Bluegrass Digital

Please describe your company and your position there.

Eyona is a tech company that creates global software solutions for the FMCG industry, predominately in the liquor and restaurant space.

We own and create all our software and our competitive advantage is our capability to disrupt all B2B business processes that drive sales, holding businesses and their partners accountable.

Innovation is at the core of our culture; we employ only the best; and our passion is to delight all our customers through our products and services. I am the Chief Technical Officer at Eyona.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bluegrass Digital?

We approached Bluegrass Digital as our app development partner, to support us with the UX design thinking for the new Repforce mobile app and to develop the app using React Native technology.

What were your goals for this project?

Our Repforce product, empowers company sales teams and workforces, by enabling them to manage call routing, survey data, customised reporting tools and sales ordering capabilities and helps to improve the team’s sales performance.

Repforce is the benchmark liquor software product within South Africa and our main goal was to retain our competitive advantage, through new features, whilst improving the app user experience so that our customers enjoy using the app every single day.

How did you select this vendor?

We had heard that Bluegrass was the leading React Native development company in South Africa, having developed many apps in this technology for other leading apps.

Describe the project in detail.

We’d initially undertaken a design phase with another company, which we weren’t that happy about. Bluegrass was on boarded and immediately challenged the UX and the designs supplied and improved them.

Once we were all happy with the improved UX designs, the project followed a time and materials (T&M) approach and through an iterative process, Bluegrass developed the app, including integrating with the Repforce API, and tested the app end to end to ensure a high quality standard, before submitting to the App Stores.

What was the team composition?

The project was led and overseen by a Bluegrass product owner and included two React Native developers and supported by a QA resource.

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

The Bluegrasss team were able to demonstrate progress throughout the project and their detailed time logging reports allowed us to keep track of the original project estimates vs the actual time spent, on a weekly basis.

The project did come in over budget, however their rigorous project management process ensured that our expectations were well managed throughout – no surprises.

The new Repforce app has allowed our end customers to really transform their own business sales processes and has allowed us to steal some of our competitors big name brand customers. This mobile application is now the benchmark software product for the liquor industry.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We followed the Bluegrass ways of working for this project, using Invision during the design stage for easy commenting and tracking of designs changes; Slack we used for quick and easy comms between our teams; and Jira was used to manage and track the project development progress.

Their product owner provided frequent updates and recommendations which allowed for changes to be made while keeping to the timelines agreed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Bluegrass didn’t just action and complete upon our instructions and tasks given but rather they stepped forward as a true partner and shared their views and recommendations on how to improve the project in ways that benefitted both the end user and our business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are truly impressed with the way the project was managed, we find no room for improvement at this stage.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

PosTrack is a trade intelligence solution. It allows fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands to track their retail execution around new product launches to boost sales. Our solution has a backend and a mobile-app side that allows customers to create campaigns and build bulk QR codes that are applied to the units. As those leave the factories and get placed, someone scans the unit using the mobile app, geotags it, and answers questions about its condition and placement.

The company is made up of just myself, and I have freelance people assisting me.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bluegrass Digital?

We went to them to develop our product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I worked with another developer to get the first version of the product out, including the backend and the mobile app. It as a rough guideline, but it was incredibly poorly designed, and not sustainable from a code perspective. The project with Bluegrass involved rebuilding the scope.

They had a framework to work with, and I took the lead in terms of best practices on coding and outcomes. They gave me suggestions regarding the aesthetics, from a user journey perspective. They worked with my approval and collaboration, but the development was pretty much in their hands.

Bluegrass helps me with DevOps and AWS hosting as well. They also assisted with the backend Laravel web console. The most recent release of the mobile app was done for iOS and Android. It was built in React Native and used by our client brands to track what’s happening in retail spaces.

What is the team composition?

They had a team of 2–3 people working on the backend. On the mobile app side, there was one digital strategist, one core developer, and 1–2 project managers.

How did you come to work with Bluegrass Digital?

I found them through a friend in the industry who's more involved with DevOps and assisted me on a freelance basis. He’d worked with Bluegrass on another project and held them in high regard.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d put it in the region of 1,000,000 South African Rand (approximately $59,200 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started discussions earlier, but we started moving properly in November 2018. Our work is ongoing.

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

It's still early, so we don't have any hard metrics as this point. Anecdotally, their expertise across the business spans from backend engineering to mobile app development. I found their development processes and final product very strong. They greatly improved the work that my original dev house delivered. 

