Accedia

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CFO of an information technology company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Оur company leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to transform the way people access secure areas usingfacial biometric control.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Accedia to accomplish?

Being a fast-growing company means our product development needs are constantly evolving, in response to product and technology maturity, enterprise clients’ requirements and regulatory compliance. Therefore, we need a development partner who can evolve and adapt as fast as we do, with extensive expertise in AI & machine learning, DevOps engineering and front-end development. 
We hired Accedia to help us with various, ongoing software development tasks, ensuring that as our products and services evolve, they remain at the cutting edge of technology and market demand.

SOLUTION

How did you find Accedia?

Referral

Why did you select Accedia over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Accedia were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The team at Accedia was working on the following features:

• implementation of facial recognition capabilities using computer vision, 
• establishing multi-factor authentication for user verification, 
• and ensuring robust data security and storage. 

The key deliverables were particularly focused on refining the facial recognition algorithm to increase accuracy and efficiency and developing an intuitive and user-friendly front-end interface for admin users’ access control purposes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Accedia helped us release new and improved features, which opened the way to new business for us.They also assisted us with setting up our DevOps engineering practices which allow for continuous deployment and continuous integration of new features. This enabled us to reduce operational waste in our software development processes, and to push product updates faster and more securely.

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

Project management was quite straightforward, we had product owners and scrum masters on our side, while collaboration with Accedia’s technical specialists went quite easy thanks to the assigned PM on their side as a central contact point. We really appreciated their fast response time and proactiveness to questions that may affect scalability in the future.

What was your primary form of communication with Accedia?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We were impressed with how engaged and willing to contribute with product development decisions they were. This was an indication of how committed they are to our success, on top of simply delivering the agreed functionality.

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

Cannot think of anything worth mentioning, we are more than happy with our collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at DGS Consulting Ltd.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a technology consulting agency specialized in quality assurance and test automation services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Accedia to accomplish?

• I've had the pleasure of working with Аccedia on a project for one of our enterprise clients in the Nordics region. We specialize in providing comprehensive QA services, and often, our clients require additional software development expertise that goes beyond our capacity. This is where our decade-long partnership with Accedia comes into play. 
• For this particular project, we sought Accedia's expertise to develop a monitoring solution aimed at tracking faults and sending notifications regarding the client‘s internal system for components order and inventory, primarily used by their sales teams. The objective was clear: 
  • equip our client with the tools to receive proactive alerts on potential defaults in their system behavior, enabling them to prevent cyber attacks or any downtime that could affect users.

SOLUTION

How did you find Accedia?

Referral

Why did you select Accedia over others?

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

How many teammates from Accedia were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope of the project with Accedia encompassed the programming of backend logic for monitoring system logs and detecting behaviors that deviated from the norm. Additionally, they were tasked with developing a straightforward front-end admin panel designed for the project management teams of our client. The deliverables were focused on enhancing the client's ability to manage and monitor their system's health effectively.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the primary goals was to reduce system downtime to zero in the first year following the introduction of the monitoring solution—a target that was successfully met. Furthermore, the client observed a notable increase in user satisfaction among the sales representatives who relied on the system, compared to prior to the implementation of the solution.

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

In this case we had a project manager on the client's side, ensuring a seamless collaboration process. Together with Accedia, we worked on defining requirements, clarifying expectations, and building a Proof of Concept (PoC). Their ability to deliver items on time and respond adeptly to our needs underscored their professionalism and commitment to the project's success.

What was your primary form of communication with Accedia?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

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

What truly sets Accedia apart is their customer-centric approach. Every member of the team engaged in the project, irrespective of their position within the company, displayed a genuine eagerness to collaborate. Moreover, their active listening skills were evident throughout the project. They paid close attention to client needs and objectives and adapted their technological approach accordingly.

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

It's hard to pinpoint anything significant as the project was managed exceptionally well. One aspect that could have potentially enhanced the project's kickoff was an onsite introduction with the client. 

