Coderus

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software development company based in the UK. We sell connectivity products to telecommunications service providers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coderus?

We needed custom software development services for our cross-platform applications to help us boost the reliability of home broadband connections.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coderus supported us with understanding how we could get our app working in the background, so the user doesn’t need to have it open on the screen all the time.

The team first did a lot of research upfront. We then put together a detailed report with specifications on what we needed in terms of UI, UX, and functionalities. When they finished the app, they released it. 

What is the team composition?

There were 3–4 team members in the development department; some acted as advisers and others as actual programmers. We had a project manager and Mark (Founder & CEO) was on many of our calls. 

How did you come to work with Coderus?

I’ve known Mark for a while. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around £25,000 (approximately $35,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from June–December 2020.

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

The app didn’t have any crashes, and the background processes worked properly. The team made sure the app didn't have any bugs and that all screens worked as expected.

How did Coderus perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly calls to keep track of everything. We gave them very clear specifications of what we wanted and that helped a lot. The team was very responsive as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were straightforward, patient, and professional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some processes that took a bit longer than expected, but our project wasn’t necessarily simple. There was an element of risk, and they did pretty well. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have a piece of specific advice, but they can be sure Coderus’ team will genuinely want to do a good job.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of global supply management for an exceptionally premium audio company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coderus?

Coderus supports us in the development and growth of our apps that can be used to control some of our audio products.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coderus designs software applications that would allow our customers to interface with our products. A lot of our stuff is web-based applications but our apps are also available on Android-based phones. They’re leading our engineering department, so they’re in charge of the commercial and contractual interface between the technical department and Mark(Founder & CEO). They provide input into the design aspect of the application.

We didn’t have a coordinated approach prior to working with them, so I worked very closely with Mark to put together what we call an MSA (Master Service Agreement). In addition, they help us monitor and track work packages that they support us with, along with our technical engineering group.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Mark.

How did you come to work with Coderus?

Coderus started working with the company 6–7 years ago, and my involvement with them started only two years ago, so I don’t know how the company originally found them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2013, and it’s still ongoing.

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

I would say that working with them has been a positive experience. Sometimes I speak to Mark more than I speak to my wife. The way that Mark configured Coderus in terms of resources, capabilities, and actual application support is very good. If we were to give Coderus a score out of 10, we would give them an 8.5 easily. The quality of their work is very good, and they very rarely revisit anything.

They’ve got a good track record of getting the solutions correctly, and they’re very persistent in following up to make sure everything is fine, and the customer is happy.

How did Coderus perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management-wise, Mark would sometimes lead projects or assign resources. What we do, since I developed the global supply management structure, is run a supply of scorecard process. This is how we score our suppliers in different areas such as their capability, quality, and cost-efficiency.

Coderus’ scorecard performance has been very good. When we rate them, we have these QBRs (Quarterly Business Reviews), which can be quite difficult nowadays because we can’t have face-to-face meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They excel in customer service. They’re very focused on not just delivering, they make sure that the client is getting a very high level of personal service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Obviously, every business can benefit from improving in some areas. I would say that they should improve on the visibility of the project structure when they deliver it to the customer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Coderus has done a lot of great work on positioning businesses, so you can have a better understanding of their overall capabilities. The advice I would give people is Coderus is more capable than some realize — there’s a lot that could be gained from working with someone like them. Allow Coderus to challenge your views, because I think they’re going to add more value to your business.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a startup developing security and glazing consumer electronics. We designed a sensor system that would be placed within an integrated glazing unit. The window sensors measure humidity, stress, movements, and so on. They work for security because if somebody breaks a window to get into your property, the moisture and other measures change once the unit is broken.

I was the one to locate the technology and finance the project, so I became CEO of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coderus?

We had invented the actual sensors, but we needed some code that would connect those to a base station, and then an app that would pick up the signals from there.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coderus did some coding for the base station, the actual software, and the hardware that we invented. The base station obviously needed to connect with the mobile app, so they mostly worked on the Android and iOS mobile app.

