Clockwise Software

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the co-founders of geocaching.com, an international treasure-hunting game for people to use GPS devices to find hidden treasures. We’re a subscription-based and location-based technology business based in Seattle with over 90 employees. We’ve built an application for iOS and Android and a website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clockwise Software?

We needed help to build the prototype of our location-based chat application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked on the project with Clockwise Software for about two years. We did prototyping and development beforehand. Initially, we gave them access to the prototype and design. We looked at what the engagement would look like, and Clockwise Software gave us a quote. Then, they went forward with development and built the app's first version.

Clockwise Software is using React Native for the code. We’ve continued development until we’ve felt satisfied with the features for our community. We’re currently in the last stages of building the application before releasing it to the stores.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with a project manager, and about 4–5 people are on the project. Sometimes they work with an UI designer for additional work.

How did you come to work with Clockwise Software?

A company I was working with on prototyping recommended Clockwise Software, and we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them since March 2022; our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t launched the app yet, but Clockwise Software has exceeded our expectations regarding the quality of their work.

How did Clockwise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They deliver on time and within budget. We communicate through Trello, Google Docs, Slack, and Google Meet. Overall, their communication is great; it’s an excellent partnership.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Yevheniia (Project Manager) is our main point of contact. She’s very well-spoken and liaises between us and many developers there. I’ve been impressed with how she’s solved challenges along the way; she’s really helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very responsive to issues. The team comes up with solutions and has excellent ideas to improve the project. Overall, the code is good, and the app is unique.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The challenge with many projects is fixing bugs, but they do a good job of figuring out the problem.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as clear with your objectives as possible, and be available when questions arise.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Propa Software Ltd

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide property management services to Landlords and Tenants across the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Clockwise Software to accomplish?

Create a progressive web app porting the functions of our iOS platform.

SOLUTION

How did you find Clockwise Software?

Online Search

Why did you select Clockwise Software over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for the cost

How many teammates from Clockwise Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We had an iOS app fully developed and publicly released with interest from users from the web and Android platforms. The goal of the project was to create parity with the iOS platform. We wanted to maintain all backend logic from a serverless architecture. So that the platform was consistent from all points of entry. Key deliverables were: 

• Progressive Web App (PWA)
• Accessed on the Google Play Store
• Web portal for accessing through a browser
• Consistent functionality between Web and Android
• Mobile and Desktop capable application

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Uptake in cross-platform users.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

When given detailed documentation and screen layouts, they were very effective, on time, and managed the project well.

What was your primary form of communication with Clockwise Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They were incredibly approachable even through a rough time where they are geographically.

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

Grammar in key deliverables was sometimes an issue.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and COO of Agilea Solutions, an IT consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Clockwise Software?

We needed help with marketplace development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clockwise Software has been helping us create a digital marketplace from scratch for web and mobile platforms, including iOS and Android. The product is a platform to connect software consultants with corporations looking for specific services with certain skills. They’ve also helped us work through the design, develop features, and integrate Stripe, Twilio, and other third-party services to build a complete product. In terms of technologies, they use Nest.js, React, Docker, and Google Cloud Platform.

What was the team composition? 

We’ve been working with Gary (CTO) and their engineering team.

How did you come to work with Clockwise Software?

We found Clockwise Software through Google and chose them because they seemed to have expertise in building digital marketplaces.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent around $1.5 million with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2021, and the engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clockwise Software has been able to plan a great project with a limited budget. They’ve adhered to that plan, making us trust their work in every sprint that we start with them.

How did Clockwise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Clockwise Software’s project management is good. They stay on budget and use Agile methodology to keep the project going. Regarding communication and tools, we use Zoom for 2–3 weekly meetings, Jira, and Notion.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Clockwise Software’s team has been able to deliver and be cheerful and friendly despite being in the middle of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine — it’s been genuinely inspiring.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on their work — we’ve found a great team with good expertise and value.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them ownership of the project, and don’t try to micromanage them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of a company developing a web application technology for the project management and controls discipline.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I hired Clockwise to take me through their Discovery Phase in order to refresh and pivot an existing web application for new purposes. My goals included developing a new UI/UX, define new features and functions, developing marketing materials in order to present to potential investors.

