Devsu

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Executive Officer of Spot Fitness

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Spot is a 5-star mobile app that tackles physical inactivity and loneliness by promoting activities to our users through a Active Lifestyle Generator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Devsu to accomplish?

• Redesign and upgrade our mobile app

SOLUTION

How did you find Devsu?

Met at an event

Why did you select Devsu over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Devsu were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Devsu took Spot from MVP into the monetization stage, stabilizing the app and preparing it for scale in the process. They worked efficiently and collaboratively in an agile scrum process. In a relatively quick time, Devsu developed for us:

• Our core monetization capability of Cost-per-Action "Exclusive Deals" in the app
• A new "Feed"-style UX for the home screen with recommendations sorted by personalized relevance. 
• Migrated from a traditional CMS to a more flexible and dynamic CMS based on Retool
• Code refactoring to support greater scalability
• "More Spots Like This" recommendation feature for each listing
• Search capability
• A variety of UI, analytics, and performance Improvements

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Sprints were measured by independent goals and velocity of points. The project was deemed successful due to the rollout of prescribed scope to production. App Store Ratings have remained high (4.9) with very few issues reported from production.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes, the project management was seamless. They worked both at high velocity and high quality. They adopted our approach to agile sprints and development systems easily, with small but valuable recommended improvements, and the system was very effective.

When we pull out of maintenance mode to advance roadmap again, even though we originally preferred in-house developers, we intend to go back to DevSu to grow the team.

What was your primary form of communication with Devsu?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Our main concern prior to working with outsourced developers was that the invested big-picture thinking of in-house devs who have some equity in the game is stereotypically missing from such firms. That was not the case at all.

We genuinely felt that both engineers we worked with genuinely care about the product and the impact of their work beyond the need to move tickets across the board. They often came up with good architectural suggestions and even feature ideas that we ended up adopting because they worked as if they were part-owners in the company. The value of this quality cannot be overstated, it was very impactful.

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

There were no areas for improvement, they were great!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Partner, Educational Services of The Artcraft Group

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Artcraft Health creates educational programs and tools that help patients and healthcare providers have more productive conversations about equiping patients with actionable knowledge to improve their health outcomes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Devsu to accomplish?

• Build an Android learning application
• Perfect Bluetooth data exchange between app and training device
• Incorporate videos to help the user with hand positioning

SOLUTION

How did you find Devsu?

Unsolicited email

Why did you select Devsu over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned
• Same time zone

How many teammates from Devsu were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Devsu did an outstanding job of creating an Android learning application that was able to communicate with physical training device via Bluetooth.  They are incredibly sharp in their listening, but also brought up potential issues with a few of our initital ideas. Together we crafted a winning solution to train patients on how to use the device with less stress and a graduated approach to building skills and confidence.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The Android learning application has enabled us to open doors with major client prospects by helping illustrate our vision for hands-on training guided by an electronic device that's linked to the physical device.  This allows us to combine the best of physical training with the best of digital training.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Devsu's communication and overall project management was excellent.  The quality of their questions were perfect and they delivered the app on time and within budget.  Later, when we had ideas for improvment based on in-field feedback, Devsu was able to scope and execute the enhancement project flawlessly.

What was your primary form of communication with Devsu?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Devsu felt like an extension of our team. It never felt like we were at odds, even when Devsu had to deal with a few curve balls that were our fault. Their culture and work ethic were incredible. I noticed that they divided tasks between employees for faster turnaround but always made us feel like we were only dealing with one person. This was an outstanding experience!!!

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

Zero...nada...zilch.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Lead Developer of Nationwide TFS

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

TFS Bill Pay is the leading provider of payment solutions for individuals in Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Devsu to accomplish?

• Front-end web development

SOLUTION

How did you find Devsu?

Referral

Why did you select Devsu over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Devsu were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Devsu provided a developer who integrated into our core engineering team and helped complete numerous projects over the course of the partnership. These projects were largely focused on front-end react development but included styling and design as well as back end Ruby on Rails development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We completed three major projects with the help of Devsu. This helped us gain more marketshare over the last three years as well as improve several of our older products to make our overall customer base happier. Having their engineer embedded in our team allowed us to move quickly and give him more and more responsibilty in the company as the engagement went on.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Because our engagement consisted entirely of a single developer being embedded on our team project management was mostly on our side. That being said, they were very upfront and easy to work with in terms of scheduling time off, invoices and contract renewals. 

What was your primary form of communication with Devsu?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Devsu was very easy to comminicate with and we always felt that we understood their contracts as they were upfront about pricing and availabilty. The developer that we were assigned was the main staying factor. He was a wonderful addition to our team.

