Divami Design Labs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Saras Analytics, a data integration and predictive analytics company. We focus on improving business outcomes at small to mid-market companies by offering advanced analytics and related services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Divami Design Labs?

We hired Divami Design Labs to revamp our website and create a new brand persona. 

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking to make a content-rich, easy-to-use website that presented our key offerings in a clear and digestible way.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We came across Divami Design Labs’s work through a client and were quite impressed with their design and development capabilities. When it came time to overhaul our website, we reached out to them and asked for a quote.

During our discussions, I found their team to be approachable, thorough, and passionate. After evaluating a few other design companies, we felt that their design process would yield the best results. 

Describe the project in detail.

They updated our website.

What was the team composition?

There was a UI designer, two developers, and a project manager. Though not part of the designated team, their director and chief designer occasionally gave us critical recommendations for elements we hadn’t considered.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our new website has a clean and simple look, and all of the content is now easily discoverable. We’ve received some rave reviews of the overall design of the site, both from within our company and outside of it.

Potential customer visits and clicks have increased significantly. Thanks to the ease of navigation, visitors to the site end up going through our key offerings and reaching out to us for further clarity.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Right from the beginning, their communication was clear and straightforward. They asked us the right questions to understand our goals and vision, thereby ensuring alignment between our expectations and their deliverables.

The design team provided us with progress updates through regular status calls. This prepared us for most updates well in advance. Even their development team synced well with ours, and they were willing to handle even the smallest of issues.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their work ethic was excellent, and they typically pushed through multiple iterations to improve their designs. Also, unlike other vendors, they aligned well with our team. It never felt like they were working remotely, and we were very comfortable with them. Developing rapport with vendors is typically a challenge, and their ability to connect with our team set them apart.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can think of at this time. They’ve been terrific.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I worked as VP of technology at a global leader in telecom expense management, managing mobility services and cloud expense management software. I oversaw and drove new product development. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Divami Design Labs?

We needed help enhancing the employee self-provisioning model of an application, giving it a modern look and designing the UX. We needed a vendor that could own our product and translate our ideas into a design. We needed help with major UX services like interaction design and UI design.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a seamless UX that didn't force users to struggle with action buttons. We also needed a pleasant design experience, since users would invest a lot of time in the platform. Finally, we wanted to keep the tool professional yet functional, with elegant colors and typography.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us by a friend who had engaged them. While looking for a vendor, we evaluated them and found them to be a good fit.

Describe the project in detail.

This application was an intuitive tool that reduced technology spending and introduced predictability to employee technology demands. It provided users with a complete picture of their requests, current assets, most popular assets, new assets, and notifications. Users could search for assets based on category, subcategory, associated plans, services, and features. They could also see their expenses and usage details, compare the catalog, and view asset details.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with an interaction designer and a UI designer. A senior design strategist led the project, and a project manager tracked schedules, dependencies, and deliverables.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Multiple product stakeholders appreciated the design, and it performed well in user tests.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had an almost smooth workflow, with weekly meetings, clear communication, and structured discussions. They delivered promptly, acted promptly on our feedback, reported in a timely manner, and worked closely with us in a structured environment.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We appreciated their professionalism in delivering the designs and providing development support. They understood the technology, addressing our needs and the needs of our users. They synced well with our team, so we had a clean working experience. They also distilled complex concepts into simple steps, which helped a lot.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything went well, so I have nothing to recommend.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of Truckaro Pvt. Ltd. Built as a platform and marketplace, we connect consignors (shippers) with transporters, who provide trucking and freight services, and agents, who arrange logistics support (permits, documentation). This brings transparency and efficiency to an unorganized industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Divami Design Labs?

We hired Divami Design Labs to design of our flagship Truckaro mobile app, which analyzes, assembles, and executes custom shipping solutions. We plan to engage them to build the app as well.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to build a platform with a combination of supply chain and transportation features that we could offer transporters and shipping companies. It had to be easy to use for non-technical people.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I was looking for someone with whom we could work closely, so I checked in my alumni network. That’s where Divami was recommended to me. Fortunately, their founder was also an alumnus, which helped us trust them. They also had experience working with similar B2B platforms.

Describe the project in detail.

Divami helped us plan and design the app’s UI. They created a design that overcame several complex issues yet was still visually appealing.

What was the team composition?

