DEPT®

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Director of The Adventures Group

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Leading provider of Tours and Excursions in Mexico.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire DEPT® to accomplish?

• Redesign of our eCommerce websites with a mobile-first approach.
• Modernize our CMS platform and the technology behind our eCommerce sites.

SOLUTION

How did you find DEPT®?

• Referral
• Clutch Site

Why did you select DEPT® over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from DEPT® were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

DEPT® will collaborate with The Adventures Group to design, build, and launch new websites for Vallarta Adventures, Cabo Adventures, and Cancun Adventures. The goal is to improve the mobile experience and conversion rate and lay a foundation (with the applied design system, component library, CMS, and technical architecture of the website) for the Adventures Group team to maintain and update the websites more easily.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We were expecting to launch the sites in November 2023. The project is massively delayed. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They continuously missed delivery dates set by themselves, ultimately leading to an eight-month delay.

What was your primary form of communication with DEPT®?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Being such a renowned international agency, we never expected them to leave us with a site that is outdated in technology (outdated Sanity version), inefficient in terms of server usage, and slow loading speed.

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

We are extremely disappointed with DEPT's performance. Despite our substantial financial investment and high expectations for advancing our digital presence, we have received a site plagued with severe technical deficiencies that DEPT refuses to acknowledge.

DEPT is now eight months overdue in its delivery, and the site still suffers from significant technical issues. Additionally, there appear to be internal organizational problems; their technological developer left the company a few weeks before delivery, and a new individual has since taken over.

We engaged two independent technical experts to conduct an audit, but DEPT has rejected their findings. We proposed hiring a third independent technical auditor, but DEPT has yet to respond. As a result, our new site remains in limbo with no resolution in sight.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The app was basically just an idea. So I worked with Alex to figure out the best plan on moving forward. I worked with Laura to sit down and brainstorm how the app will work. We have a workflow for buyers and a workflow for sellers. Once that was mapped out, I worked with Taylor and Logan on the design. We came up with a color scheme and the best way to leverage design to compliment the workflow.

SOLUTION

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

Working with Alex is why I moved forward. I talked to a lot of companies in Denver and Austin. You would be surprised how many don't even call back. However, Alex knew the best way forward based on where I was at progress wise. He was also just a nice guy, not the stuck up tech type who rides a high horse everywhere. The same could be said for everyone I have worked with at Devtry.

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

First working with Alex on the best steps. Second was a series of brainstorming meetings with Alex, Logan, Taylor, Laura, and myself. We got together to go over what the app is, what problem it is solving, and the best way to solve those problems. After this, I spent time with Laura mapping out the entire workflow of the app and getting into the weeds of how everything needs to work. Next I worked with Laura, Taylor, and Logan on creating the design theme and then the 7 screens to use for building an app in the future or using those to raise VC funds.

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

• Laura, Project Manager
• Alex, Project Manager
• Taylor, Project Designer
• Logan, UI Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The most important outcomes have been understanding the denver real estate market better. The app is in the real estate space. Being able to understand how buyers and sellers are responding and dealing with an insane real estate market. This was important because we could all learn real time all the different ways the app would have to work for different buyers and sellers.

This was information I didn't have before we began working. The other outcome was working on the workflow of the app. Once we had a better understanding of the market our app will be operating in and could then fuse that data with the workflow of our app we then had a foundation that could be used to build a real and reliable app.

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

Usually email, slack, and google meet. Plenty of meetings over google meet which is fantastic because what can be done over meet in an hour, can take days with email.

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

Communication, design, and the ease to work with. They were really good at what they do. They are not a sterile or unapproachable technology development company, and that is not easy to find.

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

None.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for one of the US Department of Energy's national laboratories. More specifically, I'm a principal investigator for several R&D projects in the Commercial Buildings Research Group. I oversee the planning, development, design, and release of several building energy modeling software tools and simulation programs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

Part of my responsibilities is to procure work outside of our group when we have the need, so I hired Devetry to help us develop a custom widget.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devetry had previously helped design and developed a custom, web-based geometry creation and editing software for building management applications. This was successfully launched a few years ago, but it was high time for us to tend to the problems that our user base has experienced with the tool. 