SOLUTION

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

I found Clockwise through a google search and reviewed their website extensively. I was impressed by the quality of their website materials and reached out to them. From the very beginning, the team at Clockwise demonstrated professionalism and creativity.

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

We kicked off the discovery phase with a clear path to what was to be developed. The key deliverables included a new UI/UX prototype, a software specification, risk matrix, features list, security approach, and a proposal for the full development.

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

I worked primarily with 3 team members at Clockwise. One Contract manager, one project manager, and one business manager. Several other folks worked behind the scene including developer and designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I am taking the materials produced from the Discovery phase in my effort to raise investor/customer interest in the application.

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

We had weekly review meetings to go over work in-progress. We communicated almost daily using e-mail and Slack for questions and answers.

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

The team worked very well together and they produced excellent materials throughout the discovery phase. Their communication was professional and timely.

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

It took a little while for the team to fully understand the intent of the web application. However, they were quick and diligent to study all the basis materials I provided and the process smoothed out after that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a software engineer for Pantastic; we provide e-commerce services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clockwise Software?

We needed additional front- and backend engineers. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We spoke to Clockwise Software about what we needed, and they provided us with candidates. Once the candidates were selected, we onboarded them and trained them in the system they would be working on. 

Most of the projects Clockwise Software worked on were based on building backend infrastructure and frontend for customer-facing products in the e-commerce space dealing with an interface of Shopify API. Members of their team were also writing software for us. They worked with our staff on the backend to finish projects and write additional features for the software. On the frontend, their engineers worked with React and TypeScript. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with two frontend developers and one backend developer. 

How did you come to work with Clockwise Software?

They were initially a referral, but we’d worked with them on a previous project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between January–October 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The engineers were productive and completed tasks. 

How did Clockwise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

The team was available to us full-time and went through our regular stand-up meetings and sprints. It almost felt like we had another engineer. We used Zoom and Google Meet for communication, and Jira and Shortcut for project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had high technical competency and were able to understand code and write it for us. We think they’re great engineers. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a bit of a language barrier, but that’s about it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Break down tasks and assign them to the Clockwise Software team. If they have enough information, they can complete the tasks.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO and co-founder of an industrial IoT tech manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clockwise Software?

We were looking to add more developers to our team on a remote basis.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clockwise Software provides us with staff augmentation to supplement our web app development and the creation of our sales landing page. 

What is the team composition?

We’re mainly working with one member from Clockwise Software.

How did you come to work with Clockwise Software?

We found them through an online job hiring site.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While it’s hard to quantify the impact of their work, I’ll say that they’ve definitely saved us a lot of resources and time with their web development services.

How did Clockwise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

I didn’t actually hire them for any sort of project management, so we just give them tasks on a weekly and semi-daily basis, which they will then implement based on my prioritization.

Clockwise Software has someone assigned to check in on the progress of the project from time to time, and I would typically communicate with them through video calls, emails, and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re very impressed with the quality of their developers. They’re highly skilled, and they fit our needs perfectly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to consider a wide range of their services and treat their developers as if they’re part of your internal team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead frontend developer of a nonprofit organization that works to help and benefit Jewish lives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead frontend developer of a nonprofit organization that works to help and benefit Jewish lives.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clockwise Software provides development services for us. They work mostly with JavaScript, TypeScript, and OpenGL. They help with both back- and frontend development for desktop applications. We use a lot of restQL, which some of their developers are helping us to integrate into the frontend. They help create logic and build certain functions and architectures.

We’re currently working on some open-ended projects, including a system that integrates events and in-house events with the website. Another project is a system that is used to administrate user and company data. Another project is specific to universities. It’s a system that helps manage full staff and students. 