The constraints imposed by Covid measures made this impossible, and while this wasn't directly within Accedia's control, such face-to-face interactions often lay a strong foundation for project success. Despite this, I must emphasize that we still managed to navigate these challenges successfully, and the project's outcomes were not affected.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Business Development Manager of Astea Solutions

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Founded 16 years ago, Astea is a leading provider of technology consulting and custom software development services for US clients ranging from venture-funded startups to Fortune 500 companies. Our clients operate in financial services, healthcare, media, and education, among other industries. Typically providing our clients with turnkey solutions, we are particularly adept at tackling complex problems often involving data science and high-performance algorithms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Accedia to accomplish?

• Software development services and QA for Astea clients

SOLUTION

How did you find Accedia?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Accedia over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Accedia were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Highly qualified software development work with knowledge and experience fitting our technology requirements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have had numerous exceptional experiences working with Accedia across various software development projects over the last four years. From the start, their team has consistently demonstrated a deep understanding of our needs, coupled with a proactive and strategic approach. Communication has always been seamless, ensuring transparency and collaboration throughout each project.

Accedia's commitment to delivering high-quality solutions has been evident in every instance, consistently surpassing our expectations. Their adaptability and positive attitude towards challenges have been commendable across multiple projects. The team's technical expertise, coupled with a customer-centric approach, has made each process enjoyable and successful.

We highly recommend Accedia to anyone in need of a reliable and skilled software development partner for numerous projects. Their excellence, collaborative spirit, and dedication to client satisfaction make them a standout choice in the industry. We eagerly anticipate continued collaborations with Accedia, building on the strong partnership we've fostered over the last four years.

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

Their responsiveness to our needs has been a standout feature of their service. Accedia's team displayed a proactive approach, promptly addressing any concerns or changes that arose during the development process. Their communication was clear and transparent, ensuring that we were always informed about the project's status and any adjustments made along the way.

Accedia's dedication to meeting timelines and their agile response to our evolving requirements have greatly contributed to the overall success of our projects.

What was your primary form of communication with Accedia?

In-Person Meeting

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

What we found most impressive about Accedia is their seamless blend of technical expertise and a customer-centric approach. Their team consistently demonstrated a deep understanding of our project requirements and business goals, coupled with a proactive and strategic mindset.

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

We are fully satisfied with our collaboration with Accedia.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior manager of application development for a Dairy Farmers of America subsidiary.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accedia?

We had a few issues with freezing web applications, so we hired Accedia for ongoing web development and support activities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project was a collaboration; Accedia provided us with enhancements to the existing websites we owned. We also built a device app internally with their assistance. Our engagement with Accedia was limited to development, design, and support. They helped with UX/UI design and the overall design solutions based on our requirements. 

We conducted an analysis of trends and ran that by Accedia; their graphics department came up with the wireframes based on our inputs. We went back and forth before we finalized the UI/UX, and the development team took it from there. We built the device app to validate the functionality and then went back in to apply the UX/UI design to give it the look and feel we wanted. 

We had guidelines on the website, and Accedia helped us with their implementation. They revised the code to make it more standard and to allow retailers to place orders and make payments through the applications. Key technologies of the web app included .NET coupled with a plug-in from Progress Software. The device app utilized NativeScript with Angular and TypeScript. 

Accedia is currently helping us move our applications to a new data center and some of our websites to Azure DevOps. They’re assisting with testing and reviewing in a support role.  

What is the team composition?

On the initial project, we worked with a project manager, a team of two senior developers, and one person from their graphic design team. 

How did you come to work with Accedia?

They were a recommendation from a partner that we were working with. We selected them because they were familiar with the software. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $500,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019, and the rollout for customers to the web and device applications was completed in June 2022. We continue to work with them in a support role.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We can’t put a number to it, but there are security benefits because we were able to move to newer hardware and software environments that made everything more secure. The solution is also faster, and the UX is far better than what we initially had. 

