Appening

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of CarBee, the app that my team and I are building.

What challenge were you trying to address with Appening?

We needed good people to design the UI/UX of the app we’re building, and that’s why we reached out to Appening.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re primarily creating the UI/UX design of the iOS and Android app. We’re closely collaborating with them and they provide us with illustrations, colors, font, the design structure, and how it would flow from one screen to the next.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is the founder of Appening. What she does is basically assign the teammates to my project, and then my team collaborates with them. We have a thread in WhatsApp where my developers and I converse with the Appening team, and we tell them exactly what we need.

How did you come to work with Appening?

I went on a search to find really good UI/UX designers through websites such as Dribble. I came across Appening and their works and I really liked them. I contacted several other designers as well, but Appening was the most professional. They were willing to work with us, listen to us, and they were able to ask very informative questions. They’re experts at what they do, so they inform us with what needs to be done and what they have in mind of what’ll work — the quality of their work is just amazing.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested somewhere between $15,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2019, and we still have an ongoing partnership.

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

If you look at the website and app, you can see that the illustrations and designs they created are very eye-catching, and the visuals look high quality. The final output really speaks to the quality of their work.

How did Appening perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’re very thorough and professional. The primary contact that I have from Appening is very nice and she always makes me feel special. Even when they have a lot of work, they still go the extra mile to meet their deadlines in a timely fashion.

We have Zoom meetings when we need to get more details and know exactly what we’re missing. They also upload their outputs on Zeplin, which is a tool used by designers and developers to extract files to incorporate into the app.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ultimately, it comes down to the quality of their work — that’s the foundation of everything we’re working for, and I’m really happy with the product they’re creating for us.

I like the fact that Appening immediately understands what I’m trying to do — it’s easy for them to visualize what I’m visualizing and they’re very good at what they do. It’s been a very good collaboration, they’re total professionals, and I enjoy working with them and their product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We’re very happy with the work and we have a good working relationship with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend Appening because they’re very professional and you’ll have no worries working with them. Naturally, it’s human nature to have worries about how these things go, but Appening is good. Trust them to produce high-quality products with you.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an application called Resumod. We’re building a SaaS product for B2C customers in India. I also run a website called getsetresumes.com, a B2C platform for document writing services.

What challenge were you trying to address with Appening?

Appening is our technology partner. They take care of any tech-related issues that we come across for both my website and the application.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Appening built our website a few years ago, but they used a framework for it. They were responsible for the design and development. Their work was very impressive. Even today, they support us with any work that we do to it.

A year later, I approached them for the SaaS product I was planning to build. It was a CV builder, which they helped us build from the ground up. They customized it so that customers could log in, choose a template and create a resume.

Currently, I’m working with them on the same SaaS product to update it. They handle the development, and we provide the design. I have a few designers on my team, so the design is split 50/50, but they handle the development entirely. I’m very happy with their work.

What is the team composition?

Salil (Co-Founder & CTO) is my main point of contact. I go to him for any questions, and he then connects me with his developers.

How did you come to work with Appening?

They found us. Appening got my contact information from somewhere and approached me. They built a proof of concept, and we had a meeting. That impressed me a lot, so I decided they were the team I needed. Their experience was good. There were a few hiccups of course, but the outcome was great, and they’ve supported me very well.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2017, and it’s ongoing.

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

After the product is delivered, I see if it performs to my expectations. What I wanted and discussed with them was delivered. As the project progresses, we get more ideas and note things down. The deliverables are appealing and performing like we wanted them to perform, so I would say the project has been a success.

How did Appening perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve known Salil since the beginning, so I just pick up the phone and call him. I also email him about my requirements. We did try some channels, but I think email is the best way to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re all human beings working together, and that relationship has to be fair so that we can maintain it. The best thing about working with them is that Salil values our relationship, and he gives me his input. For him, it’s not just another project that has to be delivered. I can call him up to brainstorm, discuss what I am planning to do, and get his thoughts on it. I leave a lot of things to him, and that trust is always there. My rapport with Salil is very good, and I value that a lot. Because of that, I keep going back to them even if there was a hiccup in our previous project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In a previous project, the design didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, and the communication wasn’t that great. I told them about that before we started working on the current project. Their team is young, and I think they will gradually improve their communication.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Appening is a good team to work with. The best thing about them is that they’re very young, so they bring a fresh perspective to the project. They’re very particular, which is also a good thing. Appening is a smart team, and if you are not smart enough, you won’t be able to work with them. You need to have the scope and the budget ready. Until you can do that, they won’t be able to help you.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Director of a Energy Consulting upstart with HQ in Melbourne. We offer a range of services to our clients from Business advisory, Risk Assessment, Project Management to Delivery.

