Akhter Studios

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

High-tech product development for automotive and smart mobility. CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have entrusted Akhter Studio with several projects and this is a review for one of them. The goal of the project was to finalize a mobile application and demonstrate the functionality of the app to a new customer.

SOLUTION

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

We were looking to partner up with an IT company that would provide us with and expertise on frontend and mobile technologies we use in our projects. The criteria we set were project implementation time, successfully completed projects in the past, and cost-efficiency.

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

Initially, it was necessary to audit two mobile applications that Thea provides to clients. Since the goal of the project was a demonstration, we had to choose between Android and iOS. We settled on iOS as the clients mostly had iPhones. Our designer provided the Studio with the concept of the mobile application.

Then the Studio audited the existing application and sent us a redesigned version of the app with the list of tasks that needed to be fixed by our backend team.

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

There were 2 people from Akhter Studio involved in the project. An iOS developer was responsible for the frontend development of the app and a project manager coordinated the work between us and the Studio.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work was completed on time. We were able to demonstrate the product and received positive feedback from our clients.

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

The project manager was very attentive to the tight deadlines and directed communication between our team and the developer with efficiency that allowed for a smooth operation. They also reported to us on the intermediate results and updated us on the status of the work progress.

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

Akhter Studio impressed us with their attentiveness, thoughtful approach and their maximum involvement in the project.

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

We are fully satisfied with Akhter Studio's work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a CEO at Yvision. Yvision(Your Vision) is a communicational centre of Kazakh internet and a main discussion board of the country. Being the largest blog portal in Central Asia, Yvision offers its users a social service of keeping an online journal free of charge. Yvision consists of a blogging platform, online TV streaming services and special content projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

With a rapid growth market of smartphone users our business was in dire need of a mobile application to stay on top of the game. Our goals were to appeal to the market of smartphone users and re-engage our past users with our blogposting services.

SOLUTION

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

We saw a very cute digital Valentine's day cards generator on one of the social networks made for Pandora and contacted the studio. To say that we were pleasantly surprised when we learned how long it took Akhter studio to create the project is to say nothing. We were impressed how such a quality product was completed in such a short term. The implementation time and the quality were the deciding factors for us and we have made the right call when we chose the studio.

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

We came to Akhter Studio with our backend and 3 requirements for a mobile application: 1 works well on Android and iOS 2 easy to maintain 3 flexible to backend changes However, the Studio team applied their expertise and research of similar products and offered us a solution that exceeded all our expectations.

They created a Customer Journey Map that followed principles of the intuitive and easy-to-use design, designed a neat interface and delivered an application proven to be much better than the blogposting analogs on the market. Technology used for the app development is Flutter, so it checked out all our requirements as well.

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

4 people worked on this project. Product owner, mobile software developer, QA engineer and UI/UX designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Akhter studio has delilvered the product very quickly and we have already tested the app on our loyal customers. They worked so fast that sometimes we could not keep up with the material supply. They are great at giving feedback. They helped us with the app submition to App Store and Google Play.

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

Studio uses Agile software development style. They showed us intermediate results after each sprint. Communication with the Studio was through Telegram, Google Meets, Notion and occasional meetings at the office.

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

During our negotiations with the studio we suggested the project to be completed in 60 days. Studio assured us that it can be done in 45 days, cutting down the time for completion by 25%. Looking at their previous work - vday cards generator we decided to trust them and we made the right choice. They completed the project in 45 days, and it was beyond what we asked We admire Akhers Studio's product approach to the task.

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

We absolutely loved Studio's approach and we are delighted to continue working with them. We have assigned our next project on our website improvements to the studio and have become their permanent customer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a digital manager at Pandora, a jewelry company. I work with subcontractors to do campaigns on Google, Yandex, Facebook, Instagram, and other digital channels. Our company also runs commercial banners, videos, and search and shopping ads.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Akhter Studio?

Our business wanted to increase their client interaction, and we got the idea to make a promotional landing page.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we gave Akhter Studio our project’s specifications, and they gave us a list of what they needed from us. We had two initial calls, one with their owner, and another one between our IT group and their development team. 