How did Accedia perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s a very collaborative experience. We communicate with Microsoft Teams and emails and use AzureDevOps for project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have high technical expertise relative to cost. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could incorporate some automated testing to reduce the QA rework cycles. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They provide good quality work for a good price point.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a railway engineering company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accedia?

We needed someone to build digital products and services for our customers and us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Accedia provides custom software development from scratch, including backend infrastructure and web apps. Based on our requirements and documentation briefs, they’re currently building a platform to manage our machines and operators, view data, configure motors, and learn how we can streamline our performance. In terms of technologies, they’re using technologies like Microsoft Azure, .NET, and React.

In addition, they’re providing us with external development resources to support our engineering team, do project management, and deploy optimum and smooth development work for our customers.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 10–15 members of their team

How did you come to work with Accedia?

An acquaintance of mine had a good experience with them, so we decided to try them out. We chose them because they quickly deployed a plan for our project.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we’ve spent around €700,000 (approximately $735,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Accedia’s team is constantly finding ways to have a better process and give us input on how we can improve the product they’re managing for us, which is important for every service provider — we trust them, and they’re part of our ongoing success. In addition, they’re smooth and smart in solving any issue that arises.

How did Accedia perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a remote collaboration, they meet deadlines, and they lead an agile and flexible process according to our needs. Regarding tools, we use Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re straightforward and interesting, which makes them stand out from other providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think they can improve anything because they commit to taking care of our software, making them great service providers.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be communicative and give them a chance to know you as a business so you can work together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and CEO of Open Applications Group (OAGi), a nonprofit industry association that develops standards for interoperability across industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accedia?

We hired them to help us with application design and architecture, deployment architecture, and application management.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Accedia guided us in building a browser-based desktop application, from everything that went into design and development advice to deployment in production. Our team conceived of the application and its requirements and did most of the development work, and Accedia took a coaching and consulting role. We would explain our approach, and the team would review it and make comments. Then, we'd do a bit of development and run it by them. They also did development work on some features of the application.  

We used Microsoft's stack, including C#, Blazor as a web assembly technology, and SQL server in Microsoft Azure, where we also deployed the app. Neo4j was our graph database, both local and cloud versions, and Auth0 was our authentication and authorization tool. We used GitHub for source control and Microsoft DevOps for our continuous integration and continuous deployment pipeline to push the application through to production. 

The app's core features and functionalities revolve around documenting standards around the world, technologies present and emerging, standards industry organizations, and companies involved in standards development. Our data also includes how standards relate to one another, how they relate to technologies, and how all of these things relate to the UN's sustainable development goals. 

When developers or IT departments approach an integration project, they ask questions about technology options, standards out there, and which standards are actively maintained. The app's purpose is to help record such information, support various queries, and produce useful reports to answer developers' questions. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account manager, a primary consultant, and another teammate who did some development work. I also met with Accedia's upper management once or twice. 

How did you come to work with Accedia?

We found them through a referral by a company that makes a software control suite for many different platforms, including Blazor, which we were using. Since we were using the control suite, I reached out to the provider and asked for recommendations for a service provider to assist us in implementing their control suite. They connected us with Accedia, and it was soon apparent that their expertise was much greater than just the control suite, so we decided to use them for consulting. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $70,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from November 2020–August 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we’re a nonprofit organization, we don’t have any metrics related to ROI. The measure of Accedia’s success was based on our need for the application; at the end of the engagement, we had the app that met all the requirements. As a result, we can now do exactly what we set out to do and produce the reports we need. The project went so well that we’ve just signed an agreement with Accedia to start another project. 

How did Accedia perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great at project management. Their cost and time estimates were reasonable, and they nailed them. They met every estimate regarding the start date, end date, total number of hours, and time and materials — it was amazing. 

