Alty

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of a bank; I’m responsible for electronic business. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alty?

We hired Alty for UX/UI design. We had a mobile banking system that wasn’t up to date, and we wanted to hire an external vendor to help us. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Alty was responsible for the UX/UI design of our mobile application. The primary technology used was Figma. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with about five people, including the CEO, a lead designer, and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with Alty?

We conducted local market research to understand what banks around us were the best from a customer experience point of view. We discovered that Alty was responsible for designing one of the best-known banks in our area, so we decided to move forward with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $10,000–$49,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between August–December 2022. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measured the success of the project through the completion of our requirements and their ability to finish everything on time. They were successful with both of these challenges.  

How did Alty perform from a project management standpoint?

They built a communication plan for us, and Alty was highly organized. We had agendas for every meeting, so we were always apprised of what was happening. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team was highly professional and brought a lot of experience to the project. We got a lot of value out of the project, and Alty was flexible. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were external factors that occurred that weren’t really in their control. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As a customer, you should understand what you’re looking to build. Be prepared to explain your needs and what you need from Alty. The better you explain your requirements, the more they’ll be able to meet them. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product manager at Zakaz, a food delivery company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alty?

We are expanding to foreign markets and needed to develop a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our mobile app (a native iOS and Android app). We gave them product requirements, but we didn’t have any technical specifications. They created a concept and prototype. Then, they developed it and did user testing. 

The first stage was completely with the designer. He analyzed all our business requirements, our system logic, and the design details. He didn’t just look at the UX/UI, but also how the app would work in our business and technical environment. 

Then, we did a lot of user testing. They built a really good testing flow, created a bunch of prototypes, and wrote scenarios for testing. Their team found relevant users and got a lot of insights on the first page. They built a clear architecture for our developers to use in the future. After that, we wanted to move the project in-house.

What is the team composition?

There was a UI designer, the CEO (for all high-level management and finance issues), a project manager, three iOS developers, three Android developers, and one QA. There was also a UX designer who has since left the company. 

How did you come to work with Alty?

I did research on the Ukrainian market and my professional network. I received a few recommendations for Alty. A banking app they built is a benchmark in our country as it’s one of the best apps in general in Ukraine. 

We discussed the project with them and they showed us a few cases. They looked really professional, and we decided to work with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February 2019 until August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They produced a really great prototype within two weeks. Their designer is really smart and possibly the most experienced guy I’ve ever met in Ukraine. Their user testing techniques saved us a lot of time and money. We don’t need to rebuild a lot of features.

We stopped the project with Alty because we had a financial limit. Our in-house team has taken it over, and we’re in the final delivery stage. In a month, we will publish our applications and I’ll have metrics then. 

I believe it will be great. Now, we have a working website along with the mobile version. Most problems that decrease the conversion rate are solved in the app.

How did Alty perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was normal. I was in contact with the project manager for any issues. We used a chat to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do design particularly well. The design is really cool and top-notch.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have any advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder of Monobank, a mobile bank that launched in November 2017.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alty?

We didn’t have our own design team yet and needed UI and UX development, as well as help with our iOS and Android apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Alty worked with us from the beginning of the project until just before our launch to build UI and UX for our mobile application. Since we didn’t have our own design team at the outset, they designed the initial 70 to 80% of the app.

To start the project, we had a few virtual meetings to discuss our approach and then divided the application into blocks. Alty created wireframes, and after they finished one block of UX, we had a meeting to see if any changes needed to be made. After getting the return for UI, they prepared designs for developers to begin implementation.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three team members directly. Suite team members were most involved, but we’d also occasionally work with an additional designer.

How did you come to work with Alty?

I’ve worked with them several times before, in both the banking and media industry.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d estimate we’ve invested between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February 2017 through the summer, at which point we’d created our own design team to bring our outsourced work in-house.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work they’ve done has been a great success. In the six months that the app’s been live, we already have 250,000 customers and growing by 2,500 customers per day. We have great reviews from the Android and iOS stores, many of which point out our exceptional UI.

How did Alty perform from a project management standpoint?

Alty’s communication is just as strong as its design work. They were able to express their knowledge of UI and UX while still taking into consideration our business perspective.

They also kept in regular contact with us; we had meetings about once a week while also communicating daily via WhatsApp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re able to communicate with and take input from everyone involved in a project without compromising the quality of their finished product. I really appreciated their willingness to incorporate everyone’s perspective.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust Alty’s ability to make great products and consider them a part of your team, not just designers who take direction. If you involve the team in your decision-making process, they have a better idea of your goals, which enables them to tailor the UI and UX to your customers.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

MacPaw is a leading, independent software development company for the desktop and mobile world.

What is your role at the company?