For this latest engagement, they’re currently addressing user requests and software issues, the deliverables being software issue resolution and enhancement implementation. Our internal research team is not well-versed in developing web-based applications and widgets, so Devetry is working to improve runtime performance and coding. 

What is the team composition?

For the specific project, we’re working with 2–3 developers, one of whom was the senior software developer in our previous engagement. He is intimately familiar with the technology. 

How did you come to work with Devetry?

A colleague of ours had already established contact with Devetry for the development of the software. We decided to hire them again for this software enhancement project since they proved to be consistent in delivering high-quality work in our previous engagement. They exceeded our expectations when we were just developing the software, so we brought them in again to resolve the issues. They’re highly flexible, skilled, and a great pleasure to work with. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $500,000–$1 million. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started around June 2021 and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Devetry has consistently achieved our goal, which is to address all high-priority requests and software issues. They’ve also provided a detailed account of how their time and efforts were spent. All the task assignments that we’ve planned for their team have been completed ahead of schedule.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re the ones who are managing the project, but Devetry works extremely well with our organization. They’re very responsive. We’re using an agile software development model and reach out to each other mostly through phone, email, and GitHub. There is constant communication between our team and their developers to ensure that they continue to meet our expectations in terms of the robustness, performance, and functionality of their solutions. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

One thing that stands out with Devetry is their flexibility and ability to jump into challenges and assignments. Their expert, carefully developed solutions differentiate them from other providers that we’ve worked with. We’re able to rely on their skilled resource whenever we have a need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Establish good communication with the Devetry team from the very beginning and provide them with as much detail as possible regarding your project and the scope of work. Involve them as an extension of your own development team because productive and collaborative exchanges between you can lead to the improvement of your technology.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the principal investigator of several R&D focused projects. I help plan and execute the project as well as perform portions of the technical work.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

These projects require forward facing software tools and the skills required to develop web applications with a "non-researcher" UX is difficult to find. We hired Devetry to help design and build (in partnership with our internal researchers) web applications, APIs, and other software-related tools.

SOLUTION

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

I have worked with Devetry for many years and they have consistently delivered high-quality work.

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

Devetry has "embedded" several software developers along side our internal researchers/developers. We have a somewhat agile development setup with quarterly focus areas and meetings every other day to track progress. Devetry has provided a range of support from high level UX design/mockups, customer reviews/engagement, issue tracking, external communications, task planning, running scrums, and most importantly coding/software engineering.

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

There have been 2 or 3 people over the last couple years. Typically a senior developer and a junior developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have consistently met our quarterly deliverables on our projects. Since we are a research organization journal articles, conference papers, and presentations are commonly used to track success. With Devetry's support we have published and presented at several international and national conferences. We have also created several software records tracked by OSTI on work that was directly developed by Devetry.

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

The project management was run by us; however, Devetry helped provide management as needed based on staffing constraints on our end (albeit rarely). We have had great success co-leading the projects as needed and have consistently delivered products on time and as budgeted.

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

The ability to work directly with the developers is a joy! We have enjoyed the ability to get to know the people working in the weeds!

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

At the moment, things are going swimmingly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for one of the multiple energy labs run by the Department of Energy. There, I’m the product portfolio manager, so I oversee a suite of software applications, including the design, development, and iteration of this portfolio.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We had a huge backlog, and we were trying to not just maintain the amount of work that we needed to do, but also improve the quality and speed of the work that we were doing. That work was focused specifically on web-based application development and design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Although every project is different, we typically go through a proposal phase to determine the work. During that phase, we sometimes need technical feedback, so Devetry helps us with some of the technical requirement identification for this.

Assuming we win the project, we enter into the development phase. Devetry's team assists us with the initial phase of development, which typically is the design of the application. This might include UI/UX design and front- and backend architecting.

Ultimately, Devetry helps us write the code and do the software development, leading us up to see a new application or a new version of an application.