We used GitHub for project management and Confluence for some documentation. Since it was a small enough project and team, it was easy to keep track of everything with those tools only. We used email for communication and met regularly using Microsoft Teams, where we would discuss the project and share screens. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with how clear and confident Accedia was about their expertise — they never overstated anything. They were really clear when they had the expertise for something, when they didn’t, and when they could figure things out. Their directness and accurate self-assessment of their skills were outstanding. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing they needed to improve comes to mind. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The same thing I appreciated from Accedia, they appreciated from us, which was being really clear about the requirements and where they might be a bit fuzzy. Since we engaged them for consulting, it was perfectly okay to be unclear on some requirements. 

I’d also advise clarifying what’s possible with respect to payment terms. Accedia has parameters for building products, but they’re willing to be flexible. Therefore, give them a clear idea of your cash flow requirements.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of dotConnect, a startup company that provides digital banking services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accedia?

We were trying to get skilled resources to make them part of our team to assist with part of the development of our software product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Accedia provided us with UI/UX design and development resources that helped us deliver our custom SaaS product, which we sell to our clients on a subscription basis. The team helped us with R&D, improving the product, adding new features, and building custom software based on our clients’ needs. 

For our first project, they helped us after we went live with two of our clients, and we needed to build two specific features for open banking. They also helped develop a chatbot with AI technology. As for technologies, they used C#, .NET, Microsoft Azure, and the Angular framework.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account coordinator and a technical manager from Accedia. They provided a UI/UX designer and a C# backend developer; one of the teammates stayed with us for six months, and the other stayed for 14 months. 

How did you come to work with Accedia?

One of my friends was working at a bank as a project manager, and that bank was using Accedia. My friend got me in contact with them, and that’s how our relationship started. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €150,000–€200,000 (approximately $148,000–$197,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from September 2020–August 2022. Currently, they provide resources for a different project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our main metric was the delivery of our open banking integration; that wasn’t an easy project, and having Accedia working on it was a big achievement. They also played a fundamental role in the development of the chatbot. 

I had previously worked with another offshore company, and although their services were much cheaper, Accedia was better; their resources were much more talented and exceeded my expectations, so I moved my operations from that company to Accedia. 

How did Accedia perform from a project management standpoint?

We managed the project ourselves. As for communication, we had Microsoft Teams meetings every two weeks with the technical manager, designer, and developer to review progress, feedback, and challenges. The designer and developers had their own discussions with the technical manager and the rest of the Accedia team, which I liked.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The two resources Accedia provided were really good. Since they had a skilled and talented team, they could approach each other to get more experience. We weren’t just getting the resources we were paying for; behind them, they had a talented group they had access to. Although I don’t know if we were lucky or if that’s the kind of resources they always have, we’re still engaging with them and willing to find out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although this wasn’t an error on their part, we discussed the way we made payments with them. We get paid when we deliver our part of the project every 3–5 months. Meanwhile, we had to make monthly payments to Accedia, which could cause an issue with our cash flow. The team was accommodating to an extent when we had invoice delays. However, since we’ll continue to work with them, we want to try to match our payment frequency with when we get paid to avoid cash flow problems.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Sun Technosystems is a South African software development company, founded in Sandton, Africa, that specializes in software development and consulting services. The company also provides business facilitation services for large enterprise clients on the local market. Its portfolio consists of leading international Financial,Telecommunication, Information Technology, Marketing, Media, and Advertisement organizations.

The Managing Director of the company, my role is to facilitate the relationships between our subcontractors and business clients. This means that I help both parties achieve quality communication, unmatched service offerings, and on-time release of developed solutions. In addition, I consult our business partners and clients on the best approach to reach their goals and grow their organizations further.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We and Accedia partnered around the common goal to deliver quality offshore software development services and resources. As a company with experience in facilitating business relationships for our local clients, we aim to assure the best outsourcing services and the best communication that are not deterred by the large distances. Since the beginning of our partnership, Accedia and we have collaborated on projects for different businesses in various industries. One of them is a leading financial institution in South Africa. Accedia has executed many projects for them, mainly in the spheres of enterprise application development and IT consulting services.

