64 Robots

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Research Assistant of a higher education institution.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are an institution of higher education that received a large research grant.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 64 Robots to accomplish?

• 1. The development of a tool that will allow for the public tracking of enrollment trends by race, ethnicity, and economic status

SOLUTION

How did you find 64 Robots?

RFP Process

Why did you select 64 Robots over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Personalized approach

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

In our original contract, we had asked 64Robots to create a reliable platform coupled with a powerful web crawler focused on improving access to and navigation of university data and application materials. Moreover, the tool needed to be user-centered, ADA-compliant, and a searchable web portal.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had weekly meetings and a project timeline we created as we went. We could see the website as it was being created, the components under construction, and the final product. However, much more was being done in the backend that we could not see, which the developers and the designers were working on.

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

Yes, they delivered their items on time. We communicated using Slack and met weekly for the entirety of the project. At the beginning of this project, we were building the project deliverables and timeline together. Our project manager kept us on track and suggested weekly deliverables for our team to work on. We had concerns about having a "tangible" timeline that everyone could review/see to stay on track. 

After sharing our concerns with the project manager, they created a document with the timeline we could all access and edit. Regarding deliverables, our project management showed us updates from the designers and development team, and she brought up any concerns/issues with the platform that we could review together.

What was your primary form of communication with 64 Robots?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

64 Robots was really helpful in enabling us to name exactly what we wanted in a product. I've appreciated their hands-on and collaborative approach to building our new tool. There have been many stakeholders involved in the project, and sometimes, it's difficult to filter through all the feedback. Our project manager and designer have been great at listening and narrowing done what we want. We're really excited about the final project

Are there any areas for improvement or something 64 Robots could have done differently?

No, our primary concern was not receiving enough communication from the team about what they needed from us. However, I know it isn't easy to understand what they need when we need to specify what we want, but we have no idea what exactly what we wanted the final product to look like.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the economic development specialist for Allegany County Economic and Community Development, a constituent jurisdiction of the state of Maryland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 64 Robots?

Our existing website was built over a decade ago. It wasn’t responsive or attractive to our target audience, so we looked for a service provider that could help us revamp it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

64 Robots helped us develop a new website, and they were also in charge of its UI/UX design. Our website’s most important feature is the CMS that they implemented for the backend using Twill. Additionally, they used Laravel and PHP for the framework and Nuxt.js for the frontend.

Other important features include an interactive job board that employers in our county can use to post job offers, as well as a site selection portal that allows property owners to post available commercial and industrial properties in the county.

What is the team composition?

Initially, we worked with the project manager and the lead designer on the design portion of the project. Then, we worked almost exclusively with the project manager, although we occasionally interacted with the CEO, who acted as the head backend developer as well. Additionally, we communicated with the frontend developer as needed.

How did you come to work with 64 Robots?

We put out a public RFP, to which 64 Robots and over 40 other companies replied, and 64 Robots’ bid was very strong. We had created a review committee of professionals from around the country who specialized in various fields such as economic development, communications, and design. This committee helped us review all the bids, and 64 Robots got the highest score based on their criteria, so we awarded them the project.

How much have you invested with them?

The bid award was $45,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with 64 Robots in June 2022, and they finished the development work in October 2022. We had around a month lag before actually starting the project, so it took them about three months to develop the website completely.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product delivered by 64 Robots isn’t just a website; it is an incredibly modular, responsive, intuitive, and easy-to-use software platform. Moreover, it loads very fast; it takes less than a quarter of a second to load.

64 Robots was able to develop advanced features within days, and their designs followed our brand guidelines very closely. Our site selection portal aids us in our core mission and helps us attract new residents and businesses.

Moreover, the website’s CMS makes it incredibly easy for our team to build a new page or blog post. Thanks to this, we now have a dedicated blog, which is easy to populate. This allows us to directly engage with our community by quickly publishing professional-looking blog posts and pushing them through our social media channels.

Before this project, we were unable to interact with our community because we didn’t have the technology to do so. Now, we’re using our site and blog to increase our community engagement.

How did 64 Robots perform from a project management standpoint?

64 Robots’ performance exceeded our expectations. Whenever we discussed a new feature and its release date, it surprised us how quickly they were able to turn it around. Custom development projects often face many bugs and issues and take a long time. However, 64 Robots’ development process was incredibly agile.

One of our main concerns was getting our site launched very quickly because we were finishing our branding process. We wanted our site and branding launch to coincide with the Economic Development Week in Maryland. 64 Robots was able to deliver, and we did a formal launch during a large tech event in our county that coincided with said week.

Communication-wise, we talked very openly, and 64 Robots was very responsive through email or phone calls. Whenever we sent them an email, we had a response within a few hours.

In addition to that, their designer was a pleasure to work with. She was very creative and understood what we were asking for. Moreover, whenever we had questions, the project manager answered them very quickly for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

64 Robots’ creativity and development skills were noteworthy. They provided us with a custom-made site that is so polished that it seems like an out-of-the-box solution. It looks so fantastic and performs so well that it’s hard to believe it was built from scratch. Instead, it feels like a site that has been developed by a large development team over a long period of time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a medical education/advertising agency who develops projects for our pharmaceutical/medical industry clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 64 Robots, and what were your goals?

We charged the 64Robots team with developing a website to house various patient cases. The frontend features images, content, and a number of pages for each case. The backend was developed for us to input information on our own, on behalf of our client. The backend was designed to be dummy proof, and is very simple to use.

