Droids On Roids

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CPO and one of the co-founders of my company. We provide employees of mid-size companies with the tools they need to manage their personal financial life.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Droids On Roids, and what were your goals?

We hired Droids On Roids to develop our iOS mobile app so customers have a more user-friendly option to use our services. The goal was to deliver a fully functional app within 3 months.

SOLUTION

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

The deciding factors were quality of works, good communication, and honest partnership.

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

After an initial kick-off call, designs and user flows were created that were then reviewed by us. Upon confirmation, the team started breaking down those flows into the different tasks that could then be scheduled in each sprint.

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

1 PM, 1 SM, 2 Devs, 1 QA, 1 Design

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our app release is scheduled and we will meet our 3 months timeframe. The quality of work is great and we're very excited to release the app to our user base. We decided to continue working with DoR via their maintenance package given our good experience.

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

PM and SM were in constant communication. Devs and QA were also very active on Slack and answered any questions right away. Weekly meetings are very well organized. Used Jira for task tracking.

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

Communication has been great despite the difference in time zones and my challenging schedule.

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

Nothing I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Greenr Technologies Ltd, an environmental startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Droids on Roids?

We’re building a climate-focused lifestyle app featuring a carbon footprint calculator. It also provides tailored coaching tips to reduce your carbon footprint and offset the rest.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They first led us through a four-day online workshopping event. We went through every aspect of the app, described the concept, designed the MVP, and planned several releases. We met with the entire team, including software developers, a backend specialist, and two different designers. Together, we brainstormed different features, what it would take to develop it, and what APIs we would need. In parallel, we built some wireframes in order to get a visual idea of what the app would look like.

The platform features a carbon calculator that tracks carbon from food and travel. It also features a visual dashboard so users can see their data and how they’re doing, and learn to offset their carbon footprint.  

Now they’re using Flutter, Firebase, and PostgreSQL to develop a cross-platform app on iOS and Android.  

What is the team composition?

During the workshop, I mostly worked with Ernest (Business Development Manager). There was an amazing team of developers and a scrum master as well. We worked with Alexander (Android Developer), Damian (iOS/Flutter Developer), Pawel (Android Developer), and Bartosz (Web Developer).

How did you come to work with Droids on Roids?

We found them on Clutch and they had great reviews. We were looking specifically for a Flutter development agency and wanted a partner in the same time zone as us. Droids on Roids met all of those needs, so they seemed like a good fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about €70,000 (approximately $84,000 USD) so far and are looking spent another €100,000 (approximately $200,000 USD in total).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in December 2020 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They first estimated that it would take two and a half months to build the MVP, and they’ve delivered on schedule and in budget. We plan to launch it next week. We’re happy with their work so far.

How did Droids on Roids perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack on a daily basis, but we also use Jira to look at our backlog of tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a big team, so they’re able to work collaboratively. They’re honest with their estimations and they’re a fun group to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For now, I think they’re doing well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be aware of all the aspects of your product and your business. The

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of an online marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Droids On Roids?

We needed someone to help us with pre-development and development for a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started off with workshops that helped us clarify what the product was, how we wanted it to look, the features, and the roadmap of the product. Their team identified what it was we wanted the app to be.

The deliverables so far consisted of a six-day workshop, and the outcomes included MVP wireframes. There are detailed estimations of how much the application should cost and a minimum and maximum of how long it should take. The features are something we identified together.

We came up with two applications for which we developed the wireframes for. That will be developed in conjunction with the development phase, and they will be for iOS. One app is management software for shops to manage their profiles and portfolio. The other app is for shoppers to shop.

Now, we’re in the development phase. We completed the workshop, and all the materials were handed off around the second week of April. We’re now going to start the second phase.

What is the team composition?

For the workshop, there were 7-8 people there throughout all six days. There was a scrum master, an iOS developer, an Android developer, a business analyst, a QA, a backend developer, and another iOS developer.

How did you come to work with Droids On Roids?

I found multiple companies on Clutch. After shortlisting and interviewing multiple developers, I chose Droid On Roids because I liked the people. They were young, enthusiastic, and positive.

How much have you invested with them?

It was $25,000 for the workshop.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Droids On Roids started in February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With Droids On Roids, it’s more of a partnership. For the workshop, they weren’t there to just listen and do. Their team was there to listen and discuss.

