Devox Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a CIO at a US-based financial enablement platform, specializing in embeddable tools and white label solutions. We deliver rapidly deployed credit and identity products that enhance the end-user experience. We mostly work with retail, travel and tourism, financial services, healthcare, and other domains.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have hired Devox Software to set up a dedicated team for us, namely to assist with the creation of the white label solution that could be integrated into the end-client web or mobile application. Moreover, allowing the end client platform to get a real-time credit score, and target credit offers as well. Our fundamental goal was to build the platform entirely. We decided that we are going to use a vendor-based approach rather than hiring an internal team.

SOLUTION

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

As I mentioned before, we have broad experience in finance, and we were looking for a technically strong team to support us. The system has numerous of third-party integrations with financial institutions and tech complexity during integration to the end - platform. Hence, our main factors were:

1. Vendor Fintech experience.
2. Experience in working with an integration project.
3. Vendor processes level.

Our initial communication with Devox took nearly one month, where they showed the level of competency having delivered the architectural plan of the platform, arranged a couple of calls with their existing clients. Consequently, we decided to choose them.

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

The project has started from the PoC and UX/UI phase, where we had to check that the planned integrations with third parties would work as it was expected. Once it has been done, the Dev-team was onboard. Devox Team set up a smooth reporting process, so that our stakeholders were fully aware of the development status. Additionally, we had demos every 2 weeks, thus was useful.

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

The team consisted of:

• 1 PM developer
• 6 developers
• 1 designer
• 1 devops
• 1 QA

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have released the project and has it live now serving our users. I believe, that is the best metric of success.

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

We had a PM that built communication between the team and stakeholders; mainly our team was formalizing requirements and was present at the necessary meetings. The rest was working smoothly with a low level of supervision on our end.

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

They became a part of our team mentally and physically. They brought a lot of exceptional ideas during the course of the project.

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

Nothing major.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We’re crowdfunding platform for boosting a new business initiative within offline/online education area in the US. My position combines CTO as well as Co-founder roles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

First of all we wanted to develop the solution unlike any other. It’s fascinating as from my experience I felt a little skepticism concerning to the 3rd part of development. Although, keeping my hand in an ambitious idea and early-stage technical scheme of the platform processes, it turned out my “solid” understanding of technical part of the project wasn’t strong because the guys from Devox found out blind spots. I felt at that moment what a real help is: not only with coding, but also with the full cycle custom development service from Devox that we needed and ordered. To speak briefly, the main goal was fulfilling our “paper ideas” and create beta version of our crowdfunding platform as a web resource within reasonable budget and terms.

SOLUTION

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

I have been recommended Devox Software from my network. The main criterial for provider selection were the rationale approach in tech delivery and fintech expertise. I felt I needed things from the beginning of meeting with Devox and decided that we have gazillion of common points of view. I knew approximately about Devox price models, tech stack, recruitment process and that was fully acceptable.

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

We followed by classic SDLC model moving from Analysis to Maintenance. By the way, I would recommend you to find the article concerning with such topic on Devox blog describing steps of the development process approach. Brilliant! As for me, the first step was the most exciting, as it’s a base of all further work. It was a really careful work: logic, client orientation, alignment a lot of thoughts and high level of expertise. Technologies we applied: Java Script, NodeJS, React, MySQL, ClaudFlare, Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, Redux, Flask, Amazon RDS

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

• Account manager
• Project manager
• 6 software engineers (Lead, Senior, 3x Mid, Junior)
• DevOps engineer part-time
• 1 QA

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve launched beta version of platform after 4 months. Moreover, we were able to raise about $240000 during the test period. Indeed, we checked our main product hypothesis successfully.

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

There was Agile methodology as a major with a Scrum approach. Planning, sprints fulfillment, tasks reviews were on a high level. Every time it was understandable and clearly with acceptable performance. We used Jira as project management tool, the communication has been supported via MS Teams. Generally, the toolset was relevant.

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

C-level account management and the depth of their engagement in the project has surprised me. I haven’t seen such things before.

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

It’s quite difficult question. I can’t mention some reasonable issues.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm SVP of the US-based e-commerce platform providing huge opportunities for merchants to communicate with their customers more effectively.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Devox was hired to bring their expertise into the e-commerce platform that has been developing for more than five years including lots of technical debt. The first challenge is fixing the technical problems. The previous development was done via different teams, however, the platform was not able to scale and deal with the growing number of users/requests.

Secondly, to provide us with workable solutions to mitigate potential risks in the future as well as suggest proper software architecture. In addition, to implement those items from step two.

SOLUTION

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

We selected Devox basing on the three main points. The first factor is based on the research we did among look-alike companies with similar backgrounds. We longed to find a partner with a small number of employees on board.

