Digia Technology

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am chair of the board of the Patient Advisors Network (PAN), a Canadian NFP that provides a community space for patient partners in healthcare to learn from each other.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to replace the forum software we were using and build a more robust private community site to include a discussion forum, an opportunity board, member profiles and pages for resources and project descriptions plus a dashboard. The community site needed to be integrated into our public site.

SOLUTION

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

We were referred by YourWebDepartment (YWD) who manages our public site. Based on our longstanding relationship with YWD, we accepted their referral after talking with the principal at Digia and receiving a quote within our budget. We determined that we could work with this company.

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

We provided detailed specifications that were refined together with Digia. They researched options and proposed using WordPress modules where appropriate specifically NodeBB. These modules offered much of the functionality we needed but Digia still needed to develop an opportunity listing module from scratch and to integrate the site into the public site. There was also the need to import the user and discussion records from the old community site built in Groupsite.

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

We working primarily with the principle and a key development manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Feedback from users has been generally positive; the time to set up new users has been reduced; the accuracy of the opportunity posting and the auto archive feature have made managing this process much more efficient while presenting an up-to-date listing for users. The integration with the public site means a much better vehicle for communicating with our community across items that are public and those that must remain private.

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

We had weekly video meetings that were followed up with an email with a list of action items. In cases where either party had to reschedule meetings, there was a prompt and flexible response on Digia's part. The project timelines were generally met since our goal was to launch in early Sep which we met.

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

We were impressed by the flexibility, professionalism, and responsiveness of the whole team. They were also open to our ideas and able to collaborate easily with us on solutions.

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

The documentation was delayed somewhat though there were external circumstances outside their control that probably contributed to this.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of Voice it. A Canadian Non Union Voice Talent Agency offering voice over, copy writing, music production and animation services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I wanted to create a custom website that would allow me to add and manage voice talents while allowing my clients to listen, favourite, and select voice talents for their project.

SOLUTION

How did you select Digia Technology and what were the deciding factors?

Digia took the time to put my ideas into a visual screens before moving forward with development. I knew they were the right team to develop my website with the functionality I wanted.

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

We had a great meeting to start off the project. They took the time to understand my requirements. After that I provided them with a list of features and functionality I wanted. They took all the information I provided and put them into various screens and laid out what my site would look like with all the features and functionalities I needed.

We went back and forth with edits and changes and once I was happy with everything, they went into development. Once the site was developed, they went over the backend and how to manage my site. Even after the site was built, we had to make some minor adjustments which they did. They were AWESOME!.

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

I worked with 3 team members. One was the project lead and two were developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was very happy with the final solution. It had all the functionality and features I wanted to have.

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

Communication was great right from the start. The team was very accessible and were able to deliver the final project in a timely manner.

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

The team really took the time to understand my needs for the site. Communication was easy and frequent. Overall I was very happy with them.

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

I honestly don't think they could have done anything differently. They were very easy to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Designer at Colorcoded. A multidisciplinary design firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Digia Technology?

Digia was hired to build out a high profile, responsive website site for an Olympic athlete.

What were your goals for this project?

To design and build a new site to replace the outdated one with a focus on mobile usability.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Was recommended by others.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We designed the new website and took it to Digia for an estimate. We we’re happy with their cost and they said they could handle all the extra features we wanted as well. After the first pass, we had some small changes and we needed to add another small section on the site. Digia implemented these changes without hesitation. It was a flawless experience from beginning to end.

What was the team composition?

One designer, one product manager and one developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Being able to rely on fast, quality development is crucial to maintaining my roster of clients and business in general.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

There was only one round of revisions and one round of updates required between client, designer and developer. It was super efficient. The longest part of the project was getting client approval!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to deliver products so fast and with such high quality. It’s difficult to find both of those values in a company these days.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There isn’t much to improve on other than being a little more attentive to specific design specs. But that is also on the designer to watch.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the co-founders of ShiftPosts. ShiftPosts is a pharmacy marketplace that matches and fills shifts. Pharmacies post shifts and pharmacists apply and accept those shifts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Digia?

Start to finish project, all of backend and frontend. We started with nothing and now have a full-service system with both a mobile app and web platform. After the app was completed, we've used Digia for new feature additions and all bug fixes and maintenance.

What were your goals for this project?

To have a fully functional platform.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

This vendor came highly recommended by a well respected CTO from Toronto.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Digia provided full project deliverables on everything from backend development and architecture to frontend design, as well as bug fixes, maintenance and support.

What was the team composition?

