Brocoders

What was the scope of their involvement?

They first developed designs for the UI/UX. Once I reviewed the work, I gave them the contract to develop the software for both the iOS and Android applications. Some of the features include currency transfers and currency creation. It was built using React Native.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a project manager. Through her, I worked with three developers indirectly. I also coordinated a few elements with people higher up in their firm, mostly in the contracting phase.

How did you come to work with Brocoders?

I posted a project on Upwork. They applied for the design portion of the project, which was the first phase. I was satisfied with their work, so I decided to award them the software development of the mobile app.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost is about $40,000, which I'm paying for in installments as we reach each milestone.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in May 2019 and will probably wrap up in December 2019.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brocoders was responsible for the entire codebase of the project, as well as wireframes. They developed everything from the ground up and turned my idea into a more functional scope.

They used Ruby on Rails 5.0 on the backend, which had been recently released at the time, in July 2016. All of the backend developers on Brocoders’ team are Rails people, but I don’t know if they’d used the 5.0 version before.

We used ReactJS on the frontend and a Bootstrap theme. The platform was hosted on DigitalOcean. We rely on Twilio for SMS authentication. This tool allows users to verify their accounts through the use of a mobile number, which lets them receive confirmation codes. We also have a MailChimp integration.

Brocoders handled all the sign-in integrations. Users can log in through Google accounts, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The algorithms that power the auction engine sit at the core of the platform. There is a level of automation through which users can generate their own auctions. This means that they’re essentially playing against the system and receiving instant feedback, giving an impression of playing against someone else. Brocoders built this logic into the Rails framework.

They brought others members on board for the frontend elements and supplied coders for hardcore elements. A few people on their team have a deeper understanding of software development.

I communicated with a project manager from Brocoders’ side, and I also had a dedicated frontend and backend developer on the team. All the communication was done through Slack, and a few additional people worked on ad-hoc components. Overall, 4–5 people touched the codebase.

How did you come to work with Brocoders?

I found a team member on Upwork and prodded around Google until I found Brocoders’ site. I reached out to them because I felt they had a clean and stable tech stack. I do a lot of recruitment within software development and can usually spot good developers. I researched some of the people on Brocoders’ website and looked at their public repositories. I was fairly impressed with the consistency of the technologies they were using, especially the Ruby on Rails stack and ReactJS. I didn’t have my current platform in mind when I first contacted them, but I wanted to have a conversation and find out what they were like. One thing led to another.

How much have you invested with Brocoders?

The cost of their work has been around AU$20,000 [$15,000].

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Brocoders around May 2016. The initial phase of the project was completed in December. The collaboration is ongoing, and I will assign more work to Brocoders.