Binary Studio

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

So they were able to improve performance on our product pages by about 30 %. They uncovered an HTTP redirect error that we were unaware of. Overall, they saved us over 100 hours of manual work by scripting image identification.

We planned to move forward with them on another big project, but the start date has been delayed due to COVID-19.  

How did Binary Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

The architect-level position conducted the project management with the junior developer. We had regular communication through calls and Skype. That strategy worked out great; we had a lot of collaboration and things went smoothly.

After a few months, we moved onto smaller projects and we just needed help from the junior developer. We worked directly with him, and there were a few miscommunication issues at first, but that was quickly resolved. The rest of the engagement was very positive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The code quality is very good, and I have a lot of confidence in their hiring process. They have a training process before their developers start to work. Their junior developer was on-pace with our developers, but his code was a lot better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they reached out to me frequently and were able to address everything that came up.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Plan the work ahead of time. Make sure that you’re accounting for the amount of time that you’ll need a dedicated resource. That way, they’ll be lined up and ready to go when that work is complete.

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

I don’t have any discrete metrics, but I can say that the product is incredible. The developers from Binary consistently deliver excellent work.

How did Binary Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

My first developer agreed to work according to my time zone. I know that’s atypical, and that made the process very easy. Now we overlap for a couple of hours each day. The time zone difference has never been a problem, and I’m used to working with remote staff.

We use standard project management tools like Jira and Confluence. We also communicate over Slack. We handle most of the work through Jira tickets. I try to sync up with my developer for at least an hour each day. They usually stay pretty late, which gives me a period of about three or four hours of reliable communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their developers is the most important piece for me. Artem has told me about their internal training approach, which seems to be effective, given the results that I’m seeing. As long as they keep performing at the same level, I’m happy.

They’ve also been great about handling issues with developers. I’ve only had one person who didn’t work out over these past four years, and Binary did backflips to make sure everything was right. They found this developer outside of their team because I asked them too. I was refunded the money that I paid for that person, and they found a new developer right away. 

That kind of service builds loyalty among customers. It’s one of the many reasons why I’ve stayed with Binary over the years. With other developers, I need to provide quality assurance. That’s not the case with them. Aside from the one outlier, all of their developers have been fantastic.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything off the top of my head. We have such a great working relationship. I know I’ve already said this, but I’m super happy right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The most important thing when you’re working with an outsourced team is that you need to have an in-house lead. Whether it be your CTO or an internal project manager, you need to have someone on your side that’s architecting and running the system.

If you do that, your project will go smoothly. The success rate goes way down if you outsource the project management. You need at least one technical lead on your team—and this applies to partnerships with anyone, not just Binary.

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

We have clients who are already using it, and clients in the pipeline who are going to be using the system as well. Currently, the platform is used by very well-known hospitals in the United States and many other small doctor’s offices.

Within two to three months, we were able to release an MVP for the platform which has allowed people to start looking into it and use it for booking. It was initially integrated with third-party software, but we were able to quickly make it independent. We're adding features to the platform every sprint. It's an ongoing process, but we're showing the results to management very quickly. Users are able to use the new features as we implement them.

I think we made a fantastic choice in choosing Binary Studio as our resource company.

How did Binary Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We have adopted an agile methodology and perform development work in three-week sprints. I work with the developers on a daily basis through our CTO. We use the full suite of Atlassian products such as Jira, Confluence and many other tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I love them. They're smart, hard-working, and aware of the urgency of the situation. Despite being under a lot of pressure, they remain very professional. If need be, they are able to provide us with help late into the evenings or weekends; whenever we need it. The team very polite and humble while also being very smart and hard-working.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For now, it is mostly working well. We're a startup, so we do have a lot of pressure and work. Our business and leadership team is in Atlanta and California, but the dev team is in Ukraine and they do have a lot of holidays as opposed to the US. Out of the blue, every month or every other month, there is a national holiday and progress gets disrupted at that time. It can get a little edgy with management sometimes. I am not sure if it is doable or not, but it would be nice if they could be compliant with the holiday structure that we have so we're working as a team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It seems like they have a very diligent hiring process, and they have a sharp team. I have not seen a single person who has been onboarded onto the team and is not able to help us right away. They are very easy and quick learners, and ready to jump into the production crunch within a month of them joining. I believe Binary does their due diligence on bringing in resources. I would be a good reference for them.

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

Binary Studio’s support has allowed us to meet our January 2019 go-live date. We’re pleased that we’ve gotten so much done. We were able to onboard beta users all throughout 2018, finalized development, and are now doing well.

How did Binary Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate with our main point of contact every day, and we use Trello to coordinate.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

The lead programmer has been invaluable to our project. Not only does he have a solid understanding of development, but he’s also able to look at the project as a whole. I appreciate that he can evaluate how a technical change might trickle downstream and affect our overall business. When we’re working together, I can trust him to make certain decisions by himself.

Are there any areas they could improve? 

One of my main concerns is that I mostly work with their lead developer, so I don’t feel like I get any value from their administrative or billing contacts. 

Binary Studio’s programmers work only during their office hours in their time zone. So, if we encounter a technical problem after their hours, they won’t address the issue until the next day. This might be an unrealistic expectation on my part, but I’m used to vendors who work until the day’s job is done.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?
 
Try to speak with the programmer you’ll be working with early on to see if they’re the right fit. As with any company, a resource might specialize in one area whereas another is more talented elsewhere. We’ve been fortunate enough to find a programmer who fits our needs remarkably well.