How did Bluegrass Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

From a process point of view, they’re able to coordinate the project across multiple team members using tools like Jira. They’re quite thorough with documenting their time, gathering feedback on each ticket, and subsequently moving those in the backlog into different processes. I found the sequential nature of their processes to be quite good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their project management skills very much stood out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I raised an issue with them regarding billing. There were times when I didn't have much visibility into their budget management process. This ended up not being an issue because they completed the work under budget. However, I would've appreciated seeing the billables listed earlier. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Based on my experience, Bluegrass is very much a mobile app dev house. They managed to handle our backed work as well, but I don’t think that's their core skillset.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a digital marketing agency, specifically focusing on email marketing, CRM, database management and mobile marketing solutions. I started at Digital Fire 13 years ago when it was a startup. I've assisted the previous owner in building the company and in July 2019 I acquired the business.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bluegrass Digital?

Whenever we need development work for our clients, we always turn to Bluegrass Digital. One of our big clients was after a very specific solution and we knew this was out of our scope internally. Bluegrass was able to build the e-commerce website the client was after and able to deliver on client’s requirements and expectations.

What were your goals for this project?

To provide our client with the best possible e-commerce solution that will meet and exceed their expectations.

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us by a business partner about 9/10 years ago.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They were asked to create an intuitive e-commerce solution and propose a suitable CMS platform which allows the client to personalize their sales offering. Digital Fire assisted client with the idea and concept, where after Bluegrass completed the design and development work on the Episerver platform. Bluegrass also completed all Quality Assurance testing and managed the project in collaboration with Digital Fire.

What was the team composition?

We deal with Nick (MD) or Mark (Operations Director), who oversee our projects.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Unfortunately I cannot give you specific stats, as that is confidential, but I do know our client was very happy and satisfied with the final project and the suggestions Bluegrass made to improve the overall e-commerce site.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Great! This is one of the reasons we always come back to them. They are timely and professional and you always know where you stand and where we are in a specific project, they are transparent in their approach and we appreciate that. They are easy to work with and always willing to walk the extra mile to deliver.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their positive can-do attitude is great. They listen, create, and execute within the agreed time and budget, which is rare these days.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing springs to mind, we’ve only had positive experiences with them previously.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I worked as a Product Manager for international payments at a company that offers education loans.

For what projects/services did your company hire Bluegrass Digital?

We worked with both mobile developers and product owners from Bluegrass Digital to supplement our in-house team. We chose them specifically for their knowledge of React Native, the language we used to develop our mobile app.

What were your goals for this project?

We had a long list of features that our customers needed to effectively make international payments. These included a repayment calculator, subscription payments, and a page to update account details.

How did you select this vendor?

We selected Bluegrass Digital for their close proximity to our own offices (in Cape Town) and their expertise in React Native. They were quite flexible with working styles and quickly stepped into our agile development cycle.

Describe the project in detail.

This was an ongoing retainer more than project-based work.

What was the team composition?

We had 2-4 in-house developers working with 1-2 Bluegrass developers. I acted as the Product Manager overseeing the work, while a Product Owner from Bluegrass embedded in the team to work with them day-to-day.

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

Our international payments app - specifically the features that we developed together - has been widely adopted by our customer base. We saw spikes in usage of such features as contact details updates and the repayments calculator.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

As effective as it can be when you've got two different companies working together to implement a single project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to assess the needs of our project and dive in with little context set them apart.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It would have helped me if the folks from Bluegrass would have introduced more structure to the project; outlining timelines and deliverables for the team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and owner of Digital Fire and several other United Kingdom and South Africa-based businesses. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Bluegrass Digital?

I needed a quality software development and production house to work with some of our medium and large clients. We had a very big client that we needed to satisfy, so we brought them on to assist with some of the requirements.

What was the scope of their involvement?

In these development projects, they worked through our company or directly with our client, depending on our needs and the scope of the project. For some projects, we would provide examples of similar solutions to guide their thinking and development. Other times, they were tasked with creating a solution completely from scratch. Notably, they worked often with Umbraco, doing CRM work for us. 

What is the team composition?

I dealt directly with Nick (Founder, Bluegrass Digital) who was in charge of staffing developers to my projects and overseeing progress. 

How did you come to work with Bluegrass Digital?

One of their partners reached out to me, explaining what they handle. At the time, my company was being asked to do more and more for clients within the realm of development. I saw an opportunity to bring them on as a partner. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $250,000–$500,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the relationship in 2010, and our teams are still collaborating. I’m looking to do more work with their team for my other companies.   

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

They always followed through on what they promised, working with up-to-date technology. They never produced anything that we were less than 100% satisfied with. I’ve been very happy with this partnership.  

