648 Group

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Compass Bible Church is an expository preaching Christian church. I am the director of creative technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 648 Group?

As a non-profit, we didn't necessarily have a business challenge but were rather looking to provide a service for people. We had been printing prayer journals which were costing us several thousands of dollars per year. By going to an online version, we were able to reduce those costs, while also making the material more customizable to the people using it.

The second goal was related to our weekly Bible studies. We used to print many notebooks which we wanted to make available online.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brainstormed with 648 Group on key ideas and concepts, regarding on what the software needed to do, and what the price point for those functionalities was. We didn't have unlimited funds and weren't developing software which we'd be able to sell to generate incoming funds. 648 Group did have the idea of creating a public platform in mind, but we didn't undergo that. Our main involvement in the project was giving 648 Group the structure of usable features.

How did you come to work with 648 Group?

648 Group attends our church, and we found out what their team did. We did shop for quotes from other people, but 648 Group came in at the lowest price for us. They knew our culture well, which gave 648 Group a heads-up in terms of what they could do.

How much have you invested with 648 Group?

Our two projects combined have had a $30,000 cost.

What is the status of this engagement?

There is ongoing maintenance, and we have rolled out a 2.0 version of our Bible study application, adding some additional feature requests to it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

648 Group's work allowed us to move away from the printed version of our journal and many other of our manuals. We have saved on that physical world recurring cost, and we can easily add to the information already present on our platform, on an ongoing basis. 648 Group gave us the ability to be more adaptable as the year goes on. In the printed world, we would have had to do revisions and add supplemental information for people to put in a binder. Here, we can add it as we go, while preparing lessons.

How did 648 Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Basecamp for tracking all problems and tickets, as we were working on ironing out kinks. The majority of 648 Group's developers are based in Romania, so they can work while we're sleeping. When there wasn't a need to talk to them directly, they did a great job of communicating their approach and understanding of our problems through Basecamp. I sometimes felt that other development companies didn't read the entirety of our emails, judging by their responses. 648 Group was able to reword issues and gave clear timelines for them.

What did you find most impressive about 648 Group?

I've only worked with 648 Group on two projects, and I haven't had many other collaborations with different developers. Their communication was a key strength for us.

Are there any areas 648 Group could improve?

The main area of improvement would be along the lines of the initial scope of work. 648 Group can become excited around all that they can do, but we had limited funds. It's not necessarily a bad thing to make all those suggestions, but it's also important to make features as tightly as possible.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 648 Group?

We have worked on three different projects with 648 Group over the years, one of them being a web interface design for our hardware.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

648 Group took our base SDK [software development kit] and converted it, changing its programming to our specifications. We provided designs and suggestions; the product was based on a graphical user interface but was modified based on how it needed to work for our customers.

Our second project with 648 Group involved building a basic PHP web interface for our e-commerce site. We used it as an online catalog for the company's products.

Our third project is for an embedded system using Raspberry Pi technology. 648 Group has written a customized frontend which will control cameras, solar products, and other devices. It can also record telemetric data and incorporate it into a database, which is accessible through one IP address. We use wireless technology for interfacing with the boards.

Our technology has ranged from basic PHP to WordPress. We're using a Linux distribution for our Raspberry Pi development.

We have used 1–5 developers from 648 Group, depending on the project. They have done a good job of managing our frontend, so my interactions have typically been with one or two contacts. From a project management standpoint, the relationship has been clear; 648 Group manages the people writing the actual code.

How did you come to work with 648 Group?

I had experience with several firms, both from the US and from India. I first heard about 648 Group through a colleague around five years ago. I put together a statement of work, went through a bidding process, and asked for quotes as well as directions and advice on how the different groups would go about solving our issue. 648 Group came across as being experienced with the type of project we were working on, so we saw them as a good fit. Since we were successful in our first project, we gave 648 Group the work for subsequent projects.

How much have you invested with 648 Group?

The cost of 648 Group's work has been between $50,000 and $100,000 overall. Our first project was within a $15,000 range, while the second was a little smaller. The third project was the largest, and it's still ongoing.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with 648 Group around 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still using a variation of the very first project which 648 Group worked on, which was the development of a graphical user interface for controlling our product. It's been a long time since then, encompassing many product development cycles. We've done some work on it using our internal team as well, but the initial structure continues to live on in products which we're still selling. Also, our e-commerce website is still being used, and we have no issues with it.

Our ongoing project has had several finished milestones. The first part of the system has been developed and is operational. We have gone through troubleshooting and bug fixing for it, and we're currently adding customer-requested functionalities.

How did 648 Group perform from a project management standpoint?

648 Group is always responsive. We've used different tools like Basecamp, in order to keep track of milestone and deliverable progress. 648 Group has kept our contacts down to a couple of people. For someone looking to follow a roadmap and schedule, this approach is very easy. 648 Group uses an Agile methodology, giving us updates every two weeks. I have found that, whenever I have a question or issue about a new release of our firmware or feature set, I can enter it in our documentation, and 648 Group will keep track of it. We have checklists which we can follow, making sure that the work is being taken care of and corrected.

Are there any areas 648 Group could improve?

With any complex development project, there will be a need to adjust processes when something unforeseen comes up. 648 Group has done this well, and we can discuss issues. There is an ongoing improvement with respect to our processes, and we can work together in making changes in order to ultimately arrive at the desired outcome.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our group provides utility billing for municipalities and water, gas, and electric companies. I am the general manager of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 648 Group?