Project manager, 5 developers, 1 QA and 1 designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our platform runs very smoothly with little to no support needed and very little bugs. Because of Digia we have created a true market disruptor in our industry, which we wouldn't have made into a true business without the platform they built for us.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Very impressive. Documentation was easy to understand and communication was fluid. Digia worked around our schedule which allowed us to have daily progress meetings that worked for us and weekly demos.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Digia was excellent. They provided a full-service team that took us from 0 to 100 real fast when we started the project. They were extremely professional in their processes and very accommodating. Yen and his team was very easy to work with and met our demands at every corner. Even though we had a development schedule to adhere to, being a startup we needed new feautres implemented fast that we recently discovered were needed. Digia would accommodate this very well and push these to the front of the queue if needed.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I'd say the main improvement is to be able to hire larger teams for when projects get larger. But because Digia is a younger company that will all come with time. They're on the right track to get there and they're doing all the right things. I highly recommend working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a consultant for a legal firm that handles intellectual property law.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Digia?

We hired them to help develop the frontend of an automated document management website.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to develop the project quickly.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

An associate recommended Digia, and both the vendor's price and abilities played into our decision. We were looking for a team that could react immediately to changing demands.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Digia developed the frontend of the website using ReactJS and backed by a PHP API. They used a design that was mocked up by another vendor.

What was the team composition?

We interacted almost exclusively with the team leader, who assigned tasks to Digia’s programmers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site is in its infancy, and I can’t share any information at this time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

had weekly online meetings where we determined action items and priorities, which changed often. We used screen shares and Trello, which helped us keep our priorities straight and allowed the Digia team to work even when we weren't available due to the time difference.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They understood everything we discussed with them. They had intelligent, effective solutions to all the problems, which made working with them easy and enjoyable.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sometimes, they would make a requested change to the frontend that ended up breaking something that was already working. Perhaps a system of unit tests could have helped here.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m founder and CEO of a mobile/web dental marketplace platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Digia?

We needed help with ongoing development and maintenance of our mobile/web application.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to have skilled, reliable developers provide feature development, deployment, and support for our app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them through an online marketplace portal. After a number of interviews and small test projects, Digia proved they were able to surpass what was needed for our project.

Describe the project in detail.

Our mobile/web app is a marketplace platform for connecting dental professionals. Digia assessed the current status of the project, which had already launched. They worked their way through a long product roadmap of features and tweaks. They also analyzed the code and addressed our existing technical debt.

What was the team composition?

We work with several members of their development team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Digia was able to quickly and skillfully carry development forward. They were also able to identify areas for improved backend efficiencies as we scaled.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their team is very good. They were able to help us set up various support infrastructures to facilitate tracking of development and bug fixes. Their communication is excellent, with a good understanding of feature descriptions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They’re very responsive. Digia’ skills and knowledge are at the highest level. We really appreciate the integrity of their billing; the hours billed match the hours worked.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of anything they could do better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and founder of a company that works in the virtual meetings space. We have created new software that allows customers to run meetings and secure voting in the same meeting, whether online, in-room, on the phone or all three.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Digia to custom build software for us that would meet our clients goals. We were reselling software (and still are) that could not meet changing requirements during COVID. The main issue was that clients could not securely and effectively run meetings that required voting, so we created a system to fill that need.

SOLUTION

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

We selected them after a referral from our fractional CTO. We ran a scoping project and then had them build a basic prototype. The key factors were did they created what we asked them to within the budget provided. And they did - and did it very well.

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

The scope of work was to create a meeting and voting system that would allow clients to securely run events that would allow them to elect representatives, create and debate resolutions, accept nominations, hold AGMs, etc... while taking votes from online, phone and in-room attendees. The key deliverables have been many, starting with the creation of a video platform, then a secure voting function, an audio conferencing system and then tying them all together.

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

I work primarily with the owner of Digia and a couple of members of his team from time to time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have expanded the scope of the project many times. We keep coming up with new features that they keep building. The work meets one key criterion for me - it actually does what it's supposed to do. The team is also very good at filling in the gaps that I overlook as a non-tech person.

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

We have daily meetings during our sprints, which help us resolve issues very quickly. Our slack communication is regular and clear. They are good at getting back to me in a timely manner when issues arise.

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

They produce great software according to our specifications. They do so in a timely manner and always raise issues that need to be addressed before they become problematic. They are excellent at keeping the project moving and keeping on top of the timelines.

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

There's not much, honestly. A bit more clarity on timelines and associated costs when things don't go according to plan, but they really are great to work with. I'd highly recommend them.