Commit

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CTO for a Commercial Insurance startup

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were building an MVP for a complex Insurance workflow platform, which brought together numerous backend services into a single easy-to-use and efficient interface. We had a strong backend team but very little frontend design or development expertise.

SOLUTION

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

Commit was initially introduced to us as a referral from someone that I have worked with in the past. They were one of a number of vendors we looked at for this project, each of whom offered development teams in various locations around the world. Several things stood out to us about the Commit team:

1. they had multiple teams in different geographic locations, providing a range of different cost and team models
2. the broad range of different skillsets offered by the Commit team, and
3. the high level of engagement we got from Commit through that initial evaluation.

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

The team that we started with was a UI/UX design team. They performed a time-bound exercise to help us through some of our initial design thinking, working primarily within Adobe XD and Miro.

We then brought on an initial frontend engineer to get started on build work with our existing internal backend team. Very quickly we added further engineers to the team. The frontend team were mostly working in JavaScript (React).

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

The initial design exercise team involved a range of people with different skills for different phases of the project. We now have 3 frontend engineers from Commit and 1 QA.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our initial launch was on time and on budget. After the initial launch, the team has stayed with us on continued enhancements to the platform. Every member of the team that we have brings a very high level of expertise.

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

The Commit team has been working within our internal project management framework.

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

We find the team on the ground to be highly engaged and excellent communicators. The account team have also been fantastic - very flexible in ensuring that our needs are met and any issues (though there have been very few of these) are addressed very quickly.

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

No significant areas for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a company in the automotive industry and SaaS modeling. We haven’t gone public yet; we’re still in stealth mode.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Commit?

As a SaaS startup, our web platform was one of our main value propositions. We already had some preliminary frameworks of what we wanted the website to look like and how it should function. However, its process flow was much more complicated than a typical website. It required a lot of logic, and it needed to have future support for AI and other interesting elements. 

Given that, we needed a partner who would understand the nuances of our website while also adding value to its design, layout, process flow, and content. We hired Commit to help us think through what our MVP should look like and how architecturally to structure it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We came to the table with a proposed architecture plan. Then, we spent our efforts and time with Commit on video-based working sessions with their engineering head, their product head, and a customer advocate. 

Our teams worked together to determine what the process flow should look like and what information needed to be extracted and incorporated into the site. The goal was to deliver a platform that functionally met the market requirements. From there, Commit took the plan back to the engineering team and determined what the net cost would be for them to build the product accordingly.

What is the team composition?

Most of the work was done with two people from Commit, namely Nogah (VP of Product) and Nathan (Chief Customer Officer). I also worked with their VP of R&D, but that was more of a supporting role.

How did you come to work with Commit?

Commit was a contact of my business associate that worked with them before. As I was searching for a good solutions provider, I interviewed them and we had a couple of review sessions to see if they were a good fit for our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget for this project was roughly $18,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from August 2021–January 2022. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Commit came back to us with their pricing for the MVP development, but it was more than we could afford — as a startup in the MVP stage, we were trying to be sensitive to pricing. Their team helped us see that our product was more complicated than the average one; it had more complexity than what they or we had originally understood. As a result, we’re not actively engaged with them now. However, we may end up coming back to them as everything matures. 

In terms of metrics, we measured success based on how well they understood our business objectives and value proposition. We also observed if they thought about how our customers would react to our business model. Did they incorporate the nuances of not only our needs but also the dynamics of the customer experience? In all of these areas, the Commit team did an exceptional job.

How did Commit perform from a project management standpoint?

Commit was spot on in terms of the design budget. In fact, I didn’t think we were a profitable client for them, given the number of hours they put into the exercise. And yet they didn’t revise or increase their fees. 

As for meeting deadlines, their deliverables were postponed near the end of the engagement. However, we were almost at the end of the year, and the end of the year is always chaotic for everybody. It also didn’t affect our general plans. In other words, they were a few weeks late, but they still fit our overarching plans. They used a robust set of tools for brainstorming and digital whiteboarding. While their staff and resources were scattered all over the world, it didn’t matter as their teamwork was great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Commit took significantly more time than average to understand our business needs, customers, and customer responses. As a result, they put together a well-thought-out architectural plan; I didn’t see that level of detail from other organizations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our project cost started to go up as the designs became more complex, and we should have been able to monitor that as a team. That way, we would’ve been able to keep a clear eye on the project from a programmatic perspective. 

To be fair, they might have recognized that — we’ve had some open and honest conversations. They’ve put some tools in place to address that in the longer term should we continue the project with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with Commit through their process. They have a predefined system in terms of scoping and scaling the project as they develop an architectural plan. While that seems somewhat arduous — it’s a time-consuming process for first-time users — the dividends are worth it; it pays off well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Retrack Data Solutions

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Commit?

I partnered with Commit to develop an app that would help mall managers and tenants compete with online commerce. I had the concept and base design for the MallUP app, and I wanted it to revolutionize the consumer shopping experience. It was long overdue to help dying brick and mortar retail malls reinvent themselves to stay relevant.