In order to do so, Coderus had to do a lot of research and discovery. First, they had to be in constant contact with the actual inventor of the sensor system, which was originally developed by a Chinese company. They also had to skim through everything that has been built in the previous years and bring it up to modern-day technology, since it’s changing so quickly.

Additionally, we had the intention to link the app to 911 and different rapid-response numbers, but we haven’t got that far yet. The other thing we wanted the app to do was to produce ongoing data on the window’s humidity and store it so that we can produce annual reports for customers who have insulated glazing in their properties. That way, if humidity hasn’t changed in the window, you can tell that it’s still insulating, so there’s a green element as well.

We were also looking into linking other security products. For example, if someone smashes the window at a jewelry store, then the whole place gets immediately filled with smoke, and you can’t see anything.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had an average of four people on our team.

How did you come to work with Coderus?

We were both sharing an office space in British Telecom’s headquarters. They have a high-tech hub in Suffolk, about 90 miles outside of London. It’s a big campus where they do a lot of research, and there’s also a hub for startups. Coderus had a big office there, and we took a small office space. Whenever we needed them, they’d be in the same building.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $125,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed an NDA with Coderus in February 2016, and the project is ongoing. However, it has been inactive for the past year and a half due to COVID-19 and lack of funding. The product is almost finished, but the expensive part is often getting it to production. At the moment, we’re doing some fundraising and trying to get either commercial partners or individual investors so we can get the project over the line.

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

Unfortunately, we don’t have metrics right now because the app hasn’t been in the public domain. We know it works because we’ve used it for testing and demonstration purposes all around the country.

After they helped us finish it ahead of schedule, we took a stall at a big trade fair in Dusseldorf, Germany in 2019. We demonstrated the product to people within the glazing industry, so we had to have everything working. We’ve also taken it throughout Europe, and the inventors took it to Portugal and Israel, so we’ve been able to demonstrate that the app works.

How did Coderus perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great. Everything was on time, and when we needed them to step up and cut a few corners to get something working for the trade show, they managed to do so. We basically communicated with them through email and face-to-face meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve never really used anybody else, but they’re very good and professional, and they get the job done. Also, we were doing quite an iterative process where there were constant tweaking and changing, and they were there for us. For example, several times when we’ve had problems with the app while making a demonstration —as there are often bandwidth issues at trade shows— we’ve been able to get Coderus on the phone and get things up and running when we’ve really needed them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t really think of anything.

Any advice for potential customers?

They know what they’re doing — they’re pretty much at the forefront of technology, which is where you need to be. The CEO is highly intelligent. He knows his business and is always running IoT events. I wouldn’t have any worries about recommending them to people right now.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was previously the Vice President of User Experiences for a premium performance audio brand, delivering the best sound in consumer audio for over fifty years. My role involved planning customer experiences, product lines, specific products, user experiences, and the supporting interfaces and applications for products.

For what projects/services did your company hire Coderus?

We needed a capable and reliable partner for software development, primarily focused on mobile applications, but also including product embedded HTML interfaces, iOS and Windows applications. Many of these applications also required server side APIs and databases to support the application capabilities as well as storing device information and customer data.

We also relied on Coderus for robust development, pre-deployment, and post-deployment testing of all software development which involved multiple consumer products and device operating systems. This was a long term, multi-year relationship, with annual renewal of the contract with Coderus to support multiple projects evert year.

What were your goals for this project?

The overarching goal for hiring Coderus as an external software partner was to consistently develop and deploy consumer software apps and applications in a scalable model without building up an internal team for software development. Coderus proved that we could maintain and external team for consumer software, while focusing internally on products, including embedded software that interfaced with consumer apps.

How did you select Coderus?

Prior to joining my company, Coderus was involved in developing the embedded HTML interfaces for one of the key new consumer audio products. After considering other developer options we concluded that expending our relationship with Coderus by adding application projects over time, matched with Coderus team expansion, would ensure the highest quality and best working model for us and our customers.

Describe the project in detail.

Our engagement with Coderus spanned several years and many projects. These included the Control app for wireless speakers, the PX headphone app, the Headphones app, and many more.

What was the team composition?

