Codingo

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Group Director for Digital and Data, Africa Practice Ltd. Africa Practice is an Africa-focussed strategic advisory company. We advise industry, governments and foundations on strategies to invest and operate successfully in Africa.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

A core Africa Practice service is to advise our clients about the stakeholders who are important to them and how to develop successful engagement strategies. We have been investing for some years in a SaaS platform which ensures our clients always have access to current information about the stakeholder landscape via a simple intuitive UI; it’s important that our clients are able to work hands on with their own data so we need a highly secure set up, that we can customise to meet individual requirements. At the start of our project with Codingo the existing system had significant technical debt and multiple performance issues; so needed a safe pair of hands for the next phase.

SOLUTION

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

We shortlisted Codingo on the basis of reviews left by other customers on a popular outsourcing platform. We initially tried them out running an audit of the existing system. From this it was clear they had a deep understanding of the relevant technologies and we were confident to hire them.

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

The team initially had to undertake a deep refactoring and upgrade of the core Laravel framework. From this foundation we moved on to successfully implement a series of further version releases. We also worked with Codingo to plan and implement a series of enterprise grade security measures to harden the app and infrastructure. At the beginning of the project we were running a fairly traditional LAMP stack but Codingo is now helping us migrate successfully onto the Google cloud, with extensive use of cloud computing, analytics, API management and CI/CD services.

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

We have worked with a team of three; the lead technical architect and two other developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have been very happy and impressed with the quality of Codingo’s output. They are fast and accurate with minimal bugs or warranty work required. Our SaaS product, ingauge.africa, has seen steady growth in uptake and high degrees of client satisfaction.

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

The team are always been a pleasure to work with, responding promptly via instant messaging and our choice of structured project management tools. Ocassional frustrations are inevitable in software development, but we have always been able to communicate and resolve any issues arising.

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

As above I am particularly impressed with the speed and accuracy of the work. They are genuine, full stack developers with deep expertise that take pride in what they do.

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

In our work with Codingo a lean agile project management approach suits us well; some clients may prefer to agree a more systematic/ formalised approach.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of Deutsches Haus Montenegro (DHM), a learning organization. I also lead a German cultural center founded by the Goethe Institute, which is present in more than 115 countries in the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Codingo D.O.O. Podgorica?

We noticed that when the COVID-19 pandemic started, we didn’t have as many students as before. Our team thought that the problem was our website and advertising efforts. Then, we reached out to Codingo to do our website. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Codingo team created a completely new website for us. They migrated all the information and content from our old website to the new one. The team also did all of our branding materials except the logo, which we continued using because it was a familiar logo to all the countries in which we operated. 

Meanwhile, the goal for the website was to make everything easy to understand for the user. After they gave us the final outputs, we provided some corrections and suggestions, which they implemented. 

What is the team composition? 

Apart from Ivan (Founder), I was also in contact with Marina (Graphic & Web Designer). 

How did you come to work with Codingo D.O.O. Podgorica?

Ivan reached out to us and offered to do our website. That was how we started working together. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $1,800. We had a bit of negotiation for this budget, but we accepted each other’s offers in the end. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our project lasted from August–September 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

For success metrics, the numbers from Google Search Console were good. In September 2021, clicks on our website increased by 77%, rising from 314 clicks to 557. All of those were organic searches. End users could also use the website to apply for our courses. In other words, the Codingo team did an awesome job. 

Moreover, we were truly happy with the work they did because they did everything by themselves — they never called or disturbed us during our vacation. They promised to help us have more students, and they fulfilled it. We’d even had trouble organizing all our courses because of the number of new students, but that was good; last year, we didn’t have many students. Overall, the engagement went well. 

How did Codingo D.O.O. Podgorica perform from a project management standpoint?

We were happy with Codingo’s project management. They did everything we needed within a month and without our help. They also communicated well with the person who developed our previous website, and no one complained about their collaboration. Moreover, the team showed us two project management solutions. They let us choose between the two solutions before they started developing the website. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Codingo team was precise and creative. To reiterate, they did everything they promised. After our holidays, we checked out the new website and found everything there. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask for Ivan, because he’s extremely good. He’ll know what you want from the beginning, plus he gives plenty of suggestions. Communicate directly with him to make the most out of your partnership.