There’s a lot of developers we worked with previously that don’t give a lot of input or don’t want to give their opinions. They saw us as clients rather than partners. They were very interested in the product. The team was extremely enthusiastic about the project itself.

As a result, we were able to get their input in the workshop on multiple different aspects, especially when it comes to technical points of view, which my team does not have. They helped us come up with decisions regarding what features the MVP should have. They wanted to keep it clean. They helped us with decisions like iOS only initiative. They built a roadmap of features that were must-haves, should-haves, and could-haves.

They work very fast and accommodate us. After the workshop phase, I wanted them to start on the development phase right after. They prebooked the developers while we were doing the workshop. Two months ago, they already knew which team members they would like to have. They were very accommodating. They helped us book the team and start development right after the workshop.

The wireframes helped me get huge investments. A bunch of investors has seen the wireframes. We have 10-15 investors and other individuals that are involved with this project. Every time we have any type of deliverable, the wireframes, the UI, the UX, which they’re currently doing, I use around 30 people to review the outcomes. So far, the feedback has been great. We take the feedback to Droids On Roids and together implementing the feedback.

How did Droids On Roids perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is very good. Their team is very on time and organized. They’re also very clear with communication. I was anticipating miscommunication, but there were no issues with anybody on the team. We have personal contacts with each person on the team. Whenever anyone asks a question, the question is answered immediately or the same day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re an enthusiastic team that likes the project. They’re working tirelessly, and they’re not just monkeys typing on a computer. Their team contributes ideas like they’re part of the company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s hard to judge because I’ve only worked with them for two months. It’s hard for me to come up with an improvement point. As of now, there’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d push them to use Droids On Roids because I’ve had a great experience. To get the most out of them, trust them. Don’t try to micromanage them because there’s no need for that. Allow them to think and push you back.

Allow them to tell you they don’t like the idea because they’re smart individuals. If they have an idea, don’t flex your muscles. Listen to what they say. That’s how you’re going to get the most out of them. I receive the most value from them by listening to them and not just talking.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work as an IT Project Manager in the software house.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Droids On Roids?

My client sought a partner, who specializes in mobile technology to extend their product portfolio.

What were your goals for this project?

The client needed the mobile SDKs (Android, iOS) as a part of a bigger solution developed within my team.

SOLUTION

How did you select Droids On Roids?

We did some cooperation earlier on.

Describe the project in detail.

The client needed the mobile SDKs (Android, iOS) as a part of a bigger solution developed within my team.

What was the team composition?

2 developers, 1 QA and Scrum Master

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The SDKs are not so spectacular to share, I guess, but jet those are well tested and ready to be used with the whole system.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had prepared already some data flow and internal architecture of the solution, but we'd lacked the mobile technologies part. The Droids on Roids performed scoping of the mobile part and supported us with their knowledge.

After the scoping and formal part, The Droids on Roids started the project from the kick-off meeting. We had an opportunity to get to know the partner's team and agree on the operational elements of the day-to-day cooperation. * The project management tools were Slack and Jira. * The framework was scrum/kanban. *

The change management notes and reports were kept in the shared spreadsheets. We had regular meetings and continuous communication. Droid's team proactively sought solutions. They were totally open to receiving feedback and eager to help.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The transparent communication and positive attitude along with the rapid progress of the work I find very positive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Apparently no.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a financial services startup in Pakistan. The company is about eight months old. We’re a purely branchless digital bank. We’re regulated as a financial institution in Pakistan as well as are connected to all the banks here and treated as a financial institution.

We also operate as an electronic money institute (EMI) so we’re technically not a bank. However, we appear to be a bank because clients have an account as well as a debit card they can use for e-commerce, ATM transactions, and POS transactions. Clients treat it like a bank account in terms of transferring money in and out of that account.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Droids On Roids?

We didn’t have any engineers when we first kicked off our startup so we wanted to build out an MVP demographically and then get our first product to market. We engaged with Droids On Roids to provide a team of engineers and QA that’d basically help us with that initial build while we built our internal engineering team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with Droids since our initial kickoff and build of our MVP. They’ve helped us develop the mobile side of our MVP. We worked with them as more of an augmented team so as we hired engineers, we had a mixed team of the Droids On Roids engineers and our internal engineers over time.

Over the last eight months, they’ve provided us with Android development, iOS development, and QA. Essentially, we have employed them to stay on at an hourly rate for team augmentation. The solution is a core banking application. Clients will onboard, do their know your customer (KYC), and prove their identity to allow us to meet our regulatory requirements for opening an account.