The next one is interviewing, it was delightful to talk directly to C-Level as their involvement and technical/non-technical skills, as well as flexibility, are very promising indeed. The last factor is the agile recruitment process, payment options, and their readiness to commit promptly.

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

Phase-0, audit of the code – as a result we have got a set of suggestions and options where next move.

Phase-1, we decided to stabilize the code base first. We spent 2-3 weeks fixing the most critical issues related to security gaps, cloud hosting, and code uncertainties. That phase made it possible to make hosting much more cost-effective. Their QA engineer did regression testing and a test plan preparation to find some bugs which were divided into 3 groups (critical, regular, minor).

Phase-3, having an expanding backlog with new features had to be implemented. We were suggested to have two parallel threads by Devox. Then, we started working on new features and in tandem improvements.

Tech stack:

• Azure Cloud
• Angular
• Postgresql
• .Net Core
• serverless
• GitLab CI
• Docker.

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

Account manager (CTO), Project manager (was as SCRUM-master additionally), 5 software engineers (Lead, Senior, 2x Mid, Junior), Cloud DevOps engineer part-time, QA.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In 3-4 months, we have a new technical design, migrated solution, and a pure code base with all code conventions along with strict development process with Gitflow, code review, DevOps practices and implemented business features.

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

They were always responding on time; we have always known that they understood gazillion things that we had no idea. Their valuable experience with the domain and numerous of best practices are implemented by default. Communication is on the elevated level – we use SCRUM, daily meetings, MS Teams for chatting.

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

For us it was essential to follow the budget we had. For that reason, at the beginning to stabilize the platform we had a limited budget. In case we had it working fine, we (our investors) were ready to expand it for implementing new business features. Devox was ready to assist and was flexible with our terms and now we align with the finances that are fine for both sides.

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

No material issues.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Senior Project Manager in the financial company has headquarters in the USA. The goal of our company is to minimize fraud risks, and threats and allow consumers as well as financial organizations to be more informed so that financial investment be acknowledged about risks at the earliest stage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for a long-term software vendor that could provide us with full SDLC using Cloud, Machine Learning, and Web development platforms. To increase our software development team capacity with an offshore development center.

We were also looking for a vendor with financial domain expertise and vast technical experience in web development.

SOLUTION

How did you select Devox Software and what were the deciding factors?

One of our team members suggested Devox Software as a potential vendor after having analyzed their blog article regarding salary ranges for ODCs. I was surprised by how precise analytics was made and actually matched my personal experience within the US market.

The communication with Devox was brief and meaningful from the very beginning, so in a few weeks, the decision was made.

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

The project has been already initiated and the first two sprints were completed, when the Devox team joined us. The 1st release was planned in 8 months, so we built two equal teams including application architects, BE and FE developers, QAs, Analytics, and SMs.

It took us a little more than a month to hire the new engineers and finish staffing which is actually a great fortune. 1st team was responsible for web development, UX/UI as well as backend logic, Net Core and Angular.

The 2nd team was responsible for an ML component. During the whole lifetime of the project, communication with the offshore team was perfect and responsible and the 1st release was delivered on time.

We keep on working with Devox on supporting and developing new features for a current product. However, I expect the extension of our cooperation on the other activities.

How many people from the Devox Software team worked with you, and what were their positions?

As I mentioned above, it was 2 teams of Scrum Masters, Application Architect, BE and FE devs, QAs, business analytics, and part-time UI/UX designer. Overall, the offshore team was 12 FTE.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

New features work well and provide our customers with unique services.

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

I would prefer to say it was a Scrum adaptation for our needs. On the one hand, we conducted basic Scrum meetings that allows us to consider Scrum as the main methodology of the product.

On the other hand, Devox`s account manager suggested including the Project Manager in the team for some reasons that actually was a brilliant idea. Although such a decision contradicts with basic Scrum approach, it helped us to increase the velocity.

The overall management style was flexible and goal-oriented, using common sense on all levels. We cooperated using O365 solutions such as MS Teams and TFS.

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

Devox seems to follow similar core values as we are. It was a perfect match without the need of explaining the rules and approach we should use. I also admit the speed of the hiring process which allowed us to set up the project in a short time.

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

Devox should (actually they have already started) include more technical people in the beginning stages to ensure the best performance since the 1st touch.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Chief Technical Officer at an Affordable Insurance Services in the US. We provide an extensive range of insurance services, personal and commercial.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Devox Software to assist us with building a robust, user-friendly web platform that would enable easy online payments. To create an easy-to-use platform for high-load usage that can run on iOS and Android, provide rewarding customer experiences, and meet the sales goals set by the BoD.

SOLUTION

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

We did online research and shortlisted five companies. After meeting and interviewing each of them, we selected Devox Software to be our development partner. The deciding factor was that they already had experience relevant to our needs and requirements.

