Foresight Mobile

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Prax.

What challenge were you trying to address with Foresight Mobile?

We’re building a mobile app and web portal where users can indicate their interests and find writing, creation, and meditation prompts. I developed the backend but hired Foresight Mobile to build the frontend as quickly as possible. We want to launch the app quickly in order to get user feedback.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged with Foresight Mobile after completing a full design sprint. We had finished about 80% of the design, so when we got in touch with Foresight Mobile, we simply talked through the designs with them. Then they turned them into a user story map.

From there, we defined the scope, identified the features we were looking to build and created a roadmap for the project. After we prioritized the features, they created a UX/UI design. Within the first few days of our engagement, they started building the app on Flutter.

What is the team composition?

Gareth (Director) has helped with user stories and scoping the project. Additionally, there is one senior developer and two junior developers working on the project.

How did you come to work with Foresight Mobile?

I posted what we were looking to do in a Flutter Slack channel. Dave (Business Development Manager) reached out to me, so I spoke with him and Gareth later that day. I had conducted 5–6 interviews with other providers already, but Foresight Mobile clearly understood what we were looking for and was excited about the project. They had worked on a similar project in the past, which inspired a lot of confidence. I immediately knew I wanted to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $25,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since March 2021 and the project is ongoing.

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

They’ve delivered our high-priority and medium-priority items. We can safely say that we have a really strong foundation for our app. It’s really pretty, but we’re still building out new features and creating future user roadmaps.

How did Foresight Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

We have daily stand-ups on Google Meet, and we meet with them weekly to go over their progress and provide feedback. Every week, we define our sprints by how many tickets there are on GitHub and how much time we think it will take to complete each ticket. Their time estimates have been pretty spot on. Every week, we create a Kanban board to determine what we’re working on that week.

We’ve worked with dev shops before, and usually, they rely on us to manage the project. Fortunately, Gareth manages each of the developers and distributes responsibility. They’ve been organized and have created realistic timelines for the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re more thoughtful than any other development team I’ve worked with. They clearly understand who we’re targeting and what our expectations are. When we show them a design, they think critically about what we need and ask us questions before they begin to execute. We definitely trust them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m not sure what they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come in with completed designs and a plan for what you want to accomplish. You’ll be able to collaborate with them on creating a project roadmap, but the more defined your feature set is, the better.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the software development manager at Ditto Sustainability. We’re a sustainability consultancy with a software platform that helps organizations manage their sustainability commitments.

What challenge were you trying to address with Foresight Mobile?

We have our own RIA (rich internet application) web application that we built ourselves. We needed a cut-down mobile app version of that. We didn’t have the specialisms within the company to build the mobile app, so we contacted Foresight.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Foresight Mobile developed our mobile app using Google Flutter. They did some design work as well.

The mobile app features a subset of our full web app’s features. Foresight implemented four main features in the mobile app, whereas the web app has about two dozen features. Over time, we’re hoping to increase the mobile app’s features with the help of Foresight.

What is the team composition?

Our main contact is the founder Gareth (Director). We’ve also worked with a senior developer who does a lot of the work for us. Then, there’s a junior developer who has pitched in recently.

How did you come to work with Foresight Mobile?

We requested quotes from six companies. I believe I found Foresight through a Google search, and the way that they went about the quote process was the most engaging. They were very keen to understand the application and get a depth of knowledge of what we were trying to do. 

They also established a personable connection; of all the people I spoke to, it was clear it would be easy to work with Foresight on a day-to-day basis because they were pleasant to talk to. I could tell they were inquisitive and smart people. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $30,000–$36,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in September 2020, and the app launched at the end of that November. The first version of the app is in the Apple Store and on Google Play. Now, we’re looking to increment the versions and add to the app. 

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

We’re a small team of 12, and each of them has provided their feedback to me on Foresight Mobile’s work. That feedback has formed my opinion on the success or failure of the work done. 

How did Foresight Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, it’s been good. It took both sides a bit of time to find the right way of working; they’re also a small team. If I’m not available, there can be backlogs, but that’s on our side rather than theirs. They’ve been flexible. 

One key thing is that the founder Gareth is always available. We also set up a shared Slack channel, so that our developers could speak directly to their developers. Having the Slack channel is key because it means that there have rarely been occasions when any stoppages caused significant delays to delivery.

Slack was our main channel for communication. We also had calls over Microsoft Teams at least once a week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Foresight’s flexibility sets them apart. They were able to mold their approach to this project.

Their personability, approachability, and determination to make this work were also notable. It was clear that this wasn’t just a transactional process to them; rather, they were keen to make it work and ensure we were happy with it. Every issue that was raised was dealt with, with high priority. There was a high level of care with the work that they did.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a phase when work came back to us without undergoing first-level testing, which meant that I was operating as a QA. That wasn’t ideal. We had to arrange the best way forward between us, but they did iron it out toward the end. That’s one of the drawbacks of being a small company, and it’s an issue for us as well. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Establish a Slack channel for ease of communication. Also, book regular meetings; they have an online booking tool, which makes it very easy to connect with Gareth.