We had multiple points of contact, including constant communication with their senior interaction designer and their development lead. Their director also provided significant support during ideation and execution.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Potential partners and investors have appreciated the design. Now that we’ve secured funding, we’ll proceed to develop the application with Divami as well.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We worked efficiently with them through remote and in-person meetings. Their experiences held them establish appropriate expectations and deliver on time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They asked the right questions to clarify our design ideas and addressed feedback quickly. Rather than only implementing our ideas, which they understood thoroughly, they also contributed new perspectives we hadn’t thought of. Their design ensured both visual appeal and powerful functionality. They really did their homework.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Though we started with questions about Divami, it’s been a smooth journey. They gained our confidence quickly by proving they understood our vision and then overperformed with the final delivery. It couldn’t have been a better experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

FemmeVista Technologies is a professional networking platform. I’m the co-founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Divami Design Labs?

We needed someone to do a product design for our networking platform from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

My partner and I had a list of features that we wanted within the platform. They did the entire UI/UX design for us. They worked with us to incorporate all our suggestions and come up with a design that we like. It’s a mobile-based platform. First, they showed us the wireframes in the form of paper drawings. They created the pictures in Photoshop and used InVision, which allowed us to go through all the screens. The app is for both iOS and Android.

We’re now working with them on a different project, in which they’re creating the skins of those mobile apps for us.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager and a UX designer who worked with us on the entire process flow and the wireframes. There was a UI designer who helped us with the color scheme and the icons. There was a very senior person—a creative head—who was very involved in the discussions with us.

How did you come to work with Divami Design Labs?

My partner knows their CEO. We also heard that they’re quite good. We evaluated ten other design firms, but amongst all the proposals and discussions, we realized that Divami really understood what we wanted to do. Their project plan and proposal was extremely detailed, much more so than what we got from the others.

How much have you invested with them?

9 lakh Indian rupees (approximately $13,000 USD}.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018 and the work is ongoing. They completed the first project in June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we shared the design they created with our user groups, everybody was very impressed. They were waiting for the platform to be launched so they could join us.

How did Divami Design Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We're very happy with their communication and responsiveness. My partner is based in the U.S. and we had a few challenges in terms of finding a time that suited everyone. Divami was very flexible around that. We wanted to have a WhatsApp group to be able to share pictures of the screens. They helped us with that and were actively communicating with us on WhatsApp and sharing multiple options. The communication was very simple and smooth.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their designs are quite different and unique compared to the run of the mill designs you come across in the market. Depending on the platform or product that you have in mind, they gave it a lot of thought and came up with interesting and unique designs.

We were also pleased that they were prepared to go above and beyond what was promised. Sometimes we requested more iterations than we had originally agreed on. We wanted a few additional screens to be designed, and they were very accommodating to that. As a startup, we don’t really have a structure around everything, but they were very flexible with us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

A friend of mine was looking for a design partner and was evaluating Divami. She reached out to me for some feedback. I told her that while they do have a proper project management kind of schedule, from our side as a client, we should also be completely glued into what is supposed to be delivered on a weekly basis and keep track of any delays if there are any. Have weekly calls and make sure you’re actually going through the list of items that were supposed to be done. Make sure it’s done or you have another date for it to get completed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a fintech group. We are presently operating in India.  We have technology collaborations and other alliances to help us expand to the markets in most parts of the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Divami Design Labs?

Having a boutique-sized technology team poses a unique challenge in India. If our company internalized product software development, we would’ve needed a team of no more than 8 to10 people, and that would’ve been very difficult to assemble and keep together because they junior to mid-level software professionals tend to look for opportunities within larger teams.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One project they’re helping us with is an account aggregation and financial planning tool. Divami performed market research and presented us alternative scenarios in terms of features we could have on the minimum viable product (MVP). They then planned out how we were going to bring the solution to market. We had our own product plan, so we discussed and superimposed our own desires and goals, onto the plans they gave. The web platform was built using AngularJS.
They’ve also designed several apps for us. We needed them to be attractive, as we were competing with numerous other products, in an area with a high mortality rate, where individuals tend to delete apps quickly after not finding them useful. They built native Android and iOS Apps, and have created a web services layer that used Java, MySQL, and Linux.

One project they’re helping us with is an account aggregation and financial planning tool. Divami performed market research and presented us alternative scenarios in terms of features we could have on the minimum viable product (MVP).

They then planned out how we were going to bring the solution to market. We had our own product plan, so we discussed and superimposed our own desires and goals, onto the plans they gave. The web platform was built using AngularJS.

They’ve also designed several apps for us. We needed them to be attractive, as we were competing with numerous other products, in an area with a high mortality rate, where individuals tend to delete apps quickly after not finding them useful. They built native Android and iOS Apps, and have created a web services layer that used Java, MySQL, and Linux.

What is the team composition?

We made sure that their CEO was our point of contact. We do have a project coordinator as well, in addition to three or four other people from their side. How did you come to work with Divami Design Labs?

