What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The impact’s been massive. As I said before, we used to have multiple systems in place, and maintaining that process while we grew as a company just wasn’t financially viable.
With DCSL’s software, what used to be three people’s jobs can now be done by one person. It’s done wonders for our efficiency, even from the financing and invoicing side. Those tasks were taking a lengthy amount of time, and now they’re being done automatically by the system. It has fundamentally changed the way we work.
The platform is also very reliable. We encountered a few bugs, and it took some time for the staff to get used to the new system, but once it was implemented and everyone got used to it, it worked fine. DCSL provides excellent support, as well. If there’s an issue that comes up, they’re quick to jump on it and get it fixed.
How did DCSL Software perform from a project management standpoint?
The communication was outstanding. We had two-week sprints, and, during those sprints, we spent a lot of time collaborating with the DCSL team. They provided us a rundown and brief of what they’d done at the end of each sprint, covering where we stood price-wise and what they were planning to do for the next sprint.
We also had a web portal with them where we could test our system. We used this user acceptance testing (UAT) website throughout the development process and posted any bugs we came across. They would see the bugs we found and add them to their list of things to address. This workflow made it so that we didn’t need to keep having meetings and calls.
We kept all five members of our team in the loop with every communication. They’d always get back to us within an hour. It was also quite easy to get a hold of someone if we needed to speak on the phone.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They brought innovation to our system, whereas the previous companies we’d worked with operated strictly based on our directions. If we went to Alfredo with something, he’d also suggest things that would work better. He gave us ideas for how to streamline what we thought was already quite a streamlined platform. DCSL was great about narrowing that down for us.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, they’ve been a brilliant company all around, and we’ve been really impressed by them. Alfredo, in particular, has been great all the way through. We’re happy to be using them, and we plan to stick with them for the next phases of development.
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
Clients should make sure from day one that the developer understands what their company does. When Nick did the original quote, he came to us for a day or two and spent time with each department, watching what they did. I think that’s really beneficial because it helps you prepare for changes.
We have to make sure that DCSL is aware of the changes that are happening at our company and that they have a full understanding of what we do as a company. For example, we might assume that they know how each feature will affect our work, but they’re not experts in our field and wouldn’t necessarily know to make those assumptions. We have to ensure that they fully understand what we do, including all of our internal processes.
The project received positive feedback from several users. DCSL Software has a skilled team that delivered high-quality work. Although they could manage the budget better, they were cooperative and easy to work with.