B60

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an archaeology and heritage practice. We are one of the largest in the UK. We provide services to the heritage sector and to development sectors to allow development to go ahead in a range of environments. I’m a senior project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with B60?

We are a registered charity as well as a limited company. In our charitable remit, we undertake work that addresses issues within the historic environment. One of the things that we wanted to do was to create a recording mechanism for people who might be on the sea or walking along the beach, and they find a piece of a ship or some other object that has an archeological or historic nature. An app was the perfect vehicle to allow people to do learn what to do with it and learn more about it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were going to do iOS, Android, and Windows phone, but we decided not to do the Windows phone because of additional cost compared to the relatively low penetration. I am not a technical person; I don’t know anything about apps or smartphone application development. It is all very new to me. I’m an archaeologist. B60 led most of the development. There were some design aspects that our company produced. We got our illustrators involved, but beyond that and beyond copy that would go into the app, B60 designed everything and launched in the app stores. In terms of marketing, this is not a high-volume app. This is going to be something that is for a very specific use. It is not something that we ever felt that general marketing would work for. The marketing side of things is done by us talking to people who might want to use it. This is a kind of low-volume app. It is not going to be mass media type stuff.

How many resources have been assigned to your project?

I was aware that there were quite a few people involved in different aspects. There was obviously a core team with its own project management, and it was being dealt with in an efficient way. But I don’t have a lot of insight into all their different roles and areas of expertise.

How did you come to work with B60?

I searched on Google and made a few phone calls to app developers. I was quite struck when B60 almost immediately understood the idea. To try to explain that concept to someone who knows very little about archaeology is probably quite a difficult thing to do, but they immediately got it and were able to start talking about how it might work and what functionality might be able to be added to the app. It was quite clear they were very proactive, wanted to understand the client's brief, and wanted to make it happen.

How much have you invested with B60?

We have not invested anything in their other services because the app was paid for by our client. We were being paid by the client to undertake the project, but the app side of it was paid for by the client directly. I don’t know how much they paid for the app. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2016. We are still tweaking the app to make it work as it should. They are still doing a good job for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We initially looked at how many people were downloading it, but it is very low-volume. This is a very specific and targeted type of activity that would lead to somebody using the app. But, it can provide value in other areas having to do with heritage and the historic environment.

We’ve had positive comments about how easy it is to use and how it functions. We always said that we wanted the app to be intuitive. I think that has been achieved. You could probably download it, not know anything about it, and just use it and submit a record. It’s worked in that respect.

How did B60 perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very efficient and collaborative. We made quite a lot of changes to the copy that sat within the app on the way. That wasn’t a problem; it was dealt with. I think the fact that it went relativity smoothly is a testament that it was being managed properly on their side. We would communicate through phone, email, conference calls, but also I think they used a project management system called Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about B60?

What impressed me most at the beginning was that they were fully on board with what we were trying to achieve, despite the fact that they had probably never dealt with the heritage sector before. They clearly got what it was that we wanted and needed to achieve, and they were able to run with it. It was also the right choice from the perspective that they clearly had the right development teams and tools available to make it happen. I didn’t get that impression from the other developers that I spoke to.

Are there any areas B60 could improve?

Having no experience with any other app developers, I couldn’t possibly tell you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We offer a service to customers to manage their employee mileage reimbursement and expense reimbursement. We do that through a number of products and services including an online web page, a mobile app and data services that we provide from a data team. Our primary purpose is to save customers cash.

What is your position?

I am the CIO. I look after the development of our mileage capture application and our mobile development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with B60?

We had a cross-platform application on Apple, Android, and Windows devices where we were struggling to tap into the native components of each operating system. We decided to go down the native development route and were looking for some applications developers that could rebuild our application and take it to the next stage.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

It's on Apple and Android. They had to rebuild the app. They didn't have a blueprint to use. They were able to understand the problem and deliver the app to suit what we required without predefined blueprints and business processes.

How did you come to work with B60?

We were looking for an established app developer that had cross-platform experience and had experience with working with GPS and tracking within the vehicle. We went on the discovery and short-listed three providers and interviewed them individually. We chose B60.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

For both rebuilds and updates it's about 25,000 [approximately $33,000].

What is the status of this engagement?

We're continually improving. We receive customer requests so that will lead to subsequent developer. We'll continue to add functions to the website and mobile app.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We were happy with their work.

How did B60 perform from a project management standpoint?

It was satisfactory. They were trying to deliver a number of projects across several platforms. Where time was allocated it was generally adhered to. There were some delays but, overall, it was good.

What distinguishes B60 from other providers?

I think they gel well in delivering the wireframes and developing that into a business process and ultimately feeding back into our corporate customer management system. They were building a product that would feed into our central system through an API [application programming interface]. I think that's where they understood the interface between the customer and the application was key to fulfilling what we require.

Is there anything B60 could have improved or done differently?

The quality control from the first stage of development. I was willing to conduct most of the testing myself and that helped minimize cost. I would encourage that if I had to do it again.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

It is one of the top banks in the United Kingdom.

What is your position?

I am the senior project manager for retail digital transformation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with B60?

We were trying to adapt a piece of eDOCS software that we have and turn it into a videoconferencing platform to allow us to sell to our clients remotely through a variety of channels.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

It was for consultancy and development. B60 had to take a piece of existing software we had that allowed us to send and receive documentation from our clients and ourselves and they had to add a videoconferencing element to that. They had to develop secondary software that would satisfy both our regulatory and security requirements. Then, they consulted with us to help us implement that solution. We're in the process of deploying that to our retail network. It's a new solution to help us remotely help some of our less-advantaged customers who don't have the mobility to get to our branches. It allows them to discuss any of our products remotely. They can do that from home or a mobile device. The browser was for desktops and laptops, and then it had to be put into a mobile platform. It had to be secure so they utilized Signal, which encrypts the data end to end.

How did you come to work with B60?

B60 had been part of our retail conferences. We have a number of management seminars and strategic seminars throughout the country. They've come to a number of those as consultants to help us development management techniques and help identify new ways of thinking specifically around development opportunities. They help us remove many of the manual activities and help us to implement real solutions that will last.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The project cost around $350,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have completed the initial phase. There is ongoing development. We're looking at putting a number of videoconferencing units into our branches. Then, you can go to any branch even if they don't have someone who specializes in the service you want as long as they have the videoconferencing unit.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Any metrics will come in the second phase of development. There's a projected cost savings of approximately £350,000 [approximately $460,000] a year because we will be reassessing some of the placement of our advisors. B60 has been professional throughout our engagement. They've been fantastic to deal with. It's the first time I've worked with a company where they've quoted me a figure and they've stuck to that budget. They had never done a videoconferencing solution before. They had something to demonstrate to me in a week and their development was always very good. We went with them because their design is as good as their development. We needed a functional solution. It needs to be easy to use and something that people find simple to adapt to. The design was very sleek and very nice.

How did B60 perform from a project management standpoint?

They've been fantastic. We have our own internal project management team; they were a project consultant. They have a wealth of knowledge, and it was very appreciated.

What distinguishes B60 from other providers?

I think B60 is never shy of rising to a challenge. If you give them a brief, they'll do all they can to achieve that. Many companies don't like stepping out of their comfort zone. They stuck to their timelines and exceeded most of them. The level of their work was very impressive.

Is there anything B60 could have improved or done differently?

No. B60's presentation skills are very good. Many of the agents that we had come in did mediocre presentations. B60  shined in that area as well. They made the effort. They were very approachable, and the speed of service was fantastic. They stayed on budget. They were courteous at all times and did what we needed them to do.