Ackee

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO at Košík.cz and CIO of MallGroup in Czech republic. Košík.cz has more than 400 employees. We are number two company in online retail with foods, drinks, drugstore and many others.

We have more than 16 000 articles that you know from your grocery store. I am responsible for the agile development of the whole B2B and B2C platform that support business needs.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ackee?

We hired Ackee as a strong partner for the developing native mobile application for Android and iOS. We do not have any in-house mobile developers so because of the Ackee we are able to have a competitive mobile app and we still have time to focus on our core platform solution.

What were your goals for this project?

We know that in the modern world we must have a mobile app for our business to be successful. We started with web site application and goal of this project was to develop mobile app and provide our customers an easier way to order our goods.

How did you select this vendor?

We have selected Ackee based on their reputation on the czech market. We had a presentation from top three companies from Czech republic about concept of the app and Ackee won that tender based on their presentation/references and many others, it was a perfect fit.

Describe the project in detail.

At the beginning we had a series of meetings about face of the company, how feeling should user have from this app. We also filled Ackees design brief. We had limited time to provide first MVP version so it was more waterfall than agile access. Ackee made clickable prototype and then UI design.

During the development of app Ackee was also responsible for consultations of mobile first API design. During the last month of the development we merge testing teams on both sides to make sure everything is ready and we have a product in good quality for our customers.

What was the team composition?

Košík.cz provided API developers, testers and marketing team for the consultations. Ackee provided 1 PM, 1 UX, 1UI, 2 Android, 2 iOS developers and 1 QA. We worked as a team with recurring meetings every week.

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

We have another two channels how to reach our customers. We don’t need to pay so much attention to our mobile website solution. We saw that our customers are using different platforms (website/mobile app) during different times of the day. Day also combine both options for single order. We support all major platform as our competitors do.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We used JIRA for development and MS teams for instant messaging. Ackee assigned for the project highly skilled project manager with a good technical knowledge so we were able to communicate with him almost all the details of the project. All other team members was also professionals, project went really well!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I appreciate their passion for their work and commitment to delivering the best product possible in a limited timeframe.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don’t think so, nothing special to be pointed out in this sense. We cooperate on the product also after the MVP phase. We are working in the rapid release cycles and iterative improvements of the app. We are releasing at least one version per month.

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Association of Czech Film Clubs is a film distribution company and film events organizer. The Summer Film School Uherské Hradiště is the largest event of the year for us. My role is a Marketing Director for the Summer Film School.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ackee?

We hired Ackee to develop an event app for the film festival. We needed a ready made solution for Android and iOS that could be connected with our own administration system.

How did you select this vendor?

We already have worked with Ackee in the past. As the cooperation has always been very smooth and without any problems, we decided to ask them again to develop the app for us.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Design, development, firebase service, automatic debugging, statistics, automatic data import, design templates to use on social media. The essential part of the development was to set up a working API to automatically import data from our own administration system.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of 1 developer for each platform, backend developer, frontend developer, UX designer and account manager.

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

We were very satisfied with the outcome. The feedback from the audience was positive, the number of downloads met our expectations and the app store ratings are high.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There were basically two Ackee employees in contact with us. There was one account manager who negotiated the deal and one supervising developer who communicated with us all the technical details. We found it efficient enough to understand the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are always willing to find the best solution possible. Even though we came across some technical difficulties, they were able to solve them very quickly and efficiently.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

The project was rather small so there were no major mistakes to mention.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I´m a co-founder and CEO of AIMS API a music similarity search engine based on ML/AI.

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

We needed to come up with a high standard, informative microsite. The objective was to ensure that our product would be understandable for everyone visiting the website. That was the main challenge for the Ackee designer. The timing was tight and it was important to us to release the new website as soon as possible.

How did you select Ackee and what were the deciding factors?

They were recommended to us by our business partner. Their high level of expertise met our expectations.