I talked to some of my friends, who had experience with frontend, UI design. They’d used Divami earlier and referred me to them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our international fintech partner has connected with overseas banks, and they’ve loved the apps that we’ve shown them when we included them in our proposals. They liked the designs and UI of the apps and said that they have an international look. This was a surprise for us, as we had never designed this app for an international bank. It’s definitely a reflection on Divami’s design and quality of work.

How did Divami Design Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve worked closely with them, and they’ve communicated comfortably with our partners as well. Their team liaised with those partners independently and did what was needed to be done to move things forward smoothly and quickly.

Once a design is done, we won’t have much interaction with them, unless we come up with new requirements and changes to the screens. Fintech is a dynamic market, and Diyami had to adapt to it fairly quickly. We have missed deadlines because of changes in specs from our side, but they’ve moved quickly to implement the changes we wanted done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There are lots of companies in the market that specialize in only design or coding, but we wanted a single partner. Divami handled everything from conceptualization, and design, to actual coding and delivery.

The founders of the company are hands-on people, knowledgeable about technology and design. This made a difference in terms of commitment and their ability to respond to specific needs, rather than simply manage the process. Their founder was able to address most of our queries, and actually, help us with suggestions and changes. They acted as more of a partner than a vendor to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One area where I would like to see a different approach in is testing. I would like to see more effort put into testing features on a sample user base. This isn’t part of their offering, and they would struggle with it if I pushed them. They don’t have a mechanism for user testing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of Fluid Delta Solutions Inc. We provide services and products to help clients manage physical assets, including pipelines, water, and wastewater utilities, and municipalities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Divami Design Labs?

Divami provided our team with comprehensive UX/UI design for our first product - a project management and data analysis application. We did not have adequate internal UX/UI capabilities, and our prior attempts for designing the UX/UI using freelancers did not yield satisfactory results. As a result, we decided to engage a UX/UI firm.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the UI to display relevant information and analysis results in a simple and intuitive application flow. We also wanted a consistent theme across the app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We sourced potential partners using the web and referrals. From a potential pool of more than 10 vendors, we invited six firms to bid on our project; five submitted formal proposals and bids. We selected Divami due to their previous work, documentation, references, and their understanding of and approach to the project. The CEO played a crucial role in communicating their approach.

Describe the project in detail.

We then exchanged internal documentation, including flow charts, ad hoc mock-ups, and technical- and domain-specific information. Both sides participated in the initial kickoff and the knowledge transfer phase by attending four day-long workshops. After the initial workshops, they executed the project remotely. Deliverables included user flows, and interaction designs (IxD) and documentation. For the UI, they provided mock-ups, designs, assets, and specifications for icons, fonts, spacing, etc.

What was the team composition?

They assigned a project manager, a design lead, and an interaction designer. Divami allocated other resources, such as graphic designers, as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product exceeded our expectations for quality. They used the UX/UI mock-ups and effectively. Conflicts rarely arose between the two teams.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We communicated well via email and online meetings. Although we were in separate time zones, the collaboration never encountered problems.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Divami delivered what they said they would and then exceeded it; that does not happen by happenstance. Their commitment was excellent. Some team members worked during the weekend to accommodate my schedule during the workshops.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There were none.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CTO of Incentives Software. Our company launched two years ago with the intention of developing affiliate marketing business tools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Divami Design?

Our main goal was to produce a software as a service (SaaS) platform for the affiliate marketing business. Our cashback site lets users launch discount programs for affiliate publishers. Our finished MVP was based on a B2B model. Sales cycles were too long from a business perspective. We decided to use the platform to launch our own brand, instead. We only had backend engineers internally, so we needed a design agency to support this new objective.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Divami Design helped us calibrate the frontend and backend of our system to target business clients. As we worked with them over multiple full-day sessions, we explained our primary requirements. We spent time explaining our business and platform, and the team quickly grasped critical details. They integrated this information into a full proposal. They created a logo and design for our B2C domain, savingnest.com. This new page is consumer-facing.  

They assigned two teams to our project for the logo and layout respectively. One of the teams also worked on the website itself. They presented a variety of options for us to choose from. Designers created assets using PSD and HTML for our in-house engineers to develop.

What is the team composition?

A dedicated lead designer worked on our project full time. He managed and collaborated with several junior designers. A part-time project manager organized the workflow. This team worked with our frontend and backend developers who provided necessary technical and business materials. My role was akin to a business sponsor since I mostly explained the scope.

How did you come to work with Divami Design?

The team developing our product was collocated in our startup incubator co-working space in India. They’d been advising another design agency.

How much have you invested with them?

