designs.codes

Please describe your company and your position there.

SHE is a home exchange forum dedicated to creating a community of like-minded members who enjoy traveling, sharing their experiences and doing so by exchanging their homes.

For what projects/services did your company hire designs.codes, and what were your goals?

Total platform software development for both web and mobile applications allowing members to meet each other via the platform to find, communicate, exchange and review their home exchange experiences.

How did you select designs.codes and what were the deciding factors?

We were referred to as designs.codes via a close business associate who had very favorable experiences with designs.codes. We were looking for a software development company that could work with us from the ground up in terms of building our business software platform.

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

We had a business concept focused on the senior market segment where we wanted to create a website and mobile apps that allowed members to come together, communicate, and exchange their homes.

The platform software development needed to allow members to meet each other via the platform based on members' interest to travel to specific localities where they can communicate via the platform, exchange their homes and review their home exchange experiences.

This is a total software development project requiring the know-how and experience using multiple software development tools.

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

One designer, one coder, two software developers & one project manager

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

We are continuing to work with designs.codes on this project as we develop our platform. They are very responsive, flexible, and competent. They are always responsive and committed to getting things right.

They are consultative in nature and help the customer understand developing trends in the online and mobile business environment. They put the customer first and are dedicated to making the project and the business process a success for their customer.

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

They use Slack as their project management tool which works very well with us. We also use Jira for specific task management connected with Slack.

They are dedicated to regular communications and when there is a need to shift meetings they communicate that in advance so as to allow time management planning from a customer standpoint. Their management team is fluent in English which makes communicating deliverables and tasks easy for the customer.

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

Far and away the most valuable thing in working with designs.codes is their ability to adapt to our needs. As a project that has been developed from scratch (inception) to live launch, it really required an organization that was nimble and flexible to the needs and desires of the client.

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

Early on in the project, we had to understand the nuance of working with a company that obviously is of a different culture. This took some time and we both learned to adapt to our differences.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are one-stop multi-brand mobile retail and repair business.

For what projects/services did your company hire designs.codes?

We needed a custom software for our field operations so that we can track our field operations team who visit customers and also to manage the entire servicing cycle at the store.

What were your goals for this project?

1. To have functional mobile apps which our field service agents can use easily. 2. To manage the entire customer life cycle seamlessly from back office by using an inventory and CRM system. 3. Having all our data online to reduce paper trails.

How did you select this vendor?

Found them via personal reference.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They developed the two mobile apps, the web based software and our front-end website. Each segment is connected to the rest. They did everything from design to development. Now we have a maintenance contract with them.

What was the team composition?

1 designer, 2 web developers, 1 cross platform mobile developer, and QA.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The mobile app for field agents is really simple to use. We also added a customer app later to make customer contact simpler. The web software helped us migrate to online completely from fragmented record keeping and now each depart from service engineers to support guys and storefront people have access to full customer life cycle data.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It has been smooth overall as they are a friendly lot. Being in the same city also helped. They would visit our store for discussions at times or demo to our team. I've also visited their office a few times.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The developers' technical know-how and their amazing customer service stood out. They would email us daily to keep us updated on the work progress and always been willing to listen.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Cost structure could have been a little more flexible.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Lead Logistics, a small business in South Africa.

What challenge were you trying to address with designs.codes?

We’re primarily a logistics business with supply chains and warehouses, but we also have a software division. That division was growing beyond our capacity, so we needed a way to scale quickly and have competent resources to work on ongoing projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve been involved in a number of projects for us, mainly concerning the development of custom software. They provided full end-to-end coding as well as the design behind the coding from an architecture point of view. We then did the process and overall output of the design.

Our initial design was pretty light, mostly consisting of us describing the overall process to them sometimes using slides, diagrams, a Word document, or even an email. We wanted them to be able to do the design on and the coding from that very light brief.

What is the team composition?

We initially started with one full-time person and are now up to two full-time members from their team. There are probably another two people assisting in the background.

How did you come to work with designs.codes?

We scanned the existing players in the market globally who could provide the service we needed. We then shortlisted that internally, and I had an initial conversation with designs.code, then later with their technical director. We were impressed by some of their previous projects, their cost was reasonable, and they had the ability to ramp up resources quickly when available.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $36,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the engagement in January 2018, and it is an ongoing relationship.

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

I measure them in terms of the quality of different chunks of work. We give them a task—whether it be a process within the system we’re designing or a new feature—then we agree on a timescale by which it should be done. Almost without fail, they’ve met those timelines and delivered.

