Black Airplane

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing partner at Stone, McElroy, & Associates, a psychological risk management consulting firm. We offer psychological pre-employment screenings for police departments and public safety agencies as well as some private corporations and television networks. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

About 11 years ago, we had a developer create a scheduling software program for us to manage our business. That program was on a disk that had to be loaded onto each computer. As technology progressed and our business grew, we needed to move to a web-based system.

We had hired a programmer in our office to transition our program to Ruby on Rails, but we soon realized that the project was bigger than we’d anticipated. We had to change the database structure and needed somebody with more expertise to make it functional, so we reached out to Tyrannosaurus Tech.

We also considered the possibility of marketing the software to other police and public safety psychologists as well as other businesses to recoup some of the development cost. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Unfortunately, my business manager was in charge of this, and she’s not here anymore. I know that we asked them to review the existing code and revamp the system.

At the start, Tyrannosaurus Tech met with us for a few hours, asking detailed questions about what we do to get an understanding of our company. They did a market analysis for us to determine the marketability of the software program that we’d created, including interviews with other police psychologists. They lumped their process into groups of milestones and updated us regularly on their progress. They really understand what we’re trying to accomplish.

How many members of their team did you work with?

We have worked with 4 people at Tyrannosaurus Tech. Our main contact is Carlos [Co-Founder, Tyrannosaurus Tech].

How did you come to work with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

Our old programmer was running into problems with some of the code. He researched other companies online to find a consultant that could get us past these roadblocks. We chose Tyrannosaurus Tech because they communicated clearly. A lot of programmers don’t understand our business concept or struggle to talk to outside of programming topics. Tyrannosaurus Tech explained everything in a way that we could understand, taking our concerns and issues into account and figuring out technical ways to fix those issues.

How much have you invested with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

We’ve spent at least $50,000–$75,000, maybe more.

What is the status of this engagement?

In November 2016, they did the major software overhaul for us. Before that, I think we did work with them but not as closely. They’re currently getting some test clients on board to use our software, so we’re troubleshooting that together. We want to get our second test client up and running.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just lined up our first external software user, so we wanted to market it quickly. We talked to Tyrannosaurus Tech about doing that in November, and our first person is up and running already. We’ve seen improvements internally in our efficiency and productivity since the overhaul of the software. Although I don’t know how to quantify the results, the systems in our office are now accessible from any location with an internet connection. We’re also conducting video interviews now from all over the country, and those have worked seamlessly with the software. I can go anywhere I want and still work like I’m in my office. That’s really attributable to their advances and ability to revamp the software.

How did Tyrannosaurus Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been fantastic. They have a good perspective of the project and break it down into smaller parts that they present, complete, and then explain to us.

We’ve met in person a few times. We communicate via screen sharing calls and sometimes email, but we mostly meet through video conferencing.

What did you find most impressive about Tyrannosaurus Tech?

I appreciate their professionalism, ability to understand the big picture, and helpful suggestions.

Are there any areas Tyrannosaurus Tech could improve?

I’ve had no complaints about them. They’ve been amazing. We’ve worked with many different developers to try to accomplish this goal, and they are the only vendor that’s been able to understand our needs. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a freelance graphic designer, and I’m contracted with a company called Public Health Innovations. They are an ideation, consulting, and product development company for food safety and general public health. It’s about 90% consulting, but we’re moving into product design and development, which is where Tyrannosaurus Tech first joined. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

We had designed a mobile application for restaurant owners and managers. We needed a small firm to guide us and develop the actual code for the application. We weren’t looking for a huge enterprise business; we wanted a small team with whom we could work closely. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed to develop a hybrid app for iOS and Android. We started off with a face-to-face meeting. I outlined the needs of the application. We got to know each other over lunch. Their involvement was basically programming a hybrid application that lives on the web and works on any device. They programmed the actual visual application, and then they programmed the backend for a CMS [content management system] website, allowing us to edit the application online. Most of their involvement was coding both the frontend and backend.