The overall app planning, design, and development spanned our internal team as well as the Coderus team. Internally, the team consisted of UX designers, product planners, and system engineers. At Coderus the team involved project managers, software developers, dedicated testing managers and testers, as well as Coderus management team.

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

The applications released by us, developed with Coderus consistently met the goals of the projects, without significant issues at launch. Coderus was able to manage development timelines to release applications that aligned with complex product development and launch timings.

The software development experience of the Coderus team, combined with their rigorous application testing in complex product/OS matrixed testing plans ensured applications worked as designed and intended. In published product reviews, applications were often noted as working well, enjoyable to use, and in most cases better than competitive applications.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Since we worked with Coderus over many years, we had established a close working relationship between our internal team and the Coderus team. Coderus maintained detailed project and issue tracking, and with regular project management meetings, test reviews, and application alpha and beta testing we were able to run the internal and external mixed team quite effectively over several years.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Coderus was able to tackle quite sophisticated applications that were required to seamlessly interact with wireless products via WiFi and bluetooth, while also handing the complexities and variabilities of home networking technologies. This requires deep understanding of all the enabling technologies and platform services in iOS, MacOS, Android, and Windows as well as data handling over wireless for device discovery, device connections, status, software updates, etc.

Developing applications for consumer products also requires a level of rigor for testing and validation that is often lacking in the industry, which has resulted in many applications for consumer electronics being very poorly executed. Coderus was also very sensitive to the details of our premium design of the UI for our apps, and ensured visuals and application behaviors were matching the designs we provided.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As with any successful long term contracting relationship, we regularly evaluated performance, identified areas to improve (on both sides) and worked to make changes to teams, process, tools, and technologies to improve both the results and the engagement.  Coderus was always seeking feedback and looking to make improvements to expand their support for us.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run and do radio correspondence for an organization called The Gadget Man, which is a gadget and technology review blog.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coderus?

In 2017, I was attempting a challenge where I would drive from the most easterly to the most westerly part of the UK and back again in an electric car. I had been promised the technology to take with me during that challenge but was let down last minute, so I worked with Coderus to build that app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Because it was an urgent project that I needed in 2–3 days, We had to work quickly. I began by describing the requirements in quite a lot of detail. 

Coderus then developed an app that tracked my position at all times by GPS. It ran on Android and a number of Android handsets. The basic functionality was that every five minutes, the app would send my coordinates from the phone to the website where I was promoting the Electric Car Challenge. The website would then show those coordinates on Google Maps to make a live position report on the vehicle, which was a Tesla model.

What is the team composition?

I was working mainly with Mark (CEO) who was also my main point of contact. They also had a lead developer working on the app. 

How did you come to work with Coderus?

At the time, my office was in the same business park where they were situated, so I knew Mark and had spoken to him on a number of occasions. I chose to work with them based on the fact that I personally knew Mark and that I knew their business’s good reputation. I saw him over lunch to ask if he could take on this urgent job and he agreed.

How much have you invested with them?

I did a deal with them where I provided a promotion in exchange for the development work, so it was technically a sponsored job. I believe they would normally charge their hourly rate of $220–$300 for this kind of service.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took 3 days to complete in September 2017.

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

The project was on a very short timescale, so it wasn’t a massively complex act, but Coderus did give me an app that was simple, presentable, and visually appealing instead of something that was quick and halfhearted. The challenge went over a period of four days and I was able to use it the entire time. 

I got very good feedback from my social media followers. They were very pleased that they were able to follow the challenge in real-time through the website or through Twitter. I was delighted with the result.

How did Coderus perform from a project management standpoint?

On top of the quick turnaround time, Coderus understood my remit really well. They knew exactly what needed to happen. They made efforts in places that I hadn’t really asked for; all I wanted was an app that would do the job, but they gave me a product that I was able to visually promote. I was able to physically show the mobile phone with the app running on it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to understand my needs so clearly that I didn’t have to repeat myself. I showed them a diagram of what I wanted the app to do and the information that needed to be fed into a URL, and they provided that. They were absolutely superb at interpreting my needs and delivering exactly as I asked.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. It was a straightforward job and they delivered on it perfectly. There’s nothing I would criticize them on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should make yourself comfortable working with Coderus, because they’re a business that understands your needs. I got to know them after the job and can attest that they’re a very friendly and personable company, which is rare when dealing with developers. You’ll find that Coderus is not difficult to approach.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the development manager at X-on and the company specialises in cloud telecoms for the NHS.