The quality of the work has been a 5 out of 5. We haven’t presented them with a problem that they haven’t been able to put into code. Though entered this project with some trepidation due to a few issues that we couldn’t code before, they’ve exceeded our expectations.

How did designs.codes perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’re reacting well to the chunks of work that I pass them. We don’t have an overall design timeline, and it’s more complicated than that, but I have a picture in my head of what the process should be. My job was to divide up the work and pass it across, so they can execute it.

We’ve used Hubstaff, which has allowed me to see their activity and the level of it. Most of our communication has been over Skype because we were in different time zones, and we meet online two to three times a week. More recently, we’ve been using a more formalized code exchange platform through Bitbucket.

What did you find most impressive about them?

For the last 18 months, we’ve had the same coder on the project, and he’s been as dedicated about finishing this project as I have been. He doesn’t understand have the subject matter knowledge, but he has the ability and desire to try and get the process right, so it’s been very good. In the past, I’ve experienced coders being pulled off halfway through a project, but this hasn’t happened at all with designs.codes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at this stage.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It depends on what skills the client has. If they can put together a decent brief, designs.codes would work faster and cheaper. On the flip side of that, designs.codes also has the flexibility to work with a loose brief, and can contribute that if necessary.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a director at a software-based tenancy services company.

For what projects/services did your company hire designs.codes?

We needed them to develop custom software solutions from the server to the client end, including key components, coded in a range of languages.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a state-of-the-art software solution.

How did you select this vendor?

We advertised online and they responded.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They built modules in PHP, HTML, WordPress, Angular, and JavaScript, along with APIs integrated with third-party providers, and systems administration. They also helped with research and development.

What was the team composition?

We used designers and mostly coders in the above languages. They provided an integrated service.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

This project has enabled us to provide software services to large business partners in the insurance and real estate sectors.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We provided designs and they developed the solutions. It was very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They constantly worked to understand our requirements. They’re determined to provide good service. They are friendly, efficient, skilled, reliable and at a very good price.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a tele-counselling platform. We onboard certified counsellors and they provide on-demand counselling to the employees of various companies through a centralised portal for each company. I'm an Administrative Assistant here.

For what projects/services did your company hire designs.codes, and what were your goals?

We hired designs codes to develop our tele-counselling web and mobile applications.

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

We shortlisted them along with a few other agencies having good reviews on Clutch. Designs Codes worked on a similar platform earlier so we selected them.

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

Most important part of this platform is to have video calling facilities within our applications, both web and mobile to connect counsellors with the employees. We have monthly and yearly subscription payments and free trial period usage with limited sessions for a month as well.

Node js and React js has been used for the web application. The Android and iPhone apps are being built on native technologies.

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

The team consists of two web developers and two mobile developers.

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

They have completed the web application, which helped our team to convince some companies to beta test the product as paid customers. We will launch fully once the mobile applications are ready.

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

We have an in-house IT department. We hired them to augment our resources and complete the project faster. Their developers are working full-time for us and they coordinate with our product manager and IT team. Usually there are daily task assignments by our team and weekly review meetings.

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

Our IT team is happy with the skill level of designs.codes’ developers. The web developers have also worked overtime for a week beyond their usual work hours when the web application launch was taking place.

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

Nothing our team can think of right now.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of Level Up Fitness.

For what projects/services did your company hire designs.codes, and what were your goals?

We had an issue of managing the records of every member who are joining our fitness centre. So, design Codes helped me in developing the software of the firm.

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

Heard of them from an acquaintance and got interested after speaking to them regarding the end result.

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

Main aim of the project was to achieve a simple user friendly application to manage the memberships of our gym. It has been developed using Laravel framework.

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

One developer, one front-end coder and one tester and one dedicated account manager.

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

The software they developed made our lives a lot easier as it has become very simple to manage the memberships of our gym.

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

Frequent communications, demo with feedback and updates on bi weekly basis made the development quick easy and as per expectations right from day 1.

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

Suggestions and guidelines provided on the basis of the requirements shared with them have been an added benefit as it made my life a lot easier and hassle free.

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

Nothing as of now.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Startup US-based information services company focused on developing smartphone based apps to help guide consumers with purchasing decisions. I am the CEO.

For what projects/services did your company hire designs.codes, and what were your goals?