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

I do not have any comments on improvement and if we are looking for another addition to our team we will reach out to Devsu again for placement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder & CEO of Connect

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Connect uses a blend of geofencing software and proprietary matching technology to lease apartments for professionally managed communities and show applicant ROI.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Devsu to accomplish?

• Streamline data ingestion and avoid human errors & have an online platform to showcase results and demonstrate visually ROI for Connect's customers. Have control of data access and visualization.
• Improve UI/UX where able.

SOLUTION

How did you find Devsu?

Referral

Why did you select Devsu over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Devsu were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Using our manual process, create our MVP version with cloud hosting, increased match accuracy, minimize human processes and build our reporting.  Included a database and APIs with various sources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Regular meetings to review working code, mock ups, building a release document & how to guide.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

I was involved and never had any surprises.  There were no real issues to resolve and the team actually helped increase the scope with remaining budget to improve our customer interface and add reporting.  Project delivered on time and on budget.  

What was your primary form of communication with Devsu?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They had a very smart development and leadership team. Although not embedded with my company, they performed as if we were their only customer - we could spin up meetings easily and answers were quick and accurate.  The team was also fun to work with on this project!

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

None at all.  We are already discussing our next round of development.  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of Onna Technologies.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Onna is a data management platform helping enterprises extract more value from their unstructured data by simplifying how they manage data from their digital workplace tools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Devsu to accomplish?

• Accelerate the delivery of front-end features and enhancements.
• Increase capacity of our UX design team while a team member was on leave.

SOLUTION

How did you find Devsu?

Online Search

Why did you select Devsu over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Devsu were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The front-end team members we sourced through DevSu were the primary developers on a signiificant, net new feature. They were included in the technical design of the solution, the initial implementation, Beta testing and feedback, and general availability launch. This took place from March 2023 through September 2023. 

Beyond this scope, the team members participate in the ongoing general maintenance and enhancements to Onna's front-end application. The DevSu team members are staff augmentation. They were not brought on for a specific project. They were added to the team to increase overall capacity.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• On time delivery of Beta application.
  • This goal was achieved 
• On time delivery of Generally Available application with revised scope from Beta feedback.
  • This goal was achieved.

DevSu's team has helped us accelerate our application development. They are well organized from back office tasks through the team members they have brought to us. I have and would recommend them to any team looking for a nearshore partner.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The DevSu team members are included in all of Onna's standard workflows. They are managed directly by Onna Engineering leaders. They deliver with the FTEs from Onna. The team members from DevSu have been easy to manage, as they have provided high-quality work on time.

What was your primary form of communication with Devsu?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The DevSu team from leadership to project managers to the developers have all been very easy to work with. They provide clear communication through video calls, a shared Slack channel, and over email. We were in search of a nearshore partner who valued quality people as much as quality software. DevSu met our needs in both cases.

I have and would recommend any team looking for a nearshore partner for frontend development, and likely other types of development, though we have not used DevSu team members beyond frontend. The team to a person has been professional and helpful.

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

The only challenge we have faced with DevSu is the procuring and returing of laptops. Our Infomation Security team has strict requirements that all work be done on company owned laptops. This has caused a challenge with getting the equipment to and from team members. I am not sure there is a lot that coould be changed here. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of a supplement and wellness company that sells online via our ecommerce website, Amazon and in-store retail channels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for near shore software developers to augment our development and site reliability teams.

SOLUTION

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

Devsu came recommended from one of our recruiters and we selected them after interviewing a number of recruiting firms. Their team was very helpful and responsive to meeting our needs for technical resources.

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

We interviewed software developer candidates to join our dev teams on an ongoing basis. Our tech stack is on AWS and includes PHP, Laravel, React, custom ecommerce integrations and extensive Celigo and NetSuite ERP integrations.

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

A sales lead, service delivery manager and project manager helped us through the process of understanding our business needs, providing candidate resumes, scheduling interviews and holding feedback sessions.

Over a couple years time, we ended up hiring 3 total software engineers with various skills to augments our dev teams.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Team augmentation of normal dev work.

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

We used Google, email, Zoom and Slack to communicate and coordinate meetings and feedback.

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

They were able to quickly provide us new candidate resumes located near shore (from USA) when we needed different roles or skills in new team members.

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

Providing well-screened candidates to interview which had a higher level of English skills would make the best use of our time as that was an important factor for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of eFiscal Networks. We have been in existence for at least 15 years and we provide software solutions for different industries. We also offer several applications such as:

• Student Debt Solutions for student debt relief;
• Consumer Debt Counselors for credit counseling agencies; and
• Progressive Debt Relief to support debt settlement activities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsu?

