Archer Software

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

I’ve been extremely satisfied. They’ve been very responsive. Everyone we’ve been in contact with has been caring, listening to our needs and concerns. Obviously, with the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve encountered some difficulties as a small business. They’re willing to work with us to help us get through this time together.

The team at Archer Software has delivered on their work. It’s hard to trust a new team that’s different from who originally wrote the software. They did a great job of adapting and learning the software, providing suggestions to make it better. We’re extremely happy, and we hope to continue working with them a lot longer.

How did Archer Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They have their own online management tools to be able to track what their developers are working on. We also interact directly with our developer, which is extremely helpful. With our previous firm, we weren’t able to do that as easily. With Archer Software, we’ve had an amazing experience in terms of communication. That was one of our biggest things in looking for the right firm. We wanted someone we could easily communicate our needs to and someone who could understand exactly what our needs are.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From our experience, I appreciate their adaptability to our specific needs. It’s very different from what we do. It’s seasonal, and for parts of the season, it’s very high-paced with longer hours and urgent issues. They’ve handled that with complete urgency and professionalism. They’ve always hit deadlines. If there is a hiccup, they’re able to communicate that in a timely manner, which allows us to communicate with our customers. Our project is important to us, but Archer Software makes it feel like it’s important to them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I think they’ve done a fantastic job. If there was ever something we wanted them to improve upon, we’d communicate that with them. There’s nothing I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate. That’s the biggest thing to ensure you have a positive experience. They’re extremely engaging when you communicate your needs. If they’re not meeting what you need, explain that to them. We found Archer Software to be extremely responsive that way.

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

Archer Software gives accurate estimates of each budget and stays within reason when it comes to timelines. In software development, things always change. We might expect something to be done in four weeks, but within that, we might add a feature and function. They’ve done a good job of sticking to timelines and cost estimates in light of that.

How did Archer Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Each project manager has a good standard of English. They liaise with me to go over timelines and milestones for each project. We have weekly meetings on Monday to discuss what needs to be done the week ahead and what happened that week. We also go over any problems or issues the development team has run into. 

There are also daily meet-ups through Skype first thing in the morning. We’ll go through what needed to be done and answer any questions the development team may have. We have used Jira from the start as well, which was my recommendation. Overall, we have pretty good communication despite collaborating remotely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Archer Software likes a challenge. It doesn’t matter what size the project is; they have the skills and experience to handle it. The team is honest as well. They’ll speak up if something’s not going to work or they’d have a problem with doing what we ask. That honest is necessary with remote projects. They also have a high quality of code as well, thanks to their experienced developers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve changed a few of their project managers over the partnership for a variety of differences: they weren’t meeting deadlines, our expectations and my expectations were different, and they thought they knew more about the project than I did. 

One person started off and took a while to get up to speed. Once I told him exactly what way I wanted the work done and how we ran meetings, he adhered to those guidelines and became one of the best managers I had. I might have been a pain to him, but he was a better project manager at the end of it.

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

The biggest success is that I don’t need to do any frontend development because I can count on them. We initially saw a lot of integration bugs, but over the years, they’ve improved in quality. There were some regression issues at the beginning that went away. They’re very dedicated to following the right processes.

Once the original mobile app was released in 2012, the adoption was very quick. We didn’t have a lot of usability issues. We’ve been iterating on that app ever since.

How did Archer Software perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m the project manager and they report to me. We communicate via Slack and GitHub. We have a set of tools and standards that match my expectations for design documents and sequence diagrams. They have access to our tools and our network VPN. Their documentation is thorough, and they know I don’t like to make a lot of changes after the fact.

When it comes to communication, there is no barrier. They’re great to work with and they don’t mind the time difference. They’re committed to overlapping with us for a couple of hours in our morning. They’ll hop on Slack when we have big releases coming up and they know they need to be available. Even without asking, they’ll pay attention to conversations in Slack on how the releases are going. They’ll work well into the night to make sure releases go smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re responsive and reasonable. They’ve had some personnel changes over the years and I’ve had to find replacements. They’ve been very reasonable in coming back to me and telling me it’s not fair for me to pay for the person who didn’t deliver. They would offer a special deal for me. It wasn’t something I had to negotiate, but rather something they proposed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were a few instances where I wasn’t happy with the treatment of passwords being shared in clear text. Whenever I raised any concerns or issues with them, they took care of them immediately.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The setup I have with them is a little unusual. They do a lot more project work. I understand they’re a full shop with a QA department and project managers, but I was able to do a lot of that myself. They were flexible in offering developer resources whom I directly manage. I’m not sure if that’s a model that will work for others.

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

They help me provide wider service and better value propositions to my clients. They help with gaps in ideation and strategy, rapidly create UX prototypes and proofs of concept, and build, maintain, or upgrade projects. They offer a full range of services to our clients, from development to daily operation.

How did Archer Software perform from a project management standpoint?

All of their developers and project managers are great communicators. We have daily meetings across multiple channels, including Skype, Slack, or video calls. We also use project management tools like Jira and other systems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are strong strategic partners. We have a close and open relationship and they go beyond simple coding. They come up with ideas and solutions and I don’t have to be minutely detailed when I spec out a project. They help me define, build, and maintain our systems.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We occasionally have minor issues but there are no major problems they should change. They’re a well-oiled machine.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have an open conversation about your goals and make sure there is potential for a long-term relationship. Take time to build up trust and establish a partnership.