We had a choice between a fixed-price or a time-and-materials engagement. As a startup, choosing the former model made more sense. After negotiating with Divami’s estimate, we agreed to a total cost of $23,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Divami in 2017 from May to July. As we look to pivot into a few new projects, I definitely plan on using them again.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched our savingnest.com site right after Divami’s implementation. It began generating traffic immediately. Currently, we have 4,000 users and counting. We needed to invest in marketing our product to consumers but couldn’t raise sufficient funds. Regardless, the site is still live, functioning, and consistently being found organically.

We’re happy with Divami’s work. Their designs specifically target the millennial demographic in India. The team has great ideas to reach the younger generation. They came up with impactful themes and styles that brought our ideas to life. Customers praised the site’s color scheme and flow.

How did Divami Design perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re a very professional team. Since we’re based in the same town, we visited their offices before hiring them. I met with them on all my monthly visits to my offshore team. They’re a modern boutique design shop. Compared to my domestic design partner agencies, they’re filling an underserved market niche.

We added them to a new channel in our Slack account for daily communication. Each work-product review was done in Google Drive. We used their custom project management tool for collaboration. We had daily standup meetings and weekly status meetings, with email for quick questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I admired their design talent. Divami is a UI/UX company, which is a new area for the Indian market. Divami is made up of very young and creative resources. The team brainstormed out-of-the-box approaches for our logo design.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need to improve the UX design skills to correspond with their UI prowess.  As they attempt to expand into the U.S. market, they’ll need to tailor their offerings accordingly. Learning a bit more about American demographics and UX style will help them succeed in this endeavor.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

N/A.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product management for a leading mentoring software company with offices across the globe. We offer a software as a service (SaaS) mentoring platform to enterprises and universities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Divami Design Labs?

We needed to enhance our products with various features based on our R&D and required help on the UI/UX design front. We were looking for designers that could translate our ideas and vision into products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with them on multiple projects. In some cases, we needed to enhance existing product pages, while, in others, we threw away the existing designs and started from scratch. Divami helped on both fronts.

We’ve only required the creative aspects of their work. We take their designs and convert them to HTML in-house. Divami had a different set of processes to begin with, but they adjusted to our agile-focused methods. We started with a process-heavy approach but adopted a lightweight model by which we could interact with them often and deliver what is required from us in an easier fashion.

What is the team composition?

We didn’t want to work with several people because learning our context takes time, so we requested to have a single designer assigned. They also provided a project coordinator and a person to verify the work. Our main interaction has been with the designer and coordinator.

How did you come to work with Divami Design Labs?

A friend of ours referred them to us a few years ago. We gave them a sample project to propose a design for and were satisfied with the results.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $25,000–$30,000 per year with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Divami in April 2014. It’s an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because we are a B2B firm, customer feedback is very important to us, though we also track metrics and conversion rates. Divami recently worked on a new admin dashboard and we’ve heard several compliments about it from some of our most important customers. Some of them have even got in touch with us right after its release to tell us that they love it.

How did Divami Design Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Basecamp, to begin with, especially for larger projects that spanned a couple of months. For smaller tasks, we simply have email discussions, calls on Google Hangouts, and face-to-face meetings. I’m happy with their level of availability and communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What distinguishes them is their ability to adapt to different organizations’ working models. Every company has its own style and requirements in terms of the level of the detail, clarity, and creativity needed. Divami’s adaptability is one of their greatest strengths and I really appreciate this about them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We give them feedback immediately after a project is complete and they’ve been responsive to it. When it comes to making improvements on existing pages, they need to keep the existing design in mind rather than being too creative. This would help reduce the number of roundtrips during our work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We have a unique product in the ad-hoc, self-service search and analytics space. We do analytics using Business Language Querying (BLQ) and leverage industry domain knowledge to drive analytics. We provide analytics for both structured data and unstructured content. I’m the senior VP of technology operations and delivery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Divami Design Labs?

We had a fairly outdated UI/UX that had been designed eight years ago. People had a tough time trying to navigate through the platform and use it effectively. We wanted to update the entire UI/UX, the interaction, and the whole way the platform worked.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They revamped the complete look and feel, the design, the UI, usability, and the interaction for around 150 screens. It’s a Java-based platform for user analytics, and they worked on the search bar, the landing screens, and login screens. Everything was revamped and reengineered for the whole platform. It was a big job.

What is the team composition?

They were based in our center for four to five months. Once they finished the design, they integrated. The project lead was the CEO. Under him was a project manager and a chief designer. Then there was a complete delivery team consisting of three or four people who delivered the product. There was a similar team on our side to interface and integrate.

How did you come to work with Divami Design Labs?