For what projects/services did your company hire Coderus?

A new android voip deskphone came onto the market and we wanted to create an android app that sat on the phone to enhance our telecommucation service.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase the sale of this type of andrpoi voip phone by adding the extra features unique to our phone system.

How did you select Coderus?

We looked around for local app development companies and Coderus was top of that list. They came highly recommended and have a good profile in the local community.

Describe the project in detail.

This new type of android voip phone had an integrated camera which was what we wanted to take advantage of so our users could conduct video calls. We wanted an adroid app that could detect a user was on a phone call and offer them extra functionality like switching that phone call to a video session. We had no wireframes but gave Coderus an initial requirements document to work with.

What was the team composition?

I think we had 3 people from Coderus working on this project. A project maager and 2 developers. This didn't change during the prokect.

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

The application worked as expected and we had a few improvements planned before taking it to market. Unfortunately other priorities took over and it was never used in a production environment.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between us and Coderus was very effective. It defintiely helped that we were local and regular face to face meetings enabled good communication.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was very impressed by the specific app knowledge. Coderus had a great company culture that was clear for us to see.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very happy with the work Coderus did for us. Perhaps if we extended the project and went live with the work we may have some improvements but overall we were very happy with them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Special School for pupils with Social Emotional Mental Health. I am the Engagement For Learning Lead.

For what projects/services did your company hire Coderus?

Coderus worked with us for over a year to develop an anti- bullying app, to support young people to report bullying at school.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to generate enough interest to promote this app in all schools in the country. This even got the attention of HRH Prince William who loved the idea that an app such as SABA would help to give young people a voice. The school was very lucky to work with the Diana Awards also and this collaboration was useful to identify areas for Coderus to work with.

How did you select Coderus?

Coderus approached us when they saw our pupils on BBC look east, talking about a prize they had won in London. A competition ran by the Diana Awards.

Describe the project in detail.

Pupils worked for many weeks with Coderus to develop the App and design a logo with students from One College. At each critical point the pupils were invited to HQ look at each stage of the app and for their approval.

What was the team composition?

Fay was the person supporting the pupils with their ideas and the go between with the other parties.

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

The app was an amazing project and if we had had the money and opportunity to run with it, could’ve been a game-changer.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Coderus were an amazing company to work with, we as a school could not of asked for more support when asked for.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing about Coderus is the way they involved our pupils at each stage of the project, invited them in to HQ to see how the operational side of things worked and supported the pupils on their journey outside of the app too, ie functions to London Facebook.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very satisfied with the project at all times.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the communications manager of a professional sailing team.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coderus?

They helped us with all the data mining for a tactical app we were working on for our boats. The app helps us know the boat’s position on the course to be more competitive during races.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They supported our data team in developing the app. The solution needed to be simple, as the onboard tactician would only have short periods of time in which they could examine the app to get a better understanding of the course before making a decision.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Mark (Founder & CEO) and Nick (Head of Marketing, PR, and Business Development). Outside of them, there were three engineers working with us, with one working with us full-time. The engineers working on the project changed suddenly partway through the project.

How did you come to work with Coderus?

One of our sponsors in a previous event connected us with them. After working with them through the sponsoring organization on a previous project, we worked directly with them for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

It’s hard to say specifically, but I’d estimate somewhere between £250,000–£500,000 (approximately $343,800–$687,600).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April 2018–October 2020.

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

The engagement was really successful. The product delivered was exactly what we wanted. The only frustrations were related to staffing changes due to COVID-19, but in the end, it didn’t affect the final product. We’ve kept in touch with Mark and are looking forward to continuing the partnership moving forward.

How did Coderus perform from a project management standpoint?