It also allows them to view their transaction history and balance, order a debit card, and control their card features for things like international transactions. Additionally, they can view their card number, change their pin number, and send money to other banks in Pakistan.

Basically, when a person signs up, they send us their ID card information, and we do our regulatory checks. We open the account with a digital virtual Mastercard, and they are able to order a physical debit card which we deliver to them. They’re able to manage all aspects of the parts of the account and the card usage.

What is the team composition?

It has varied over time. At one point, we had 10 people on their side and currently, we have five people. We have had up to three Android engineers. At one point, we had two iOS engineers and up to two QAs involved as well as a scrum master.

How did you come to work with Droids On Roids?

I had already been introduced to them a couple of years ago and had met with the team previously. I made a connection with them at a previous job. We didn’t end up using them at that time because of the time zone difference. Our startup reviewed them as part of a panel of outsourced providers.

We spoke to about 5–6 other outsourced providers around our needs and in the end, we decided to go with Droids On Roids partially because of the previous connection I had with them. I had already reviewed them quite thoroughly at my previous job. However, we also selected them because they have a good reputation including a high Clutch rating. Additionally, they seemed to have some good clients and a compatible way of working with the way we wanted to work.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve invested between $25,000–$35,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started around June 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have managed to maintain around a 90%-unit test coverage across the code. In general, the quality has been quite good and in part because they’ve implemented our engineering standards. The Droids On Roids team has come along on our engineering journey. Overall, we’ve been very happy with the quality of work and adherence to our engineering standards and culture. The engagement has been very good.

We’re still under our regulatory pilot with the state bank of Pakistan so we’re only allowed to onboard up to 1,000 users therefore, it’s a fairly small number at the moment. We’re hoping to graduate out of that pilot in a couple of months and at that point, we’ll start to ramp up the number of users. At the moment, we’re aiming for about one million users this year, but we are currently still in the launch phase.

How did Droids On Roids perform from a project management standpoint?

It has been a little bit different with our setup because we’re basically integrating them into the team as opposed to giving them specific tasks and deadlines. In general, the output has been good, and we’ve been happy with the team’s velocity. We’re also happy with the general work that has come out of the team. I’d rate it as being very good. We have daily stand-ups and other meetings that we involve them in. Our teams use our Jira to track the Kanban flows.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The communication and flexibility have been great. Droids On Roids is always keeping us up to date on any issues within the team or any upcoming risks that they see. They were able to come on the journey with us as we evolve our engineering culture. Their team came along on that and weren’t trying to enforce their ways of working on us. It’s all very collaborative, and they’ve collaborated very well with us as well as addressed all of our concerns quite quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. They’ve done a very good job so there isn’t anything I’d change there.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Providing a clear scope is always important. They do a good job but obviously the more clarity of scope you can give them, the more accurate they can be with estimates. In our case, we had a very loose scope which is partially why we went for more of a time and materials approach as opposed to fixed cost.

It was more from our side that we weren’t entirely sure of what we wanted to build. I’m sure from their side they could’ve happily done a more fixed scope if we had asked them to. They were quite flexible in working in a more agile model.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the lead software developer at a technology consulting organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Droids On Roids?

We hired Droids on Roids to cover the Android development of a recent mobile app project.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to complete an MVP of our app for an affordable cost so that we can start piloting the project to investigate usefulness among target users.

SOLUTION

How did you select Droids On Roids?

We found Droids on Roids here on Clutch and decided to go with them based on a number of factors. After reaching out to a number of different groups and getting initial quotes, we were impressed by the detailed questions Droids on Roids asked to help clarify the project, and how detailed their estimate was.

Some of the other groups we reached out to gave extremely broad ballparks without having a substantial understanding of our project. Another factor that influenced our decision was their affordable hourly rate, coupled with a focus on quality and testing.

Although Droids is less expensive than a lot of other groups, they have a significant focus on code quality, and we found their work to be excellent. Droids also has a great reputation online. They have a number of popular repositories on Github, and have a good presence on social media and other websites.

Describe the project in detail.

We developed an Android app that involved a significant amount of local file management. Our developer had never created an app that required so much file system management, but he learned quickly and was able to ask different people at the organization for help on some of the more difficult parts of the project.

What was the team composition?

