What was the scope of their involvement?
They came and listened to what we needed. It was clear that we had many challenges, and we had many ideas to address those challenges, but we needed to prioritize. They helped us organize our challenges and ideas. We picked out 1 or 2 targeted areas, and the first thing was to recreate our contact management system (CRM). The intention was that it would tie into the job management system which they would also create, and it does.
The backbone of the CRM is Microsoft Dynamics. It ties into JMS, which is the larger application and is a .NET framework. The CRM has been integrated into our exchange environment; we're a heavy e-mail organization and we use Outlook, and we handle email 24 hours a day across all teams. The CRM was tied into our Outlook traffic so that emails are tracked to the contacts in CRM database, which then we can view and work off of in our larger JMS application.
They built the JMS application from scratch. As mentioned, Dynamics is the backbone of the CRM but everything else was built by DOOR3 which includes workflows, job grids, and whole administration panel of options. I can manage the system internally, while they support it externally and it carries a lot of big features like jobs, standing orders, the client list, the client location list, and service list vendors. Then there's a bunch of logic that ties into how all those parts play together.
They also updated our website, which was an earlier project. Previously, the website had no tie into the system, and the new website it much fresher. The important piece, however, is that clients can log on and look at the data in our JMS system which refers to other jobs that they've scheduled or booked in the past. It gives them the ability to schedule online, taking into account their firm's standing orders for any given case. It all then goes right into our system and gives us an immediate alert that the client has scheduled, as well ties into our fast-paced email flow. People are aware of the bookings, any questions are being brought to the forefront, and we can address our client needs right off the bat.
What is the team dynamic?
It's been an evolution of team members, but it’s been a small group all along the way which has been good because it keeps us nimble. It allows me to really work with the developers in phases that normally a client wouldn't be involved in. I think that's been a good a good fit overall, it matches our pace. The team size is usually around 5 or 6. Izzy is the project manager. We had 1 main architect, and then we've got a group of developers and QA testers who rotate in and out of the project.
How did you come to work with DOOR3?
We had hired a small development firm in the past, and had done a very small project, but were extremely disappointed with the results. We needed to improve upon that, and time was of the essence. I looked online for others reviews, experiences, and asked around for recommendations.
We contacted a few different companies after a reasonable amount of research online. I spoke with Alex [Founder & President, DOOR3] first, and he seemed to be really in tune with our needs and how they would be addressed. It seemed like a good fit, from the way he received what I had to say. We brought in a number of others, but I felt most comfortable working with the DOOR3 team.
After several more meetings and conversations, we decided to go for a small commitment prototype launch, which gave us something functional right away. That was a good experience working with the development team, and there was never any reason not to continue forward.
How much have you invested with them?
Over $1,000,0000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We began working together in 2012, and that engagement is ongoing.
Their work on the shared backend allowed the quick rollout of new features and improved the apps’ UI/UX for customers. Other benefits included improved internal metric tracking. DOOR3 is eager to integrate into a project team and share their knowledge base.