We designed the whole application, and they developed it exactly as we asked. We’re really impressed with the way they took the prototype and developed it into the application we wanted. Some features include phone dialing from within the app, links to external websites, etc. We had a team of 4 developers and a project manager assigned to us. They were more than happy to answer the questions we had, and they guided us through the process of selling the app.

How did you come to work with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

Someone we’d worked for in the past introduced us to a large firm. We contacted them, even though we were looking for someone small, and they referred us to Tyrannosaurus Tech. I emailed their co-founder, and we started from there.

How much have you invested with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

We’ve invested around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in April of this year, and our relationship is ongoing. We’re a couple weeks out from the end of the project. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They developed our app from the prototype we gave them. They started from scratch, and it meets all the requirements in the prototype. They’re a small team, so we worked with them intimately. When we asked a question, we’d get an answer within 10 minutes. It’s incredible. They were always on time, and they actually delivered early about 99% of the time. We are currently under budget.

How did Tyrannosaurus Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fantastic. They have internal project management, so I don’t have to oversee anything because they already know what they’re doing. We can chat via Slack anytime. We have weekly update calls, which we rarely use because we’re in communication every day. From a project management standpoint, I’m definitely satisfied.

What did you find most impressive about Tyrannosaurus Tech?

They go out of their way to ensure they’re doing what you want. At the same time, for free, they offer guidance and advice around their areas of expertise to correct anything that may seem a little skewed. That really surprised me.  

Are there any areas Tyrannosaurus Tech could improve?

I don’t believe so. I’m 100% satisfied with the work they’ve done. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

kusoftware provides software to a segment of the health insurance industry related to medical stop-loss insurance. I’m the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

I had a desktop application that I've developed over 25 years that I needed to convert into a web app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I contracted Tyrannosaurus Tech for all of the implementation work on the project. I’m helping them do the design work and providing all the business knowledge. They’re providing a frontend designer, UI person, and a couple of backend developers. I’m contributing a little bit to the code, but they’re doing most of the coding for the frontend and backend. The project is a conversion from one format to another and adding features in the process. We’re at the very beginning of the project, so I’m not sure what the end result will be. They’re helping me imagine things that I can do with it that it doesn’t currently do. They can also hold me back on some of my ideas if necessary.

The software package is a line of business app for medical stop-loss insurance carriers and managing underwriters. For this type of insurance carrier, it runs their whole business. For the backend, we’re using an API Rails app, and the frontend will be done in React. There’s going to be some other supporting services that we’re going to create in JavaScript, and everything will be hosted on AWS.

How did you come to work with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

I found them while searching for a provider for another project. For that project, we interviewed several firms. I tried working with a different firm on that project and it didn’t go so well. I had liked the Tyrannosaurus team when I had interviewed them the first time, so when I was ready to do this project, I went back to them. The size of their firm was a good fit for what I wanted to do. The main problem that I’ve had with other projects is getting capacity from the provider when needed. They seemed to be able to provide that and they still are.

How much have you invested with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

When the project is completed, we will spend $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started negotiating in April 2017, and the work started in June 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve been happy with their work and the progress they’re making.

How did Tyrannosaurus Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

We are using project tracking tools to keep track of everything they’re doing. They’re delivering what they promised on time. We use Slack, GitHub and Pivotal Tracker. The backend developer is dedicated to me full-time, so he’s available anytime on Slack. I’m happy with the costs so far.

What did you find most impressive about Tyrannosaurus Tech?

They do what they say they’re going to do and do it on time. I find that pretty unusual with the other providers I’ve worked with. They seem to be willing to be flexible as to how much capacity they’re going to give me in the burn rate in developing the project.

Are there any areas Tyrannosaurus Tech could improve?

We made the decision to use React but they don’t have expertise in it yet. They’re learning as they go. I don’t get the impression that they’re charging me for their learning.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Manager, Marketing Technology & Performance of Blue Trust

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Wealth Management & Trust Services

Private Wealth Management 

Family Office 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Black Airplane to accomplish?

