CSHARK

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Woodpecker. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?

We hired CSHARK to develop a solution for a mobile application that supports part of our web app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CSHARK is developing a mobile app from scratch that corresponds to the web version and provides our users with additional feature options. We’re currently on the third iteration of the app. Most of the web app’s features are centered on automating cold email campaigns. CSHARK has extended those features in the mobile version to include cold call campaigns to improve our users’ outreach. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with two teammates from CSHARK, including an engineer and a project manager. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $10,000–$15,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in February 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very pleased with CSHARK’s performance so far. This is the first time my company is building a mobile app, and CSHARK has been very supportive throughout the project. Their team has guided us through the development of the solution and the app publication. 

How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?

We typically communicate with CSHARK through Slack, although we do exchange emails. CSHARK always delivers projects on time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

This has been our most successful partnership with a third-party vendor to date. We’re really happy with CSHARK. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing for CSHARK to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise customers to hire CSHARK if they want to have an entire project handled externally. CSHARK’s team is very independent. 

BACKGROUND

I am a Software Project Manager in the R&D Department at Zortrax. The company is providing comprehensive 3D printing solutions — designing and manufacturing of 3D printers, delivering materials, and developing dedicated firmware and software solutions.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We hired CSHARK for creating a visual project of an application intended for dental purposes. UI and UX designs were included. The main requirements were to give the existing software a more medical look.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were searching online to hire the best specialist working in the technologies important to us. When the idea of a new application design came up, we decided to hire graphic designers from CSHARK.

Their previous experience in the medical applications and 3D printing industry convinced us to choose this vendor.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The challenge in this project was to give a fresh, new, medical-connected look to the existing application for 3D printing, taking into account current technical limitations and the total time of implementation by software developers. 

Stages of the design project:

Firstly, we had an online workshop with the CSHARK specialists to identify our needs considering the design of a new product. Then the vendor presented 3 mock-ups to choose a desired style and direction of the future projects.

We chose one design direction and reported comments back. Then the iterations of another projects followed to choose the final one. The design team advised us the best solutions, taking into consideration UX and current visual trends, even if their choices were not always the same as our suggestions.

At the end we received the iconography, designs of the specific application screens and the whole design system in a convenient for software developers form.

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

We worked directly with the product design manager (general communication during the whole project), the brand consultant (introductory workshop) and the graphic designer (during the phase of creating the design system)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are currently during the phase of implementation the solutions delivered by graphic designers from CSHARK. There are no significant problems with the implementation. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There weren’t any problems in reaching the Project Manager. We attended a helpful interactive online workshop. We had scheduled online calls, always on time. Our suggestions sometimes were misunderstood, but at the end we reached common direction.

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

They really want to give the best possible solution for the client. They delivered solutions in a very professional and convenient form.

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

Reporting of working hours could be more transparent.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CEO of company building MES/MOM system

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Cshark is one of our seed investors who's main value added to company is software development team dedicated to build MVP of our solution. We build a system for factory shopfloor management that is compliant with lean manufacturing philosophy,

SOLUTION

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

Before investment we have asked CSHARK to fully comercially lead product discovery workshop, build product backlog and estimation. This services were delivered on such a high level of proffesionalism that we have decided to ask CSHARK'S board to invest in our idea. As they have lead for us the workshop and understood well the idea and saw a full potential of the product, they have decided to trust us.

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

Project started with product discovery workshop and lo-fi UX mockups of the screens. That let us to build user stories and backlog of the rurther development, The rest is pure operational deliveries of the product. We use .NET core technology, the solution is hosted in MS azure in a small (so far) claster of three servers operating a micro cubernetes architecture of the solution.

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

From 5 up to 12 people on several positions: Project Manager, Business Analyst, DevOps, Senior and Mid frontend, backend and full stack developers, ux designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is still in progress, but all the deliverables from UX designs thriough user stories and the final produced features are delivered professionally, in great quality, on time and with great dose of agility.

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

Development team is lead by Project Manager who takes care of the pace and manages the communication with the rest of the team. They're always up to date. They add team members while making sure the team is not disrupted by uncoordinated communication. I like this approach very much and appreciate good information flow. We use a lot of slack, jira, teams for online collaboration. The software is developed in scrum sprints that last two weeks each.

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

Definitely engagement, thrust and professionalizm of every single person engaged in the project make really great impression.

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

All the fields I see are immediatelly addressed and improved by the team, so no, currently I don't experience any disturbances that require improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The main activity of Petromex is wholesale and retail sale of fuels and heating diesel oils. We have been operating on the fuel market for nearly 30 years. We buy fuels on domestic markets only from reliable suppliers.

The offer is supplemented by the sale of fuel tanks and used oil tanks, tank service services, purchase of used oil.

As the co-owner of the company and the person responsible for the sales and marketing department, I am looking for solutions that will allow us to stand out from the competition.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CSHARK?

Our cooperation included designing and implementing an application for notifying customers about the approximate delivery time and creating a B2B platform supporting the sales and customer service process.

What were your goals for this project?

The primary goal of the project was to modernize and automatize crucial parts of company-client communication and speed up processes which help clients keep track of their orders.

We were able to substantially limit the amount of direct communication with our clients and enable our administrative staff to concentrate on other tasks. Moreover, we gave our delivery personnel the tools to inform clients about the status of their shipment.

SOLUTION

How did you select CSHARK?

Cshark has been recommended to us by an IT service company cooperating with us. The predictor to start cooperation with a new service provider is not only the knowledge and portfolio of a given company, but also the ability to build relationships and efficient communication.

The team with whom we had the pleasure to work showed a high level of professional and interpersonal competences. This is how trust is created, the most valuable value for us.

Describe the project in detail.

The Petromex app is a delivery tracking system for petrol station owners, which enables our clients to know, ahead of time, the precise time their order will appear at their doorstep. It serves two purposed.

On one hand it gives our clients the ability to conduct their business in a more organized way, on the other, from the administrative perspective, it helps substantially minimize the needed communication with both drivers and clients.

The delivery routes and delivery times are automatically generated while establishing orders in our ERP. The drivers receive a list of drop-off points and each client is informed about the time of delivery.

What was the team composition?

1 x Back End Developer - .NET CORE + MySQL 1 x Front End Developer with React JS, Redux, Styled components, react-hook-form, material-ui 1 x DevOps 1 x UX/UI designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Currently, we are still testing and improving some functionalities. However, interest among customers can be noticed, which gives us the belief that further development of the customer panel will be beneficial for both parties.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication went smoothly. We managed to find a common language and understanding for the work of both parties, which in the course of creating the application certainly allowed us to avoid possible misunderstandings.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

A particularly important advantage of the project team is openness and a matter-of-fact approach to the subject.

The experience of team members allowed us to systematize individual elements of the project, set priorities, thanks to which we were able to quickly build the basis of the application and implement it in the company, and over time to introduce new solutions improving its functionality.

We also value commitment and individual approach.

Are there any areas for improvement?

When designing the application, together with the CSHARK team, we tried to think ahead, so that the implementation of new functionalities did not require extensive rebuilding, but adding new modules.

Over time, we will try to implement new solutions that will extend communication with customers, process automation and data exchange.