Codempire

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for Avid Adventures. We are a career consultation company based in Singapore helps students and working professionals navigate the changing world of jobs by conducting workshops and providing useful resources.

We have worked with partners to conduct workshops for schools, Fortune 500 companies and the government of Singapore. As Head of Product, I drive the vision and strategy of our products by managing and building out our website, digital tools, and online game.

We outsource all functions except for business development and project management, and I am in charge of hiring and managing freelancers and agencies for the design and development of our tools.

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

We hired Codempire to build our comprehensive Web App - an educational Career Design Simulation Game and Admin panels. The game is a life simulation where players are free to make decisions in education, careers and more, with an Admin panel controlling game rounds with graphical analytics of player statistics.

Our goal was to find a long-term development partner who could help build our newly designed game and launch this attractive product to the market at a global scale.

We were able to achieve this with the excellent team at Codempire and the game has been played with hundreds of students and working professionals in many countries, including US, Singapore, Australia, China and Bangladesh.

How did you select Codempire and what were the deciding factors?

Among the 63 teams and freelancers who applied for our project, Codempire stood out head and shoulders above the rest with their smart team, excellent communication, problem solving, critical thinking, project management and technical skills. We posted our project on a freelance platform to search for the right team, and many teams and freelancers applied for the project.

After analysing their reviews and conducting initial interviews, we shortlisted 10 agencies. During the second stage of the selection process, we gave each of them a test task which described our game with UI mockups and asked candidates the following questions -

• Task 1: Provide a summary of your development process for our project.
• Task 2: Write a simple API specification for an acquiring education which will be used with a Node.js back-end. Provide a simple API flowchart.

Through these tasks, we wanted to determine the quality, proactive and critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills as well as technical ability to analyze general requests in order to write code according to user requirements.

The team at Codempire impressed us with their test task with their thoughtful answers and deep analysis of the task and project. They provided an excellent breakdown of the expected process for the project, including the technical stack, asked good questions, and explained their flow in a diagram clearly.

Their combination of excellent technical expertise, critical thinking and ability to communicate was what led us to choose them in the end. Through the final interview, it was very clear to us that Codempire was the right choice for our technical partner.

Within a short few days, they had deeply analyzed our requirements, provided us with their detailed estimation and demonstrated a clear understanding of our project.

We also knew our project was in good hands because their well-organized and brilliant team uses the latest tech stacks, who follow a strict review, sign off, deployment and development process.

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

Codempire grasped the full project and features quickly, analyzed our UI mockups in detail and proposed to complete the project in 6 milestones according to features (Education, Work, Shop, Admin panel etc).

The first version of our product was done within 3 months and completed within 6 months, with new features currently under development as we expand our product and market. The game is designed to mimic the real world for students and professionals to learn career design principles in the ever-changing job market.

There are complex rules and real-time mechanisms incorporated within the product (game and admin panel) in order to run this game as a fully virtual experience in online workshops.

The front-end of the webapp was built using React.js and we went with Google Firebase for the backend in order to launch our product as soon as possible and be able to scale to accommodate more users.

The game is well architectured - utilising react framework for better DOM handling and project scalability, redux for centralising data consumption and firebase for reliable high volume data usage.

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

We worked with Alex (CEO) and Dima (CTO) to scope out and plan the project. When development began, Dima managed the project, stand-up calls and supervised the code quality, development and deployment with 2 developers - Denis being the main developer and Jacob who helped out with some features.

Currently, in the second version of the product, Dima is our main contact point for new features. We have also been assigned a new developer, Roman, who now works full-time on our project. Guided by Dima, there was a successful transition and handover from Denis to Roman, and we are very satisfied with the quality of their development team.

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

Since the game launched in October 2020, we have successfully attracted many new potential customers globally, from interested schools and organisations in Singapore, US, Australia, India, China etc.

Due to the excellent execution of the game, we have been able to win deals with schools and other partners around the globe. The game has performed well and has been built to be flexible and scalable.

It has been played successfully with the admin panels with no critical issues. Avid Adventures has been able to run numerous workshops since product launch. The game is being played by around 300 concurrent players per session.

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

We use Slack for day-to-day communication, Trello to manage tasks, Zoom for project meetings, and Google Drive for working on shared documents. The Codempire team has excellent communication skills - they are very clear in their responses, reply quickly with a quick turnaround of deliverables, are well-organized and professional.