• Develop a new website
• Take the user experience to the next level
• Create a virtual front door appealing to high-net-worth clientele

SOLUTION

How did you find Black Airplane?

Referral

Why did you select Black Airplane over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from Black Airplane were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

A comprehensive website redesign to transform our current website into a modern digital experience. The old website suffered from overly hierarchical and text-heavy navigation, poor mobile user experience, outdated visual branding with heavy stock photography usage, and concentrated page traffic with many underperforming subpages. Our new website builds trust through faith-driven storytelling and guides users based on intent and persona type rather than hierarchical service categories.

The design-focused engagement created comprehensive UX/UI deliverables to position Blue Trust as the premier financial firm for high-net-worth Christians while supporting advisor enablement objectives.

Project Objectives:

• Design Modern Website Experience
• Implement Faith-Driven Brand Positioning
• Design Enhanced Advisor Visibility
• Design Persona-Specific Pathways
• Create Mobile-First Design System
• Establish Design System Foundation

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

A beautifully designed website with defined user journeys that supports lead generation.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team at Black Airplane was incredible. They always delivered on time and were a joy to work with. They produced an excellent website for us that exceeded expectations. 

What was your primary form of communication with Black Airplane?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Black Airplane has a highly talented team, and the thought power they put behind their projects is impressive. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Black Airplane could have done differently?

None. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President of Positive Athlete

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We recognize high character, high-school student athletes through an awards and development program.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Black Airplane to accomplish?

• Build out the future technological home of our company, both public facing and internal

SOLUTION

How did you find Black Airplane?

Referral

Why did you select Black Airplane over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Black Airplane were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Black airplane helped design and build our new internal CRM software linked to a public facing LinkedIn type of web and mobile platform for our users.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Growth of our program through nominations that translate to more users.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes, everything was delivered on time and in great shape. They have been excellent to deal with!

What was your primary form of communication with Black Airplane?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I would say the personal care they take to walk through every step with us. I have felt well cared for the entire process!

Are there any areas for improvement or something Black Airplane could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of Hawkeye I/O Services, LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

An I/O Psychology consulting firm which assist organizations with hiring practices, promotional processes, and organizational restructuring in an effort to attain optimal performance objectives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Black Airplane to accomplish?

• Develop proprietary online application used for candidate selection within the Public Safety arena.
• Launch proprietary online application for candidate selection within the Public Safety arena.
• Integrate proprietary online application with current company website.

SOLUTION

How did you find Black Airplane?

Online Search

Why did you select Black Airplane over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Black Airplane were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Develop, test, and integrate proprietary online application used in the candidate selection during the hiring process for Public Safety agencies. Additionally, Black Airplane setup my e-commerce application within my current company website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The Black Airplane members assigned to my project were in constant contact with me throughout the entire process. I was provided access to a ClickUp team board so that I could see each task during each sprint cycle so that I could track progress, enter comments, test features, and interact with team members daily. 

Every week we had sprint progress meetings which were well-organized and informative.If I ran into an issue during testing the Project Manager and Account Manager responded to me within a couple of hours, unless the issue was urgent. If the issue was urgent, a member would contact me within minutes of my request. I could not have asked for a better group of people to handle my project needs.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Black Airplane project management team members were incredible. They either met or exceeded the scheduled sprint timeline. The Black Airplane members assigned to my project were in constant contact with me throughout the entire process. I was provided access to a ClickUp team board so that I could see each task during each sprint cycle so that I could track progress, enter comments, test features, and interact with team members daily. 

Every week we had sprint progress meetings which were well-organized and informative.If I ran into an issue during testing the Project Manager and Account Manager responded to me within a couple of hours, unless the issue was urgent. If the issue was urgent, a member would contact me within minutes of my request. I could not have asked for a better group of people to handle my project needs.