I'm the VP of business development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Alty?

Alty developed our mobile application and integrated it with our web dashboard.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Everything was done by Alty. It was full cycle development. Services that were provided include roadmap planning, user story layouts, mockups, front-end development, mobile development, and design.

How did you come to work with Alty?

The quality of Alty's previous products is all great. Additionally, they have a very good reputation.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Our project was between $15,000 and $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project wasn't too long. It lasted from July to September of 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Everything was on time. The quality was great. We would be happy to work with them again in the future.

What distinguishes Alty from other providers?

The Alty team is extremely flexible, and they work to find the best solution for each client.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve or things you might do differently?

No. There is nothing I can think of. Everything was good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are the largest bank in Ukraine - PrivatBank. We have more than 2,000 branches. We have more than 15 million customers in Ukraine, and our market share is above 50% in terms of credit cards, debit cards, deposits, and corporate customers.

What is your position?

I’m the head of our mass payment and money transfer business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Alty?

We have lack of design qualifications in-house. We have more than 1,000 guys working in our IT department. We do all of our programming in-house. The programs were lacking line syncing and good aesthetics. When we understood that, we started looking for companies in our market that could help us with launching new products for our customers. We tried different companies, and one of them was Alty.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

The first project that they built for us was an iOS and Android application for new payments. They built it from scratch to release. They made a prototype, designed it, and then they programmed it. It was a success. I was the one who brought Alty to PrivatBank, and after my first project with them, my colleagues also started contracting them for their projects. They have now done more than 10 projects for PrivatBank.

Mainly, what Alty does for us is develop prototypes and interfaces for many different types of projects. They developed an interface for our self-serve kiosks. They also developed a couple of projects for our internet bank, and they developed three or four mobile applications for us.

How did you come to work with Alty?

I knew the head of the team from my old days in a different company. I contracted him personally for developing an iOS application for CitiGuide in Kiev. When I was tasked with finding a team for my new company, I reached out to Alty.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The average cost for most of our projects with Alty is $10,000 to $50,000. For some of the bigger projects it could be over $100,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What distinguishes Alty from other providers?

Alty knows how to balance between hearing the client, the client’s wants, and mixing those with their professional opinion. Sometimes, when your contractor listens to what you want and just does as you say, the result is bad because you don’t get that professional input. That’s one extreme and the other extreme is when your designer doesn’t consider any of the client’s input. Then you have results that you don’t want because it’s not the project that you envisioned in your mind. Alty can balance their input and our input strongly. They listen carefully and then they add their experience on top of our ideas.

Is there anything Alty could have improved or done differently?

I think it’s the time that they need to finish a project. In my opinion, they’re not very fast, but maybe it’s a downside of their detailed approach. They try to find out as much as they can about an area, and they work to do a lot of interviews with our customers and bank branch managers. Those efforts are time consuming. They do a lot of testing and that’s also time consuming. I wish that everything was a bit faster, but I’m not sure if it’s possible. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization. What is your role and responsibilities?

I'm the CEO of a startup that developed VOX music player. We developed a Mac version and are expanding to iOS and Android. We are experiencing rapid growth and focusing on transitioning our business to a subscription service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Alty?

Our goal with Alty was to find an iOS application development team who could meet tight deadlines. We were having a hard time finding a good partner who could really fit in well with our team.

Please describe the scope of their work.

We initially designed an application for Mac, and Alty's role was to write the code and bring it to life on the iOS platform.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Alty with which to work?

We looked at other companies, but Alty already had some experience with music-related iOS applications. They were already familiar with certain challenging aspects of the process due to their previous work on other projects. They drafted a beta version of our app so quickly that we immediately signed them to a contract. We started out with a short trial to see if they could provide us with a substantial product in two weeks, and they did. They gave us a very good prototype. So, we realized they knew what they were doing.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

The range of the project was between $10,000 and $50,000. We worked with Alty for seven months. We had some issues on our end with design, so some weeks there was no work and other months were work heavy.

When was the work completed?

The app was completed this past April. It was a limited time partnership. We initially hired them to do only the iOS version. We've actually just started talking about the Android version, so we'll see how far it goes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique or special about Alty that really makes them stand out compared to other business partners?

We liked that not only did Alty execute the task at hand, they also thought creatively. Sometimes, they suggested some alternative solutions to our original design. They suggested some new things, and there were many times when their suggestions were the best solution. Alty did their job, and they overperformed. We really appreciated their attitude.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

There was a minor issue when we had a couple of months with very low amount of work to be done on their end. They switched to another project and, when we needed them, it was a very slow switch back to our project. So, this led to a small window of time that they were slow on their reaction on our tasks. However, when they were back on track, everything was fine.