In general, Accedia has contributed to the successful implementation of both internal business and external customer-facing applications for our business partners on a group, department, and subsidiary levels. Our goals were and still are to allocate the best software development service providers that can support our clients in delivering immersive user experiences for business and end clients on the territory of South Africa. Thus, we are constantly on the lookout for technology partners that have expertise with the latest technologies and experience from particular industries.

Accedia’s track record of successful projects with global clients from manufacturing, finance, and energy, among others, has made them the perfect choice. I can honestly say that we have lucked out by having them as our partners and thanks to their dedication and professionalism, we have continuously reached and surpassed business objectives.

SOLUTION

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

We facilitate business relationships with carefully selected international service providers on behalf of our clients. Accedia had the highest success rate, previous experience with local businesses, offerings flexibility, and ability to respond on time to changing circumstances. Thus, some of our clients, picked them as a provider of choice and us as the company that can represent said provider on the local market.

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

Our team is collaborating with Acccedia on multiple projects that require different technology expertise, industry know-how, and have different durations. Thanks to our facilitation efforts and the great professionalism that Accedia showed, our clients received the support they needed to deliver innovative solutions. Currently, Accedia is engaged in multiple development projects through which the leading financial institution will be able to provide superb financial services to its end and business clients. Some of the projects involved the implementation of cutting-edge web applications with a Microsoft .NET stack of technologies. Their end goal is to optimize the contribution and investment processes. The platforms not only make them more efficient but also more flexible. The solutions save time and effort for users and enable them complete freedom in managing their finances, as well as a detailed forecast of their future investments and expenses.

Accedia is also engaged in the development of an innovative web portal that offers a responsive user-friendly channel through which users can access their whole financial data and projections for the years to come. The platform includes many stand-alone applications that are also integrated with the mobile application, allowing users on-the-go access to their financial data, comprehensive reports, and recommendations for efficient management of future expenses. In the course of our collaboration, Accedia has continuously demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft .NET framework, web technologies such as ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET Web API, collaboration solutions (Microsoft SharePoint and Dynamics 365), data analytics (Microsoft SSRS, Microsoft SSIS, Microsoft SQL Server) and the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.

The company has proved to be an invaluable partner to our business clients with their Microsoft technology expertise and professional approach. The consultants at Accedia have supported and continue to deliver quality user experiences for our partners through the successful integration of enterprise knowledge, the latest data security standards, and cutting-edge technology frameworks.

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

Our usual setup includes designated Project managers (PM) who facilitate the relationship between our end client and the subcontractor they have hired through us. When working with Accedia, we also apply the same practice and so far it has worked well for all sides. The PMs on both sides – ours and Accedia’s establish a communication channel that delivers feedback quickly and efficiently.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Accedia’s commitment, expertise, and professional attitude have helped our partners in developing strong business and client-facing innovative solutions that offer quality services and address properly day-to-day user needs. As a clear indicator of success, I can offer the request of one of our biggest clients to continue the collaboration with Accedia and their preference to use this partner on bigger and more complex projects. The track record of successfully executed projects further confirms their value as our partner and provider of choice for our clients.

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

We sustained multiple communication channels to cover day-to-day questions and feedback pertaining to general objectives, projects-specific, and relationship-wise matters with Accedia. Thanks to the different means of collaborations and a dedicated PM on each side, I can say that we are upholding good workflow dynamics and so far have managed to deliver all solutions on time.

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

Accedia stood out with their dedication, professionalism, and agility to start immediately, undertake short-term engagements, and scale team up and down depending on our client’s business needs. Accedia has gone above and beyond to support all our clients in delivering innovative solutions for the local market. Thus, not only do they offer unmatched by local partners' development services, but also show an ability to stay flexible to our client’s changing requirements.

