AROBS

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product testing for a pharma services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AROBS?

We have testing team members who are full-time working in the U.S. but we had a need to bring in offshore resources to be able to quickly turnaround products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve been developing up to 50–60 releases per year across the line of products. My team primarily works on the testing side. We have to train them on our processes and tools and then they are ready to go.

What is the team composition?

There are about 25 testers on our side who are working on multiple products and business units. When we start a project, we work in an agile scrum methodology. Any team consists of 5-8 members which include developers, testers, and scrum masters. Their team structure is always under 10 for a particular piece of work they’re developing. We have 8-9 teams that have the same structure.

How did you come to work with AROBS?

They were introduced by one of our strategy leaders who had worked with the team in his past year. What made them stand out is the ownership they take of their tasks and their flexibility.

How much have you invested with them?

Just under $3 million just for the testing resources.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The key differentiator is they’re a flexible team and they come up with mitigation processes. The ramp-up time is considerably lower compared to any other vendor that we currently have. Whenever we have a problem, they come with multiple options. That’s always been very helpful for us.

How did AROBS perform from a project management standpoint?

They always come up with a very well thought out project plan in terms of listing all milestones, activities, putting in assumptions as required, and calling out all parties that are required for any project. They are on top of the project plan in terms of tracking and monitoring.

They make sure the project plan is monitored and updated in terms of task progress. They’re upfront and honest. They manage the team and the deliverables in a self-contained model. We were only required to jump in very few cases.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take ownership and that’s really important to me when it comes to delivering such a big portfolio. I just don’t have the ability to keep an eye on every single project that’s going on. There are 60–75 big projects being delivered in a year’s timeframe. We have multiple product releases every week of the year. I rely on them to get the projects delivered on time with quality and within budget.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re doing well. If there was anything, they should start looking into expanding their capabilities into other areas, technologies, and markets.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The initial ramp-up period is crucial. Whenever you onboard a new vendor, pre-allocate the plan for the knowledge transfer, the ramp-up time, and milestones for monitoring these tasks. If you have a well-defined ramp-up process with enough milestones and tasks in it, it will be pretty easy to onboard any new vendor or partner to work on our application.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am one of the initial founders of Rentyourcrane, a startup platform for the rental of mobile construction cranes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AROBS?

We started with an idea and started a business from scratch where our product is a website. We needed someone to help us with development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided them with the specifications, and AROBS built it in PHP where people would be able to access the products, order, book, and pay. They created a frontend for the user to book and a backend where we can organize all of our orders. 

We also made use of the project manager as well who helped with the wireframes. I gave my input and they created the wireframes based on that. I reviewed them and then we either approved them or not.

What is the team composition?

I have one project manager. There are also 3–4 people on the team and I had contact with most of them.

How did you come to work with AROBS?

We have a company in Cluj where they are located as well, so we got to know them. We did a bid process, and we chose to do something for the local economy there as well and chose to work with AROBS.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent about €80,000 (approximately $91,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2017, and the work is still ongoing but on a low level.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work was completed in stages. A few months after the first stage, we started with a new stage and that was delivered a few months ago. AROBS is eager and willing to help, but I think it is also just a normal IT project where there is always discretion about who is responsible for what. The quality has been okay.

How did AROBS perform from a project management standpoint?

We don’t use any particular project management tools, but worked with a project manager. In the end, pricing is okay, but I think as far as timing goes, it is higher than what we are used to here in the Netherlands. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

In general, their wide knowledge of all the program skills sets them apart. They have eager teammates who have great skills and are able to help. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Having more of a client experience is an area where they can improve. They should be more open to talking with their customer to see how they can come up with a solution together. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you write down what the expectations are from both sides right from the start.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I oversee a business line that has three different SaaS products for the life sciences industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AROBS?

We have a platform that is very much product-needs consulting. We had a lot of frontend need around setting up sites that met customer requirements. We’d go through a pretty extensive design engagement and then build out of those frontends, and AROBS supported us across the board in that effort.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AROBS helped us with design – wireframing and UX – as well as frontend development using React, HTML, and CSS. They also provide QA support.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Ancuta (Project Manager). At any point in time, we had up to six individuals across design and development. We’ve since scaled back a bit; we don’t have as much development need at the moment, but our work in ongoing in a smaller capacity.

How did you come to work with AROBS?

They were working with my company before I joined.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d say several hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of 18 months.

What is the status of this engagement?

My company’s work with AROBS began in November 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I actually collected a testimonial from a co-worker who worked with them throughout all of 2019. She said, ‘Working with the AROBS team has been a great experience for me. The lead developer on the project always took the time to explain everything in non-technical terms if needed. The team understood customer requirements very easily and were also quick to recommend better alternatives wherever possible. They were also very helpful through the design and development process. The team was always available to answer my questions and provide feedback as the project went along. They ensured top quality, timely delivery, and satisfactory support until the end of the project. I highly recommend them.’

How did AROBS perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Microsoft ADO for ticket management. They do have a nice solution for billing and tracking developer hours or tickets. It was helpful to get those reports from them. We didn’t have any issues when it came to communication or deadlines; they’ve been a good partner. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I can’t think of anything in particular.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is a time zone challenge, but that isn’t their fault. They’re Eastern Europe-based and we’re East Coast-based, so we do have good overlap in the mornings. Their team is flexible if needed to join some later calls, but there are always challenges when we have limited overlap in the working day.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CTO of a travel online portal

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AROBS?

Complete architecture and product transformation and migration. Contracted 15 to 20 IT ressources full time over a several year period to manage to system transition

What were your goals for this project?

Complete creation of the new platform and migration from legacy systems

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We reviewed several IT companies in Romania and ended up contracting with Arobs for their amount of available ressources in all kinds of IT functions and good relationship

Describe the project in detail.

SCRUM to SCRUMBAN team composed of subteams buid up as the project was growing surrounded by effective support teams (Sysadmins / Architects / Automated and manual testing / Management...). Issues and surprise as any project of this scale managed with realism and in partnership to delivery and maintenance.

What was the team composition?

Approx 10+ devs - 1/2 architects - 1 sysadmin - 2+ testers - 1 PM and on-demand ressources depending on expertise

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Successful strategic platform migration with more connectivity with availability providers and traffic sellers. Better service and added company valuation.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

All the usual productivity tools and monitoring for definition, planning, reviews and progress. Conference calls and regular trips to Cluj Napoca to build up relationship and organise workshops.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their spirit, relationship-building skills, available resources, and openness made them stand out.

Are there any areas for improvement?

On a general level, stimulate problem resolution and research at the individual level. As a client I always found better for developers to try and fail than wait for management validation. Waiting is less valuable than trying. For long term projects need to secure the architect by all means. Losing the "head" is a big hit for these projects.