We did a global exercise, selecting some U.S. based companies and about four Indian companies. We asked for commercial proposals from all of them. We then shortlisted three candidates to give us a presentation on how they would handle the whole assignment. Divami Design Labs was the final choice in terms of pricing and location. They’re located where my product technology group sits. The work was fairly complex and would need very close interaction almost on a daily basis.

How much have you invested with them?

$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2017 until October 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve done beta testing with some production clients of ours and they all seem to be over the moon with it. They’re very happy and keen to switch over to the new UI/UX.

How did Divami Design Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m happy with the communication and their dedication. They sat in our offices and fully integrated into our team. They were very flexible and dynamic. They had an objective in mind to deliver a successful UI/UX project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very flexible at meeting what we wanted in terms of design, making changes, and working with our team. Our technical team is very demanding because they’re project engineers. Divami did a fantastic job working with the team and meeting all requirements based on quite a lot of changes that we did.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have a slightly better understanding of the entire end-to-end nature of the project and what they delivered for us. There were certain times they said they didn’t sign up for this and we thought they had. There was a bit of back and forth on some of those things. Maybe they need to be far more transparent in terms of what they expect with a buyer. There were some disconnects, but the relationship was pretty good and we could overcome certain working issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CTO of CoreCompete, a data analytics company. I’m based in Dallas, TX, but our offices are located across the U.S. and internationally. We offer digital transformations and analytics solutions at the intersection of the cloud and big data. Most contemporary decision making is manual or ad-hoc. We help retail, healthcare, and banking companies unify this process to become more data-driven.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Divami Design Labs?

Our company has experienced rapid growth since we launched five years ago. We needed a developer to build an internal tool that manages the infrastructure of our cloud-based services. As we launched, we requested a strong UI for our clients and internal teams to differentiate us from competitors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Divami Design Labs mostly focuses on the UX and APIs, but also informs the UI. They assessed the health of our existing infrastructure, apps, and billing parameters. We're currently working on product called A.3 2.0. It's the second version of our cloud managed services offering. Initially, we use whiteboard drawings to illustrate our initial concept. They interview us from the UX goal perspective, as opposed to the specific feel.

The team establishes both the purpose and what we aim to display for the UI. Using an iterative process helps us declutter, prioritize, and ultimately craft the ideal design.  They provide options for specific aspects like color schemes in line with branding guidelines. One of the technologies they use is Angular.js. Subsequently, they find the right APIs to gather, show, and update data. Limiting data to the most critical metrics produces a better UX/UI.

What is the team composition?

The team varies per project. A project manager is included in the cost of other purchased services. For this engagement, we have one designer and 1-2 UI developers. In the past, I've worked with a much larger team.

How did you come to work with Divami Design Labs?

I've partnered with Divami Design Labs since 2014 at multiple companies, including my own startup. I had evaluated a few vendors and chose them based on their portfolio, specific skills, and the teams they were able to assign.  Since I’ve had consistently good experience working with them, I hired them for our latest project, as well.

How much have you invested with them?

The first project was in the $60,000 range. Smaller engagements like our current project cost about $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first project began in the first quarter of 2014 in either February or March. We have an ongoing relationship in my current role.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don't currently have a KPI metrics to share, which are harder to measure. Overall, our customers are happy with product usability. In all three engagements, the deliverables wowed our users.  Enterprise clients aren’t used to seeing this level of design quality. They usually work with solutions that feature a simple layout and off-the-shelf parts.

In at least two of the three cases, we started with virtually no internal UX/UI resources. Divami Design Labs guided us through a comprehensive design phase and fully executed the build. Their iterative, hands-on process yielded the best possible deliverables and implementations. It was great to see our initial whiteboard drawings manifest in a highly functional UI.

How did Divami Design Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Even though they assigned a dedicated resource, we have internal project management methodologies, as well. Divami Design Labs is always flexible about using a model of our choice. They function as an extension of our overall project plan. We’ve used both Agile and STLC type lifecycles based on specific customers.

We usually use Jira and have two-week sprints for delivery. An iterative style works best for UX tasks. It's critical to incorporate feedback regularly throughout the process, as opposed to having one major release after two months.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Divami Design Labs’ team members are their strongest asset. The resources we interact with are knowledgeable and productive. They help us solve important problems. Design proficiency is a special attribute that's rare if not impossible to find in the developer community. There’s usually a notable difference if the UI is done by a UX team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have any input for that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Letting them autonomously create the design has worked well for us so far.  Divami Design Labs' unique perspective casts our projects in a fresh new light. Don't give them drawings. It's much better to just describe what you have in mind. I've discouraged my in-house staff from trying to steer them in a certain direction.