How did Bluegrass Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

The reason we continue to use their services was their exceptional project management services. We work with clients from around the world, but they were always able to manage the project efficiently from their location in Cape Town.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood the quality of work that we needed and delivered on time. We’ve worked on great projects together. Their ability to implement within our technological requirements and strict timeframes was impressive. They also exhibited a clear understanding of our market.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything that they could’ve done differently. They’ve always delivered on time and accomplished what we’ve asked of them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you provide a strong, clear brief that details exactly what you want to achieve. The more work you do before the start of the engagement, the more smoothly the process will be.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the lead project manager at DNAfit. Our company offers at-home genetic testing that gives users personalized information about areas of fitness, nutrition, stress, and sleep.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bluegrass Digital?

We needed to develop an app compatible with both iOS and Android that allows users to access their personal information and communicate through a chat platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did all of the design, but Bluegrass Digital was responsible for building the app for us. The application was developed using React Native. They created a platform that enabled users to communicate with our team and view results from their wellness tests.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a project manager and a small team of 2–3 people.

How did you come to work with Bluegrass Digital?

I’m not sure because it was before I was a part of the team. I decided to stick with them because they’ve already gone through the process of working with us; they really built themselves up. They already understand us and our business so it works well. Part of our company is based on South Africa, so it works well that Bluegrass Digital is based there, too. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2018 and the project is currently ongoing.

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

It is good so far; it would be beneficial to get some expertise from them in terms of how well it is actually going to work for user functionality over time.

How did Bluegrass Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good. We mostly used Jira to manage the project and Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The ability to exchange ideas and chat freely with them has been great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their communication skills could be better by including their manager, so I wouldn't have to ask about their progress and find what we need to catch up on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be engaging, honest, and open with them. Give them as much information as possible. By working closely with them, you can get your requirements across and get what you’re looking for.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a full-service marketing agency that specializes in digital projects.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bluegrass Digital?

One of my clients was looking to get materials onto Veeva, a marketing platform built for the pharmaceutical industry. I wasn’t familiar with the platform, so I reached out to Bluegrass Digital to make the project happen.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bluegrass Digital is our go-to agency for all Veeva work for our clients.

The Veeva platform serves as a marketing tool for our clients’ salespeople. They can meet with a client and have all the marketing materials and information they need on a tablet. They can track usage, take notes, and access regulations for many markets. 

By the time we bring Bluegrass Digital in, the creative work is done and vetted by a regulatory panel. Their job is relatively straightforward: they transfer materials onto the Veeva platform. This usually means source files—high-resolution PDFs and other visual content that needs to be programmed into the proper language so that it works in Veeva. They then smooth the appearance and make sure the functionality works properly.

What is the team composition?

We usually have four people working on any given project. Matt (Business Analyst, Bluegrass Digital) and Nick (Managing Director, Bluegrass Digital) do most of the work, an account representative gives us quotes and updates, and Mark (Operations Director, Bluegrass Digital) oversees everything.

How did you come to work with Bluegrass Digital?

In my research, I came across Bluegrass Digital when they posted a Veeva primer on LinkedIn Learning. It wasn’t enough for me to learn how to do it myself, but it did bring their services and expertise to light for me. I reached out and set up a call with Mark to explain what I was looking for. We went from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend £3,000–£5,000 (approximately $3,900–$6,600 USD) on each project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first project went from June until September 2018. We’ve since done 8–9 projects together, and our partnership is ongoing.

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

The first project had a tight timeline, but Bluegrass Digital still delivered precisely what the client was looking for on time and budget. Since then, for every Veeva project, they’ve met or beaten our deadlines and budgets. Our clients are very happy with their work—it’s hard to find someone who can do those services and who consistently delivers on time or ahead of schedule. Respecting deadlines is very important to our clients and us, so I appreciate Bluegrass Digital’s diligence there.

Their team also never charges us extra for small changes or tweaks that we request. I appreciate that flexibility. I periodically look at other vendors, but I haven’t tried them yet—I’m satisfied with Bluegrass Digital. 

How did Bluegrass Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a few dozen people we can reach out to over a Slack channel or Skype group. In our first project, when we were getting to know each other, we did a lot of Skype and phone calls. Now that we’re more comfortable with each other, text communication—such as email, WhatsApp, Skype chat, or Telegram—is our default. I also get regular updates about where they are on the timeline. Their team is easy to work with.

The time zone difference is a challenge—I’m on the east coast in North America, and Bluegrass Digital’s office is in South Africa. We’ve figured out ways to schedule things during the 4–5-hour window where we’re both at the office. They’re also responsive when they’re out of the office, but I don’t expect that from them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their timing and responsiveness stand out the most to me. Bluegrass Digital is very good at estimating how long a task will take and get it done within that timeframe or even earlier. A lot of vendors can stay under budget, but not everyone can deliver on time. Timeliness is critical in my line of work, so I appreciate that dedication from them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The time zone difference is sometimes an issue, but I can’t blame Bluegrass Digital for it. Having them at an office down the street would make it easier for me to plan things rapidly without having to schedule so far in advance. However, we knew their location when we hired them, and their work has been fantastic.