What was your primary form of communication with Black Airplane?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I did not have an easy project because it dealt with a unique proprietary application which needed specific functionality. Everyone on the team was very supportive and did not shy away from the challenge. They exceeded my expectations with the deliverables.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Black Airplane could have done differently?

No areas of improvement that I could mention.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of RuralLink Medical

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Specialist consultation for Rural Emergency Departments

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Tyrannosaurus Tech to accomplish?

• Clickable Prototype

SOLUTION

How did you find Tyrannosaurus Tech?

• Referral

Why did you select Tyrannosaurus Tech over others?

Referred to me

What was the size of Tyrannosaurus Tech’s team?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Development of an app that connects rural ER doctors to urban specialists for phone consultation and rapid referral.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Clickable prototype

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Everything was well organized and timely. They demonstrated clear communication.

What was your primary form of communication with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Friendly, and responsive.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Tyrannosaurus Tech could have done differently?

All was good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder of Belay Guidance Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Start up digital health company focused on preventative mental health care for children

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Tyrannosaurus Tech to accomplish?

• Discovery
• UX/UI Design
• Clickable Prototype

SOLUTION

How did you find Tyrannosaurus Tech?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Tyrannosaurus Tech over others?

Company values aligned

What was the size of Tyrannosaurus Tech’s team?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Created workflows, UI/UX designs, clickable prototype and atomic design system

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• UX/UI Design, Clickable Prototype

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They kept a quick, manageable pace that encouraged us to think through all the variables required for the project

What was your primary form of communication with Tyrannosaurus Tech?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email
• Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

TRex clearly has an impressive bench of experts from the project management to design systems, to design itself. But what made it a tremendous fit for us was their willing to build, iterate and think through our vision with us. They patiently tested our ideas and allowed us to see what they likely knew already. They translated, imagined and delivered an end product that not only brought our vision to life, but they improved it!

Are there any areas for improvement or something Tyrannosaurus Tech could have done differently?

Early in the process we asked for greater clarity around the weekly deliverables so that we could keep up with their pace. They made the shift quickly and graciously. If anything, we should be getting this feedback from them not the other way around. They were tremendous professionals with the perfect dose of kindness

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're in the early stages of building out a custom software platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Tyrannosaurus Tech, and what were your goals?

We were looking for someone to help us work through the initial challenges and develop a scope of work report, among other deliverables, to aide in the early stages of our growth.

SOLUTION

How did you select Tyrannosaurus Tech and what were the deciding factors?

They came highly recommended and our initial experiences with Richard, Carlos, and the team were very positive.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We worked through a multi-hour discovery session to flesh out all aspects of our vision, with their guiding us through the entire process.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We spoke with three members of the team, including both Richard and Carlos.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We're very pleased with the deliverables we received at the end.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

They were in constant communication through the entire process, and available via phone/email whenever we asked. The discovery workshop they walked us through was organized, thorough, and effective.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They're clearly experts in their field and highly knowledgable about how to guide people in my current stage

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nope

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Operations for Fountain Life, which is a startup company in the health and wellness space with an emphasis on maximizing healthspan.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Tyrannosaurus Tech?

Development of a mobile app which serves multiple functions, including client engagement and remote clinical data collection via smart wearables.

What were your goals for this project?

To launch a successful app which allowed our internal team and client to visualize the client data flow via multiple wearables and data sources.

SOLUTION

How did you select Tyrannosaurus Tech?

Interviews and references after initial screening from a feference through a colleague.

Describe the project in detail.

See above.

What was the team composition?

Product lead, project manager, and a team of 2-3 technical developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

App is working as intended after multiple iterations resulting from a constantly moving finish line.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication and customer service was largely very good and quick. Very customer oriented process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The technical competency of their developers impresses us. They had to get up to speed on many different attributes of the unique nature of the type of clinical data we required.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Perhaps a more robust or formalized internal QA process would have been valuable in the earlier iterations, but this smoothed out in later releases. Some issues could not have been resolved without internal releases anyways.