The reality is that retail malls cannot compete with online stores because they simply do not generate sufficient sales during their limited operating hours to justify the excessive costs of rental space. These stores must be available to consumers 24 hours per day, 7 days per week without sacrificing a personalized experience.

Commit created an app to digitize malls making their direct marketing to consumers more effective and allowing the malls to consistently "be open" to compete with online competitors. In addition, the SaaS platform Commit created allowed for faster availability to items purchased for both pick up or delivery.

What were your goals for this project?

Our primary goal was to create an easy to use, powerful consumer facing app incorporating the needs of mall owners and retail tenants by utilizing artificial intelligence and big data technologies. The sophisticated tool allowed for real-time data flow and accessibility to third party information from a wide range of companies making them more equipped to meet the needs of the customer at the right time with the right message.

SOLUTION

How did you select Commit?

We interviewed several firms in the United States and Israel. We wanted a firm that had a wide range of skill set under a single roof. We did not want to rely on multiple firms or attempt to hire and retain technical staff when we knew they were not needed at every stage of development

Describe the project in detail.

We started with a basic concept and workflow process. Commit designed and programmed every aspect of the app. They managed and delivered each component we requested timely and was open to changes and or new concepts we added throughout the process. Commit provided the necessary project management to stay on schedule and budget, the technical staff to develop the end-to-end solution and communicated effectively at every stage of the process.

What was the team composition?

We dealt directly with Arik Feingold, the CEO of Commit, who took a personal interest in making sure our project was a success. The team consisted of a wide range of people and competencies. The development project was managed by Noga Hendler, who has been fantastic to work with directly and in managing the Commit team. We required a range of aptitudes to accomplish programming, communication, third-party integration, and mobile technologies

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Commit delivered a revolutionary app that was and remains far ahead of anything in the marketplace. The Covid-19 pandemic closed many shopping malls and severely impacted the industry and it forced us to alter our marketing strategy and timeline, but the product was released in under 12 months and has drawn positive feedback from industry experts.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Commit has the development process down to a science. They have such a broad range of high-level technical skill sets under one roof and an effective way of communicating every step of the way. There were no gaps with information sharing – technical or otherwise – throughout each cycle of the project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None. Well, shorter flights between United States and Israel.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the former Senior Director, multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) R&D, Advertising Management Systems of a broadcast media company. In that role, I managed a very large team that Commit was part of.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Commit?

Our relationship with Commit started many years before this project. The scope of our first engagement was a proof of concept for the modernization of one of the back-office systems that is used in the media — the particular system was responsible for the traffic operations within the cable facility, wherein traffic means to place advertising content within the programming.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, what Commit did was they took style guides from our graphic designers and implemented them in the UI/UX, so a great deal of the work was geared towards the UX. That project was completed and it went on the shelf for a couple of years, until our company acquired a software company and we made the decision to go forward with the modernization effort on a larger scale.

For this project, Commit worked primarily on the frontend and then put together requirements for the backend work. There were some cases where they did the backend work, but most of the time, our internal team worked on the backend depending on where exactly within the system the development was needed. Aside from the actual code, the team also worked on the design and system architecture according to the requirements of our internal team. 

There were four companies involved with the development of the overall system because it was a very complicated project — we started with about 3 million lines of source code, and when we finished the project, we had 5 million lines.

What is the team composition?

My main interaction with CommIT was through Arik (President). My daily interaction was with the team leads, with escalations on an as-needed basis by the individual contributors. We used a modified Agile process, which Commit embraced. This enabled us to identify issues, as well as monitor ongoing process.

How did you come to work with Commit?

Arik was the former general manager for the company we acquired, so he was very familiar with it and remained in contact with the employees. We began the conversations regarding the project with him, and from there, it was an evolutionary process.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from January 2016—January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In general, their work was great — the quality of the code they delivered was very high, more so than any other contract firm that I've engaged with over the last two decades. Whenever we found a problem in the QA or customer testing phase, it was never actually a problem with Commit’s code; given the size and scope of the entire project, there were a lot of interfaces with code from other vendors.  

How did Commit perform from a project management standpoint?

On a day-to-day basis, they were always very good with communication and execution; they were very approachable and responsive in helping to troubleshoot any problems that arose. The clock was always our enemy because they finished their days when we were just starting ours — there are always obstacles when you've got a global project like that but they worked very well to take those risks out of the project so that they wouldn’t be an impediment. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their biggest strength was their incredible ability to translate functional requirements provided by the product management team, which they translated into design, system architecture, as well as the actual code.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I never like to say that anybody is perfect because that puts my whole objectivity at risk, but their mistakes were very few and far between. There were times where they had very strong opinions — the team would go to the product management team to discuss whether or not they understood the requirements. That type of conversation can be a challenge, but it was never a confrontation with them and they were able to manage those types of blockages no matter the difficulty.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to very clearly define the scope and their responsibilities, and deliver absolutely as much detail in terms of the project requirements in advance — that allows the Commit team to look at it holistically and envision what the end state is to avoid a piecemeal process.