Besides the development, they’ve also helped us with some database architecture, cloud-based work, a little bit of client management, and some project management.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with up to three people from Devetry, but we ramp the team up or down depending on our needs. That team includes a full-stack developer, a frontend developer, and a UI/UX designer.

Currently, we’re actively working with just one of their developers, but we’re about to bring in a second person.

How did you come to work with Devetry?

Devetry had already established a subcontract relationship with our lab, so we got connected with them through another of our teams. They had had a good experience working with them and suggested that, given the ebb and flow of our portfolio, they would be a good company to work with to help us with the ups and downs of our backlog.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them at some point during the Q1 of 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. We’re very happy with what they’ve provided us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since having Devetry join, we’ve had a 100% satisfaction rate on all of our projects. We’ve met all the deadlines of our contractual requirements and period of performance timelines. We’ve also completed 8–9 new applications and major revisions to applications, and the level of quality and consistency of our work has increased significantly.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

Although I mentioned that they’ve helped us with some project management, we usually have in-house project management. However, in their roles, Devetry has been great. They’ve definitely contributed nicely to all of our active projects, and they work well with our project managers.

They’ve integrated really well with our structure and work methodology. We’ve touched base with them during our morning standup meetings, where we discuss plans and adjustments to schedules. Occasionally, we touch base with Devetry's leadership as well.

They’ve also contributed back; they’ve given us their feedback, and we’ve implemented it. We have constant ongoing communication, and it has worked really well.

We mainly communicate via video conference over Microsoft Teams. We’ve also exchanged direct messages and had individual calls with their team members.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Devetry’s flexibility and empathy differentiates them from other providers. They quickly understood the bureaucratic challenges with the way that our funding works, and they’ve focused on building a long-term partnership with us rather than accommodating short-term contractual requirements.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any constructive feedback for Devetry. Most of the issues that have occurred, which have been very few, have been related to our backlog of work.

My only comment is that I hope that they can remain flexible and continue to provide active guidance in their consultant role to help us and others improve — they’re really good at that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Really try to engage with them and have a lot of communication. It’s easy to treat contractors as people who are just there to do what you told them to do. However, I’ve felt that we’ve got a lot of value from Devetry from having them immerse our team.

Additionally, be open to feedback, suggestions, and critique. They’ve provided us with a lot of good feedback, and they have really skilled people that have helped us improve and adjust our methodologies. They bring a different perspective outside of our organization.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of an advertising technology platform. We have software that allows advertisers to buy media in a self-serving fashion.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We were upgrading our application to go into a more modern tech stack, so we needed more developers to help us with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devetry uses React to work on front and backend development. Adding on to that, their CTO and other senior developers provide architectural support.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Brett (Founder & CEO). We also have two more people assigned to our team.

How did you come to work with Devetry?

Brett and our VP of product knew each other. I was looking for a boutique-type company so that our business would be meaningful to them. Devetry was small enough while also being very good technically, so I chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback coming from my development team is that the people Devetry brings in have been very skilled, capable, and top contributors to the project.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

We embedded them into our development team, making it easier to do daily scrums and screen plannings. We use Linear as our project management tool. We also have a weekly meeting with their leadership team to deal with more strategic issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to get things done and the quality of their team members have been most impressive. We wouldn’t be working with them if they couldn’t deliver on their promises. They’ve contributed a great deal to our success. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Early on, we needed to scale up the teams, and there was a bit of a lag sometimes to get new team members. After they got acquired, that changed, and they were able to address those issues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d encourage technology leaders to think about a one-team model in which contractors are folded in and treated as employees. That will ensure better collaboration and ownership of the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative design lead for Education for Humanity at Arizona State University. We offer a range of educational programs to refugees around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We wanted to create an online learning management system (LMS) portal for a global audience, many of whom are in low-resource settings and aren’t particularly digitally literate or well-versed in the English language. The portal was intended to pull from multiple LMS interfaces, be accessible to all, deliver and house shareable credentials, and enable automated program management for scalability purposes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

My team is extraordinary lean, so they’ve helped with the initial design, business analysis, project management, web development, QA, troubleshooting, and post-development work. They’ve also helped us to coordinate project management and integration with our third-party LMS hosting company.

