Web Dev for Science Education Student & Teacher Platforms
- Web Development
- $1,000,000 to $9,999,999
- Dec. 2014 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 4.5
- Schedule
- 5.0
- Cost
- 4.5
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
“I appreciate how focused they are on quality.”
- Other Industry
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- 201-500 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
Atomic Object developed an iPad app and subsequently expanded it to a web app that’s integrated with tailored versions of Craft and Vanilla Forums. They now provide support and maintenance.
The latest iteration is robust and ultimately improves both student and teacher engagement. Atomic Object’s effective use of Agile methodologies allows them to manage customer expectations while still delivering high-quality products.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
The Van Andel Education Institute is a nonprofit science education institute serving the local community and K-12 teacher space. We provide professional development for teachers to help increase curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in classroom settings. We also develop hard-copy and digital tools to support that mission. I serve as the product development and support manager.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Atomic Object?
We needed web development services.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
We’ve been involved with Atomic Object for multiple iterations of two primary projects. We had a general sense of what we wanted but realized it was best to give them the space to create the wireframes and design constructs. We focused our time on providing feedback and modifying things.
The biggest things we brought to the table were a vision and a clear sense of the different student, teacher, and school administrator profiles we wanted to solve problems for. This helped them understand our goals. They did both development and design work.
The initial project consisted of turning an instructional model into an iPad app. It’s a visual presentation of a model with boxes that users click on to get more details of our instructional model, thus helping both teachers and students. We had an elementary, secondary, and Spanish version. The basis of this app and our model was then taken to a broader project that we’ve since completed four different iterations of. The new launches were generally synchronized to release prior to each school year.
The second project focuses on bringing the model to life within the classroom and has three primary components. It has a forum-based teacher community and a content management system-based resource library where all of our downloads, instructional prompts, and teacher resources are stored for quick access and interactivity.
The third, more robust, portion of the platform has two parts. It has an interactive lesson building tool that’s based on our instructional model. After building a lesson, teachers can assign students who can then use the platform as their science journal to document what they’ve learned.
We had a pretty clear vision of what we wanted to do. We dealt with the design parameters quickly. They were awesome at helping us conceptualize possibilities in a web-based environment about how it might come to life. They went in two primary directions with the design construct in hand and the iterative nature of the work.
They did all the custom design for the teacher lesson plan and student journaling tools. They also helped identify the best off-the-shelf software platforms that we could modify to use with our own. They customized those two platforms, the CMS, and the forum-based teacher community piece. They reskinned it to look and feel like it was ours. The CMS they identified for us is Craft. The forum-based teacher community platform is Vanilla Forums.
What is the team composition?
We’ve scaled the team up and down to meet our operational needs. I’ve worked with as few as one person to a team of 10 compiled designers, project managers, and developers. We had a designer, project manager, and four teams of two developers before we launched in the summer of 2015.
How did you come to work with Atomic Object?
Some of my staff and I had worked with Atomic Object in previous venues. I was aware of their work processes, methodologies, and approach to Agile development because I worked with them in a similar capacity on a design and build for a different software tool. They were local and did high-quality work. We were very comfortable with their project management and methodologies.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent more than $2 million.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in December 2014 and the relationship is ongoing. We have an active maintenance and support contract with them. We’re also stepping into the scope definition of a small enhancement project that we want to deliver for the summer of 2018.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Our teachers enjoy the interface and have quickly learned to appreciate its robustness across platforms. They can use it on a phone, Chromebook, Mac, or PC because it’s all web-based. We pride ourselves in making it strong enough to work across all current browsers and different operating systems.
Students often take to the platform more quickly than teachers. I encourage teachers to observe this because kids figure out how to add pictures and move content into their journal much faster.
How did Atomic Object perform from a project management standpoint?
Their project management methodologies are very strong. They’re very focused on managing customer expectations. Their communication is accurate, clear, and timely. They’re far better than other software design and development vendors I’ve worked with or heard about. We communicate via phone, text, and in-person meetings. We utilize Basecamp as well as a variety of tools depending on the nature of a given challenge.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I appreciate how focused they are on quality. They sometimes provide feedback that could be construed as negative, but it comes from a perspective that’s more aligned with the customer’s vision. They’re very upfront about the cost benefit of doing one thing versus the other.
Last week, the project manager suggested not moving forward with something because it was going to expose us to too much risk and would be very costly. They don’t suggest something just to keep their developers busy. They’re always trying to balance customer expectations with our workload in order to keep producing quality products.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Their scope containment and point structures, while sometimes necessary, can be confusing to non-technical people. They could maybe provide an introduction to their Agile methods and point structures in order to shed light on how they affect risk and cost. This could be an area of growth for them.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Whether you have a clear vision of what you want or not, trust the process and be ready to work in a rapid development cycle. Be ready to continue to refine, polish, and clarify exactly what you want. If you expect to turn things over to them and not be a part of the process, then you won’t be utilizing their skills or experience in a cost-effective way.
RATINGS
-
Quality
4.5Service & Deliverables
-
Schedule
5.0On time / deadlines
-
Cost
4.5Value / within estimates
-
Willing to Refer
5.0NPS