Blue Sparrow

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Director of Cableboss Limited

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Cableboss Limited is committed in innovation in the construction industry. We identify processes that can be improved, research the need and ultimately develop practical solutions to save time and money. The Cableboss system is designed to help electricians accurately fix and record cables location in ceiling and wall voids.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Blue Sparrow to accomplish?

• Design and build the mobile app for Cableboss

SOLUTION

How did you find Blue Sparrow?

Online Search

Why did you select Blue Sparrow over others?

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

How many teammates from Blue Sparrow were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Create a mobile application that will provide electricians with the ability to document cabling installations such that they can review previous installations at a later date when returning to a project. 

Main features to include:

• Create sites, Browse sites, create rooms and witnin each room add photos and text notes
• Save and share with colleagues via existing messaging apps (e.g Whatsapp,email)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Key features tested and live
• Customer feedback and usage

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

Project management was exceptional. Clear communication. No issues were too hard to overcome. Pragmatic problem solving and good control of the inevitable project scope creep. Felt like they were a valuable part of my team.

What was your primary form of communication with Blue Sparrow?

• In-Person Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Ease of working with all members of the team. They understand the industry and are able to offer pragmatic and clear advice. A pleasure to work with.

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

None - Cannot recommend them highly enough.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a GIGKitchen, a food stall solutions company based in the UK. Our primary work at the moment is centered around pop-up kitchens, independent food vendors, and businesses that have underutilized kitchen spaces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Sparrow?

We were trying to overcome the challenge of helping facilitate prosperous relationships between food vendors and businesses, so we needed a hospitality tech solution to help accomplish that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Sparrow helped us develop an iOS and Android-based mobile app. This app enables food vendors find kitchen spaces and interface with businesses by creating profiles with the necessary information to establish connections.

The team implemented calendar functionality, geolocation, and profile building.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was James (Managing Director).

How did you come to work with Blue Sparrow?

I was looking for app developers around the Bristol area on Google, and selected Blue Sparrow after going through the process with a few vendors.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested just under £80,000 (Approximately $99,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April 2021–October 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We currently have 25 users engaging in our app. I’m very happy with the product that Blue Sparrow delivered, and I’m looking forward to the second phase of the development.

How did Blue Sparrow perform from a project management standpoint?

There were some bugs and technical issues in the app's initial version, but Blue Sparrow managed and resolved them effectively. Our conversations took place in Google Meets, and we shared documents through Google Drive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with their personable approach to the partnership. I had direct contact with the founder and had regular conversations with the developers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I won’t change a thing because I was very happy with our partnership with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise you to come to the conversation with their team with an open mind — provide them with exactly what you want to produce and achieve to get the most out of your engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Authentic Systems, a software development company. We primarily work in finance, but we also deal with other industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Sparrow Apps?

We needed help with mobile app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Sparrow has developed a mobile app that helps people connect with local businesses. It acts as a directory that allows users to discover and contact local shops, showcasing the shops to present them as a viable alternative to online/out of town shopping. They’re now assisting the client in marketing the app on various app stores. Additionally, the team provides ongoing support, testing, and updates.

What is the team composition?

We work with three teammates. Initially, we only worked with two, but our needs have since grown. 

How did you come to work with Blue Sparrow Apps?

Someone recommended Blue Sparrow to us. The team was also local to our area, which was a plus. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around £23,000 (approximately $32,000).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in September 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is still in the pilot stage, so we don’t have many metrics. However, we’re very impressed with the quality of their work and have anecdotal evidence that users are very happy with the way the app works. The Blue Sparrow team has gone above and beyond what we initially expected.

How did Blue Sparrow Apps perform from a project management standpoint?

Blue Sparrow is very responsive. Additionally, the team is particularly great at listening — they often reflect what we say back to us to ensure we’re on the same page. We communicate through phone calls and use Trello to track our progress. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Blue Sparrow team took a real interest in the aims and values of our project and provided valuable input drawn from their experience of other apps and projects.  They were very helpful in finding ways around problem areas, always willing to take time to talk through issues.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be more explicit in terms of expected delivery times for some deliverables. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as prepared as possible and identify your requirements.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of FanHub - an app for football fans.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Sparrow Apps, and what were your goals?

We wanted to develop a mobile app that gamified the behaviour of football fans as they follow their team. We considered many options of which variables to track with Blue Sparrow and settled on four which included consumption of content, a team prediction game and check-ins at stadiums. We were clear that the product had to be a really slick user experience and very different to what was already available one the market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were introduced to Blue Sparrow by a mutual contact and we were immediately impressed with their commitment to the project. Their existing portfolio was also impressive and we could see ourselves working effectively with the team, which was also important.

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

We had weekly discussions over a period of months to scope out the project and to ensure that Blue Sparrow could deliver this product within our budget. The first deliverable was a wireframe and full specification which was extremely helpful in understanding our own product vision! Blue Sparrow delivered the project for both Android and iOS within budget and we continue to work with them on incremental upgrades.

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

This was probably the most impressive part of our experience with often four or five of their team on the calls, including the lead developers who were actually coding the app. This ensured that we were able to really think through each step of the development with direct communication, which has been a problem with other agencies we've previously used.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within two months of launch we had over 4000 downloads, extremely impressive retention and user engagement. We already have over 150 reviews on the app stores with near perfect feedback so we're very happy!

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

Very hands on, clear communication via Zoom meetings, Trello and emails. As easy as working with your own team!

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

Blue Sparrow are very hands-on to the point where their team feel more like colleagues than a transactional relationship. They really care about their work and bringing our vision to life.

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

The only thing I'd have done differently would be to communicate our anticipated timescales more clearly - it was as much our lack of clarity as theirs' though.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager at the Scottish Bible Society.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Sparrow Apps?

We wanted someone to develop a smartphone app for a project called Bible 2020.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had working ideas for an app but needed technical support to create the platform with about six months’ lead time. The final app encourages users to read the bible out loud through the use of a camera and video. The final product is available for both Apple and Android. They connected 1,800 versions of the bible through an API, which ended up working quite well.

What is the team composition?

There were 4–5 people working on the project throughout the engagement. 

How did you come to work with Blue Sparrow Apps?

We were let down by our previous developers and were stuck. After interviewing a few new companies, their team clearly understood our vision and had the resources to get us back on track. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from August 2019–January 2020. Since January, we’ve worked together to incorporate updates on an ad hoc basis.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s a clever app that’s worked very well so far. They’ve made intelligent suggestions when we’ve run into problems, helping us implement creative solutions on our budget. There were several times that they pointed out a less expensive way to approach a problem, which we appreciated. 

How did Blue Sparrow Apps perform from a project management standpoint?

They listened to our requirements, developed what we needed, and delivered on time. We found them to be small and agile, working seamlessly to address needs. It was clear that they had strong communication systems in place. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Working creatively, they’ve developed a product that’s truly robust. They’re very agile and are willing to listen to needs in order to deliver effectively.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them a call. I’d recommend working with them.