The team created a landing page for our Valentine’s Day promotion. The site allowed customers to upload photos and generate greeting cards with them. They worked on front- and backend development and were responsible for the UI/UX design — for which they sent samples for us to approve. 

Our in-house team was in charge of doing graphics, and we used another service provider for our main website. 

What is the team composition?

We had a UI/UX designer and two programmers. The owner handled all the documentation.

How did you come to work with Akhter Studio?

Our company had worked with another agency before Akhter Studio, but the design was truly underwhelming. We needed to find a new subcontractor in time to launch our promo. I knew Akhter Studio’s owner and asked him for a recommendation, and he told me they could help.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started in February 2021. The project took one week to be finished.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our company had a good ROI from our Valentine’s Day promotion. We got more conversions than when we used influencer marketing campaigns. We were very happy with the landing page, and we’ll probably work with Akhter Studio again.

How did Akhter Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We were connected 24/7 and communicated through email and a Messenger group. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They worked very fast. Our previous agency gave us a one-month deadline, but Akhter Studio's team made all the work in just a few days. They delivered the final product early, which gave us time to test the page internally.

They were more cost-effective than our previous subcontractor and an excellent choice in the Kazakh market in terms of price and quality. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything was good. They gave us suggestions and did everything with our approval.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’d advise them to know clearly what they want, and then have a talk with the team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of AI of UMAY Labs LLP

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

our company develops IT products. The main direction is a marketplace connected with Kazakhstan and China, which will allow small businesses to order goods from China with a minimum margin, the second direction is the development of artificial intelligence. The AIKA application is based on Chat GPS, Mid journey and DEAD, thanks to which a person can communicate with artificial intelligence as with a person.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Akhter Studios to accomplish?

• Create a Technical specification for the development team
• To create a CJM
• to create the architecture of the future application

SOLUTION

How did you find Akhter Studios?

Recommendations from friends

Why did you select Akhter Studios over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Akhter Studios were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The key tasks were to create a Technical Specification for the future application, logic and mindmap, we also needed a Customer journey map with how the user will interact with our application and the Architecture of the future application with a detailed description and recommendations on technologies and services that will be used by the developers. We needed this documentation because the development team is located in China.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At the moment, we are successfully launching an application that was created based on the primary documentation created by Akhter studio. The developers quickly realized what we wanted to implement and completed all the work in an accelerated mode

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

The team promptly responded to all incoming questions, problems were solved promptly and on time

What was your primary form of communication with Akhter Studios?

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

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

Their approach to workflows. Although all communication was conducted mainly in an online format, all methods of interaction through social networks were involved, they promptly answered any questions that arose, they approached our wishes in a very detailed and attentive way in the future project, and also involved a team of highly focused specialists

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

I think not, there were no questions or problems regarding work or communication in the process

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

HRD in a our company. The holding manages a group of companies in various field.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Due to the huge amount of employees (60k+) we faced a difficulty in finding good prospects among the staff to grow them into top-managers. There also were a number of cases when our employees decided to change their place of work because they felt stacked at one place as if they reached some limit of growth and we had not been aware of that.

Eventually, we came up with the idea of making the process of professional growth within the holding more transparent, measurable and involving. In order to reach this goal we hired Akhter Studios and set a mission to develop a whole new system using international experience and our own needs.

SOLUTION

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

We chose them as the best cadidate at the local IT pitch day.

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

The project went through 4 main stages. First was Project Discovery during which Akhter Studios team was researching our problems and suggesting solutions. As soon all the main problems were determined and solutions were chosen, we proceded to the Design stage. Akhter Studios’ designer as well as manager worked with our requirements thoroughly so we end up having a visual concept fulfilling us completely.

The next step was actual Coding stage (they call it Product Engineering). Each week we a sinc call where all the updates would be presented, so we were always aware what was going on with the project. By the end of July 2022 all the work had been finished, so we started a Lauch stage where Akhter Studios also helped us to find the best way how to present the system to all holding’s companies and involve them into the new workflow.