We also have a school project. There are many schools mostly in Israel that are under our care in terms of staff and student management. We had this system for a couple of years and one of the challenges we had this year was a redesign of this desktop app. Two of the Clockwise Software developers helped us in moving parts of the app around, integrating new features such as better admin access and an easier way to add users and accounts into it. They used TypeScript and restQL for this project.

What is the team composition?

We currently work with three full-stack developers. Previously, we worked with two more developers on their team.  

How did you come to work with Clockwise Software?

I found them on Upwork.

What is the status of this engagement?

The main project ran from August 2020–February 2021. Some elements of the engagement are ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since the project just went live, we don’t have any feedback from users yet. The success of their work was measured by their code review and their performance while working on it. Their developers are very competent. We’re very happy with the results.

How did Clockwise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Our teams use Asana to collaborate. Most of our communication is done through Asana or Slack. We make requests and make sure to explain them in a way the developers will understand what they need to do.

The Clockwise Software developers always help us achieve our goals. Communication is always very good and the deadlines were met most of the time. They’re very transparent. It was easy for us to plan ahead whenever there was a complicated task.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The developers at Clockwise Software have a very impressive tech understanding. They are very good with all the technologies they work with. Whenever they need to learn something new, it’s done quickly and effectively.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything is good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have clear communication to give them clear assignments. It’s not so much for the UI/UX design but more with code that they bring back to the front of the queries that they do.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder & CEO of Whitelance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clockwise Software?

We were looking for someone to help us make our marketplace into a product, available as a service to people.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clockwise Software helped us think through requirements from an architectural perspective and scope out the strategy. They built the technology from a single marketplace into a multi-level marketplace solution. 

They shifted the technology’s architecture to enable multiple marketplaces with a central system. Users can build their service marketplace for any business anywhere in the world.

What is the team composition?

We have worked with up to three teammates at once. We interact with the architect daily, and there’s also an account manager.

How did you come to work with Clockwise Software?

I found them on Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $45,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in November 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clockwise Software has done exactly what we asked them to do. They are technically skilled and professional, and they work in a timely manner. I would love to hire more of their teammates to work with us.

How did Clockwise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re clear and organized, and they make themselves available to us. They accommodate our needs and are good at coming up with new ways of finding talent, either within their agency or externally, when we need additional resources.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a broad knowledge base and are ahead of their competitors technically. The team is also professional and courteous.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there are no areas for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest about your needs, requirements, and preferences. Clockwise Software is extremely good at responding. If you need additional resources, try to give them as much notice as possible to find someone.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a real estate management analytics company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clockwise Software?

We needed an agency that we could collaborate with to develop a platform to help our business. The goal is to establish an app and optimize its UI/UX design. Our team needed help in bringing datasets together to simplify the process and make everything uniform to get our job done efficiently and answer inquiries faster.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clockwise Software utilized key technologies like React Redux, Apollo, QOL, and PostgreSQL.

We initially sent them the requirements and they estimated the costs for the modules. The platform allowed us to view different assets for real estate companies and open different tabs to show the corresponding data.

Right now, the Clockwise Software team is working on another module that can help us track the entire experience.

What is the team composition?

We are currently working with 5–6 people from their team – the project manager, a frontend developer, a backend developer, and 2–3 members working on the codes.

How did you come to work with Clockwise Software?

The CEO of Clockwise Software reached out regarding our post on Upwork. We talked over the phone to discuss the project. Upon reviewing their portfolio, which looked great, we selected them over other vendors.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re already spent $35,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration started in May 2020 and it’s still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the metrics we use to measure success is the budget and the team initially gave us an estimate of how much the project would cost. Unfortunately, they went a little over that and that was the main learning curve we had during the early stages of our collaboration.

As for the outputs, the first module the team created was great – it was sharp and sophisticated. That system’s frontend matched perfectly with the design layouts. They’ve set the bar high for the rest of our engagement. Compared to the other developers we’ve worked with in the past, the team is doing a superb job. Overall, Clockwise Software is crucial to our success because of their efforts.