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

They collected a detailed briefing from us, asking about all functionality requirements and needs. Then they presented various prototypes. After several feedback cycles, they coded and designed the website. Also, the designer created original illustrations and infographics.

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

As the project was a rather small scale, the team only consisted of a project manager, designer and web developer.

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

The website captures our product very well. The result met our expectations in every way. We have positive feedback from our current customers and the website is very informative for new customers too.

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

Given the COVID situation, we only cooperated remotely. Ackee team was highly responsive and they met every deadline with quality outcomes.

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

They are real professionals. They managed to explain everything to us in a very constructive manner and a way we understood. We even changed our opinion on several things as we trusted Ackee knows the best for us.

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

There might have been some minor mistakes during the process, but they were always fixed swiftly.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was hired by company which organizing conferences. In this project I worked as a project coordinator.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ackee?

We were seeking a sub supplier of a mobile application for the event of a lung cancer conference. We did research several solutions and we eventually decided to cooperate with Ackee.

What were your goals for this project?

Our objective was to help to navigate the visitors during the whole conference. To have in one place a large amount of information about the event and to have a tool to communicate with visitors directly. The conference covers a complex range of topics and program inputs so we needed a smart solution to manage the program.

How did you select Ackee?

We contacted them directly and asked about how their solution works. We found the offer very satisfying and reasonably priced, so we decided to use their services.

Describe the project in detail.

Ackee provided a white-label product with design customization for both iOS and Android. The solution is ready-made with basic functionality, so it was very easy for us to understand the development process. We were able to administrate the content through Airtable and Firebase. They then tested the application and provided support with administration.

What was the team composition?

There was one developer for each platform, one frontend developer, one tester and account manager.

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

Although the event must have been organized fully remotely according to the current regulations, we were very happy to have the app to help visitors navigate through the online program. We found it very helpful to have the possibility to send push notifications with up-to-date information about the event.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We were in touch via email and phone exclusively with the Account Manager who informed us about the progress of the project. We appreciated the smooth run of the development process and flawless communication from their side.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their approach is absolutely professional yet still very personal. They ensured that we understood every step of the process and that we were very well informed.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The size of the project was rather small so there is nothing specific to be pointed out as everything went smoothly.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am medical doctor in Emergency medical service in Prague. Our company has about 600 employees.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ackee?

The idea behind the app is to provide all medical staff with accurate information about what to do in various emergencies. The doctors, nurses and other employees in healthcare are often specialized in one specific area and are not able to immediately help a patient with different urgent or even life threatening health issues.

Thanks to the app, they should be ready to provide accurate help in everyday life, in the hospital and during mass disasters too.

What were your goals for this project?

The overall goal is to provide anyone experiencing a sudden medical emergency, an informed and immediate help. To minimize the risk of misdiagnosis.

How did you select Ackee?

This project is empowered by a group of doctors from the 3rd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University. We did research various IT companies. Eventually, we decided to cooperate with Ackee as they offered a high quality service for a reasonable price. We even got the feeling that Ackee approaches the project as it is the right thing to do.

Describe the project in detail.

The greatest challenge for the developers was to integrate the algorithms and data structure. They came up with a clear data structure using Airtable, which for us is an easy-to-use solution. Then designed, developed and tested mobile application for both platforms.

What was the team composition?

One developer for each platform, tester, designer and project manager.

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

We are now testing the first version of the app in an actual environment of a local hospital. As far as we have the first outcomes of the testing, the medical staff is very well informed about how and when to use the app and that they successfully use it on a regular basis.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They adopted our communication system which is very different from their usual coworking software. They used a waterfall approach to manage the project and they introduced the most effective solution with a rather small budget.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are absolute professionals in what they do. We loved every proposal they have come up with. Also, we find it very impressive that they were able to get to understand the medical terminology and to adjust the data structure to it.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing specific to be noted here.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Launch manager responsible for launching product in given countries. I am responsible for overall delivery and setting up the operations.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ackee?