We needed additional development resources who could work with us on a flexible schedule, so we hired Devsu. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devsu has provided full stack and frontend software developers who cover the main focus of our development projects. They’ve also provided project management services along with those resources. 

We’re an agile development shop so we go through different sprints. We first define the software development requirements before relaying these to the Devsu development team. They would then determine how to best tackle the project within our own development environment. The team does the coding together with my on-site developers, so they’ve essentially augmented our internal team.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with as many as three people from Devsu, but we’re currently only working with two. We may require more resources but that remains to be seen as we have yet to figure out where we're going with our applications. 

How did you come to work with Devsu?

When I began looking for outsourced developers last year, we went to a couple of different companies including Devsu. At that point, we had already known about them because our headquarters are on the outskirts of Orlando where they’re located. We compared the skills, caliber, price, and availability of our options, and ended up working with Devsu.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership began in January 2021 and is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are always some issues when developing software, but we haven't encountered a lot of those with Devsu. We see good quality results during routine product testing. There is no significant amount of work that needs to be done because Devsu has been able to implement our requirements proficiently and punctually. I haven't had problems with missed deadlines and we've been on target with our sprints. 

We've also found it very convenient that they operate in Central Standard Time since we’re able to communicate in real-time and work together fluently. Even though there's a language barrier between us, there have been no problems with their spoken or written communication either. They’re well able to expand and translate our requirements into code.

How did Devsu perform from a project management standpoint?

Though I don't have the statistics to demonstrate it, they've been really good at managing their team, the relationship, and the projects. They’re very easy to work with. 

We've been able to not only work with a team but also adjust our staffing as our needs change. If I’m in need of a specific skill set, I’m able to change or augment personnel from Devsu very easily. They're constantly available and are like regular members of my team.

We communicate over Slack on a regular basis. We also use Azure and Jira to build our requirements and assign responsibilities based on our sprints. I have calls with the account manager once a week and correspond multiple times a day with the development team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I like about Devsu is that they have skilled people who operate at a very aggressive cost. What made us really go with their team is their skill set, their price, and their flexibility. They're willing to work with us to evolve the project and bring it from the development phase to the QA phase, and then to the release phase.

I didn't necessarily know all of my needs at the beginning of the project, but Devsu has worked with me without locking me into a long-term agreement, allowing for a level of flexibility as we collaborate. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’ve been pretty pleased with their work and we’ve had no problems with the partnership at all.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It's critical to have regular communication with the team to keep everything on track. Every vendor-partner relationship could benefit from using the tools that we use to establish a good working relationship.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Spearpoint Solutions is creating a piece of software for personal injury law firms. My role as one of the co-founders was to help build the entity on the operations side. I’ve helped things set up so that we could go to market. At this point, I consider myself the operations manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsu?

We were looking to scale up our development team. Bringing on someone in-house would require quite a bit of money and potentially equity, so we opted to look for outsourced services. We wanted a partner who could provide development work while, at the same time, also allowing us to be price sensitive. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Devsu has been a key player in helping us deliver our MVP. It’s a solution that would allow personal injury law firms to manage their intake, help with marketing attribution, and create workflow automation tools to increase sign-up rates. The software is built on .NET Core, and the frontend is Angular 7. 

They provide us with both front- and backend developers who work with our CTO to build the app. It’s mostly web development. They’ve assisted with creating webhooks and endpoints so that we can have an open API, and they’ve also connected various applications that we were trying to integrate with. Finally, they’ve helped with some of our UI designs. 

What is the team composition? 

The people that we have on our team are very knowledgeable and capable of doing what we need them to do. We have a frontend developer, a backend developer, and a project manager. Anytime you’re doing software development, it’s always helpful to have a middleman who can bridge the back-and-forth. At one point, we had a designer come on for about 20 hours.  

How did you come to work with Devsu?

We explored software development options in Ukraine, India, Pakistan, and Russia. However, the issue with those locations is the time difference.

I then got a referral from a business owner for whom I have a lot of respect. He mentioned that Devsu operated out of Central America, so we vetted them and spoke with their clients. Devsu quickly got a solid understanding of our product, defined what our end goal would look like, and really helped us map out an MVP. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $100,000–$120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June of 2019, and the engagement is ongoing. We’ve scaled down a bit to just the frontend developer since most of the backend work was completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There were some initial concerns on our end. We didn’t know what we were going to get when working with a third-party. Our vision was essentially being created by someone we’d never see face-to-face.

But, we’ve been blown away by their work ethic. They’re fantastic. Not only do they do the things that we ask them to do, but they also provide other insights into how we can solve business problems. That’s what I’ve been most pleased with.