Hired them to develop a smartphone based apps to help guide consumers with purchasing decisions

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

Searched the web with led me to Clutch. I decided to go with them based on 1. Clutch reviews 2. Interviews with the management of Design.codes

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

Steps

1. Series of scoping meetings
2. Collaboratively decided on technologies to employ
3. Brainstormed design (wireframing, etc)
4. Development of app (based on agile)
5. Testing and deployment

Technologies

1. Swift Deliverables 
2. Fully functional, commercial ready, iOS app

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

3

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

App was developed with the expected time. All pre-agreed features worked with minimal re-work. Currently in preparation for launch

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

• Extremely efficient with communication despite disparate timezones.
• Heavy use of collaboration tools such as Slack and Google Meet.
• Daily progress updates on Slack
• Weekly live status meetings via google meet

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

• Very proactive
• Willing and bale to suggest useful design ideas
• Technical competency

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

Great company with great promise. They need to plan to scale up to better address growing demand

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an interior designing & decoration start-up. I am the graphic designer.

For what projects/services did your company hire designs.codes, and what were your goals?

We hired Design Codes for developing our website on interior designing & decoration. And the prime goal was to have a SEO-optimized site that is engaging as well.

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

While Googling, we came across Design Codes & their project portfolio, depth in designing skills & the cost scheme clicked for us in choosing them.

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

After the initial meeting about our key objective & purpose, Design Codes offered us few sample wire frames & after a detailed discussion with them over those, we decided upon the one suiting our business motive. Design Codes developed a sleek WordPress site.

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

A project manager was our main point of contact throughout the process. There were also 2 full stack developers & a designer working behind the scenes.

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

We have just started our journey. Hope Design Codes will be worthy for us.

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

Design Codes has maintained a thoroughly professional approach all along, in addition to commitment towards deadline. Communication mainly happened through phone & e-mails.

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

Design Codes's team coordination & client management is up to the mark.

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

This was our first project with Design Codes. No issues till now.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Website offering online, corporate, group and private yoga classes. I'm one of the founders.

For what projects/services did your company hire designs.codes, and what were your goals?

To create and develop a website and logo for Lauren Griffin yoga. My goal was to have a platform where people can find out about the yoga we teach, the classes on offer (private, corporate, group and online) and also be able to book and pay online. I also wanted people to subscribe to a mailing list.

How did you select designs.codes and what were the deciding factors?

They were recommended to me by a family member and I could see how well that website was created. I was also convinced they would do a great job on all the back end developing.

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

After the initial Zoom meeting and sending over a brief, we were given options of themes for the website. Once I chose the theme, they then designed accordingly. Creatively I chose all the images, wrote all the copy and came up with the colour scheme. They did all the backend and designed the logo.

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

1. 1 Designer
2. 1 HTML coder
3. 1 bank end developer
4. 1 tester
5. 1 project manager.

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

Whenever I asked to change something they did it straight away. I felt there was no hesitation on their side when it came to making changes to the site.

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

We communicated on slack and email. Whenever I needed any answers or had any suggestions, they were taken on board. We have gone over the initial project time line, but for me that isn't a major issue.

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

The fact we operated in different time zones, has never been an issue. I felt

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

I felt there were some teething issues at the beginning. There was some miscommunication creatively, as the first round of what the site looked like, wasn't what I had in mind. But after some feedback, they listened and made the site better.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Entertainer at CelticCK Productions LLC

For what projects/services did your company hire designs.codes, and what were your goals?

Websites & custom software integration Goals:

• ColmKeegan.com - Showcase personal work and offer online work, whilst selling tickets for shows and booking seats on Bus Tours
• CKonLine Teaching - Sell and hold online classes whilst selling products from online shop. Custom software in order to manage and hold classes and students.

How did you select designs.codes and what were the deciding factors?

After posting a Tweet saying I was looking for a website and online software, Designs Codes presented themselves in 2016 to do that work for me.

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

Scope of work:

1. Create a website for showcasing live shows and products and availability of options to book Bus Tours
2. To integrate a software into a website to hold and manage online music and cultural classes

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

5 people in total.

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

As a customer I am very, very pleased with the standard of work provided to me by Designs Codes. The quality of the websites are excellent and the additional changes I make are regularly updated. The customized software helps me to hold and manage my online classes easily.

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

One to one communication with project manager who gets the work done and sends updates on a regular basis. Communication through emails and WhatsApp.

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

Excellent communication and very professional end result.

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

There are options for everyone to improve but I'm at a loss to think of anything right now.