Any advice for potential customers?

Bluegrass Digital is very good at adhering to instructions, so be as clear as possible about what you want them to do. Sometimes, we had them redo things because of some miscommunication on both ends. Make sure to plan for time zone differences as well. If you give them instructions the night before, they’ll often have the work done the next morning.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and director at Dineplan. We develop reservation software for restaurants.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bluegrass Digital?

We wanted to develop a reservation booking app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the frontend of our consumer-facing restaurant booking app, which communicates with our software via an API for all the actual information. They worked on native Android and iOS apps in ReactJS.

We had a good idea of what we wanted in terms of the concept and functionality. We started from scratch with the wireframes and the layout and they helped us with that. The app has launched and Bluegrass Digital continues to help with new functionalities and maintenance.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, an analyst, a lead developer that did most of our meetings, and another developer.

How did you come to work with Bluegrass Digital?

We worked next door to another company that had a good app development experience with Bluegrass Digital and suggested we talk to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017 and the work is ongoing.

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

We’ve received excellent user feedback on the app’s functionality. We now have 40,000 users. Restaurants love it.

They have a really good process in terms of breaking down each development cycle. They make sure that the tasks for that cycle are very clear.

How did Bluegrass Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They handled the project very well and were a great team to work with. They used a project management tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We had never developed an app before and we found Bluegrass Digital really approachable. They understood what we were trying to do and had the resources and capabilities to pull it off.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve jumped when we needed them to jump. They’ve been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a good idea of what it is you want.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital production for a public relations and communications firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bluegrass Digital?

We engaged Bluegrass Digital to build .NET websites on behalf of third-party clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bluegrass Digital built multiple responsive websites using Umbraco.  Once we assign their team a project and agree on the timeline and milestone, they complete development using a waterfall model. In one case, the team helped us coordinate with NASDAQ to incorporate New York Stock Exchange data into a website.

What is the team composition?

Nick (Managing Director, Bluegrass Digital) and Mark (Operations Director) serve as our main points of contact. They coordinate a team of front- and backend developers behind the scenes. 

How did you come to work with Bluegrass Digital?

We found their team through a referral by an internal colleague. Once we performed our due diligence and checked them out, we started working with Bluegrass Digital.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2013, and the collaboration is ongoing.

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

Our clients are consistently pleased with Bluegrass Digital’s work. We showcase their websites as case studies and have won new business from new clients as a direct result. Bluegrass Digital is consistently an excellent partner for any large web development project.

How did Bluegrass Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Accessible and professional, the team always stays on top of tasks. Over the years we’ve learned how to complement our skills and approaches to work, and our partnership runs smoothly as a result. They keep us up-to-date on progress and inform us of any issues or potential delays. We primarily collaborate via Planio, Slack, and Redmine. Their project managers coordinate with ours before every project to arrange communication tools. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical knowledge and expertise lead to reliable and high-quality products.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be open and honest from the start. Share as much information as possible with their team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of development for an investment fund management company. We deal with retail and institutional clients.

What challenge were you trying to address with Bluegrass Digital?

We needed a company to develop our CMS.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We went through a high-level requirements gathering process, and Bluegrass Digital augmented our business team to deliver the project. They developed our CMS using Episerver. We were looking for something out of the box with new features and wanted to track data analytics as well. A large part of our implementation was around content and gathering data that would impact analytics. The last part of the implementation was to serve that content with documents like a high-level brochure.

We went live with the CMS in December 2017. They’re on retainer with us and there have been quite a few releases. They recently did an upgrade for us that went live last week, so there’s still ongoing development.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with their director and senior digital project manager on the project management front, and with their managing director on the account management front. There have been three or four developers and one or two QA specialists involved as well.

How did you come to work with Bluegrass Digital?

We had an RFP process to determine which vendor we would choose, and Bluegrass Digital came out on top. They had ample experience, fair prices, and we liked the culture of their organization.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing.

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

They’re a capability-oriented organization and have the ability to make changes right away, which we appreciate.

How did Bluegrass Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Atlassian and Jira to communicate. We have frequent standup meetings and haven’t had any issues with project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a lot of knowledge and deliver quality products.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They have the knowledge and experience to fix any issue.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Stay engaged and be flexible. Don’t stick to a very formal process.