For what projects/services did your company hire Appening?

We engaged Appening to provide Testing and Automation Testing for our client.

What were your goals for this project?

Our SME Client, due to budget constraints, had a band of Developers who were constantly building code and deploying to Production without much Quality Assurance. The client needed to be ensured that the code was quality and stable prior to each Release.

How did you select this vendor?

Appening was a reference.

Describe the project in detail.

The Client has a Solar Business for which they were developing a bespoke web based application. The QA resource's role (from Appening) was to understand the requirements, manually do the testing during each Sprint and at the end of the Sprint deliver Automation Testing Scripts.

What was the team composition?

Appening provided 1 x QA resource who was part of the Client DevOps team of 5 resources and was doing operating autonomously managing end to end QA process. This resource was the only QA resource in the team.

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

The Client was ecstatic with the value they were getting out of the QA activity. The Post Release defects reduced to 50% in a matter of 4 months. The time required by a non-Tester client's resource to execute Regression Testing was reduced from 3 hrs to 15 mins by way of execution of the Automation Scripts for the Regression test cases.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Appening resource was very flexible in regards to working hours and would mostly start early to have maximum overlap with the Client's team. There would be a daily stand-up and the usual Agile ceremonies to which the QA reosurce was part of.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The Appening resource understood the client's bespoke software fairly quickly and took ownership and accountability of the end to end testing practice without much intricate knowledge of the client's business operations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The Client was very impressed with the delivery and kept extending the engagement from what started as a 2 months term ended up to be almost 17 months.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO and Co-founder for Drivewayz where I manage a team of software engineers to develop and test our software capabilities on a wide range of customers throughout the US. Drivewayz is a mobile platform that allows property owners to rent out their private parking spaces to drivers who are searching for cheaper and more convenient options. We are working to reduce traffic in large urban cities as well as use data analytics to help cities adjust to a growing population.

For what projects/services did your company hire Appening?

We are a new startup and wanted to move from a wireframe product to a modern and professional looking mobile app that would attract users.

What were your goals for this project?

We were hoping to improve our overall user experience as well as create an array of graphics that we could use throughout the application.

How did you select this vendor?

I found Mahima and Appening through the website Behance.com and loved a majority of her work. We selected her because of how closely her brand identity matched our envisioned idea of what we wanted.

Describe the project in detail.

We gave Mahima about 12 different screens that we wanted redone as well as a list of specific graphics to be used throughout. The screens were all internal to the application itself and walked the user through the overall booking process to reserve a parking space.

We also had her completely redo our on-boarding process including a text verification page. She also built out a new settings and navigation screen for us. Lastly she created nine graphics each for the specific type of parking space as well as multiple on-boarding graphics that have been used throughout the application.

What was the team composition?

We specifically asked to be paired with Mahima so she was our primary point of contact for this project.

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

As of now we have not received any analytical data on the new UI/UX design versus the old, however since implementing we have gained over 600 new users and expanded to 4 different states throughout the US.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The progress was very consistent and timely. We had no communication issues or major delays throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was most impressed at Mahima's ability to take minimal information and direction from us and turn it into a full on brand identity that she maintained throughout all of the screens and graphics. The vendor’s timeliness and attention to detail were much appreciated.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only area we would like to improve would be aligning the idea that these graphics portray with our own company ideas slightly more, however things like that generally take much more time and a closer relationship to the company than can be accomplished in a month.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Product Manager at Background verification company.

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

We hired Appening for

1. Web application designing
2. HTML
3. Web application development (Frontend- Angular)

Our goal was to enhance the tech stack and build a scalable application with best UI & UX.

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

We found them by a referral. We had limited time and wanted a team who are young, enthusiastic and full of ideas and also we saw their previous work which was great.

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

We started with the wire framing, designs and development stages. We use to break the entire scope module wise and delivery was broken into sprints of 15days. The technologies used were angular for the front end development

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

There were 3 developers with one project manager and 2 designers. During the project extra resources were added whenever required.

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

We were able to launch our product on time with enhanced features. the new system is scalable with good UI/UX

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

The project management was great and the tool used was slack and trello board. We also used Jira for some time.

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

The team was very co-operative and was very flexible. The team even improvised on lots of areas with their ideas. It was easy to communicate our ideas to the team.