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

Throughout the project mainly we communicated with the Product owner, Abulkhair. It was pretty convenient as we always knew who to adress about any question. Of course, we got acquainted with the whole team from their CEO, Admet Akhter, to each front- and back-end developers. At various stages of development, we collaborated with a total of 7-9 development staff.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The developed LMS has improved our corporate transparency significantly. Since our workers started using the platform, their loyalty to company has also increased which resulted in lower staff turnover rates comparing to the previous periods. For the management it is now easier to supervise the staff’s professional development and make informed decisions.

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

The communication was very easy, we had regular call in Google Meet and Microsoft Teams to check updates and change something if needed. For the project documentation and any other improtant information was stored in Notion.

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

All the employees of Akhter Studios were always exceptionally professional and polite, so it was a pleasure to have any meeting. Another aspect that we were pleasantly surprised with was the fact of on-time project delivery. Which is rare from our previous experience. From the very beginning we had very tight deadlines but Akhter Studios managed to exceed our expectations and not only make a great instrument for us but also fit into such short pediod.

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

We would like more instructions on how to use the admin panel once the project has been completed. As soon as we requested more detailed instructions, they were prepared and passed on to us, but we believe that the instructions for our future admins could have been more well structured initially.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The problem was to make quick and repeatable price monitoring on high number of SKUs

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were developing a portal for filing reports in the government sector and for this we engaged the team of Akhter Studios. We understood that the task would be very difficult, but due to experience and company reviews, we knew that Akhter Studios was up to the task.

SOLUTION

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

For the first time, I heard about this team from our partners, who have already contacted them and made a purely positive impression of working with Akhter Studios.

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

A huge layer of work was carried out since the project was completely done from scratch and is still in work. At the moment, it is used by more than 7 thousand people. It all started with the design phase of the project architecture and design. Python + Django stacks were chosen for the back-end and front-end of ReackJS.

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

The team consisted of 1 front-end and 2 back-end developers, a designer and a product owner from Akhter Studios, and this team did an excellent job, although there were a lot of nuances in the work and a large number of integrations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In a year, we have built a service that works and transmits information to government agencies and at the same time does it stably. The task is completed, although some improvements should be made.

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

The manager always tried to help in all matters, even though changes were made to the project all the time. Quite often the team needed to work on the weekends and help with the finalization of the project when the organizations were not working. Communication took place through Telegram, and therefore all work was carried out very quickly.

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

The developers were business oriented and offered the simplest and least labor-intensive solutions to problems.

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

What about improvements, I would like to add that the manager does not always promptly answer questions, but here he can also be understood because he has several projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

IQanat Foundation implements social and educational projects and programs aimed at supporting rural schoolchildren and teachers in all regions of Kazakhstan. I hold the position of executive director in the fund.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was outdated in the content and technical part, so it did not meet the basic requirements of the foundation. There was a difficulty that the registration of students for the Olympiad was carried out with the help of our staff. It was necessary to automate processes to simplify our goals.

SOLUTION

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

We found Akhter Studios directly. The decisive factor was their product approach, they had all the specialists of the right caliber to solve our problem. Akhter Studios was ready to start working immediately. Their technology stack, successful experience with LMS and educational sphere helped us understand that we want to work with them.

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

We started our work with a joint brainstorm on how we can create a high-quality website that will increase the awareness of our foundation. The first step was to build a design concept and work with a copywriter for our website, since we had a lot of information that needed a competent breakdown. Then we changed the way students register on our website, made it possible to collect more data and simplified the interface for users.

Then we started developing functionality for everyone who actively participates in the Olympiad processes: financier, trustees, coordinators, volunteers, mentors. The system began to be managed through a single administrative panel. Stack: React.js, Python Django, Builder Pattern, Kubana, ElasticSearch, Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), MinIO, Portainer, Google Integrations.