We were seeking a partner to extend our developer team. Originally we wanted Ackee to create a separate team but we were that happy with the cooperation that we invited them to complete our internal base. As the cooperation continued, we have trusted Ackee with another internal project - an app for fleet management.

What were your goals for this project?

We expected the developers from Ackee to help the internal team to fulfill their objectives and deadlines. It was essential for us that they get along and start delivering as fast as possible.

How did you select Ackee?

We contacted Ackee through ŠKODA Auto DigiLab. There was a standard competition of 3 different companies including Ackee. We made the right decision, they were simply the best choice.

Describe the project in detail.

They provided developers for iOS, Android, backend, frontend and devops. There was even a part of the project where we cooperated with one copywriter from Ackee to translate the app to Czech language.

What was the team composition?

At the start of the cooperation, there were 3 developers. As we continued with the project, the team had grown to 9 members. The composition of the team had been changing according to the current needs of the project.

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

The progress of the internal project we hired Ackee for was exceptionally fast. Their effectiveness was really impressive.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They joined and adapted our internal workflow systems which are different from theirs. We communicated via Slack. The developers had been coming to our Berlin and Leipzig offices every two to three weeks for sprint plannings. However, most of the cooperation had been running remotely.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were surprised to see such fast progress when the Ackee developers joined our team. It was clear to us that the team was happy to work on our project and that they were giving it their max.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing to add here, we were really satisfied.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are number one online advertising company in Czech and Slovak Republic. I'm the founder, owner and managing director. I'm also responsible for the product management of the website.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ackee?

We hired Ackee for mobile app development - Android, iOS. We manage our website development internally and Ackee is the only one contractor we cooperate with. As our users are very conservative and don't like change, we needed an evolution more than a game changer.

What were your goals for this project?

Our users have started to visit our website via mobile phones more. We wanted to be ahead of our competitors and to offer our users flawless experience on their mobile devices. Also, by moving to this platform, we wanted to add new payment methods.

How did you select this vendor?

We looked at the biggest apps in Czech republic and who made them. Apps from Ackee was great. After that we have tried to find some web references.

Describe the project in detail.

Complete solution for mobile devices. Android and iOS mobile application. UX/UI optimization for mobile devices, technical solution. We also needed analytics based approach to UI adjustments in order to maximize income from paid services.

What was the team composition?

There is project manager assigned for us, then developers, designers, testers. About 5-7 people constantly working on the project. It depends on particular scope at the moment.

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

At this moment, we have 500.000 active Android users and 100.000 active iOS users. In the last 30 days, there were 409.000 unique active users of the mobile app. The app is very well ranked in stores, about 4.65 stars.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our single point of contact is the Project Manager. We cooperate mostly remotely, as our companies are based in different cities. We use ticketing system in Redmine. At the start of the project, we were directly in touch with the developers, but it's not needed anymore.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We really appreciate their genuine interest in the app. They are sympathetic and they understand our specific customers. They take care of the customers, answer rankings in stores and they take customer needs into account.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an online marketing agency. We work for dozens of clients from various innovative industries. Our creative and performance teams consist of 15 people plus specialised project collaborators. I'm a founding partner of the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ackee?

We need to maintain our internal and client security passwords on daily basis. We had struggled with password management. Originally, we had used a Google spreadsheet. As our company grew, we had concerns about security and also wanted to limit the access to certain passwords.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to have a tailor-made solution so we could integrate it further into our CRM. We wanted also to store all data in our cloud infrastructure. For us it was important to have a web app that would be usable across devices.

How did you select this vendor?

We already had good experience with Ackee from previous projects. We were satisfied with their work so we asked them again to cooperate.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Ackee has developed a progressive web application (PWA) that stores our company and clients’ credentials. The app runs in our cloud infrastructure. Ackee had created the design, frontend implementation, and backend implementation. They also helped us with data migration from our existing Google sheets into the new application. They maintain the application remotely.

What was the team composition?