SOLUTION

How did you select 64Robots and what were the deciding factors?

We sourced a few different vendors for this project. We decided to go with 64Robots due to their specificity and their ability to truly understand what we were looking for. We are by no means coding/website gurus, and the 64Robots team did a great job talking us through all aspects of the process and made us feel safe handing our project over to them.

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

We tasked 64Robots with creating a website from scratch that would house patient case information. We also tasked them with creating a backend that we could update later on as things were changed/modified on our client's end. The initial loading of information was completed by 64Robots as well.

How many people from the 64Robots team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We kicked off the project with the Lead Developer and then transitioned to working directly with our Project Manager who was completing the work for us. She was international, which worked really well for us. We could send something over in the afternoon knowing that it would be addressed the next morning.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It serves its purpose and functions really well! The backend is the real star - it's so simple to use and modifying/adding information is a breeze.

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

64Robots stuck to our timeline and delivered things when they said they were going to. We mainly communicated via email for a majority of the project, but jumping on a Zoom call was no problem when there were some more challenging questions from us to sort out.

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

Their responsiveness is fabulous! Also, they are just great about explaining more complex things in layman's terms. They don't make you feel dumb for not knowing and are extremely patient. The only things that came up were small buggy things during testing (which is to be expected), and these were resolved right away.

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

Nothing!!! We've worked with a lot of different companies throughout the years, and 64Robots is truly the best we've come across in a very, very long time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

President and owner

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 64 Robots?

When we purchased the company in 2006, we had some changes made to company software to help with entering customer orders, but by 2015 or so, we were having problems getting any changes or improvements to be made to it due to it being programmed in an obsolete language.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a new program that would help with all aspects of order entry, keeping track of file records, sending files to clients and invoicing them. Also a way to improve communications with all employees that work remotely. And to find a company such as theirs to provide ongoing support and improvements to the system. And also needed a system that would support future growth of the company without the need to hire additional office personnel to perform tasks that could be automated.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Performed a search, came across Upwork web site, and it contained their company info.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We discussed at length what our current system did that we needed to carry forward, and then also all the challenges we faced with it. Suggested methods to improve it and our workflow process. Redesigned web site to make it look more modern.

What was the team composition?

We had 2 primary points of contact thru out the entire project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Business has increased substantially since the finished product went live. I don't think there would have been any possible way to handle the additional workload with the same level of employees as before.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had regular communication via phone calls and emails as to the status of things, and what steps were being taken next.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The very personal attention was impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think we underestimated the amount of time and complexity of the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Founder of a software company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a platform that transforms consumer engagement data into payments by enabling personalized, data-driven campaigns that optimize payment conversions and efficiency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 64 Robots to accomplish?

• Refactor legacy platform
• Stabilize legacy platform
• Start new platform

SOLUTION

How did you find 64 Robots?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select 64 Robots over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from 64 Robots were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

64R came and saved the day when our business needed it most. The 64R team did a full assessment of the legacy platform (since retired), found the vulnerabilities, and jumped in to refactor and stabilize to de risk the entire business. They assisted with implementing new feature development and management. 

Once complete, they assisted in building a new platform - in current use - from the ground up. This platform evolved tremendously under 64R, including the first 3 major clients, until the business could sustain and grow independently.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a business that has scaled. The old platform did not scale. The new one does. It is as simple as that.

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

They were incredibly responsive and honest throughout the entire process. They did not cut corners, and things were done the right way. Timelines are only restricted by budget and a lack of understanding - which I came to appreciate with them.

What was your primary form of communication with 64 Robots?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Educating the client while caring about the product. High standards.

Are there any areas for improvement or something 64 Robots could have done differently?

NA

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director, Information Technology of NCIC Inmate Communications

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provides Communication Services to the Correctional Industry and supports the efforts of Law Enforcement.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 64 Robots to accomplish?

• Create a web based communication platform for the correctional industry
• Create a mobile app with video visitation and messaging

SOLUTION

How did you find 64 Robots?

Online Search

Why did you select 64 Robots over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Owners seemed expert in the field

How many teammates from 64 Robots were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Design and implement a web application. The application consisted of three unique websites as well as a web application.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Project feature requests were organized and worked on based on priority.

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

64 Robots was always very responsive and did their best to deliver items when needed.

What was your primary form of communication with 64 Robots?

Email or Messaging App

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

The owners were very in tune with our project. Also they brought a lot of talent to the project. Far more than we could have done without them.

Are there any areas for improvement or something 64 Robots could have done differently?

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Director, College Admissions Futures Co-Laborative of University of Maryland

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

It is a public research university.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 64 Robots to accomplish?
Create data infrastructure and search tool for low-income first-generation students to explore college opportunities.

SOLUTION

How did you find 64 Robots?

RFP bid

Why did you select 64 Robots over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from 64 Robots were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Develop and test a web search tool and backend database and management insfrastructure, designed for use by first-generation, low-income students exploring college opportunities.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working search and backend.

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

The 64 Robots team was highly responsive and on time with their delivery. We had regular meetings and smooth experiences in communications and consultation.

What was your primary form of communication with 64 Robots?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The diversity, thoughtfulness, leadership, and creativity of the team were especially impressive. They were also very patient and committed to working with our team, which has limited tech and design expertise. They created a website and infrastructure beyond what we could envision at the start.

Are there any areas for improvement or something 64 Robots could have done differently?

I can't think of anything.