For the design portion of the project, they’ve helped in multiple ways. Their team came to us to help put together a human-centered approach to the project. They wanted to be in-tune with the needs of the end-users, so we worked together to figure out how to best design the system for the intended audience.

The final portal was a custom software solution. Aside from integrating the LMS interfaces, they’ve also added in single sign-on compatibility, English language diagnostic capabilities, automated badging for course completion, and a back-end administration platform.

What is the team composition?

The team composition has changed over time. We’ve worked with five people very closely throughout the project, with three more coming into focus in some of the different project stages.

How did you come to work with Devetry?

Other people at the university whole have undertaken high-profile initiatives spoke highly of them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first engaged with them in mid-to-late 2017. The engagement is ongoing, with several versions being released. We’ve gone months between working together in some cases, but we’ve always been in touch with them during these gaps.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t been tracking specific metrics related to this engagement, but the solution they’ve delivered has driven tangible efficiency increases. Since my team is so lean, we want the portal to act as a program manager and handle a lot of the work my team previously handled manually. In that sense, it doesn’t just help the learners access education more easily, but it also automates administrative tasks such as user registration, course enrollment, and badging.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve handled the project management for us, picking up the slack when we lost our own project manager. They use their own tools as well as regular check-in meetings. We communicate over Slack and email outside of these meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re able to do what they say they’re going to do. They’ve helped bring our vision to life, but remain realistic about what can and can’t be done. Everyone on their team is a pleasure to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing they could improve upon or do differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Call them and get to know them. See what they can do for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product at Apto. We build workflow solutions for commercial real estate brokers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We’re building a data-loading tool to move massive amounts of property and market data into a CRM. Our in-house team didn’t have the experience needed to plan and execute the project, so we reached out to the Devetry crew.

At the same time, we were rebuilding our engineering team and Devetry acted as an advisor to help us devise a hiring strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They used React to upload flat files while following an extract, transform, load (ETL) process.

They also worked with Apex because they did some Salesforce work, serial peripheral interface (SPI) for deployments, and APIs.

After development, they helped us create a hiring strategy. During the discovery phase, they interviewed me and a few others in the company to understand what our goals were. At that point, they put together a report on their findings and recommended what skills we should be looking for in potential candidates. They also analyzed technology trends and informed us about what positions and skill sets are difficult to fill.  

Finally, they helped us with the interview process. They reviewed the skill-check part of the review process.  

What is the team composition?

I worked with about eight people in total. We talked to Stephanie (Business Analyst), developers, and some UI/UX resources.

How did you come to work with Devetry?

Our CEOs met through a business group a few years ago. So, when we began looking for a partner, we asked them if they did this kind of work. We brought them on for a fairly small project at first and it went really well so we continued to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2020 and completed the project in December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our partnership was a wild success. Since the data-loading tool was launched, about 50% of our customers have been able to upload their data on their own. Now that we don’t have to hold their hands through the process, our team has significantly more time. As a result, we’ve been able to increase the team’s capacity so they can build automated flows and Python scripts that they didn’t have time to do before. We were also able to avoid hiring more people for that team.

Additionally, the new solution saved time for our customers. Before this project, it could take up to two weeks for our customer’s data to be uploaded, but now we can upload it within an hour.

Finally, their support in the hiring process helped us bring on a qualified team.

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

I didn’t have to worry about them because I always knew what was going on. Their entire team used Clubhouse.io to manage tickets. Although Stephanie was our main point of contact, we also utilized a Slack channel to ask questions and get direct responses from their team.

Once a week we had an hour-long meeting to sort through their progress. At that time, they presented demos and review their work. Our in-house lead engineer also did code reviews with their team, which ensured a good hand-off when the project was done.