How did Clockwise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Our team communicates with Clockwise Software through phone calls, Slack, and WhatsApp. They’re good with time management and they can run a project on a tight schedule. The team is dedicated to finishing the project and works tirelessly to get the tasks done.

Clockwise Software has employees and assistants that respond to us immediately. Those members would take care of our concerns and inquiries all the time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Clockwise Software is a well-maintained company — we can easily tell that their leadership is great. That’s evident in how the team communicates with us and how they attend to our requests. The team is concise and able to take my visions and bring them to life yet still managing to summarize them.

We find it impressive that they're always willing to try new things to develop our vision. We appreciate how they continuously reassure us about this project and how they can deliver the outputs consistently.

Are there any areas they could improve?
Perhaps keeping logs and tracking their time could be improved. The team could work more on how they allocate some of their time because it can result in inefficiencies.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Our advice would be to know what you want and organize your plan before starting the project with them. You should lay out everything important including the timeline and the cost estimates. Communication is also important — clarify the deliverables to them and they will give you a great output.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a creative marketplace. We connect local photographers and videographers with personal brands on Instagram.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clockwise Software?

We were looking for a development team that could create a platform for us from scratch, as we had the vision but didn’t have the technical ability needed to execute it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided us with two frontend and two backend developers, as well as a QA manager and a general project manager. We came to them with initial wireframes and full UX designs, but beyond that their involvement was very direct, and they were able to provide us with a lot of expertise in developing the final project.

Some of the main features they delivered included the ability for an artist to upload content after their job has been completed, as well as for stripe integration in the payment system. They used a combination of Laravel and AngularJS, and incorporated other features with MongoDB, SQL, and AWS as well.

In the end, they delivered a fully functioning site that ticks all the boxes in terms of what we needed it to do. We set out to create an MVP, so it was very fit for purpose. It didn’t have all the bells and whistles, but I think they were a great team for narrowing down exactly what we were looking for.

What is the team composition?

Our main points of contact were Andrei (CEO, Clockwise Software) and Dimitri (Project Manager, Clockwise Software). We had two backend and two frontend developers as well, so there were six people working on the project for the most part (although we had fewer people towards the final stages when we didn’t need as much attention).  

How did you come to work with Clockwise Software?

We found them through Upwork. I think the main reason why we chose them over a few alternatives was the price—they were very affordable compared to the alternatives we were looking at. Their team was also the most responsive in terms of getting back to us with signing NDAs and talking about the future of the project.

They actually presented us with a suggested scope the day after we started engaging in chats with them, which we thought was very professional and forthcoming, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested £30,000 (approximately $36,500 USD) in the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Clockwise Software from January—May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we’ve seen a good conversion rate from our signup page. We’re definitely satisfied with the quality and functionality of the work that they completed for us.

How did Clockwise Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly calls with them in order to get updates on what they had been doing. We got updates through Upwork as well and communicated via Slack on a more regular basis. They do a really good job of executing, but I think they’re better at following designs than coming up with their own design ideas. A couple of things they suggested didn’t work out as well as what we had originally planned in that regard.

We did have a bit of a sticky situation about halfway through when we realized that in order to complete the whole project we were going to have to pay more. It was a tough situation to be in, but I wouldn’t necessarily blame them because I think these projects are very hard to estimate, at least initially.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was definitely impressed by the communication that was carried on over the course of the project. They answered every question we had in a very timely manner. Often, they would respond within a few minutes—a couple of hours, and they were always very helpful. They also focused on putting our needs first and really tried to get the project done in as close to our timeframe as possible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d say they could perhaps improve in the cost estimation, given that we did exceed our budget by a fair bit.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come up with a timeline and a clear idea of the design that you want. These guys can definitely work under a strict time frame, and for them, it might actually work out better because they have a lot of team members they can throw at the project. I’d just suggest to come up with your own scope so that you know what you can sacrifice and what you really want to keep, should it come to that.