Devabit

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a base product, and we wanted to customize it by adding additional features and functionality. We wanted to add an algorithm that matched job opportunities to resumes, and we also wanted to add workflow capabilities, particularly for the hiring process.

Devabit provided UI improvements to make the site look more like a social application instead of a job board. Now, it has some social media integrations, and has an activity feed very similar to Twitter’s. Users have a lot more visibility with regards to interaction, communication, and the hiring process.

The business purpose of the platform is to provide an integrated tool set for people working in the entertainment industry which allows them to manage all aspects of an event. This includes talent buying, promotion management, communications, and logistics, among other things.

The matching algorithm is the key component, and what makes our service stand out in the market. We gave Devabit a basic description of the business rules, how it should work, and the different roles in the application, then they came up with the database schema and algorithm.

They did an excellent job fulfilling the business requirements and creating something that looks elegant. It’s a huge differentiator for our app amongst other products on the market. We plan on launching in September 2017.

What is the team dynamic?

I mostly interacted with the project manager. We would have daily emails, along with weekly status meetings, so communication was appropriate for the project. I didn’t really interact with the team other than adding comments in JIRA, and I didn’t have any outside technical resources due to the size of the project. I was completely reliant on Devabit.

How did you come to work with Devabit?

Someone else referred us to them, and their portfolio was very attractive to us. They had done a lot of public-facing websites, as well as some mobile and workflow related apps, that were all in the skill set area we were seeking.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our team split up the activities based on segments of the app. Devabit then took our code and added onto those specific functional segments. All the stuff they did for us was in Node.js, using frameworks like Meteor. On the front-end, they used ReactJS. I think they're able to use Blaze and Angular, but our app was already built in ReactJS. We like that framework, so we've been keeping with that framework. Right now, Devabit is operating as an extension of our team. It seems like they do have some designers but we haven't used them. We just haven't had the need to use them, yet.

How did you come to work with Devabit?

How we found them and what led me to work with Devabit were 2 totally different things. I don't remember how we found them. They might have reached out to me in LinkedIn. The thing is, a lot of dev companies reach out to me on LinkedIn. Because I'm a developer and because I actually used to have a software consulting company, I can spot the BS pretty quickly. When I looked at the framework that Devabit used, it caught my attention because it was the same framework that we were using. We use a relatively new framework, so not a lot of outsourcing development companies use it. I talked to someone from Devabit and I looked at the previous work that they did. I validated and verified the work they were showing. I sat down with their lead developer and said, “Explain this work that you just showed me.” I looked for the things that are technically a little bit tough. Not just technically, but even from a business standpoint are tough. “How did you come to pick these constraints?"

They had a lot of really good logical answers. It was clear to me that they were technically savvy. It was also clear to me that they were hungry, and so we gave them a really small project. It was a project that I already knew what the cost should be and how long it should take. Devabit was right on. A lot of other development companies will say, “We'll do it for $5 an hour, but it'll take us 10 weeks to build this little thing.” Devabit didn't do that with me. I also had confidence in their lead engineer. At that point, I was good to go.

How much have you invested with Devabit?

I think we've spent about $38,000 on Devabit’s services, but we're still doing stuff with them. With this development sprint, we'll probably spend another $5,000 or $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Devabit around late March. We're presenting at a couple of conferences. If that goes well and we get more customers, we'll probably keep using them. They've been really good so far.