Clearcode

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the senior director of revenue operations for a media software company that builds software to help television stations with traditional and digital broadcasting. I work in the division responsible for digital television distribution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clearcode?

One of our digital products is a video player. Like any other technology, our software can integrate with third-party solutions, but we also offer our own video player. When we provide our video player, we can ensure that our systems all work together, but with third-party systems, sometimes issues occur.  

We work with publishing partners with their own video players, but some don't and look to us for suggestions. However, our video player product needed some upgrades — we needed a partner to rebuild the product who understood digital advertising technology. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clearcode completely rebuilt our video player system from the ground up. We worked on it internally for a while, but it had never been a major focus. The video player is more of an auxiliary service we offer, and it has been on the same codebase for a long time. 

We provided Clearcode with a full project proposal that outlined what we wanted the player to do, how it needed to work, and the program intricacies so it could connect with our core platform. 

They came back to us with a rough outline of the timeline, costs, and resource allocation. They then built the video player and included the features we wanted. 

Since initial completion, the Clearcode team has done a few maintenance updates. 

What is the team composition?

We consistently worked with 4–5 teammates, and over the entire project, we connected with about 10 teammates. One teammate managed the business relationship and there was also a centralized project manager, a few engineers, and QA teammates. 

How did you come to work with Clearcode?

One of the senior executives on our team did due diligence on a lot of different firms — they shopped around for a vendor that had the right knowledge set we were looking for, could put together good work and had a competitive price.

From there, Clearcode was recommended to our team. After our first two interactions we were pleased with the project's direction, so we stayed with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Clearcode from March–September 2021.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There aren't any specific metrics at this point. We're still rolling out a couple of features to our partners and haven't been able to measure their impact yet. 

However, we've been very happy with the quality of the work — our CTO is impressed with the quality of the codebase and the way it was architected. 

How did Clearcode perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team approaches challenges well. The collaboration between us was great, and turnarounds were very quick — we'd get about five codebase updates in a given week. 

As part of the QA process, Clearcode built a testing and QA site where they would update all changes made for each subversion of the codebase — that allowed my team to easily track what was being done and its impact. We also shared a Jira board. 

At any given time, we knew precisely what the Clearcode team was working on, their priorities, and when items were going to be delivered — we tracked project progress very well across the entire duration of the project. 

We had a weekly status call where they provided us with updates and pulled us into particular aspects of the project to collaborate on. When we did collaborate over the phone, the solution would be implemented by the next meeting, and we'd be able to see the results. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Other firms often don't communicate as much as Clearcode did, they'll go dark and a client will get an update every month or so. But Clearcode was great at communicating and updated us regularly. Their quality of work was really great as well. 

If we decide to do any enhancements to the codebase, we're happy to go back and work with Clearcode again. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would have liked it if they'd been more upfront and communicative about the billing process. We worked on an hourly basis, and there wasn't a great way to track how large are tab was growing until the end of each month. They need a better communication process there. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients need to ensure that they have a consistent engineering resource throughout the process. 

Their company is structured so that they constantly shift engineers around, which can be difficult because then clients are working with someone new who hasn't worked with the project before. However, Clearcode does do a good job onboarding new resources, but it's never quite the same as working with one person who has been on a project from the beginning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an advertising technology company that provides a few products in the ad tech space. Our primary product is an order management system for publishers to manage their online ads and sales operations. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clearcode?

Clearcode helped us develop a new supply-side platform (SSP) product. We didn’t have deep in-house expertise in our business domain, so we needed Clearcode to provide that knowledge and fill in the gap for us. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we first engaged with them, we talked about what we wanted to do at a high level. Our team figured out that they had the expertise to help us, and the project was right in their wheelhouse. As a result, our product manager and I flew to meet with their team in person. Together, we went into deeper detail about the new system’s requirements and our development expectations.

After that, they embarked on developing the product, and we worked with them for almost a year and a half until we finished building it. In terms of tech stacks, the platform was built on Microsoft Azure, and its programming language was Node.js. It also used various Azure resources such as Azure Storage, Azure Data Bricks, and Kubernetes services. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with Filip (IT Project Manager). We were also in contact with their broader team as needed throughout the course of the sprints. 

How did you come to work with Clearcode?

