Flatstack

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of Nicely, a social media app.

For what projects/services did your company hire Flatstack?

My most recent engagement with Flatstack revolved around iOS mobile app development.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a speedy implementation of our app designs. We also wanted to collaborate with the backend specialists and the design team.

How did you select this vendor?

Flatstack was a referral from a local mobile app developer. After interviewing the company, I decided to give them a try, and they have been our frontend iOS partner ever since.

Describe the project in detail.

Typically, we make design changes to our app and involve our team in Belgium to work out the API endpoints. Then, we provide Flatstack team with this information and they implement it in iOS.

What was the team composition?

They’ve provided a project manager and a team of frontend developers who know the project well.

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

We have worked with Flatstack to bring several successful prototypes to market. Since we are working on a consumer app, the end goal is somewhat vague and requires frequent iterations to find a product-market fit. The team is flexible and works with us as we change direction every couple of months.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow is really good. We provide the designs, the team reviews them, and then they outline for us what they need from our Belgium team. They maintain frequent communication, keeping us posted daily on their progress and any issues we need to address.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Frontend development and communication are both strengths for Flatstack. Communication happens daily via email and Slack to raise issues that require urgent resolution from us or our Belgian team. 

They perform good quality development quickly. As always, there are little bugs, but those are usually resolved speedily. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

Honestly, I can't think of any improvements. I can't imagine a better frontend outsourcing experience. I will continue to use Flatstack until I am ready to onshore the project.

Could you briefly describe your organization?

Basically, businesses will offer promotions and incentives for the express benefit of helping local charities. We take local promotions, which might be 50 percent off of a given product, or it might be a discounted service, and we turn that into a fundraiser for local charities to help support their causes.

You’re the founder, correct?

Yes. I am.

Could you describe the business challenges that you were attempting to address when you first approached FlatStack?

Specifically, finding a developer that we could trust, that would deliver on time, do exactly what they said they were going to do, and be fully transparent. It was an incredibly difficult challenge.

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

They basically built our entire site for us. Early on, we approached it from a couple of different angles. Our relationship with them has been more like collaboration than a strictly defined delegation of work. We’ll typically provide the mockups and designs, and then they’ll build them out. We also ask for their input a lot of times because we know we have a limited and rather biased perspective. They’ve given us some extremely valuable feedback in the past.

Sometimes, they’ll put together some wireframes for us, and they’ll build out accordingly. When it comes to hosting, we’ve got a separate company.

How did you select FlatStack as your solution partner?

We were really trying to find a local provider. I didn’t even know that there was an opportunity to work with a company like FlatStack. I had had some negative experiences with developers down here in south Florida, and it led to this very long, exhaustive search, to be honest with you.

One of our partners in the Washington, D.C. area had done a lot of vendor research for us. Another firm he contacted said they were too busy, but they recommended FlatStack. They came very highly recommended. I had a conference call with them, and I could tell that they had their act together. They really knew their stuff, and I liked them. It’s been a great relationship ever since.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this engagement?

It cost us north of $50,000.

When was this project completed?

It’s very much an ongoing relationship. We actually just engaged them for a new round of work that’ll be completed by next Friday [October of 2014]. For the most part, the website is done. But, we’ve had a few focus groups lately, so we’re in the process of incorporating their feedback into the site.

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

I don’t have any real figures or metrics, other than feedback we’ve gotten from end-users. We haven’t really rolled out the site yet. This is all with the beta testing for the last six months or so. But, I would say overall, even in our focus groups, what they do love about the site is that it’s very clean, very functional, and very user friendly. I do believe that the developers played a big role in that. Certainly, we came up with the design, but they really had a lot of input. They gave us feedback from a user interface and user experience standpoint. They really stepped up and did a great job on that front. From a project management perspective, they’ve also been great. The code they deliver is always clean and viable. They spend a good amount of time testing it before we deploy, which is great. They’re also great about keeping up with deadlines and staying within the specified scope.

When working with FlatStack, is there anything you’d consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

I guess it’s hard to say, because I don’t have the context of what other vendors are doing out there other than the one that we had a while back. I don’t know if that would be a fair comparison because it’s almost like comparing an amateur with a professional. These guys are very prepared. What I like about them is that they’ll walk you through their entire process. We’ll typically chat through Skype during the course of the day or as needed. We work through Basecamp and Trello, and I think they do a great job of taking our project and mockups, and dissecting it down into tasks on Trello.

