Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
Overall, we've stuck with BoTree Technologies, which is the biggest compliment of all. There is always room for improvement, and our contacts from their team have been open to feedback. There were also things which we needed to learn, given that my partner and I were relatively new to the process. Through changing our processes, we've removed some of the tensions and general churn of the work.
How did BoTree Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?
I consider being able to lay out a clear timetable—including the necessary work hours for a specific task, the cost, and so on—as an integral part of project management. My 1 major critique is around BoTree Technologies' project management. We have paid for a dedicated manager, but I've never worked with that person, only with other resources. I found it strange that there wasn't a person in charge of setting tasks and managing the communication in a clear fashion.
What did you find most impressive about BoTree Technologies?
BoTree Technologies is always willing to work with us. When we couldn't pay right away, they were extremely understanding. If I genuinely felt that I was right about an issue, BoTree Technologies was open to accepting my point of view. The reverse is also true. BoTree Technologies has a strong balance of making sure that the customer is always right, but also didn't empower us to the point of that we walked all over them. BoTree Technologies is a fair company, which gives me a great deal of trust in them.
Are there any areas BoTree Technologies could improve?
My main complaint is something that BoTree Technologies is actively working on. When working on a complex development phase with a thousand different things going into it, even though we would draft and try to explain our vision as best we can, changes in the requirements can lead to extra work hours. The scope creep can get out of control when there are other things to consider in our day to day activity. We have already talked about this with BoTree Technologies. They will try to make the process smoother and more accurate in terms of timeline and cost. Any other complaints I've had previously were resolved. If BoTree Technologies can improve on how our work is estimated and how those estimates are updated, I would say that they're as good as it can get.
What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with BoTree Technologies?
When working with any development firm in India, there will be a cultural and language barrier. This can be a bit frustrating when it comes to small details like error messages and other popups. We wouldn't think that the messages need to be very explicit, but they do. Every single nuance of the site, in terms of how words are being used, needs to be taken into consideration. This is applicable for developers in general and to ones in India specifically.
BoTree Technologies demonstrated a comprehensive level of skill and knowledge about complex technologies like Ruby on Rails. Leveraging these capabilities, they rapidly produced outstanding deliverables with strong, clean code. They even willingly learned new skills to accommodate client needs.