We were in contact with their project manager, the rest was managed internally by Ackee.

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

We have switched to this web app internally and also for all our clients. We can't imagine to manage passwords any other way now.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We appreciate the project manager proxy Marek who was always available to us.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The delivery was really fast, price-effective, and on a very high UX/UI level. We didn’t need to push them to redraw some of the graphics as we liked it at first sight. It was obvious to us that they had spent plenty of time on the design even before they approached us with the solution.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It was quite a small project so but I believe if the project was larger we would need to do more iterations. This was about the limit of a fixed price and scope delivery.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Zonky is unique online peer to peer service that connects people who want the most convenient loan on the market with people who want to smartly evaluate their savings. My role is Sales & Rollout Director.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ackee?

We felt that the desktop version of Zonky needed to be completed with mobile app solution. We needed to take a step forward and enable our customers to lend money and invest via their mobile devices. We hired Ackee to deliver a mobile app for iOS and Android. The main challenge was onboarding. There is many personal data that needs to be collected including uploading ID.

What were your goals for this project?

Higher daily active usage, monthly usage and increased user experience for our investors and borrowers.

How did you select this vendor?

We selected four agencies and invited them to a nonpublic tender. Then we chose Ackee as the best option. We were impressed by their know-how and design proposal. Their collaborative spirit was also very important for us.

Describe the project in detail.

Analysis, design and development of mobile app for iOS and Android. One of the biggest challenges was users interface. The app contains more than 250 screens, many investment options, loan overviews and lots of information. To test the solution properly, Ackee used interactive prototype of investing.

What was the team composition?

2 iOS developers, 2 Android developers, 1 UX designer, 1 designer, 1 Project manager, 1 tester. Ackee continued supervising the app after finishing the development according to our testing.

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

Perfect communication, application launched in time and budget. You will appreciate them, and their friendly team is full of great ideas. If you need more informations, feel free to contact me.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our inhouse developers were collaborating with Ackee directly in their offices. We also used dedicated Slack channel to communicate everything about the project. We appreciated their sense for meeting deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were able to release first ready-to-use app very quickly while maintaining quality. We launched first part of the app only 2 months after the kick-off workshop.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't think so. I have noticed a standard rivalry between an internal development team and an external, but understand ... developers

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of the company InMeteo s.r.o. We are Czech, family-owned company with a focus on advanced weather forecasting. We provide weather information for newspapers, TV channels, travel agencies, and for various industries too. In general, we collect data and provide advanced weather analysis.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ackee?

We wanted to make our forecasts more approachable for wider group of users. To create an app where not only located weather forecast is available but where you can actually see the weather on a map. We had our own iOS team, but we were willing to outsource Android development as we found it more effective and faster solution.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal is to build the best weather app worldwide.

How did you select this vendor?

We asked our friends to recommends us company for mobile app development. After initial meeting with Ackee we have known that Ackee is the best choice.

Describe the project in detail.

In the beginning, we had a series of meetings about what we want to achieve with this and what feeling should the user have from it. Then they developed, configured, and launched the Android version of the app. During the process, the communication channels were open on both sides to discuss the functionality of the app and how it works.

What was the team composition?

At the beginning of the cooperation, there were 2 Android developers and 1 Project manager. As the project went further, the team was completed with 2 more Android developers, 1 iOS developer, 1 tester and 1 designer.

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

The app has a million downloads currently and the number of active users is constantly growing. There is a lot of weather apps for Android, but our app is unique and therefore it is able to succeed in such a strong competitive environment.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

During the project, we found the communication with Ackee highly effective. We used dedicated Slack channels and Redmine to assign the tasks. Ackee always responded very quickly and on point. They also regularly asked for feedback to make the cooperation even smoother.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are highly dedicated to their work and are always looking for the best solutions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I would say that there is always something to improve in every area of man's doing. However, we were very satisfied with Ackee's contribution and they always responded to our feedback with improvement.