alligatortek

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a general contracting company, and I’m a software business analyst.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with alligatortek?

We were trying to sync employee information from our HR system into our Active Directory. Previously, our employees had to update both systems manually.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

alligatortek constructed an interface that transferred data from our HR system into Active Directory. They integrated the two so that information in the two systems is automatically and simultaneously updated.

I put together the requirements to assist both alligatortek and our internal Active Directory team. I also assisted in the testing processes to make sure that the final product was functional.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a project manager and developer. John (Senior Solutions Architect, alligatortek) was my main point of contact.

How did you come to work with alligatortek?

My boss found them, and we'd used them for another integration project. For this project, we showed them the requirements, and they gave us an estimate. We felt that they were best for the job.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost somewhere around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This particular engagement lasted between July–August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work eliminated what was a huge headache for our HR team. Now that the data syncs automatically, it probably saves us 5–10 hours a week of manual updates between the two systems.

We haven’t had a single issue with the program they’ve created. It’s been working great, and it’s allowed our company to be productive and efficient.

How did alligatortek perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered consistently on time and within budget. They were on top of everything; they kept the project moving, even in the face of changing requirements. They were flexible and accommodating. We communicated through phone and email and were kept up to date pretty much all the time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service is excellent. Even after we went live, they were an email away if we wanted anything changed. They’d make the desired changes within 24 hours. It was refreshing to get such immediate attention.

Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I honestly can’t think of anything. It was one of my best experiences working with a development vendor.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep track of task progress and project timeline, and have a test plan.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Information System & Technology for a top 10 Commercial General Contractor in Chicago.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire alligatortek?

We worked with Alligatortek to develop a construction, field data collection tool. The project was to digitize and automate the workflow for timecard entry and scope of work change management.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to reduce processing cost by eliminating paper and making data entry as efficient as possible

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After developing a detailed internal workflow and commissioning matrix, we interviewed 4 developers. Alligatortek impressed all of us. Their intimate knowledge of the technology, the team they presented, the approach they were going to take, and the value of the engagement made them the clear choice.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Alligatortek developed a frontend iOS application with such an intuitive UI that 20-year veteran field construction staff could learn to use it themselves. They stood up an Azure IIS SQL interface server to handle external device communications and capture data while meeting the strict security needs we imposed. They then developed an integration portal to drive collected, validated data directly into our ERP.

What was the team composition?

The Alligatortek team consisted of a Project Manager that, beyond managing the process, took the time to immerse himself into our workflow so well that he became an expert at the problem to be solved. They also provided a database architect, UX designer, UI designer, and graphics designer.

Even though the PM was our primary contract and steered the ship well, the rest of the team was equally impressive. Initially, we even engaged with a Business Architect from Alligatortek whose primary focus was to validate the ROI and ensure the project stayed on track from a financial perspective.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results of this project are impressive. The old manual process took an average of 250 hours per week of expensive field staff time and three days of 2 peoples' time. As a result of the work by Alligatortek, the field staff time has been cut in half and the internal processing takes less than one hour of 1 person's time. We're also capturing 5 times more detail than before and dealing with a tiny fraction of the mistakes.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was, surprising, closely aligned to our company's own way of running work. A detailed schedule with clearly defined intermediate goals, a hard end date, and specific activities we needed to adhere to. Each intermediate goal included a defined deliverable.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Besides getting the job done on time and on budget, the most impressive part of our experience with Alligatortek was their integration of a Business Architect into the process to ensure that the engagement truly added value to our organization. They were ready to walk away from the project if they felt we didn't need to make this investment. No one else does that. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

Alligatortek has this down to a science. They only improvement would be for us to be as disciplined as they are when it comes to rolling out new tech.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We manufacture and distribute wooden shipping pallets and containers. I'm the vice president of finance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with alligatortek?

We've partnered with them for a number of years. We originally contracted them because we were unhappy with the firm that managed updates and modifications for our custom software. We wanted a team that could partner with us, understand our needs better, and make the changes we wanted.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They manage all the coding for our custom desktop software that we use internally, which is an Access-based program. We do a couple of major projects each year, and they sit down with us to discuss what we need.

They learned about everything we do, and they are fairly familiar with all our processes. Whenever we want to make a change or add something, we go to them. We want to ultimately bring everything into the same place so we don't have to revisit the same data over and over again. In addition to the other work they do for us, they make suggestions that make the process better. We go through beta testing to work out all the bugs before we go live.

What is the team composition?

I have one lead contact and two coders that handle our program.

How did you come to work with alligatortek?

Before we hired them, we were using a different platform. We looked at a number of companies that could grow with us and help us migrate to a new platform. We hoped to correct all the existing issues and bring it up to a more current version. They were willing to help us move through that migration.