For example, they might explain to us why a certain approach won’t work because they can see that we’re going to run into scaling issues once we onboard more than 10 clients. It’s those little things that allow us to gain a better understanding of what we don’t know yet.

How did Devsu perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed well. Looking back, I don’t think we leveraged our project manager in the way that we should have. There are potentially some opportunities for improvement there, however, I put that more on myself. I’ve learned a lot more about how to work with them effectively through their project manager.

As for their style, they’re obviously very familiar with agile methodologies. We use Kanban boards and Microsoft Visual Studio. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were initially trying to get someone to complete user stories and add features to our web app. What we actually got was someone who could bring in new ideas to improve our software.

Additionally, we were very happy with the cost of services for a vendor within our time zone. We were locked into a six-month commitment in the beginning, but it allowed us to get two developers for the price of a resource in the US.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

It might be beneficial if they increased their selection of candidates. We only saw a few resumes, which ended up working out well for us. But, I would’ve liked to have seen 20 resumes instead of three. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In software development, there’s always going to be scope creep as you change what you’re creating. It’s a natural part of the process. However, for companies like Devsu to be successful, you have to have a solid vision of what the end product is. That includes a well-defined MVP with specific deliverables.

You wouldn’t bring on a development team like Devsu to create something as you go. Rather, you need a clear vision that’s based on a true business plan. I’d also establish metrics and deadlines to hold the developers accountable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the founders of a B2B SaaS platform called Sightx, a market research and data analytics platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsu?

We’ve partnered with Devsu since the conception of our company as our main development team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We rely on Devsu for both front- and backend work. Our platform is pretty robust in terms of its data analysis capabilities, and our unique value proposition to our client has been that it’s an end-to-end solution where users can utilize a variety of different tools in one place.

They’ve essentially provided us with both the tool’s UX/UI design components but also its statistically-driven, sophisticated analysis functionalities.

We emit everything from data capture, aggregation, and organization. Our platform not only manages data in that way, but analyzes it in real time — from descriptive stats to inferential or predictive patterns of statistics. Not only does it analyze quantitative metrics, but also qualitative test responses, piled from data sources like consumer reviews. It also performs data visualizations.

Our tech stack is generally Node.js on the frontend and Microservices on the backend. That includes everything from Python to Google Go and some other services for text analytics.  

What is the team composition?

We initially had only one developer, but we’ve grown the team to 8 engineers over the last few years. We’ve looking to continue expanding the team in the near future.

How did you come to work with Devsu?

My co-founder and I had worked with local engineers in New York City to build our MVP. We were an early-stage startup looking for cost-effective engineering solutions to continue our development.

Upon reaching out on LinkedIn, we found Devsu and worked with one individual on a single-project basis. We couldn’t find any other options and were pleased with their high-quality output, so we decided to continue scaling alongside them.

How much have you invested with them?

We've probably spent somewhere around $2,000,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in September of 2016 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been a great partner to us from the very beginning, and they’ve produced an awesome product. The people on our team have come to think of and treat them like an extension of our staff, which is probably a result of the dedication we’ve received from them. That dynamic gives us confidence in them and in ourselves, as we consider them as one of our own.

How did Devsu perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great. We rely on them for the whole project lifestyle. That includes but isn’t limited to project management, QA, and deployment.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have an extremely efficient workflow. They’re a dedicated, full-time team, and in the absence of cumbersome project managers or middlemen, we’ve had direct access to their developers. Their excellent communication style has helped ensure the successful execution of a complex build. We’ve really appreciated our high level of interaction with them and how diligent and agile they are.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really, we’ve had great experiences with them. Every time we need something, we communicate that to them, and they’re able to work with us to address the need or issue.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re definitely a partner that I can personally recommend. They’re a partner that can work with you to meet your unique needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Digital Production at Doner LA, a full service advertising agency in Los Angeles

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Devsu provided web development services for an interactive site to support the launch of a new Netflix show call Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.

SOLUTION

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

I worked with them at a previous agency on a large ecommerce site for Volkswagen and knew they had great development capabilities.

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

Devsu created a digital interactive website experience that lived on Netflix's platform. It was built in 3 weeks using React + Next.js on the Google Cloud service.

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

I worked with their Senior Project Manager and one lead developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can't, this is confidential information.

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

Devsu's project manager Marco S. is very professional and well versed in technologies. For the most part we used Slack and Jira to project manage the site.

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

Their website development expertise is top-notch and they are one of the most capable development vendors I've worked with.

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

I've never had a problem with Devsu.