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

Throughout our collaboration, Accedia has delivered on its promise of quality services. They exceed our expectations, keep us informed of any changes, and are an essential part of the teams of our clients despite the distance, the cultural differences, and the work ethics. Currently, I am not aware of any areas for improvement that need to be addressed. On the contrary, I can confirm that they have quickly adapted their own team to the new “remote-only” way of communication and this has had no impact on our collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

MobiSystems has been a leading provider of mobile productivity and business applications for over 19 years. Our solutions extend the usability of mobile devices across platforms, allowing for enhanced desktop-grade productivity regardless of location.

The company’s portfolio of products which includes OfficeSuite, File Commander, Oxford Dictionary of Englishe, Aqua Mail, Talk & Translate, among others, has realized over 500 million individual and enterprise installs in 195 countries.

Our OfficeSuite flagship app has been named Google Play Editor's Choice, and been ranked as the top app in the business category with over 1million reviews. OfficeSuite has also received PC Magazine's Editor's Choice and InfoWorld's Best Office App awards for Android. MobiSystems was founded in 2001 and is entirely privately held.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Accedia?

One of our products - a mobile app that lets publishers monetize on their e-book portfolio, has been developed in partnership with Accedia, who supported us with iOS expertise which was scarce at the time.

What were your goals for this project?

We set to deliver a native experience to readers with access to user-generated books free of charge and the ability to read straight on-the-go. Accedia’s focus on usability and achieving a polished experience provided value that supported our goal and quickly resulted in positive user reviews.

SOLUTION

How did you select Accedia?

We had already been acquainted with the leadership at Accedia and decided to explore their capabilities alongside other companies from Bulgaria. We needed a company large enough to provide a consistently high quality of services but also flexible enough to match our own fast growth.

What also weighed in on the decision, was the fact that we could use this collaboration as a ground for transferring iOS development skills to our own team, equipping us to maintain the product on our own.

Describe the project in detail.

The project covered end-to-end implementation of the native iOS application. The core work revolved around the development of several features. This included the option for readers to download and import book files from external publishers, supporting a few digital formats.

Another key differentiator was creating a personal account for the benefit of maintaining of a collection of favorite reads. The mobile solution was further integrated with the book resources database for easy management of our readers’ personal libraries through an intuitive interface.

We entrusted Accedia with the entire iOS part of the work, yet they still worked in collaboration with Android development on our side, which worked out quite smoothly.

Throughout the whole project, the team at Accedia spent a significant amount of time working with our product management team, to stay in line with evolving requirements and newly acquired user knowledge.

We followed Scrum with daily standups for the dev team and bi-weekly progress demos followed by planning. Those sessions engaged our project and product teams with management stakeholders, which provided timely feedback that the development could use as input at every iteration.

What was the team composition?

We started with 1 and continually grew the team to 3 iOS engineers from Accedia, all of them quite experienced and knowledgeable, which resulted into crucial knowledge transfer to our team. The design, web & backend development, and QA we did ourselves.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

To date, the app has been downloaded over 60 000 times on iOS. Further, thanks to their progress with complex ad platform integrations, the team of Accedia left a firm base for monetization – publishers are now able to earn money based on ad revenue and subscriptions.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We used multiple communication channels to cover day-to-day questions and feedback as well as general matters, project- and relationship-wise. We were positively surprised by their open attitude towards challenges, they also came forward with ideas on how to optimize the implementation of certain features than what was originally envisioned.

The technical project lead they assigned was a game-changer – this streamlined communication for non-trivial matters and made us rest assured that our objectives were communicated and understood by the entire team at Accedia, working with us.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their team stood out with their product-oriented mindset – they took the idea and helped us elevate it for a successful Go-To-Market. On top of the intuitive interactions on the frontline, the team at Accedia made sure to secure solid app performance by building a clean iOS architecture and introducing CI (Continuous Integration).

