 4DEVCODING’s development assistance, we’ve connected more than 400 internal employees with the workflow management system. 

How did 4DEVCODING perform from a project management standpoint?

The 4DEVCODING team has managed projects well. We meet daily, and the team typically shares advice about approaching certain modules they’ve developed. Then, we work together to create realistic time estimates and communicate daily to prioritize tasks and shift deadlines as needed. 

They’ve been great communicators and provided detailed descriptions of their progress within Jira. We’ve tried to avoid communicating outside Jira, but we can call the team directly and vice versa if needed. Errors are inevitable within the development process, but they’ve always responded quickly to provide solutions. 

We have a strict supervision process, but we typically give the 4DEVCODING team the liberty to choose the solutions they want to implement. We also have a rigorous testing process, and 4DEVCODING has provided very precise time estimates for testing corrections.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been most impressed by 4DEVCODING’s dependability and receptiveness to feedback. They’ve been very reliable partners and welcomed constructive criticism, which is important. We’ve trusted them to take development liberties, but they’ve respected our direction when we’ve given it.

When we started working with 4DEVCODING, they mainly communicated in Portuguese. We speak French, so there was a language barrier initially. Since working together, they’ve started to learn French, which has improved their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if 4DEVCODING could continue to improve their French. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Explain your problem to 4DEVCODING, and don’t hesitate to ask for a complex solution. They’re a great source of information and can work with you to develop the best possible solution.