The team was composed of myself (the project owner), a Scrum Master, an Android Developer, a QA Specialist, a UI Designer, and a Financial Specialist. The developer was full-time, and the designer was full time for the first half of the project. Other team members were working on other concurrent projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The MVP that we created works well, with few bugs and issues so far.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We met biweekly for Scrum meetings, and on the off weeks we met to look over the financial estimates as they changed throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Droids on Roids values excellence. The developer was a great critical thinker, the designer had a fantastic grasp on usability principles, and the QA specialist caught some very random, fringe bugs that many people would have missed.

If I ever suggested an idea that would end up compromising the quality of the app, the team held to their values of quality and usability while suggesting other options and paths we could take for my various suggestions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Due to the nature of our project, we went significantly over budget from the initial estimation. While this is not uncommon in software projects, it would have been helpful to have caught this a bit earlier on in the process so we could have pivoted earlier and reduced costs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Respondent 1: I’m the CEO and co-business owner with my business partner.
Respondent 2: I am the co-business partner and the CMO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Droids On Roids?

R1: We wanted to create an app that helps reduce the mental health stigma on teenagers who are going through difficult matters. Droids On Roids is developing the application for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

R1: The app is being developed for Android and iOS. The functionality of the app is to allow students to help other students. One aspect of it is peer-to-peer help for challenges that students have in their life. The app will allow teenagers to communicate with each other regarding challenges and also receive inspiration from each other through video messages. They will have access to mental health resources; by going to one of the pages on the app, they can dive deeper into a challenge or an issue that is troubling them. 

Users of the app will be able to get more information through our resource pages. At one particular stage, they will also get inspirational and motivational messages from public figures and celebrities. These individuals will offer kind messages or perhaps share a challenge that they have gone through themselves, which the students may be able to relate to.

What is the team composition?

R1: We are working with about 10 individuals altogether. We work with the owner separately, and we have extensively worked with a scrum master and designer. The designer is amazing, and her creative skills are really knocking it out of the park. We are just very impressed with her ability. 

Other people are working on the backend or on the Android mobile or iOS mobile. I believe they have a couple of people on the frontend and the admin panel. 

How did you come to work with Droids On Roids?

R1: A person we have been working with on web development for 8–10 years referred us to Droids On Roids. Another colleague of his had a connection to them, and that is how we got the introduction.

We did our own homework and interviewed several app developers to try and see who would best fit our needs, scope of work, and what we are trying to accomplish. When we interviewed the owner of Droids On Roids, we were quite impressed with his sense of professionalism, organization, clear thinking process, and strategic skillset. He was able to understand what we were trying to convey based on our research and the preliminary scope designs that we did, and he responded accordingly. He just understood what we were trying to accomplish and gave us next-level advice.

We went through several weeks of interviews with the owner, and we also went back and forth with developers from Droids On Roids. Based on that active dialogue, as well as the company’s credibility with all of the apps that they have developed, we were quite impressed and felt good about them. We were pretty much sold after those interviews.

What is the status of this engagement?

R2: The project started in September 2020, and it is ongoing. Our goal is to continue with them on the next phases of the app as various funding comes in.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

R1: The app is going to go through a soft launch in January, so it’s not out to the public yet. Phase one of development will end on December 30th. We are doing our Google and Apple Store applications, and we are hopeful that we will have the app available to a targeted group within Orange County to test it out.

How did Droids On Roids perform from a project management standpoint?

R2: We have been very impressed with Droids On Roids. They’re very organized. From a communication standpoint, we are very pleased. They have several communication methods established and setup. We are based in the US and they are based in Poland. We use Slack as a communication tool, and the developers can ask us questions on specific task items. We go through the project’s tasks once a day, and we can see each other’s feedback. Everyone is constantly communicating and understanding each other. We are impressed with this communication method, as it ensures that everybody knows what each side is doing.

There is another system that they work on internally called Jira, and this is more on the technology side. We are notified of these communications between them, and we can see some of the details of the different tasks that they are all working on. We like that methodology; even though it is more for them, we are notified and can chime in at any time if we have questions.

We have a bi-weekly team meeting, which includes all of their team and us. The meeting lasts a couple of hours, during which time they present to us, and we have the chance to respond accordingly and ask questions. That is a good time for us to get updates on what they have been doing and the development of the app. It is very cool to see their progress. They have been very cordial; if we ever want to have additional meetings, they have encouraged us to schedule those. We have taken that opportunity and scheduled meetings with specific team members, such as the graphic designer or someone working on the frontend.