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

There were 6 people in the team: project manager, UX/UI designer, copywriter, QA engineer, Backend developer, Frontend developer. The development was supervised by the heads of the development department.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received a beautiful website where students could find the necessary information about the foundation. Potential sponsors also had the opportunity to view a map of the trustees of Kazakhstan and analyze in which regions their help could be useful. A record 44,000 students registered through the new platform in 2021.

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

We had weekly meetings with the project manager, but we were in touch on Whatsapp all the time. Each new task was discussed before its details, then after development we tested the functionality on a test site, which was intended for preliminary design tests. "Slack" was used to communicate with the team, and the artifacts of the project were stored in "Notion".

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

At the level of forming business requirements for development, we did not take into account some nuances of our own processes, but the performers constantly treated us with understanding and offered quick and effective solutions.

Akhter Studios also want to share their experience with us, so they offer us the "Product Discovery" service, within which the performer can promise to identify the growth vectors of the fund and convert it into a specific development roadmap. With this in mind, we hope that we will be able to work closely with Akhter Studios in the future.

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

.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The problem was to make quick and repeatable price monitoring on high number of SKUs

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to make a script for scraping one of the biggest ecommerces in Kazakhstan

SOLUTION

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

Through a referral

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

• Python 3 - Proxies for scraper 
• 4 macro-categories - 150 tshd+ SKUs
• 4 iterations with adjustments in categories, scraped data

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

• 2 team members
• 1 Product manager
• 1 sales engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Automatized price monitoring, saving about 3 days of full-time worker every week
• Got aid in negotiations with suppliers: grew 3-4 times in active suppliers with best prices

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

They were quick and transparent.: minimal communication to make the job done

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

• Quality of final product
• Agility

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am PM from app/web-dev company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to develop a cross-platform application - a social network for pet owners. Our goal was to prepare an MVP version by collecting all the key functionality

SOLUTION

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

We searched online for app developers. After interviewing some candidates, we chose this vendor based on their past project, dev skills and cost estimate

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

When we started development, there was not a single line of code written yet. Together with the team, we have fully implemented the layout of the main sections of our social network:

• CRUD User Profiles
• CRUD Pet profiles
• News feeds
• Friends
• Photos
• Communities -
• Search

Then we integrated the implemented layout.

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

Their developers and project manager worked with us

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Now we have a fully working assembly. The application itself is at the stage of updating before being sent for moderation in the appstore and googleplay. No measurable results yet, but the guys did a good job

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

Prompt communication, quick resolution of issues, responsiveness and initiative

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

Their sense of responsibility and serious approach were impressive.

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

Everything is good

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the IT manager at Educational Foundation "IQanat"

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was outdated, it was just a landing page with a simple admin system, we could change absolutely nothing without a developer. We wanted to have a very well designed informative website with advanced tools and settings for our managers, who work with registered students

SOLUTION

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

The deciding factor I could say was their approach, they built a product, so we didn't have to find professional copywriters and designers separately. They were ready to start right away. On the other hand, their stack, and background in LMS and educational platforms helped to understand what we really wanted and to build a long-time relationship

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

We started our work with brainstorm how we can deliver a professional website that answers all our needs. The first step was to find the appropriate design for our website since we had a lot of information that needed some classification. Then we changed the way students registered to our website, we made it possible to gather more data but made it easy for users.

Then made back office for our managers to work with that data. Technologies used: React.js, Python Django, Builder Pattern, Kibana, ElasticSearch, Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), MinIO, Portainer Google Integrations

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

A project manager was the one with whom we were in contact all the time. The team consisted of a web designer, a back-end developer, a front-end developer, and a copywriter. They had supervisors in each position, so they managed to build a scalable website

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After launching our website more people got information about our Foundation, and we could engage more mentors and sponsors in our educational programs

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

We had weekly meetings with the project manager, but we were in contact all the time. Every new page and design was discussed before building it, then we checked functionalities in the testing website which was different from our main website. Slack was used to communicate regularly, and the confirmed ideas and pages were written in notion.

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

The best part was the fact that they were ready to implement new things and they even suggested new solutions during development, which were not discussed prior.

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

They could work on deadlines and schedule new updates, sometimes they are too optimistic.