Could you share any statistics, metrics or user feedback from this engagement?
As far as benchmarks go, the only thing that I can think of is at the beginning of the development process we had certain milestones in place. We needed basic wireframes, designing of the wireframes, and mapping of our backend algorithm. Then it went straight into the development phase, and currently we're in alpha testing. We've had no issues meeting any of the milestones set at the beginning of the development process.
The design portion of the milestone got extended, but that was only after a mutual agreement from both parties that there were some significant changes that needed to be made. It wasn't at fault of either party, it just happened organically. The idea was evolving as we were building it, so it was just a timing issue of it that we decided to extend that portion out. The quality of them delivering everything that they said and promised that they would, for each of the milestones, has been excellent.
They are willing to go at the speed that you’re willing to go. One of the attractive traits is the speed that they’re able to execute in a fairly complex project environment. It was relatively quick, and there were times where I felt I was kind of scrambling on my end to get material and decisions to them. The calendar was there from day one, so I knew when the deadlines were for the material they needed from me. I think it’s important to be prepared to provide all that information in as much detail as possible to ensure there isn’t a lot of going back and forth in communication.
How did Appstem perform from a project management standpoint?
We've been assigned a dedicated project manager, but it's just more of a case-by-case, where we are interacting a little bit more with the developers as well. There's a lot of brainstorming that's occurring in the background, especially when it comes to the algorithm portion of the application. Building that, we've been in contact with the engineers themselves and, of course, the entire time, the project manager has been involved and it's been a very smooth process. We're using Basecamp for primary communication and milestone and task tracking.
What distinguishes Appstem from other providers?
That's kind of hard to say, only because I don't have any other development firms to compare them against. The only thing that I can say is that they’ve met all of our expectations, and that’s probably somewhat unique when it comes to 3rd party providers, especially in app development.
In hindsight, is there anything Appstem could have improved or done differently?
With customer service, everything's been good; delivery was also great. It's kind of hard to say, because we're still in the middle of the whole process. It might be a little bit different when we see the final product, but so far, at the point of alpha testing, they've been very accommodating. We've met with them several times and they've showed us the product across multiple iterations. As of right now, everything looks great and is running smoothly along schedule.
I don't know if I would change anything. I highly doubt it. I have confidence that they're going to be able to deliver, based off of our past experience with them and their performance.
Internal stakeholders use the app daily to assess and improve product pages. Third-party partners have also shown interest in its capabilities. Over the course of the engagement, Appstem remained responsive to inquiries. They actively listened to all ideas and communicated consistently.