Canary Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Core team member

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Canary Software, and what were your goals?

We were looking for a proper software vendor with high requirements on responsive web and high performant mobile app expertise (both). These were crucial as both would be talking to the same back-end infra. We were also looking for a partner who could support us 24/7 with high ownership of their delivery.

SOLUTION

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

We chose Canary because of their pitch on past projects and the expertise shown by founder and their developers we talked with. We chose them because of the detailed cost estimation and breakdown and the assumptions they put into. It's all logical.

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

Scope-wise, there are two main parts, firstly on the web development and secondly on the mobile development. Web dev was kicked off first. Weekly meeting to keep track of the progress. Questions for clarifications and quick concurrences are done by a telegram group. A line with the senior/manager are also maintained so that there are timely feedback or even changes in priorities.

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

4 in total. One senior/manager and 3 developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Timely delivery on our very first and huge milestone and subsequent projects including a web3 page and mobile version Significant improvement on our UX before and after

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

Communication were on email at first for formal stuff, Jira for standard ticketing and telegram for quick clarifications or concurrences. Timings are closely kept and reported on frequent basis so we have a confident view of our own delivery.

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

Their expertise from a wide range of areas from designing, web to mobile, a great combination for user/business understanding to hard-core technical competencies. They are also experts in optimising performance as well. The team is very willing to pick up new technologies when we asked i.e. blockchain/web3 technologies.

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

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Project Manager at a Branding and Marketing agency, headquartered in Australia. Our company has about 100 employees and we serve corporate clients in Australia mainly. I oversee our digital products and coordinate between the client in Australia with the production team in Hanoi, Vietnam.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Canary Software?

Our client has the need to invest in mobile application along with our website application. We do not have any in-house engineers and also the very short deadline given, so we needed to outsource the mobile design to Canary

What were your goals for this project?

To be able to deliver to client a good app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Search them online and we already work with them on some small development task before starting bigger project

Describe the project in detail.

Building web application for fitness program

What was the team composition?

It didn’t change after our discussion cause I’m a PM myself, so I’m happy with 2 Sr developer from SF

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our project get done on time and client is very happy with the Moblie app. The is some very small bugs at the very end of the project but they promptly support helps very much keeping client happy.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Easy to communicate and the team raised red-flag in very early stage. they provide some very valuable question and design analyze at the beginning.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They had quick communication and good code quality.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing so far

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the project and account manager of Hype Web Agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Canary Software?

We needed detailed web designs and a WordPress template implementation.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a modern vision of the website

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were recommended to them by a friend.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Canary Software helped us develop two projects. Using our wireframes, .psd graphics, and prototypes, their team created several WordPress websites and configured them in three different resolutions for desktop, tablet, and mobile phone use. In addition, they implemented VideoBuilder to manage our CMS and update our content.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from June 2017–January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received positive feedback from all our clients on the look and feel of the website. We also got great internal feedback on our new CMS's functionality and easy-to-use navigational interface.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I was the main project manager for the project. Their team responded to our needs quickly, and always answered our questions with solutions. We talked via a phone, email, a messenger, and Skype. Overall, it was a pleasure working with them, and they met all our project milestones on time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I found their friendly and supportive attitude from Canary Software impressive. They were always ready to help us with additional updates or advice. Their communication skills were excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our language barrier was sometimes hard to deal with. They often felt more comfortable communicating through email and chat because only one of their employees spoke understandable English. Aside from that, they were very helpful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a consulting company working with different types of organizations on software development projects in the solar and LED science spaces. I'm the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Canary Software?

I was trying to find a software development partner who was responsive and affordable while delivering quality work that didn’t require reworking. We're outsourcing this portion of the business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Canary handled all the software development, along with some of the scoping and technical specifications. I gave them a broad-level scope, which they refined and then submitted to the customer for approval. We didn’t typically provide wireframes and technical documentation. They've developed custom web apps for us, using the Symfony 2 framework.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two individuals from their team.

How did you come to work with Canary Software?

I was referred to them by another company I was doing work for.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work is $20,000–$30,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Canary around July 2016 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I receive good reviews about their work—they have high-quality software developers. I’ve learned how to get good results from working with them, over the years. The QA process is a minor part of what we need to do, given how strong the development is.

How did Canary Software perform from a project management standpoint?

I haven’t used them for project management, but generally, I’ve found them to be communicative. A project might take longer than anticipated, but they always let me know and we work it out. We use email for most of the communication and the team understands English well. This is a testament to how well the process works: we don’t have to spend a lot of time on the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re good to work with. They’re fair and they stand behind their work. If they mess something up, they always make it right. They're definitely a good company to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As they grow, they might automate some things that they currently do manually. They're a small company, so they don’t have fancy interfaces and things of this sort. However, these are just minor details.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If the customer is able to write up the specifications document clearly, they'll get a good outcome. One thing that Canary does well is to help clients find things that they may have missed early on, before the work is started. This gives us a chance to bring the scope to the customer and clear it up before the work begins. It can help reduce surprises or delays during the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company is a company doing architectural services, we develop the company on the website in the most professional way. I am the manager of this project.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Canary Software, and what were your goals?

We hired Canary Software company for Kirei Home website project - website development service (Web Design for Business Services Company). The goal we want to achieve is a website with a unique, professional style in accordance with our company's style.

SOLUTION

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

We already work with Canary Software on some smaller project before. Canary Software is a company with a lot of experience in the IT field, experienced and talented staff and many good services for customers.

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

Building web for customers using architectural services and people interested in architecture. Using our wireframes, .psd graphics, and prototypes ... to create WordPress website

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

I worked with two individuals from their team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our customers give very good and positive feedback on the look and feel of our website. The architects of our company are very satisfied with this result.

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

We communicate via the Slack app, I give them a specific deadline to fix bugs and follow my company's ideas. They completed the project on time and met our expectations.

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

Canary Software company is professional but still very friendly with us. They always completed our deadlines earlier or on time, never late.

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

They prefer to communicate with us via Email, Slack rather than calling. But everything is fine with us.. But everything is fine with us.