The process was a little different for the staffing project — I spoke to my main point of contact about three times a week and they spoke with more people on my team the following week. The week after that, we met for a couple of hours to review their findings and recommendations. What did you find most impressive about them?

They ramped up really quickly. Within a week, they started development. In comparison, other companies I’ve worked with have taken as much as 2­­–3 sprints over the course of 4–6 weeks to get up to speed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were a few times when they tried to work with our team on the UI/UX and that didn’t go as smoothly. Still, they had the flexibility to try it out. They’re more effective in other areas and should focus on that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

New clients should open channels for communication and treat people as part of the company. By welcoming them to the team, they will be able to have productive conversations that are critical to the success of the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in a university’s online department, where we run all of our online degree programs as well as other tech-enabled projects or digital learning initiatives. I’m the senior director of enterprise response and implementation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devetry?

We contacted them to create a tool to help students determine which degrees and careers would be best aligned to their interests. The technology was for marketing and student support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first needed their help with business analysis support, gathering requirements, and serving as a liaison between functional and technical teams. From there, they were primarily responsible for doing the coding and development work. They focused on revamping the backend and UI/UX. We launched the first phase of the project and our planning for our second phase to go live in the spring of 2021.    

What is the team composition?

We worked with about eight different people, but our main points of contact were the lead developer and business analyst involved. There were designers and developers who we interfaced with on occasion, but communication was generally funneled through our main contacts. 

How did you come to work with Devetry?

We engaged their CEO for a different project before he started Devetry. Previous work with him was successful, so they were highly recommended when I was starting this project. They had already gone through an RFP and were trusted vendors within our system, so we had executive approval for all development work.  

How much have you invested with them?

Our total spend will be around $1 million once the project is complete. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since August 2019.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We started with a vision of what the project should look like, and they did a great job of following requirements, staying in touch with stakeholders, and getting approval. There were a lot of people with buy-in on the tool, but their designs earned positive feedback from just about everybody. Everyone is impressed by the tool and the major improvements in speed, UI/UX, and access to data.  

How did Devetry perform from a project management standpoint?

The goal was to launch the tool this fall, which they were able to accomplish. We had an internal project management team that took the lead on scoping and requirements. However, they made sure that their communication and documentation were stellar. There was some scope creep in our effort, and they’ve been accommodating in delivering the solution we expect despite that. 

We communicate through Zoom. Prior to the pandemic, they visited our facilities every few weeks. For quick communication throughout the day, we rely on Slack. We message each other daily. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re professional and build strong relationships that make us feel like a unified team. Our opinions matter to them, and they make us feel like a top priority. Their ability to meet deadlines has been hugely important to us.

We have tons of requirements, expectations, and necessary technical integrations, and they’ve always met or exceeded expectations. I’m always impressed by how well they understand the education space, especially from a development perspective.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve been so pleased with them across all of our projects together.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Setting up communication channels right from the start is important. Once the line of communication is there and they understand requirements, they’re set up to do a phenomenal job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My name is Ben Hickman. I am the director of UX and Design at Pluto TV

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Rocket Insights?

We hired Rocket Insights to gather user research and lead our product team through our first design sprints.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to know how our users chose contact to watch and we wanted to learn how to integrate design sprints into our product design and development workflow.

SOLUTION

How did you select Rocket Insights?

Our chief product officer worked with one of the program managers from Rocket Insights.

Describe the project in detail.

After some changes in product leadership, we were going to define our first large feature release. The team wanted to switch to using design sprints but had never conducted one.

What was the team composition?

Rocket insights provided a project manager, a senior designer, and a mid-level designer for the design sprint project. Then for the second project, The research sprint project, we worked with a project manager and a UX researcher.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our team has adopted design sprints as an essential part of our product development workflow. Don't think that would've happened if we just all read the book and hat at it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. Design sprints can be a big change in the way product teams work and share accountability. Having the expert guidance of an experienced team that overcommunicated and express themselves clearly was helpful in making this transition.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were extraordinarily patient and flexible.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Reporting this work up to our CEO we did have to rewrite some of the findings so they were appropriate for executive summaries.