AppX

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a part-owner of a entertainment company headquartered in Portugal.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired AppX for programming a mobile app for both iOS and Android. We already had the design for our app, so our goal was to execute that idea into a simple and fast app. We also had several features that we wanted for our app such as a subscription-based mode, the rating system of each operating system inside the app and others.

SOLUTION

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

So for a start we searched on google for several programming companies. From those we found, we saw the website and previous works each company did. We searched for mostly Portuguese companies as we are Portuguese and therefore we felt it would make communication easier. Although we also contacted companies from other countries.

The one's that we felt had the better website and previous works, we scheduled a meeting. From the meeting with AppX it was clear the knowledge that they had. They also seemed really simple and trustworthy people, we created some empathy and the budget made sense and so for us it was clear that it was the right choice.

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

We had several meetings where we discussed the layout of our app, we also showed the design we had, how much time it would take and how much it would cost. They were always fast to respond to any questions we had and, as this were the first app we made we also had some questions about the app business itself, how reviews were made for Apple and Android, how the pricing from different countries were made etc..

AppX was always happy and fast in responding which further eased on us on the idea that they were the right choice. When we made the agreement, they started programming and were always telling us what steps were being taken and we could see the progress as it was happening. They were also always available for meetings and responding to any questions we had. We felt that not only they were doing the job we agreed upon but were also always ready to help us in any way we needed, they helped us in creating our website for example.

We felt that our idea was really being taken care of as if it was theirs also! We had several testing phases, until we got exactly what we wanted. Any problems we had even after launching they were fast to clarify.

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

We had two contacts that we felt free to use. In the beginning, for the reunions where we talked about the timing, budget, what we wanted etc, we talked with two developers. As we already had the design made, when the project started one of these two developers was responsible for building the backend of our mobile app, this developer was the main person we interacted with. Although, we always felt we were comfortable in contacting both of them as they were fast and friendly throughout all the process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not even a month from launching our app we already reached TOP4 app in entertainment here in Portugal, 5-star rating and thousands of downloads! Receiving several compliments about the smoothness of the app as well as obviously the features that we the owners of the app thought of.

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

We had the privilege to choose in which platform we would talk through, as AppX was available to what it seemed all of them. In our case, we mainly talked in WhatsApp, we had several meetings through Zoom and when it was needed we always felt free to call them as they were always available to help. E-mails were also used in the beginning for scheduling meetings and later for payment information.

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

They were always available to help. Every doubt we had they were happy to help, and we were never held back in asking anything. The communication was great throughout. Even problems we had that were not related to programming they would always give us advice and information. When the app was launched they were still very available to talk to us. Overall, we were really impressed with how their team took care of our project as if it was their own.

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

To write something here it would be easier to have complaints to make but sincerely they always made what was promised and more. Therefore I can't think of anything bad to say, we were really happy with the work AppX has done.