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

During the discovery phase, we had several calls to discuss our vision and goals and to make sure they understood our requirements. In around two weeks, they presented us with the application structure and introduced the concept of the future graphic and UX design.

On our approval, they started building the platform using Python and Angular. After testing and deployment, the platform went live. Our partnership still lasts — the Devox team constantly works on user feedback and provides ongoing support and maintenance to keep our platform up and running.

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

The team that worked on this project included:

• an account manager
• a project manager
• four developers
• two QA specialists
• a part-time DevOps engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform works flawlessly, the amount of traffic we receive and near zero bounce rate indicate that the job was done well.

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

We had regular online meetings after each sprint, plus they were always readily available to answer our questions. The team at Devox met deadlines and stayed with the budget. We used Jira as the project management tool and Slack, Google Meet, and email for daily communication.

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

Beyond being technically proficient, they are responsible and responsive. Also, there were no issues communicating with the team, they are fluent in English.

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

I can't think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of engineering and products at Sports Info Solutions, a sports data and analytics company. We power the analytics departments of professional and college baseball, football, and basketball teams. Additionally, we supply our data to the sports betting and media industries, as well as to individual consumers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devox Software?

We were trying to quickly scale up our software engineering department, augmenting our in-house team of engineers with specialized talents from a development company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devox Software provides us with resources who work alongside our engineers. Initially, they asked how many resources we would need, and we asked just for one. This person is a backend software engineer who has collaborated with us on multiple projects, working with .NET, C#, and ASP.NET Core. They’ve also built API services and worked on projects related to our cloud infrastructure, AWS.

Currently, Devox Software also provides us with two frontend engineers who work in Vue.js, our frontend framework. They collaborate in the same way as the backend engineer, working alongside our frontend engineers on whatever project we have going on.

One of our most recent projects has been creating and launching our NFL Draft website. Every year, our company collects an extensive amount of data on college football prospects, and we build a website to display all of that statistical information. We also publish scouting reports from our scouting department about the players available to be selected in the NFL Draft, the most recent one taking place at the end of April 2022.

What is the team composition?

In addition to the backend engineer and the two frontend engineers, we also work closely with Devox Software’s CTO for periodic check-ins. This person also helps us whenever we need more resources. Additionally, I’ve worked with their CEO.

How did you come to work with Devox Software?

Originally, we did a lot of Google searching and looked for development agencies on Upwork. We interviewed 13–14 software development agencies, and Devox Software stood out from the rest as the best option.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around July 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A year into our relationship, Devox Software has proven to be a good resource for us. They’ve been fantastic and very flexible to work with, and the skill and caliber of their resources are top-notch. For example, during an initial infrastructure setup, their CTO lent us a hand to help us get that setup up and running, and they didn’t charge for it. It was a great gesture of goodwill, which marked the beginning of a great working relationship between us.

How did Devox Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Devox Software works alongside our engineering team, so we’re in charge of managing the project internally. We use Notion to manage the project and Slack, email, and Microsoft Teams to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When we were looking for a partner to work with, Devox Software was the most prepared and experienced team. Another distinguishing factor was that they had technical people on the call, and they had clearly done their homework by researching our company. Other agencies only brought salespeople, and they never touched on the type of services we were looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Getting our first frontend engineer from Devox Software took longer than expected. However, the issue was caused mainly by the fact that we used a different technology stack than they did. Still, Devox Software was extremely communicative and transparent during the recruitment process, and they ultimately provided us with an effective resource for our team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of the conversations with their CTO and CEO to describe exactly what you’re looking for. Even if Devox Software doesn’t have the resources you need available, they’ll work hard to satisfy your particular needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The goal was to create a complete E Commerce solution for our custom freestanding cookers with configurator allowing users to deign their own product. The system was also to include numerous users and came with a complete custom built sales reporting system

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our goal was to deliver the project so it was easy to use and the user experience was of a top quality. The hard part was making 60,711 product variants be available to create in just 6 steps.

SOLUTION

How did you select Devox Software and what were the deciding factors?

We were referred to use Devox from one of their previous clients

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

Once we initiated Devox, 2 progress meetings per week were scheduled as well as daily updates via email and WhatsApp. We also used google docs as a live briefing document and was updated by all involved until we had a final brief we were comfortable with progressing on.

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

We had 2 designers, 2 developers, one project manager and one QA specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project turned out to be a much bigger one than we all had anticipated. The project time line did blow out and we were over budget but the final result more than made up for this and we are now live and we are very happy!