We needed to modernize our web presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have worked on several projects with 648 Group. They built a modern PHP website for our company, and also developed platforms aimed at bringing our customers into the cloud. They also provide backend database support and hosting for our solution. We have worked with several developers from 648 Group's team, but I don't know the exact numbers.

How did you come to work with 648 Group?

648 Group was a personal reference from another business associate. We felt that they were a flexible company and were willing to work with us.

How much have you invested with 648 Group?

The cost of 648 Group's work was around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with 648 Group in 2013. It's an ongoing project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't measured our results per se, but we have seen additional customers being brought forth by the innovative solutions built by 648 Group.

How did 648 Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We used a collaborative website similar to Dropbox for sharing documentation. 648 Group assigned a project manager for our work.

What did you find most impressive about 648 Group?

648 Group has in-house staff for graphics work, so the look and feel of our platform was professional and cutting edge.

Are there any areas 648 Group could improve?

Some of 648 Group's staff is offshore, so there was a communication barrier. Once we started working with them, we were able to clarify things.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with 648 Group?

It's always good to know what you're looking for and provide some direction to the developer when it comes to IT projects, rather than allowing the partner to handle development alone and deliver something outside of the agreement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Focal Point Radio Ministries broadcasts the sermons of Pastor Mike Fabarez through 700 radio stations across the US. We also have an online presence in the form of a website and other discipleship resources. I am the executive director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with 648 Group?

We were developing a website and tablet app for one of our discipleship programs called One on One Discipleship. There was no out-of-the-box platform available, so we needed to design it from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

648 Group created a robust platform for reading and studying the Discipleship program, as well as for writing responses and notes within the app and website. The two platforms sync with each other.

The applications are available on iOS and Android. I am not sure what technology was used for the website. 648 Group assigned a whole team for our work, but I only dealt with two or three of their members, including Val Balanescu [Founder & CEO, 648 Group] and the creator of the platform.

How did you come to work with 648 Group?

I had known 648 Group's owner for some time and had seen some of their work. When the time came for us to develop an app, I had a couple of choices. 648 Group came up with the most creative and robust solution, and it's been working great for us.

How much have you invested with 648 Group?

The cost of 648 Group's work was between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with 648 Group in 2014. The project has been completed, and the apps are available in app stores. We continue to use 648 Group for improvements based on user requests. We are keeping the apps up-to-date with operating systems, on both Android and iOS sides.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Most of our comments have been verbal. The users of our apps have appreciated the switch from paper manuals to an online system. It creates a better user experience for our Discipleship program. People have liked the ability to add and modify notes, giving their friends access to them. The program is designed for people to use it as disciple-es and as disciple-ers. Paper manuals are limiting in terms of available space on any page.

Features like highlighting and Bible verse searching on both the apps and the web version of the program allow people to find what they're looking for quickly. Unlike a paper manual, on which they'd have to browse through pages.

How did 648 Group perform from a project management standpoint?

648 Group had an online progress updating system which allowed me to check in on their team, as well as make comments and recommendations. If I found any bugs, I could comment on them as well. It was easy and economical to use. I could access it at any time of day, and 648 Group was prompt in responding to my issues and questions. I'd usually see an answer in 24–48 hours, depending on its nature. Issues requiring developmental fixes were given timelines.

What did you find most impressive about 648 Group?

The best thing that 648 Group is able to provide is the extremely creative team which can think outside of the box, and customize the project to what we needed. That being said, I know that 648 Group was looking at existing platforms which we could use, but, in our particular case, we needed a more robust solution which required some customization. 648 Group's development team built our platform from scratch, and it has been utilized by the church in other areas specifically because it's such a robust platform. 648 Group's ability to think outside the box and create solutions for customers' needs, was what made them stand out.

Are there any areas 648 Group could improve?

I can't think of anything offhand. There were minor hiccups along the road, but I was very pleased with 648 Group's work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the director of IT for HEILBrice, a marketing agency. The company's team has fluctuated from 30–60 employees. We recently moved our headquarters to Newport Beach from Irvine, California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 648 Group?

We needed to develop several WordPress websites.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked on multiple projects with 648 Group. The most recent one involved developing a CRM [customer relationship management] software for a client using the Zend Framework. We build the frontend and backend of the platform, allowing the client to manage the communication between the corporate office and the field team working with potential clients.

We also worked with 648 Group on a sizeable project for Cirque du Soleil, building an iPad app for them in 2011. I communicated with 2–3 people from 648 Group's team, including their owner and some project managers. I rarely spoke with the developers.

How did you come to work with 648 Group?

Back in 2008, 648 Group's principal was working in Irvine, where I was also located.

How much have you invested with 648 Group?

The cost of our CRM project was between $50,000 and $75,000. The iPad app had a budget of between $75,000– $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I don't work for the company anymore and haven't kept up with their involvement. I believe that the company for which we built the CRM software was eventually sold. The iPad app built by 648 Group is still being used.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The iPad app built by 648 Group is still being used six years later, which is a good measurement of success. The CRM was used for around two years. That business was sold because of one small aspect of the software.

How did 648 Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Basecamp for project tracking, which was a very effective solution. They always fell in line with the budgets we set for our scopes of work.

What did you find most impressive about 648 Group?

I appreciated the communication. Our project manager and 648 Group's principal reached out to me whenever we had an issue, communicating effectively. We were always able to resolve problems and come up with a solution for our clients.

Are there any areas 648 Group could improve?

There's nothing I could put my finger on.