Developex

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Arkade, Inc. a gaming company which develops unique gaming hardware and software.

For what projects/services did your company hire Developex?

DevelopEx did the majority of our firmware and app development for our signature product, the Arkade Blaster.

What were your goals for this project?

Complete product development on tight deadlines for product launch.

How did you select this vendor?

DevEx is a top tier development firm with a vast roster of talented engineers and developers. Their professionalism, competitive costs, and high level engagement on our projects has generated tremendous value for our company. They've been a pleasure to work with, and we coudln't recommend them more.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

DevEx provides a huge swath of services from hardware to software development. Their company has a catalog of services beyond our own development needs, so I can't even speak to how many services they ultimately provide, but my experience with the services our company needed was phenomenal.

What was the team composition?

DevelopEx enabled us to scale our team sizes at different points in our development from 5 to 20 people, across a variety of engineering and development expertises. They even hired specialty engineers for particular projects with unique demands.

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

DevelopEx has helped us develop essential software and firmware for our products which work across many platforms. The commitment to excellence means that they find and repair any bugs, keep software up-to-date across those platforms, all while considering the user experience.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

DevelopEx recommended a project leader who we've stuck with through all of our development. Her honesty, attention to detail, and hard work make her a natural leader.

She had managed variable team sizes at different points in our development from 5 to 20 people, including desktop, iOS, and Android developers, embedded engineers, UI artists, and others. Her background in quality assurance means that her standards for her team are high, and she is able to creatively sort through a variety of complex problems.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

DevEx's best feature has been their leadership, scalability, and competitive pricing. The team has been able to grow and shrink as needed, all under the guidance of a talented project manager, and remain competitively prices in a global market.

An import feature has been the honesty of the team, I need clear headed assessment and honest feedback about problems and the team has been diligent and unafraid to raise any issues. They don't just say something to make a client happy, they deliver on their promises.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are no obvious issues I've had with my experience at DevelopEx. Nothing is perfect and while I am sure the company could improve in some way, I am unable to assess where my own experience could be improved. I will continue working with them on my current project, and they will be the first firm I call on for all future projects. They've cultivated a lifelong relationship with myself and my company.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president of DocBoss, an industrial document exchange software.

What challenge were you trying to address with Developex?

We needed a dev partner who could assist our internal team with numerous different projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Developex worked on the web-based SaaS platform for document controls and several other modules. They upgraded the user interface and did both backend and database work. We’d originally used JavaScript and HTML5 for the frontend, and Developex moved us to React. They also upgraded PHP for our backend.

What is the team composition?

We have one main point of contact but can interact with the other team members as needed.

How did you come to work with Developex?

We found three firms and gave them each the same small project. Developex did the best work, so we hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered in March 2012, and the work is ongoing.

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

Developex enables us to scale quickly with a managed team that we don’t have to find. We trust them to find people who can accomplish the work we need to be done. Our internal team has been happy with their work.

How did Developex perform from a project management standpoint?

They have good project management. We usually text, talk in person, or use Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have an ability to retain staff, which provides us lots of stability across various projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could market themselves better, but I’ve been happy with their work.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Metric Insights, which is a business intelligence software company. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Developex?

We engaged Developex when we were looking for engineering support to build out our product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Developex has been a trusted development partner for many years. In that time, they built out our application—everything from creating the original designs to implementing various PHP, Python, and JavaScript elements. They work closely with us to add components to the application as we provide specifications. They also perform QA and have helped us set up our 24/7 support center.

What is the team composition?

It’s changed over time, but we work with dozens of members on their team. There is a development lead, but we operate in a collaborative environment. Instead of funneling all communication through one person, we work with the appropriate person on the team to do whatever is required.

How did you come to work with Developex?

We initially found them on a website tailored to freelancers. We posted our requirements and originally planned to just make the prototype of the system. Once we engaged with Developex and found the quality of their work to be so high, we decided to retain them as our ongoing development partner.

How much have you invested with them?

Over the years, we’ve spent more than $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in February 2010 and remains ongoing.

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

They were instrumental in getting our software off the ground and working, and they remain just as vital to our success today.

How did Developex perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re open and transparent in their communication, which really sets them apart. There’s no nonsense, and everything is straightforward.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are deeply committed to the work. We sense that they feel just as much ownership in the product as we do. They are successful because of their high level of integrity and a strong commitment to quality.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve had ongoing discussions over the years about how to best improve our processes. Most notably, they were very flexible once we switched to an agile methodology, and they’ve worked closely with us to make sure that the changes would be for the best.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of QA at Playphone, a mobile gaming platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Developex?

We needed help with QA.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did QA testing for our platform, which needed to be accessible on different devices and browsers. The technology stack was JavaScript, Angular, MySQL, and MongoDB; for automation, we worked with Python and JMeter.

Developex built test cases and plans, provided feedback on product features, built automation during the regression phase, and performed production validation. A major part of their work was troubleshooting. The team followed up with our developers on known issues. They managed the production admin portal.

What is the team composition?

Developex provided different team members as needed. We communicated directly with the engineers and had access to a project lead for admin issues.  

How did you come to work with Developex?

I reached out to them because I’d worked with them in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent $200,000-$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2016–April 2019.

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

They built the performance tests and launched them on time across a platform of millions of users. The team was very trustworthy, which is why I gave them access to the production admin portal.

How did Developex perform from a project management standpoint?