We found an article that Clearcode wrote, and it described how they implemented a product that was similar to what we wanted to create. Our team thought they were a good fit and that they clearly already had the expertise in our business domain, so we went for them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $250,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from February 2020–May 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Anecdotally, the Clearcode team was able to develop the product as we wanted it and to provide expertise around our business domain and solution. As a result, it was a great experience working with them. Their team members were highly knowledgeable in our domain and technologies, so our overall experience was positive. 

At present, we’re in the process of launching this new product. Our team has also been showing the product around to prospective partners and customers. So far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive; our partners and publishers have expressed the belief that they can get good value out of the product. 

How did Clearcode perform from a project management standpoint?

We met with Filip once a week and with the whole team once every two weeks for sprint demos. We also used a few tools to facilitate communication between our teams. For ad hoc conversations, we used Slack pretty heavily. The emails and the project itself were tracked on Jira, and they were documented in Confluence. Overall, Clearcode was a great team, and their communication and innovation skills were good. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Clearcode had the expertise on the platform that we wanted to develop. On top of that, they had deep experience in the ad tech stack that we targeted, enabling them to provide a lot of value in that area. We also worked with other outsourcing partners, but those firms didn’t have the experience we needed in the business domain. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do what we did: dig into the details of the project at the beginning and make sure the team is up to speed with the requirements of the application. Apart from that, keep in frequent contact and work out any issues that come up. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of an app-retargeting company. We implement user-retention strategies and encourage former app users to start using our client’s apps again.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clearcode?

We were looking to augment our development team in one of our locations.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clearcode helped further develop our platform. They utilized technologies like JavaScript, Node.js, Ruby, and MySQL.

What is the team composition?

We incorporated 3 full-time members into our structure.

How did you come to work with Clearcode?

I was familiar with their work in Cloud services in the U.S. and contacted them to discuss our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from May 2019–January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team demonstrated great technical knowledge and provided valuable insight. They didn’t hesitate to take a deep dive into complex tasks. While we can’t provide any specific metrics, they were very easy to work with.

How did Clearcode perform from a project management standpoint?

While we were new to managing a remote team, their team demonstrated their comfort in handling an offshore relationship. They were flexible and transparent with their communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They provided high-quality engineers and refrained from pushing a higher quantity of lower-level engineers. We liked their working attitudes and found them very easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could offer more suggestions and alternative ideas towards the beginning of the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared to manage a remote team, because we’ve found it to be different from working with a local team. Having said that, they’re a great team that I recommend.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a company working with data privacy. We help firms comply with data privacy laws, particularly the GDPR.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clearcode?

We needed a development partner to build a SaaS platform from scratch. We didn’t have the necessary knowledge in-house so we hired Clearcode for the task.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clearcode helped us create our own platform and web crawler. We used to have an added service from another provider but decided to make something on our own. It’s a business intelligence service that’s connected to Power BI. The crawler needed to find and identify all tracking technologies used by other ad tech providers. It’s very much about what kinds of services are used to track people online for marketing purposes, and how we can find them.              

We had an idea and technical specifications for the project we were starting, but everything was kicked off with a meeting and a blank piece of paper. Clearcode was in on it from the beginning.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with three people from their team at the moment but had 12 at peak performance. We’ve had the same project manager since the beginning, and the rest of the team was appointed based on the skills we needed. This includes designers, on-call testers, and a split between front- and backend developers. We’ve pretty much worked with the same people during the project, on and off.

How did you come to work with Clearcode?

I found them online and started a conversation with one of their account managers. We then jumped on an airplane and went to Poland for an MVP session. We described the project and started from there. I didn’t really look around because we had a good feeling about Clearcode.

How much have you invested with them?

The total at the moment is at around €1 million (approximately $1.1 million USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Clearcode in January 2018, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clearcode created a viable product that we could go to market with within four months. We were able to onboard around 500 clients and implement the software into around 1,000 websites.