Thus, the app was set to function seamlessly as data and user base grow, as well as to accommodate more features over time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They did an outstanding job, even completing planned work ahead of schedule, which left us room for perfecting the details. One thing that I know they are working on is smoothing out transitions so when new team members are introduced, work continues with as little as possible disruption.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the President of the Bulgarian Organization of Voluntary Blood Donation (FB: БОДК / BOVBD) - a Nonprofit Organization, devoted to promoting voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation in Bulgaria and raising awareness about the issues of lack of blood and blood products, which are needed every day in Bulgaria

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Accedia?

We didn’t hire Accedia – they offered us their voluntary help. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, the number of blood donors in Bulgaria plummeted by more than 30%, which caused significant problems.

From 2013 until the end of 2019 our organization was using a mobile application, available only for iOS devices, which was a part of our Donate blood project for providing help and encouraging voluntary blood donation.

Accedia contacted us in April 2020, offered their help and we began to work jointly on the entirely new mobile app that we needed.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to create a completely new application, covering both iOS and Android devices, with a modern design and adequate functionalities, which would allow people in need of blood (for themselves or others) to register a call for help, and also for volunteers to register as potential donors that could be contacted by us in case of need.

An important part was that it would have an administrative section for our team, allowing us to obtain immediately all the necessary information for each and every call for help and efficiently search for, find and notify potential donors, send them relevant information and finally communicate the donation to the person in need.

SOLUTION

How did you select Accedia?

In fact, we were approached by Accedia at the beginning of April, following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Bulgaria. They have found out about our old app and noticed the problems we were having and offered to develop a new one as a part of their pro-bono efforts to help.

The partnership started from there and developed throughout the project.

Describe the project in detail.

Through several meetings with team members from Accedia, we were able to explain and convey to the team what the necessities of the Organization with regards to the app were, what functions were essential, which of them could be automated and which - not and how the system needed to perform.

A basic timeline for the project was established, and work proceeded, with scheduled meetings with various team members on a regular basis, in order to complete separate stages of development.

Accedia team members sent inquiries about certain issues and functionalities, which our team had to review and complete, in order to best explain the necessities of the app and how it should function.

Several meetings were held so that stages of the project could be presented and commented, and various adaptations and amendments resulting from those were also completed.

The final version was also presented interactively so that functionalities could be tested and the app was uploaded and launched in the end of June 2020.

What was the team composition?

Accedia devoted a team lead and several developers, plus a design specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Within 5 months after our new app was launched, it has been downloaded over 1200 times. We have over 400 new registered voluntary blood donors. We have also received over 150 calls for urgent help through the app and managed to successfully assist in over 90% of them.

This is even more important and impressive, given the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely reduced the number of voluntary blood donors and has significantly increased the need for blood donation in Bulgaria.

The new app was presented by us in different TV, radio and online broadcasts and was rated highly by both the media and the people.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was effective. The team at Accedia quickly realized that the project was different from what they anticipated, but did not back down, listened to our requirements and our feedback and tried to comply with our needs as best as they could. Meetings were held regularly and our remarks and feedback were taken promptly into account.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

First of all, it was the willingness to commit resources and effort to help out a Nonprofit organization, especially at a time when many companies were encountering difficulties in their own work.

Further, they showed a good understanding of our needs and did not back out of the project when obstacles were encountered or when they found out that it was different from their expectations and predictions, unlike other companies we have worked with before.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always room for improvement. Communication can be even more efficient, a planning stage might be more detailed in order to make sure that fewer issues appear further into the project, especially given the fact that a professional team is communicating with a Nonprofit team which lacks knowledge in the tech field.

From a design standpoint, it is also possible to be better. We believe that Accedia would keep their ongoing technical support and updating of the app, fixing issues that turn out during its use and adding new features that would become necessary in our day-to-day work.