Developers Shore

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Mooringo which is a startup in the business of recreational boating where we help boaters with data to improve their boating experience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We are using Developers Shore for all our app and web projects with the goal to have them as our remote development department. Mooringo ourselves have developers in-house but not all the expertise that we need to complete the product in a professional way. In this particular sping 2022 project Developers Shore helped us to design and program a whole new app from scratch in Flutter technology. The goals were to get a stable product on the market in the summer of 2022 and all these goals were met. There are actually no bugs!

SOLUTION

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

We requested offers from several remote suppliers in Europe but decided on Developers Shore because we like to work with Ukraine developers becuase they are skilled and contribute to the team with individual knowledge. Developers Shore understood our need for specialists and could staff upp our own department without adding a lot of overhead.

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

We made it simple. We drew sketches on paper on how we wanted the app to look and behave and from there a designer created screens in Figma. The programmers in ukraine did exactly according to the design using Flutter technology.

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

A project manager was assigned as the main contact and he activated different resources like designers and programmers based on need both in terms of skills and to keep the deadline.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had immediate 500 downloads the first week of the app launch and 10% subscribing. Users are to 75% positive to the app value and all are impressed by the design.

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

The project manager is easy to communicate with and really interested in our business without being too eager to get us to invest more hours. For us this is very important as we run out of money from time to time at the stage where we are at.

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

I was the most impressed with their sincere interest in our success.

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

There are for certain things during the project that could have been better from Developers Shore but also from our side. I cannot point out any particular detail.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Twiik, a coaching platform. The product is partly a marketplace where coaches or fitness influencers can sell workouts or personal training to end users. We also provide the platform to different gym chains that want to offer online training to their customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Developers Shore?

In Sweden, there’s a shortage of software engineers. Many big companies, like Tetra Pak and Sony, hire a lot of engineers, so it’s difficult to find local developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We use Developers Shore as near-shore developers. They’re outsourced staff, but they’re integrated into our software team, so they work closely with our developers.

First, we tell them the profile we need; for example, a JavaScript developer. They don’t have a pool of consultants, so they go out and find the candidate in Ukraine — with the Russian Invasion, they’ve broadened their scope a bit to find people. Then, we interview the candidate. If the person is fit, they hire them to work with us. We don’t have to worry about the legal side. In summary, we only have to specify the kind of developer we want.

We’ve hired two senior developers, so they didn’t need training; we only needed to onboard them on our products. One is an application developer that knows React Native and has experience with mobile apps. The other one is an advanced web developer. Our site has a coaching tool that allows building workouts and programs, so they work on that.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Jonas (Sales Manager). We’ve also talked to regional managers in Ukraine to find the right developers.

How did you come to work with Developers Shore?

They found us. We’re often approached by companies who want to help us find consultants. However, what set Developers Shore apart was that they hired specifically for the role. In addition, they were able to facilitate a pathway to hire these developers ourselves if we chose to.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent a little more than $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we’re working closely with them, our measurement is the cultural fit. We like to work with the engineers, and they’re productive. We feel they’re part of the team and contribute just as much as any local team member.

How did Developers Shore perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re good at following up and ensuring everything is good for our engineers and us. Their developers meet deadlines and are very flexible. As a small company, we often change our plans. We initially picked those two developers because they said they liked working in changing environments. All in all, they’ve been very professional and flexible when we’ve given them curveballs.

They work out of Eastern Europe, so they’re close enough to have the same schedule. We communicate directly with them and can bring them here for events. We use Slack and Google Meet for daily stand-up meetings. Additionally, we have Trello boards with the tasks we’ll do.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with Developers Shore’s ability to find good candidates on short notice. We’re also impressed with how quickly our candidates got started and became productive team members. Moreover, since we get someone explicitly hired for the job, we feel the developers are more engaged.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We asked Jonas, and they collect feedback from our engineers. We’d like them to share that with us; it’d be good to verify that they’re happy to work with us as much as we’re with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them. They’re very competent and honest. Developers Shore does the best they can.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Custodi Sverige AB, a construction matchmaking company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Developers Shore?

We needed help with custom software development because we didn't have internal resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Developers Shore developed a platform from scratch that allows people to post their construction projects so the system can automatically distribute them to companies in their area. Those companies can look at the project, the pictures, and other additional documents to contact them and give a correct estimate. After that, the project owners can post their quotes on the platform so potential homeowners can decide whether to choose them or not.

We finished the main part of the project in June, but we still use them for additional tasks.

What is the team composition?

We work with their team lead and four front- and backend developers.

How did you come to work with Developers Shore?

We looked at five different companies and even considered hiring our own developers, but after a thorough review, we chose Developers Shore because their price was affordable.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we've spent $100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They do an amazing job, and I'm extremely happy with them — we expected much more hiccups and challenges than how it turned out. In addition, despite their country going to war due to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, they still delivered, which is amazing. In terms of metrics, we have over 300 projects in our system within less than three months without spending any advertisement money at all.

How did Developers Shore perform from a project management standpoint?

They understand our needs, communicate well despite language barriers, and deliver on time and within budget — the team lead they assigned to us manages everything well. Regarding tools, we use Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with them as a team; they're trustworthy, deliver quality work on time, are easy to communicate with, and have competitive prices. They're everything we'd want from a supplier.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's nothing I'd have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open, transparent, and clear on what you expect and what will make a difference for you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of the Strategic design Studio NewFrontiers. We serve our customers and partners with creative, innovative and strategic solutions that help move them into growth.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our goal is always to create digital products and solutions that excels on our (and our clients) expectations. Most of our clients are small/medium sized companies with the need of an agile developer that understands their needs and that helps them find the right solutions. Developers shore have always been in the fore-front of this: advising us and our clients to the best possible solutions and developers.

SOLUTION

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

I found Developers Shore through recommendations from other agencies that were extremely happy with their collaboration. Developers Shore are always putting the client first, doing so by first understanding exactly what is needed and then presenting relevant candidates based on the specific need. Their candidates are always tailored for the task at hand and all have different profiles.

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

The projects are always initiated with a kick-off meeting where we share the insights from our research phase, here Developers Shore are always bringing new insights to the table to improve the process. Very shortly after we are being presented with suitable candidates and are assisted in choosing the right one for our project whenever needed. We are then given the possibility to interview each candidate before starting the project.

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

A dedicated project manager from Developers Shore is always tightly connected to the project, helping with any/all queries in regards to effectiveness of the collaboration. The projects have differed in terms of size of the vendors team. Some projects have been directly with one developer and others have been with a larger team (10+ ppl) ranging from Business Analyst, QA, Frontend/backend developer(s), UX designers etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clients have always been extremely happy with the outcome and attention to visual details. Most of them being start-ups are really focused on time-to-market in comparison to initial cost and Developers Shore have always delivered on both.

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

Daily stand ups with developers, sprint planning with project managers, Demo and sprint retro with clients.

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

Their ability to always find the right profile, no matter the client and their technical needs are impressive! They have a deep and solid understanding of working with not only creative studios like our own but also the start-up scene and the demands (and limitations) that comes with it.

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

Like all projects there might be some bugs and visual mistakes but the developers provided by Developers Shore are always proactive in fixing these.