Developex had an offshore engineering team with unlimited resources. They fulfilled our requirements, such as being hands-on and providing regular updates. The team’s communication was excellent, and they spoke fluent English. We communicated via email, chat, and Skype. They were flexible and made themselves available during US business hours

What did you find most impressive about them?

Developex was transparent about costs, and they operated with integrity. My team was impressed by their skill level. They executed a great internal process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were occasionally team members that weren’t as skilled or motivated as others. However, this is typical of any big company.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of 2gnōME, a technology platform in the education space. The platform supports professional development and skills awareness for teachers by using data—like a teacher’s existing level of skills—to personalize the learning experience for every teacher, at scale.

What challenge were you trying to address with Developex?

We hired Developex to build the platform’s software and code.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Developex has worked on the platform since its days as a prototype through to the enterprise-grade platform we have now. The team developed the platform using Python and Django. They built a data aggregation and analytical component that assesses users and allows them to see the results of the assessment and understand their skills readiness. They also created another component that connects this assessment data to available professional development content. This component uses a lot of algorithmic power to connect the right support and training to each user, at scale. Since the platform must make this connection seamlessly with content that is owned by various clients, schools, and organizations, Developex also developed the platform’s API, enabling integration with different systems.

What is the team composition?

We work with 3–8 Developex team members. My team worked with skilled developers and a middle layer of project management when we needed to work quickly during development. I scaled the team down once the platform was built out, then added expertise for integration. We’ve been able to deploy a graphic designer and an AWS expert as needed.

How did you come to work with Developex?

The project manager that built my platform’s prototype recommended Developex. I also previously worked with them at a very large enterprise IT company.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in May 2015, and the work is ongoing.

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

During the development of this fairly complex platform, we needed to resolve computational bottlenecks. In addition to all of the architectural and software development work that they were doing, Developex confronted these critical bottleneck junctions by running tests and connecting results to our AWS settings. Ultimately, they quadrupled the platform’s speed. This was a very measurable impact that Developex has had, on top of the platform that they created.

How did Developex perform from a project management standpoint?

The Developex team fosters excellent communication and speaks fluent English. When they attend client meetings or internal discussions, I’m always impressed by their sophisticated language skills, at both professional and conversational levels. Trello is our tool of choice.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because we are a startup, growth drives our development cycle, so it’s hard to think long-term. We’ve been very satisfied with Developex’s ability to add resources to our team as needed. Their comprehensive, scalable set of services—including front- and backend development, design, and architectural infrastructure work—holistically help an entrepreneur such as myself bring ideas to fruition, and I give Developex the highest praise for that.

Having worked with Developex in both a startup and large enterprise context, I know they can provide a full gamut of support and services. I have gotten to know Developex’s CEO and team personally, and I commend them for their professionalism and expertise. They review specs with a curiosity that many developers lack. This curiosity is an important cultural attribute and manifests itself in the way they approach their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re fine the way they are.

Any advice for potential customers?

Try to be specific, because Developex works within specific parameters. To bridge the gap of knowledge quickly, clarify the goal.

Please describe your company and your position there.

AutoHouse Technologies provides business intelligence software to the automotive aftermarket across North America; our clients are high-performing collision repair organizations and some of the world’s leading auto manufacturers.

For what projects/services did your company hire Developex?

Developex provides ongoing custom development and support for our business intelligence product and technical architecture.

What were your goals for this project?

Our shared goal is to provide the best and most responsive product possible.

How did you select this vendor?

Developex did an introductory, short-term project for us; we were very impressed with the results and have relied upon them for our development needs ever since.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Our product provides very detailed reporting in a simple format; delivering and maintaining it can be fraught with problems because of the nature of data sources and intake. Developex never fails to offer the expertise needed to identify and fix problems. They do everything from db maintenance to product testing to new product launches.

What was the team composition?

We currently have access to a dedicated team of six although that changes from time-to-time depending on requirements.

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

Developex has never let us down; their excellent work lets us focus on our customers and have great confidence in the product we provide.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Developex offers the best project management we've worked with yet. They are highly organized, proactive and communicative and provide regular, detailed progress and billing reports.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It's unusual to find their level of technical resources and excellent customer service in one company.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We have absolutely no complaints.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the president of staffing & recruitment firm focused on the education market in great Asia.

For what projects/services did your company hire Developex?

We hired developex initially to build login dashboards and self-service tools for our candidates and clients. This also included a job board. This required designing the dashboards and connecting the functionality to our applicant tracking system. Since then, developex has help us with many web related tasks & projects. They've been invaluable to our company.

What were your goals for this project?

A user friendly portal, mobile friendly and modern looking. A simple interface that would encourage user adoption.

How did you select this vendor?

I did discovery calls with 3-4 mid-size software development companies, evaluated their previous work and ask all the hard questions I could.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

design of user interface use of API to connect functionality to our internal applicant tracking system Integration with main website on Joomla CMS Integration of social log in options Creation of job board with custom job alerts

What was the team composition?

one point of contact for project once point of contact for billing/admin 1-2 developers

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

Adoption of the dashboards, job boards and self-service tools has been steadily growing since launch. This has streamlined our operations allowing us to handle higher volume and increased margin.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Through email and project management software. It was quite effective as I could follow progress and provide feedback quickly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They always find a way to complete each task.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I know all development companies struggle with hiring enough talent. There's been times when tasks were delayed due to allocation of resource but it was never on urgent items.