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

The quality of work was great.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a product manager at Symprocity Software. We’re a software development company focused on delivering cutting edge software solutions to government. From large government entities to smaller ones, our goal is to apply our technical expertise to build systems that make government more efficient, agile, and, ultimately, customer focused.

For what projects/services did your company hire Appening?

We needed help updating one of our inspection management systems—a complete overhaul of the technologies used in the original design.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to completely rebuild the entire legacy system, including the UI design. Further, we wanted to add a mobile component to the system.

How did you select this vendor?

After searching for possible partners on online, we came across Appening. Several rounds of conversations and some proof of capabilities helped us decide to go with them for this project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed, developed, and launched a new front- and backend system for an operational inspection process. The project began with them evaluating the current legacy system, followed by the production of designs for both the UX and UI.

What was the team composition?

The project team included a designer, a UI coder, an architecture team, and a project manager.

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

Our customers are pleased with the new system, and we've seen a reduction in requests for support, which was a critical factor in deciding on the upgrade.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had a project manager on our side that communicated with a project manager from the Appening team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We found the team at Appening to be knowledgeable of and well-versed in numerous technologies. Having in-house designers was a huge benefit.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Thus far, we don’t yet have much in the area of what needs to be improved. It's possible that after a few more projects we may be better able to give such suggestions, however. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a health-tech firm.

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

To develop an App and Web health marketplace

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

We selected Appening from at least 10 different developers, They were the most responsive,

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

We created a prototype and several meetings led to the design and production of an MVP

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

We have worked with at least 4 people directly. A project manager from Appening directs communication; but we have direct access to the developers through Slack.

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

We have a product that is a month away from launch.

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

We use slack to meet on a regular basis. Once a day to discuss immediate milestones and Once a week to discuss the goals for the week.

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

Direct access to the developers and the willingness for the team to be coached to "code for the American audience"

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

They have been some turnover that has affected our production timelines and the company could have communicated in advance or had contingencies to prevent disruptions. Our longest serving. member on Appening's team has been on the project since day one and almost every member has been on the team for a year.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a web development company that builds web apps and mobile apps.

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

We hired them to build out one of our projects for an online transportation platform.

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

Their skillset and their team.

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

They worked phase by phase throughout the whole project from start to finish. They provided full details throughout the project and delivered it on time and with great quality.

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

2 people, a designer and a developer.

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

The client was extremely satisfied with the project and was excited to have chosen us.

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

Email, Trello, and Slack were our main communication tools, they were online 24/7 to answer any questions and fix any issues we had.

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

Their great skill sets and communication, which is hard to find nowadays.

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

There are none, we had a great experience working with them and will be using them in the future for more projects.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a tech company based in Tel Aviv.

For what projects/services did your company hire Appening?

We hired appening to develop a UI and UX prototype for our mobile App.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to have a clean and good looking UI and a video with animations.

How did you select this vendor?

I found their work on Dribbble and contacted them.

Describe the project in detail.

After 5 days of working together, they sent us the wireframe for the App and started designing the UI. Everything was done really fast, in just 3 weeks.

What was the team composition?

Mahima worked with us from the beginning to the end, and she was always active and open to changes.

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

We were able to show the prototype in a start-up competition sponsored by Microsoft and we won.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent communication and process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their UI is very clean and beautiful.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything perfect.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Its Truemployer and I am the co-founder.

For what projects/services did your company hire Appening?

for the UI UX desing and HTML development of the pages.

What were your goals for this project?

To have the best UI/UX designs that operate dynamically according to the ratings given by users in our website.

How did you select this vendor?

I saw Appening as one of the hot teams on dribbble and approached them.

Describe the project in detail.

We provide analytical insights for the employees on how the employers are meeting the needs and in short, the employee engagement and retention rate based on user ratings.

What was the team composition?

When I approached them it was a couple of UI UX designers. And once the designs got ready, we extended the contract to do the HTML part of the pages they designed. This is where an extra person got involved from their end.

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

They designed the prototypes for initial review within 2 weeks of time. Later with our feedback, they made changes. We hired them for a total of 8 pages in our website some of them being our core use case pages. They delivered everything on time and also we would be working with them in the future for upgrades and changes in design and development.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We are always in contact on skype and whatsapp. They have been available almost every time though our time zones are different. As soon as they finished their part for each page they delivered them in sprints. Once we got them, we moved them to development phase in our end.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They have a great work ethic and discipline. They delivered stuff on time and most importantly, they actually provided a quality content. I have hired other UI UX designers inthe past but these guys actually met our expectations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think the team is really balanced. They are expanding their development team quite rapidly and also, we are thinking to move our test and production phase to them in the coming months.