We are about to start beta testing, and we are very excited about that. From that standpoint, and everything that we are doing, I feel very good about the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

R2: I’ve been most impressed by their organization. Their open communication policy is noteworthy, as is their willingness to work with us and implement our vision accordingly without leading us astray or going down a different path. They really want to see our vision come to life, and they’ve not only been accommodating but also encouraging.

R1: I would agree. We worked with lots of people in our careers. Some vendors, especially in the technology field, try to get you to go their way or push their agenda. What’s nice about Droids On Roids is that they haven’t done that at all with us. 

We were very clear as to what we wanted to get accomplished, and they helped us define it further. They were really affirming in helping us to make sure we got our vision clearly developed within the technology of the app. 

Their communication is very clear, and they are very accommodating. They are a very easy company to work with. I highly recommend them to anyone out there looking to develop an app. They are a very good organization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

R2: Even if they were not based where they are, I think things sometimes fall through the cracks. There is occasionally a little communication gap. We are pretty efficient about sealing those cracks and trying not to let those things happen again, but I would say that the only shortcoming we have both experienced are communication misunderstandings and errors here and there.

R1: This is a learning process for us as well. In my experience, I have worked on developing databases, but this is the first time I have worked on developing an app. Even though the technology is similar in some ways, it is also very different in many regards.

From a communication standpoint, it would be helpful to get a clear understanding of the technical language. For example, the designer is very good, and she has grasped everything we said. However, there are some times a developer or two to whom we have to reiterate things on Slack. The good news is that once we get it reiterated, it’s finished. 

There has never been anything that concerned us or that was disconcerting in terms of cost. It has just been minor stuff. As you grow with any team, you experience growing pains in the beginning. However, we got through that. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

R1: I’d recommend getting your scope of work down right out of the gate. Write it down rather than just talking about it. It is always best to make sure you know what you want. To be fair to the developer, you need to be clear. They’re very organized, so if you are, too, it’ll be a match.

Fortunately for us, we are very organized; we had our scope defined, and it was great right off the gate. We worked on the scope and then applied it to their systems and their procedures, and we were able to get that match pretty much from the get-go. 

R2: Just go in prepped, and you’ll be good to go. They are great with their guidance, so I think that being prepped as much as you can ahead of time only enhances your experience with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I have the role of Product Owner in one of the largest construction companies in Scandinavia

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Droids On Roids, and what were your goals?

We needed to build an application that would be cross platform (Android & iOS), as well as a webapp. The system would integrate with the legacy systems in our company

SOLUTION

How did you select Droids On Roids and what were the deciding factors?

We compared 12 companies in several countries and assessed their Agile maturity. Droids on Roids was one of the two companies that came out on top, and then the cost was the deciding factor.

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

First the system was designed with a UX desginer and iterated with users and stakeholders. Then the mobile application was developed using Flutter and the webapp using React, with Node.js as backend.

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

6 people in total:

• 2 designers
• 2 fullstack developers
• 2 mobile developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was a success and the users are praising it for its usability and functionality. Thanks to the agile methodology we could launch fast and build features after getting user feedback.

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

The tools used were Slack and Jira and scrum/kanban as methodologies. Timelines were kept.

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

I would say the flexibility and customer focus. The developers are highly skilled and motivated, with a personal and transparent comuncation style.

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

Due to time constrains outside contractors had to be brought in that did not always measure up to the standards of the in-house staff.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Bergmann Engineering, an engineering company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Droids On Roids?

I needed someone to develop a mobile app for one of my customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Droids On Roids developed a mobile app for Android and iOS. It was dedicated to my employees and employees of VW in Poland. It was for 9,000 people.

What is the team composition?

There were 10–15 teammates working on the project, including developers, scrum masters, and product leads.

How did you come to work with Droids On Roids?

I read about them in the newspaper, and it said that they were good at building high-quality mobile apps.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–July 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Droids On Roids did a good job, and it was a successful project for me and the customer.

How did Droids On Roids perform from a project management standpoint?

