Devvowel inc

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of a software company. We’ve been in the Italian market for 27 years, and we have about 150 employees on our payroll. Our customers are mainly banks, financial institutions, and some enterprises that deal with finance topics, such as administration or credit scoring.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devvowel inc?

We needed support on the technical development side, and the market was very busy, so it wasn't easy to find people. We hired Devvowel inc for support; we wanted to find more resources faster and improve our efficiency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devvowel inc provides us with technical development support. Resources from their side are working with 2–3 teams from our company, and we currently have two resources from Devvowel inc on-site with us in Italy. We collaborate to select each resource and test them on their technical skill and English levels. When recruiting, the quality of the developers is key because we work with important clients, so the coding has to be on a high level. 

One of the projects they’re helping us with is for a client dealing with non-performing loans. We’re building very complex software, and we have 6–7 teammates from Devvowel inc supporting the product’s development. They work mainly in a Java and JavaScript environment. 

What is the team composition?

I have administrative contact with Maximiliano (CEO) for billing and payments. We started with 2–3 people on the daily work, and now we’re working with 13–15 people from Devvowel inc. 

How did you come to work with Devvowel inc?

A friend of mine who was living in Chile gave me the names of Devvowel inc’s founders and recommended them based on their team of young and well-qualified developers. I have good Spanish language skills, so I decided to contact them.

How much have you invested with them?

On average, we spend around €500,000 (approximately $533,000 USD) a year. In the first year, we spent about €250,000 (approximately $267,000 USD), and this year we’ll spend around €600,000 (approximately $640,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2019, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy with Devvowel inc because they work well. Our teams are a mix of in-house developers and resources from Devvowel inc, and we’ve only had to swap out 1–2 out of 10 teammates. We trust them, so we invest in them — we’re paying travel expenses for the two resources currently in Italy. Overall, we’ve had a good experience with Devvowel inc, so we’re increasing our work with them. 

How did Devvowel inc perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is very good. Although not all team members get involved, some senior developers also help us manage the projects. When we have a deadline, they make an extra effort. Then, we give them a holiday to recover, so there’s flexibility.

In terms of tools, we use Jira and Microsoft Teams, and they’re perfect at communication, which we handle in English. We’re in constant contact through daily meetings, and our development teams work together. Sometimes, teammates from Devvowel inc come to Italy to spend some time with us and work together. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with Devvowel inc’s young, energetic team; they’re passionate about technology and perform very well. Moreover, they’re very serious about their work, so we trust them completely. Their speed in recruiting employees is also outstanding, and some of those resources are above average. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, their developers have a lower English level. This has only happened 1–2 times, though, because we also test that when we recruit them. To address this, we’ve given them support to attend language courses.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Director of Operations and Finance at Edudown, I work at the headquarters located in Santiago and from here we manage the different offices distributed from Temuco to La Serena. We seek to promote the comprehensive development of children and young people with Down Syndrome, supporting them free of charge in order to improve their quality of life and that of their families.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We seek the development of a mobile application that allows us to articulate the attention of our users, increasing our reach through online sessions, with educational audiovisual material, measuring the progress of each user individually, efficiently and reliably. With the aim of having a personalized strategy, which integrates the entire multidisciplinary team involved in each case.

SOLUTION

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

After defining our growth strategy, we meet with different developers so that they propose their possible response in relation to our objectives. Devvowel inc proved to have the necessary conditions to understand our need and meet the requirement in a timely manner, with the contribution of demonstrable previous successful experiences and with a robust pilot.

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

The development of an application accessible from any mobile device, independent of the OS, with intuitive use. The process presented by Devvowel inc consists of 5 stages:

1. Preparation: Common vision and critical factors to implement.
2. Validation: Scope, functional requirements, initial configuration.
3. Realization: Software design and programming.
4. Final Preparation: Unit tests by modules, acceptance or correction of errors.
5. Implementation and Support.

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

Supplier staff and internal staff are currently working on the project. Regarding the provider: Project manager, programmers, audiovisual specialists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The result metrics will be evaluated once the project is operating under normal conditions. The expectations of the current work have been met as soon as it is reported as achieved: deliveries, values, follow-ups and pilots.

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

Our focus is to maintain a smooth, deformalized, agile relationship with Devvowel inc, granting margins of freedom that allow the best expression of the work they do.

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

Their ease of communication, organization, and teamwork to achieve goals are impressive. The analysis and interpretation of data and concepts, demonstrable experience in programming custom solutions.

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

Two-way communication means that each option for improvement is immediately evaluated and addressed. So until now we maintain a continuous improvement of each aspect of the work.