They are able to pick things up very quickly, and are always eager to work on new requests. At the start of the project, we had regular weekly stand-ups with the team. As the project progressed and we saw the steady pace and quality of the team, we had meetings after each milestone for feature demos.

Since Nov 2020, we have changed our engagement with Codempire from project basis to hiring a full-time developer, Roman, as we have a full backlog of new features. We have a weekly stand-up call to set tasks and expectations for the week, track the tasks/tickets via Trello board on a daily basis, and Roman updates his daily progress on Slack.

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

With new features being requested by our customers on a regular basis, we are extremely happy to have the Codempire team as our long-term technology partner at a reasonable cost to us. Alex and Dima have an excellent team and we trust their recommendations, expertise and quality.

Given that we don't have any technical expertise, communication and critical thinking were the main criteria when we selected our technology partner. We needed a team who could propose new ideas, solutions, question our assumptions and direction, as well as execute with quality in order to build a quality product which can scale.

Whenever we provided feedback to Dima, either on the product development or our issues with the team/performance, he always takes it constructively and finds helpful solutions to the problems we have raised.

Codempire ticks all our boxes and so much more and I cannot recommend them highly enough. We look forward to a bright future with them to improve and expand our product offering.

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

We had minor issues during the transition of full-time devs (from Denis to Roman), and felt that performance had been affected during the handover. Dima took our feedback seriously and stepped in to facilitate and ensure a smooth and full transition.

We are now very happy with Roman's performance under Dima's supervision and guidance.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We work with facility and cleaning services and are located in multiple locations around Sweden. We are two sister companies with over 30 employees. I am the founder and CEO of the two companies.

For what projects/services did your company hire Codempire?

With increasing digitalisation in Sweden, the competition demanded that we digitalise and automatise as much of our booking process as possible. We were calculating price for each customer separately and leaving offers and quotes through email. We needed to find a more efficient, automatised and faster way for our customer to get a quote.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a responsive landing page, about us, and booking system on the website that made it possible for our customer to calculate based on different criteria, their own price and send the booking confirmation after chosing date that suits them and us.

How did you select this vendor?

We found this vendor through a platform online that helped give us options of developers. Codempire proved to be the best choice we could have made.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They helped us gain more insight into how the flows look like, they developed and coded the full website and booking system very nicely. Every small detail that the design included were made beautifully by Codempire. They helped us create the landing page, the about us page, booking system fully functional and beautiful.

What was the team composition?

The project had designer, full-stack developer, project leader who managed everything from their side.

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

The impact that this project has on our business is very strong, digitalising and automatising tasks that were previously very expensive in handling and time-consuming. It also creates a stronger brand identity for the company, resulting in increased revenue.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project leader from Codempire was available very often and it was never a problem to get in touch and check in on how the project was being carried out. The deadlines were met, responsiveness from the team of Codempire was very good. Slack was used to communicate, and GitHub was used to push all the updates. English was used for communicating and they are fluent in this.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were impressed by their skills and knowledge of both front and backend development. We were very surprised at times, when small details were created which we didnt think was possible to make.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing they should improve. Everything was amazing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a digital marketing company empowering companies that do not have any online presence through ecommerce solutions.

For what projects/services did your company hire Codempire?

Our customer's in the laundry industry needed access to an online platform to sell their services. We contacted Codempire, and after a successful interview we decided to move forward with them. They have become our partners in many other projects.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to have a fast responsive app in IPhone and Android, with a great shopping cart experience and an online payment system.

How did you select this vendor?

I contacted many development teams and based our decision on their previous projects. My interactions with Alex were great, and I could tell I was in good hands. They did a quick demo for me in a couple of days (something simple), but they really demonstrated their skills.

Describe the project in detail.

We had some work left over from a previous developer who left us without any explanation. Codempire reused the design and improved it by tenfold. After this we sat down and started planning by breaking down the tasks into use cases and set realistic timelines. Codempeire did not disappoint and met all of my timelines.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a developer, and Alex was a project manager was always with us making sure we knew what was going on.

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

Through the design and functionality of this app, we have been able to secure many more customers in many different market sectors.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Extremely effective. They were always available to discuss, and we could keep track of each other activities on Trello.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I really enjoyed the way that they care about my success as if it was their own. They stood beside me as a partner, and I always refer to them now as part of my team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I was satisfied with their work, throughout all stages of this project. I thought there would be a language barrier, but there was absolutely none. After a quick call, we were all always aligned and pushed forward together.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a COO at Suzie ltd, a tech travel startup that aims to connect solo travelers and create business networking funnel across the world.