How did Clearcode perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re really pleased, both with the management team and developers. It has been an overall positive experience and we definitely recommend Clearcode. We’re happy with our project manager, who set everything up and really took the time, in the beginning, to make sure that everything was up and running. We set up a working structure that we could use for the long term.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re really good at adjusting to different teams and situations and can be considered a trusted partner. I’ve been in touch with different people from Clearcode—from management to designers—and everyone has been quite professional. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything in mind for them to improve. Everything is going as planned right now.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to stay in touch and consider Clearcode a trusted partner. Meeting the actual developers can also help them when they have a question and need to reach out. They shouldn’t be thought of as just development partners, but also as people that clients can have a chat with about what to do next. It eases the communication flow and the development work a lot. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a SaaS provider. We specialize in digital out-of-home networks and work with any screen, from the back of a taxicab to a marquis in Times Square. We create software for clients who run those networks. I'm a product manager, and I am responsible for the direct interactions with Clearcode.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clearcode?

They helped us create the code between two of our major products and got those products to communicate with one another.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One product is a programmatic platform that acts as a portal to buy and sell advertising. We created our own supply-side platform a couple of years ago that lists and sells inventory in another product. Clearcode used our APIs for both products to extract information from one and place it into the other system automatically. That helped keep the information synched and reduced the workload.

A few months into the collaboration, we chose an off-the-shelf system to use as a visual platform. We extended that information into that third platform. We pivoted very quickly from wanting to create something from scratch to a buy process instead. They were very flexible as we changed the plan, and everything went smoothly. We use agile methodology, so we do estimations of stories and input that into the system.

What is the team composition?

At any one time, the team included four or five people. As our requirements changed, we switched out a few developers. Initially, we had two backend specialists, a frontend lead, and a QA specialist. When we changed tactics, we switched exclusively to backend.

How did you come to work with Clearcode?

We chose them because of their experience in programmatic platforms.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent somewhere in the $50,000-$200,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together at the end of 2018 or right at the beginning of 2019. My project is just now moving into maintenance mode, but we also use them for a few other projects in our environment. We're very happy with their work, and they continue to help us augment our own development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It's a small team, so all the estimates were fairly accurate from sprint to sprint. The platforms change a lot, and we did push the date back, but that was due to faults in the products. We were happy with their work across the board.

How did Clearcode perform from a project management standpoint?

They manage projects well, and we're very happy with them. I would recommend them to any other company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are my preferred outsource company. They're friendly, professional, and they make everything easy. I get along with all the developers on their team, and we can joke over Slack, but they never lose their professionalism. They explain the more complicated issues, and I have a wonderful time working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

About six weeks in, we switched out a developer, which caused some concern at the time. Ultimately, the new developer was better suited to the project, and the change ended up being a benefit. There’s nothing I can think of that they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Hire them. We're very happy with their work and will continue to use them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a platform whose main focus is to organize client data. We have stacks to capture and organize data for online campaigns. I'm a data manager, and I coordinate the new platform we're building with Clearcode.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clearcode?

We work with Clearcode on a module that is completely aligned with privacy laws and other compliances. Brazilian laws are very complex for our kind of platform, and we had several needs that we wanted help with.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They help us organize data in ways that are acceptable to legislation and regulations. From the ground up, they do all the development of the new platform. Their responsibilities include coding, building, and project management. Elements include trackers, databases, user controls, and UI.

What is the team composition?

The team is about 8-10 people now. During the scoping phase, we used about 15, but that number has gone down for the development phase.

How did you come to work with Clearcode?

We reached out to them when we wanted to develop this project. They were a good agency for our needs, and they already had experience in our area.

How much have you invested with them?

I'm not responsible for the financial side, but I think we've spent less than $200,000 USD so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started around February or March 2019. The work is still ongoing, and we anticipate the project will go on for a while.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don't have any formal KPIs yet. We established early on that the first workable deliverables would arrive in September or October 2019, and we're on the right track to meet those deadlines. Everyone on our team is excited about this project, and it's been a good experience for us.

How did Clearcode perform from a project management standpoint?

They are great project managers. They're well organized, and they help us in areas we lack experience. They're the best partner we've used for several projects, and we're happy with their work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're definitely one of the best development companies we've worked with. They're much better organized than any other company we've encountered.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they could improve upon. We worried that a change in project managers would affect the project, but we had no problems when we got our new manager. Everything is on schedule and going well, and their estimations are accurate.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Follow their lead. Our scoping phase was very detailed, and we followed the steps they recommended. They are good at arranging screens and establishing scope. My only advice is to hire them.