They met the milestones and stuck to the budget. I can’t say much about the process because I wasn’t deeply involved in it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team was well prepared. Before starting the project, we had a workshop and we clarified our goals and what we wanted to achieve. When everybody agreed, we went forward with the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any negative comments about them. Their prices were quite high, but they delivered good value that fit the price.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In the beginning, you need to share your expectations and goals, and Droids On Roids will achieve more.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company – Lamah Technologies – is one of the biggest businesses developing digital software and technical solutions in Libya, with a focus on changing local citizens' lives for the better. Our main projects include digital applications that directly serve the public needs in our society.

Tam app is one of our major projects and was designed to ensure the 24-hour-per-day on-demand connection between riders and drivers on both Android and iOS in Libya.

I hold the position of CTO in this company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with the vendor?

We needed a mobile app development company with top market knowledge and experience to design and develop Tam – a complex app for Libya, which would respond to many problems, like food delivery, car sharing and e-wallet, etc.. More specifically, we needed:

an app for clients,

an app for drivers,

an app for restaurants,

an app for couriers,

e-wallet app,

other similar.

Tam should ensure a 24-hour-per-day on-demand connection between clients and mentioned services on both Android and iOS platforms.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started our cooperation with a 3-day Product Design Workshop to clarify the app’s idea and get ready for development, which took place in July 2019. 

Droids On Roids’ team is responsible for UX/UI design, iOS app development, Android app development, Backend and Frontend development, and ensuring Quality Assurance.

The first component of Tam app will work in a very similar way as Uber do. The general app logic is as follows:

1. Request. The customer requests a car via the app. The request is sent to nearby drivers.

2. Matching. The driver may either accept or reject the ride.

3: Ride. The customer tracks the driver's location and sees the estimated time of his arrival.

4: Price. The app provides the price based on the length of the trip. The passenger pays the driver in cash.

5. Rating. The client gives a score for a driver.

Importantly, since the application will be used in Libya, the clients can indicate whether they want to ride with male and/or female drivers. The driver makes a similar choice.

Ultimately, the application also has a lot of offline functionality. Internet access is only required during route mapping and rerouting, as it is necessary to download traffic information. Tam app should utilize the internet as little as possible, to ease consumption,, so the whole map of Libya will be stitched in the application on the local server.

It is also important for me that the application should be resistant to potential failures and accidents - if the driver's phone turns off then, after turning it on again, we should recover the ride and its data.

Basic features of the app for customers include: Geolocation and routing, Registration and personal data management, calling or texting the driver right from the app, Push notifications, Ride cost & time estimation, and more.

Basic features of the app for drivers include: Driver reports, Advanced route optimization, Calling a passenger from the app, Calling an emergency number, Client - driver matching, Waiting for new orders / Occupied option, and more. Additionally, drivers can choose if they are available for only short rides, or long ones (between cities).

What is the team composition?

The development team consisted of 1 Scrum Master, 1 UX/UI designer, 2-4 Android developers, 2-3 iOS developers, 2 QA engineers, 3-4 Backend developers and 2 Frontend developers. I appreciate their team’s flexibility – the team’s size was adjusted according to the project’s needs.

How did you come to work with the vendor?

We found Droids On Roids through Clutch. They gained our general interest through their high ratings and positive reviews so we decided to meet with them in person.

We perceive their location in Poland as an advantage, because we have good air connections with their city. We were also impressed by their portfolio and extensive experience.

The overall impression we had after meeting Droids On Roids and analyzing their offer was unbeatable and we decided to entrust our core projects into their hands.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $300,000 so far, but the whole project is estimated at $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are going to continue developing the product and deliver next components.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app development is in progress, so the apps are not released. We are pleased with what we have already developed together. The code is of the highest quality and the implemented features meet our expectations. Working in Scrum facilitates ongoing progress monitoring.

We have already received the beta version of the application for drivers and we are now testing it internally in our company.

How did the vendor perform from a project management standpoint?

Outstanding. We are very satisfied with their project management capabilities, which made our app development smooth and efficient.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate the communicative collaboration among their team - and with us - on a personal level.

What’s more, I highly value their astounding organizational skills and scheduling abilities. Time is high of the essence to them. They are very efficient and punctual with deadlines.

They are also experts in project management tools. Droids on Roids generously provided advice, suggestions and expertise in their field of work for the benefit of our project, assuring us that it would not only be executed but also further developed and improved.

As an example, it turned out that we have a problem with navigation and the developers quickly discovered that the reason lies in the incorrectly tagged streets in Libya. With this knowledge, we can look for a solution and move forward. This proactive approach is one of their main strengths.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Our experience with them so far is very satisfying.