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

All meeting were at an agreed time. We used email, WhatsApp and jira

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

Their level of understanding, detail, and work ethic was great.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a lithium energy solution in the material handling industry. I work on the product management side, focused on developing new digital experiences for our customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our company was built on data. We rely on data internally to monitor battery health, and our customers frequent our dashboards to get an insightful understanding of their operations. Our dashboard, however, needed a refresh and the architecture to build new and innovative features. We turned to Devox initially for their design skills and were so impressed, that we partnered with their group to develop the frontend dashboard experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select Devox Software and what were the deciding factors?

We had a list of individuals and agencies shortlisted. Devox had example designs that were aligned with our brand, and they had the accolades to backup their abilities. After a brief introductory call, we decided to test out their capabilities and design the front end first. Their proactive communication and strict adherance to timelines were impeccable.

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

The project entailed designing the frontend experience based on rough sketches we composed. After completing the design work, their frontend team developed the frontend experience in Angular, and integrated the API calls to fetch data from our backend.

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

There were approximately 6 team members from their group we regularly interacted with throughout the course of the project. The talent included designers, programmers, project managers, and account managers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The deliverables included designing the front end and building the code for a functioning dashboard. The outcome we will be measuring will include the satisfaction from our customers, and usage metrics that outline a pattern of increasing interactions. The deliverables were exactly as outlined in our initial interactions, and their team was flexible throughout the project to ensure a successful product hand off.

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

Their project management style was responsive and clear. The timelines were strictly adhered to. They were transparent about their work, with access to the frontend hosted on their servers and the designs through Figma.

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

Their intuition about the product and their willingness to try new approaches and show them to our team as alternatives to our set course were impressive. The Devox team makes it incredibly easy to work with, and their ability to manage our team and set expectations was outstanding. Additionally, during discussions around scope additions, their team continued working so that we would not miss deadlines.

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

Their invoicing methods are a bit laborious and the language should be a bit more straightforward. But they were flexible enough to reduce the language, and, in the meantime, got to work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a community-based marketplace in the health, wellness, and active space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devox Software?

We needed help creating a good-looking product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Devox to help us with design. First, we had an initial call to go over brand strategy and our goals. We worked on wireframes in Figma. Once we were happy with the wireframes, we moved into high-fidelity designs. They rolled out page-by-page designs. We checked each design, gave feedback, and approved each design for our key templates.

Originally, we built our site on WordPress. We’ve since decided to create a custom site. Our platform allows users to follow people, write articles, post updates, “high-five” posts, and comment. Soon, users will be able to find experiences through our marketplace as well.

What is the team composition?

We work with Adam (CEO) initially and moved onto another point of contact once the work began.

How did you come to work with Devox Software?

I put an ad on Upwork and there were 52 applicants. We narrowed the list down to a list of the top six for interviews. In the end, we selected Devox. Their examples were beautiful. I really liked their Upwork profile too and how it was professionally presented with Clutch awards. They also had great Upwork reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $22,6580.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2020, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We get great satisfaction working with them. They help us produce a product we’re happy with as co-founders. The feedback we got from customers was really great, too. Customers get what we do and we feel like we’re really reaching our target market.

How did Devox Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate through Slack, Figma, and Asana. We’re really happy with the communication. They’re very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re reliable and have good values. They’re cheap in comparison to what we’d pay locally for world-class design. You won’t get better value than Devox.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if they could align their time zones with ours. Also, there are miscommunications at times since English is their second language. Overall, they’re pretty good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prepare how you work with them based on the time zone that you’re in. Don’t micromanage them, they can provide a lot of advice.  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder, co-partner in a tech startup "Servicebull" a cloud based software to manage home and field services businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devox Software?

We hired Devox for new UI/UX design of our mobile application.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted better user experience and modern design for our mobile application.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected Devox designer team through conducting number of interviews on Upwork, freelancers & Agencies platform. The best part was that they provided us inital Prototyping of our one of the modules free of cost. We liked the design and started the contract.

Describe the project in detail.

After hiring the team, we had few meetings to discuss the existing bussiness flow, our design preference and references. In the first stage, Devox Team started working on UI designing. They presented us design mockups on Figma web application and we were quite comfortable with the whole process, while providing our reviews and changes for revisions through comments along the way. Once we approved the mockups, the second stage of the project started and devox team spent few days to build up UX prototyping of the design.

What was the team composition?

Initially we were provided with an Assistant Designer and a Senior designer team lead. Team designer was engaged through out the project. However We had several meetings through out the porject duration where Devox Senior Designer Team Lead particpated.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new UX/UI design is actually under the development process (we are implementing it in our mobile application. However we are quite happy with the UI design and user interectivity.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Devox team would communicate using Skype through out the day with the Designer, Team Lead and the Project manager. Their correspondance was quite prompt and attitude was quite professional and friendly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their designing sense, availability and completion time we liked the most. Overall the team is quite professional with a very positive attitude.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Communication (english language) was minor problem with the team designer. However he understood things precisely.