Custom Software Development for Playground Company
- Cloud Consulting & SI Other IT Consulting and SI
- $50,000 to $199,999
- July 2020 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 5.0
- Schedule
- 5.0
- Cost
- 5.0
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
"The Flint Hills Group team is very friendy, and they're a great company."
- IT Services
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- 1-10 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
Flint Hills Group is developing a cloud-based inspection software for a playground company. The services include the software structure design and testing, and adding new features.
The software is in the final stages of development, but it allows the client to receive feedback from their customers and inspectors. In addition, the stakeholder’s clients are able to log in and see their inspections, reports, and properties. The workflow has increased significantly.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the head of the Texas division at a company called ParkPro Tek. We do cloud-based playground and park inspections as well as minor maintenance.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Flint Hills Group?
We wanted to create an inspection software that hadn’t been used in the market before. It was completely customized for playground inspections.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
Flint Hills Group has developed our inspection software from scratch. The technology they used is cloud-based, including the customer login and inspection. Once our inspection was completed, it would be saved into the cloud for the clients to go ahead, review, and use it.
The first phase of the development process was to sit down with Dave (Founder) and his software team. We ran through how we wanted the software to look and what we expected. The following phases were about the general structure of the software and how it was going to be laid out. In the second phase, they sent us what they designed and created for the software.
The third phase was about the software deployment. We tested the software out in the field as Flint Hills Group was working on it as well. That integration was one of the larger phases that made our software move quicker. If we found a problem, their team would fix it immediately.
Flint Hills Groups is working on the fourth phase of the development process. They’re adding the changes we want to add and supporting us when we have any issues.
What is the team composition?
At one point, there were five people from Flint Hills Group working on our project, but currently, there are four. We’ve been working with Dave; one project manager, Monte (Technology Leader); and two software developers.
How did you come to work with Flint Hills Group?
We were searching on Google for US-based software companies because we wanted someone who would have the same time zone as us. A lot of the companies we found had software teams all over the world, so we decided to call Flint Hills Group.
Flint Hills Group was open and ready to help us. They were able to scale whatever we wanted and schedule everything we needed. If we wanted to make the project larger and quicker, Flint Hills Group was able to assign us 5–6 software developers. We liked their scalability, the ability they offered, and the way they had set it up. The experience of the software development and design teams were a huge plus, as well.
How much have you invested with them?
We have spent around $100,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with Flint Hills Group in July 2019, and the project is ongoing.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We were using a software called Pexpect that structured questions and gave us an answer at the end of it. It was very basic, and we couldn’t do anything. On the other hand, with the software that Flint Hills Group has implemented, we’re able to get feedback not only from our clients, but also from our inspectors.
We’ve started to partner up with other playground companies that have been using our services and asking for our help in regards to playground inspections and the software we offer. That has helped our business tremendously.
We’ve also started allowing client logins, which has been an absolute blessing for us because they’ve been more communicative. Our clients have all their inspections in their hands on a daily basis, and they’re able to log in and view all their reports and properties. Our workflow has increased significantly.
How did Flint Hills Group perform from a project management standpoint?
Flint Hills Group has performed wonderfully. We communicate remotely through Zoom and phone calls. We also have a Slack channel where we can talk daily. That’s one of the most beneficial aspects because they’re there all the time.
We’ve done weekly scrum calls where we go into detail on our vision for the software, what we want, and how we want it. As a result, Flint Hills Group tells us what we get from the previous meeting, where the software is, and where we want to go from there.
Every Thursday, they meet privately. If there are any questions in between, they constantly are sending us information to ensure that we’re all on the same page. The items have been delivered to us every single Monday, whether sending screenshots with the software structure design or adding new inventory sections onto it. If Flint Hills Group can’t deliver something, they come to us with a plan of action to go ahead and get that moving by the following week. It has been very prompt, and we’re constantly in touch regarding the project management.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The Flint Hills Group team is extremely communicative, and they’re always available to answer our questions or handle an issue almost immediately to ensure that we’re never left hanging. That’s one of the aspects we appreciate about them.
The ability to contact Flint Hills Group at any time, knowing that they’re in the same time zone as us, is a major plus. That puts them above the others and makes them unique in their own terms.
We’ve ran into a few issues when we’ve deployed our older updates onto the programs that we couldn’t have because there are inspectors out in the field doing inspections and maintenance. Flint Hills Group has immediately stopped what they’re doing and has added the updates while my employees have been working on the playgrounds. They’ve fixed the problems before the employees have left the property.
Flint Hills Group’s previous experience gives us a lot of hope. They’ve run other software companies, know what they’re doing, and are able to provide us what we need.
Flint Hills Group is very friendly. It seems like we’re working with friends and not business partners, so it gives us the feeling that we can rely on them. We’ve enjoyed our meetings and the contact we have with the team.
Are there any areas they could improve?
From a development standpoint, it couldn’t have gone better. We’ve worked with a lot of companies that have done construction management and these developments on larger projects. Flint Hills Groups has blown it out of the park in terms of scheduling, prioritizing, and putting it all together with a good design. We’ve always felt we were heading in the right direction.
I can’t see anything that I can ask Flint Hills Group to improve. They’ve been constantly in contact with us. We’ve never felt on the wayside because if there’s an issue, they respond and find different solutions for it.
Any advice for potential customers?
If other people are planning to work with Flint Hills Group, I recommend that they don't be afraid to contact them and communicate the problems they have. The Flint Hills Group team is very friendly, and they’re a great company. They’re a family-oriented group of people, and they want your best interests.
I know a lot of people who stay silent on certain worries because they don’t want to create a problem. However, Flint Hills Group will fix and address any issues they have, going above and beyond to make everything better than people can describe it.
RATINGS
-
Quality
5.0Service & Deliverables
-
Schedule
5.0On time / deadlines
-
Cost
5.0Value / within estimates
"They did things that weren’t on our list, but made the program work better. We didn’t pay an extra dollar on those deliverables."
-
Willing to Refer
5.0NPS