How much have you invested with them?

Depending on the projects we have, we typically spent $75,000-$100,000 a year. In all, we've probably spent about $800,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2007, and we still work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The program helps our productivity and reduces the hours we spend working through our data. Everything works directly through the platform, and we save a lot of time. We recently added some new features and programs for purchase orders and other tasks. Most of the work they've done for us reduces our paperwork and migrates us more and more to electronic processes. Their solutions are always functional and reliable.

How did alligatortek perform from a project management standpoint?

They're on top of everything, and they work through issues right away. They take time to understand what we want to fix and our goals, and they're always very responsive. We know where they are in their process, and they're always there for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They want to be involved, and they aim to partner with us long-term. They want to make sure that they're providing useful solutions that work. If there is a better way to do something, they suggest it, and they always make sure the finished products work well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything they should improve. They've met all our expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of their knowledge and their willingness to interact with you. They will have ideas that you hadn't considered, and they're very good at streamlining processes.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder and CEO of a branding and UI/UX design agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with alligatortek?

We engaged alligatortek to help develop a platform solution for one of our clients that would allow their franchisees to easily order marketing materials for different stores for different promotions as needed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

alligatortek helped us design the UI/UX of a web and mobile platform for one of our clients, from the discovery process to creating specifications and collaborating with our design teams to develop the solution. The platform allows franchisees to easily order customized marketing collateral for different stores, incorporating all the information needed from each store automatically, and then shipping the materials out within a few days. They suggested and built the platform on .NET, using other technologies that included HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQery. 

What is the team composition? 

We worked with six developers and two project managers.

How did you come to work with alligatortek?

We interviewed a number of different developers we found online. alligatortek's executive team seemed to understand our vision the best and laid out a good process from the start. They even came up with some solutions during the interview process on ways we could expedite the project for the customer. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $150,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from around January–August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

alligatortek implemented solutions that increased user engagement by over 63% and revenue by over 100% to the client. The platform also cut lead time from almost eight weeks to just five days, allowing the company to better meet the needs of franchisees in a timely, more organized manner. 

How did alligatortek perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very efficient with their time, working in sprints to build out the platform in real time as each design phase was completed in collaboration with our team. They also held daily scrum meetings toward the end of the project and 15-minute check-in calls twice a day during the final 30 days. They were incredibly responsive throughout the engagement and took a lot of ownership in their work. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They took the time to understand the business and found ways to optimize the experience to add value to the final product. They're not just experts in UI/UX development, but also experts in overall business strategy and process flow. They brought a lot of valuable input to the table, delivering a solution that will help the client easily scale and update the platform as needed into the future. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really, but it would've been nice to have had a project recap meeting at the end to go over some of the effective approaches we took that we could apply to future projects. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and honest about the project vision, because alligatortek will do everything they can to help protect the company and provide economical, lean solutions that will serve client needs in both the present and future. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president and founder of the Astute Review. We provide B2B software solutions such as a productivity-enhancing plugin software for PowerPoint.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alligatorek?

We reached out to Alligatortek to develop a productivity software plugin for PowerPoint. We wanted to make it easier for people in conventional services who regularly use the software by automating common formatting issues.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had weekly meetings with Alligatortek to scope out the project and then they developed a solution that could be used in PowerPoint to check for spelling and formatting errors. We mostly designed the user experience and created some wireframes, but they provided full development of the product and additional input. 

What is the team composition? 

We work with a few developers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Alligatorek?

We found them online and ended up selecting them since they were locally based and able to provide an engagement structure, as well as a detailed scope of work. We were also very attracted to their internal blueprint builder process, which made it easier to work through the project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $345,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They worked on the project from September–October 2017, but they continue to make tweaks to the code and fix bugs as needed on a monthly retainer. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Alligatortek delivered a high-quality product. Although I was initially concerned about overall speed and accuracy of the final result, their team successfully delivered and alleviated those concerns.

How did Alligatorek perform from a project management standpoint?

We held weekly meetings with their team during the development phase. They have a great, thorough process in place that helped translate all of our ideas into proper formats and they made sure we weren't missing anything. Overall, they were very responsive as well, accessible by phone or email.

Now that they're on a retainer, however, we're working with their offshore team, so the process is not as timely when it comes to making updates or other requests. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our project manager was very thorough in building out the requirements for each specific step of our software. Their attention to detail helped us build a very powerful tool. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although their offshore team is strong overall, any requests we make during this maintenance phase aren't turned around as quickly as they were during the development phase. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust the process and be patient. We were initially concerned about cost and the timeline, but Alligatortek ended up building a great product in the end.