They’ve also come up with some great questions. They really do think it through a few levels beyond what we did. I’m still amazed sometimes at the questions they’ve posed. They think of things that we didn’t anticipate because it’s really outside our area of expertise. I like that they take real ownership of the project. It shows that they care about the work and us.

When we were initially considering them, we thought it would be tough because they’re overseas. But, I think having a project manager here as an anchor helps out tremendously. You always have an advocate here as well as there. They’ve done a fantastic job of mitigating the actual distance.

There were a few instances in which I had a project demo the very next day. It was midnight or one in the morning Russia time, and they’re still on Skype, asking me questions, making sure they were ready for the demo. I received messages from the project manager at three o’clock in the morning wishing me good luck on it. I’ve not had that experience with any providers based here in the U.S. My hat goes off to them because that’s a level of service and commitment I just haven’t gotten before.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think FlatStack could improve as a service provider?

In an ideal world, I’d be able to sit down with them face-to-face and discuss the project. That just isn’t a reality beyond going there or the interactions between their localized project managers and myself. That’s just the nature of offshoring your development. Outside of that, there isn’t really anything more I could want. We’ve been very pleased.

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I’m a Web consultant by trade, and I have an app that is a turn-by-turn guide for outdoor trails frequented by mountain bikers and hikers. The app provides the user with detailed audio directions, and the ability to record your own trails, so that the user can share them with others.

What is your position?

I’m the owner and founder.

Could you describe the business challenges that you were attempting to address when you first approached FlatStack?

It was purely a timing issue. I couldn’t quite develop and earn enough money doing both at the same time. I was basically looking for a partner that could assume responsibility for frontend development. I already had it spec’d out and visually designed, so I needed someone to build the front end, as well as the backend in an iOS app. I needed to do it relatively inexpensively; I was looking for a hybrid firm that had both a U.S. and offshore presence. I needed someone with experience using geo features on iOS as well as Postgres. They had built another app called Road Trippers, which utilized some of the same tools and offered similar architecture. In fact, that particular application was a big selling point when I was first evaluating their capabilities and previous work.

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

Custom native development using iOS was their primary role. I was also beginning to consider Ruby on Rails, but wasn’t I predisposed to it. Postgres development and configuration was the other important component. They also implemented Bootstrap as our UI [user interface] framework. I came to the table with a decent spec document, as well as full visual design concepts and some wireframes. I performed none of the front-end design and architecture myself. They were the ones taking care of the technical build. 

How did you select FlatStack as your partner for this project?

We looked at several different types of vendors. Some were local, some were offshore. I reached out to a handful of companies; FlatStack included, and so I submitted our statement of work. The proposals I received were impressive, but FlatStack already had experience working with geo-type mobile apps. We knew we were doing something similar, so it made sense to go with them.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this project?

We’ve probably spent somewhere around $30,000.

When was this project completed?

Our relationship is still very much ongoing. 

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback you’ve received that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

It’s probably a little premature to assess their performance by pure metrics. In an anecdotal sense, there have been relatively few bugs in comparison to many vendors I’ve worked with in the past. I have a lot of free time to test the trails on the weekend, so it’s important to have a stable app by Friday. In all cases except one, in the past two and half months, I haven’t had issues with the app. That one time I did, they actually came in on Saturday to knock it out. Their quality has been extremely solid. They’re using one of the testing frameworks on Rails for all the components, so it’s kind of a test-driven development model. That’s definitely added considerable value to their deliverables. We’ve used Pivotal Tracker to manage the stories and features, and the sprints, and they would use BaseCamp for longer discussions. They’ve been very responsive.

When working with FlatStack, is there anything you’d consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

Their sales approach is really unique. They give you a 20-hour tester project. In that first 20 hours they were able to prototype the whole recording piece of the iOS app, which definitely sealed the deal in terms of me selecting them. After working with them, one of the differentiators is that they’ve worked with quite a few startups. They know the right tool to pick in the right circumstances. They’re not about building things to specs in a literal sense. I think they’re consciously thinking about ways to improve a feature, or redesign a feature, if it doesn’t make sense for them or the integrity of the end product.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think FlatStack could improve as a service provider?

For me, working in the agile mode, it’s always tricky to get the right scope for each individual sprint. Once you get a lot of features spec’d out, the list gets really long. I can carry some of the blame for not actively managing those project items, but I think they could have improved the process by doing a more formal review of the features they’re putting into each sprint.