For what projects/services did your company hire Codempire?

React-native mobile app development, however, Codempire did a great job by also helping us to understand the project architecture and even manage a team that works on web development which is really amazing.

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking for a truly quality product with a sleek and well-thought design yet scalable.

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking for a team to work on this for about 2 weeks. We received around 20 proposals and most of them where simply not there, Codempire really stud out of all of them because from the first interaction it felt that these guys are proactive which was exactly what we were looking + had a great portfolio and an in-house team.

Describe the project in detail.

We certainly had a series of calls, projections, negotiations and etc, and again the whole team was impressed by how Codempire handled this.

What was the team composition?

We were aware that Codempire has the capacity to assign more team members in case we would have a short deadline, which we didn't so it all went smoothly. I think both teams appreciate such an approach with no rush nor stupid deadliness only pure quality work and seamless communication.

 I was also surprised in the first (or second not sure) meeting to be on the same call with their CTO going through our plans - we didn't even signed the contract yet!

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

Within 4 months, the app is nearly there and will be launched soon. I'm sure Codempire could have done this faster, however as I mentioned we didin't had a strict launch deadline + we were waiting for 3d party partners integration. So far from test groups, we get really great feedback which often leads to certain design improvements and I'm sure we will launch a truly quality product.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless. Codempire suggested required PM tools that we use and communication could not be easier.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Having a 30min response to any of my messages from the company CEO. Hard to achieve and really impressive. CTO providing comments to our junior web dev team. I could not ask more from Codempire to be honest.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can hardly find anything.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a leading developer of custom plug-ins for Adobe products since 2002.

For what projects/services did your company hire Codempire?

A development project that leveraged React to create a custom solution for a large corporate client that integrated internal databases with Adobe's products.

What were your goals for this project?

To quickly develop a working and fully functional project on a very tight timeframe.

How did you select this vendor?

I did research using a Ukranian consultant living in America to help isolate a fresh and outstanding engineering resource.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project involved a custom REST API to a backend database on the one hand and the Adobe product's DOM on the other side. The React application not only handled the user interface but also provided a bridge between those two elements. The engineer had to have a sophisticated understanding of React but also had to be able to learn a great deal on both the Adobe and the database end of things.

What was the team composition?

1 dedicated fulll time engineer actively supervised and supported by CodeEmpire's CEO and CTO.

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

The CodeEmpire team was reliably able to respond to shifting needs and could come together to answer difficult to resolve technical questions that in turn made my company shine. Having both the collective expertise and the personal commitment made a big difference to both the success of the project and the success of my company with my client.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I handled most of the project management, which is my preference, but CodeEmpire's CEO and CTO were actively involved in technical reviews and in keeping their engineers on track and successful.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their commitment and personal attention stand out. The dedicated resource I had was outstanding Tthe personal attention I got from company management was impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO at tech-enabled home care company in Dubai

For what projects/services did your company hire Codempire?

We have to develop a mobile app for our patient's families, where they are able to track treatment progress, see upcoming visits schedule and provide feedback.

What were your goals for this project?

We want engage families with our services by interacting with the app.

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking for the Eastern-European software development company, which will be able to prove the quality of their code and expertise of their developers.

Describe the project in detail.

We decided to move by weekly sprints, at the beginning of each sprint we had a demo and IPM.

What was the team composition?

Project manager from our side, and two software engineers from the vendor side.

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

Within 1 month we were able to release the app

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The vendor's team was cooperative and we are happy with quality

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The project had tight time limits, but the vendor found ways to help us achieve our goals

Are there any areas for improvement?

We vere generally satisfied with everything

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a partner at a company that provides software consulting and design services.

For what projects/services did your company hire Codempire?

We hired Codempire to support us with our React Native codebase. We were on a tight timeline and needed external help.

What were your goals for this project?

Our objective was to obtain a responsive website and React Native-based apps.

How did you select this vendor?

We tested out several engineers and Codempire passed all our technical tests.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Codempire was responsible for executing development tasks using React Native on a weekly basis, fixing bugs as they came up and providing general development support.

What was the team composition?

We worked with two to three team members at a time, including a key project manager who handled any concerns when they came up. 

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

Codempire helped us out significantly with their knowledge of integrating complex systems. We were able to launch on time thanks to their additional support.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was easy. They're fluent in English, so we didn't have any language issues.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We liked that they spoke English well and passed all our technical tests.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. It was pretty easy to work with them. We manage many software projects at a time and this project was very straightforward.