Generally speaking, communication was good. However, there were times where it was hard to get in contact with Mark. We mostly encountered these difficulties during a time where their entire firm was regrouping, so I don’t really fault them for this. In the end, they were able to resolve any internal issues and deliver everything on time. Their timeliness was helped by the race being delayed, though.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their passion for helping us reach our goals through their work is spectacular. Their team is incredibly smart and can really deliver technically.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Clearer guidelines on project progress would have been helpful. Additionally, they didn’t contribute much to the marketing end of the engagement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be proactive in communicating with them regularly. Make sure everyone knows the plan so that if there are any changes, you can stay a step ahead of them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager of an organization that manufactures speakers and headphones.

What challenge were you trying to address with Coderus?

We wanted to augment our software development capabilities.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Coderus works with multiple technologies to develop companion mobile applications for our active speakers and headphones. The apps they develop permit users to set up and configure their products to match their performance expectations.

Coderus collaborates with us to assess the severity of any issues that might arise and to ensure that those issues are resolved without impacting our customers. They also provide suggestions on how we could improve things moving forward.

What is the team composition?

We work with several people on their team. Specifically, we mostly work with Mark (Founder & CEO) and Mike (Operations Manager). We also work with many of their developers across different projects.

How did you come to work with Coderus?

We found Coderus through happenstance. One of our tech leads met Mark at a trade show and spoke to him about the challenges we were facing. Their ability to work with different toolsets and technologies was one of the reasons we selected them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent several million pounds.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Coderus in January 2015, and our work is ongoing.

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

We assess success throughout the relationship in multiple ways. One of them is the quality of the deliverables, namely the number of bugs reported per version. 

Coderus has given us the flexibility to scale our software development resources up and down, based on demand. Without the development done on their side, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve some of the successes we’ve had with our products.

How did Coderus perform from a project management standpoint?

Coderus doesn’t use any specific project management tools. As far as I'm aware, the bulk of their work is done through agile software development processes. They use story point estimations and tools like Excel to project when things need to be delivered.

They have been able to meet quite difficult timelines, going above and beyond to ensure that they deliver on time. Moreover, they’re flexible about how many people are put on the project for that purpose.

We have a history of good communication and project management with them. Whenever there is an issue, Coderus is responsive in ensuring that it is resolved in a meaningful way. Even when there’s the odd blip in terms of communication or project management, they are receptive to our feedback and do all they can to resolve it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re a particularly high-maintenance partner. We have high expectations, and Coderus is one of the partners that consistently meets them. We stay with Coderus because of the quality of their work and our collaborative relationship. It’s very hard for us to find partners that understand us as well as Coderus does.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As projects have become more complicated, we’ve seen the need for having clear roles and responsibilities, and for having people capable of fulfilling the role of a technical lead. There have been bottlenecks — Mike’s ability to understand the scopes of some projects has been somewhat limited by his bandwidth and capacity. Getting those aspects would probably do Coderus some good.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Sr Direcotr of Engineering, responsible for delivering headphone products - from concept, design, prototype to final production oversee.

For what projects/services did your company hire Coderus?

We hire Coderus to develop our Headphone App.

What were your goals for this project?

This app uses BTLE technologies to enable and control certain functions of the headphone, and also customise settings for each headphone. It can also perform firmware update for the headphones. It also serves as a portal for customer engagement.

How did you select Coderus?

We have been working with Coderus for many years and found they are very professional and able to deliver the "said" goods on time, and on quality.

Describe the project in detail.

The design of the app was done internally (graphics etc, layout), and Coderus help realise the implementation. This app is for iOS and Android. Coderus also help set some message exchange protocols during the development of the BTLE link

What was the team composition?

3 SW engineers, 1 project manager, 4 SQA members.

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

We consistently get 4 stars plus on the App store, and coderus help us to deploy something trully amazing. We love it, and our customers love it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Coderus was very engaging and willing to help solve challenges. We ran 2 weekly calls between the teams, and also across 3 time zones.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Coderus is very professional. From sales engagement to engineering development. they are also very open about source code (sharing with customer) - nothing hidden.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They could be a little more affordable. But, I would say, it's worth the money