Otherwise, all of the guidance will come from Foresight. They’re very good at taking companies who are new to this area of development and guiding them through, such as by advising best practices and the best technologies to use. I’d advise potential clients to trust Foresight to guide them through the process.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Frederick Drapkin, Founder & CEO of Tenner. We're building novel and exciting in-game mobile experiences for fans watching live sports. Having proven the concept with sports, we plan to launch Tenner games for a host of other live content, such as The Oscars, Election Night, Love Island etc.

For what projects/services did your company hire Foresight Mobile?

Tenner wanted to develop a free to use, real-time sports prediction game. The first version of the app is a set of predictions users make about an upcoming sports match, but we will then move on to building a real-time version that users play simultaneous to watching live sport.

What were your goals for this project?

What was needed was a fast, simple and slick app that allowed users to predict specific outcomes within sporting events – such as the number of yellow cards issued in a match. As well as actually building mobile app we had designed, we needed advice on the user sign up process and journey, how to manage games and users on the back end, and other practical things like the App Store release process.

How did you select this vendor?

Highly relevant experience, and price. Gareth has decades of experience setting up and managing tech teams, but also has specific experience in social mobile games, which is a great fit for Tenner. After a few discussions, it seemed like something we both wanted to progress with, the price was very competitive and there was availability to start the project quickly.

Describe the project in detail.

The project started in August with basic wireframes to create an MVP. During the building process, we were in touch via Slack on a daily basis and bounced ideas and questions off each other. Within a few iterations, the wireframe for the MVP had grown to around 50 screens (many more than we started with)!

Foresight have helped with a number of questions I had such as multi language versions and release strategy, so as well as problem solving, there’s an element of consultancy as well. We launched the app simultaneously on both iOS and Android in January. The code was actually completed some months earlier, but we delayed release for strategic reasons.

We're currently building the second version of Tenner, which will allow users to make predictions in real time, alongside a live sporting event, so there are some interesting problems to overcome, such as a delay in reporting a goal due to the video referee’s decision.

What was the team composition?

Gareth and Jack were involved on the coding side of the project. Both have helped with consultancy and advice, as well as programming.

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

We released on both iOS and Android, which is a major milestone for the company. On the back of this, we were able to close our second round of funding, which we certainly would not have been able to do without progression on the tech side.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

While we are building we talk pretty much every day on Slack, and have a catch up call once or twice a week to go over specific details. The workflow has been incredibly effective, and the team are highly responsive to requests and changes that we would like.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team has delivered exactly what we asked for but is able to use their own skill and judgment to make improvements. This means the app has been built both quickly and to a very high quality.

Where stylistic input is required we have a conversation, but where technical improvements can be made, such a screen size optimisation or back end systems, Foresight have gone ahead and made those changes to great effect. It leaves me feeling confident they will deliver on exactly what I've asked for, but make the product better where possible!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything ran very smoothly! I hope Foresight continue to have availability to work on Tenner going forwards! 

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide clothing maintenance services, products and advice to customers globally. I am the Founder and CEO

For what projects/services did your company hire Foresight Mobile?

We had hired a small agency to complete our initial website for but this was currently way behind schedule for delivery. Foresight came on board to take the website over the finish line and ensure a quality delivery from the original agency. Subsequent to finishing the website we used Foresight to manage our offshore developers and to develop our bespoke order management system.

What were your goals for this project?

We initially needed an MVP website to validate our business ideas and experiment with updates to increase sales performance. The MVP website produced basic email orders however, which couldn’t scale with the business.

As a result Foresight designed and produced a bespoke order management platform based on the Vaadin platform, which accepted orders from various sources and organised the process right through to reporting.

How did you select this vendor?

We were impressed with the turnaround time getting the original agency into shape and felt that Foresight had a wealth of technical experience that we could make great use of going forward.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Foresight Mobile both managed our offshore web developers and developed a bespoke order management system in-house. The order management system manages many aspects of the business including marketing automation, order management, fulfilment, reporting and customer relationships.

What was the team composition?

Gareth (CTO, Foresight Mobile) worked great as an extended member of our London-based team, heading up all the technical aspects of the business and leading his in-house developers. It’s been helpful to have the comfort of a permanent point of contact while also having the capability to scale-up the team during periods where we’ve needed more development time.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Given the complexity of the order management system we have in place it’s been impressive how little ongoing support we’ve required from the team at Foresight. They did a great job of understanding our requirements at various points in the project, which has resulted in a system that’s fit for purpose and a joy to use.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Before development spikes we have had helpful planning sessions and collaborate on designs and features. During the development process we have had full access to Foresight’s GitHub account, which is really helpful for transparency and structured communication.

Their Kanban board was easy to get to grips with and I could see progress on a daily basis, as well as discuss features with the developers directly. We use Slack for general communication throughout the organisation and Foresight’s team have been helpful and responsive throughout.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Compared to the previous agency, Foresight were much easier to communicate with. We had a strong cultural alignment and bounced ideas off one another during our ideation phase. Their development process is very collaborative and transparent, so I always felt in control of direction and spend.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There’s nothing I can think of to highlight at the moment. Our relationship has been very good so far, and we hope to continue moving forward with them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the lead producer at EA Chillingo, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts publishing third-party mobile content from independent developers. I oversee all aspects of all our projects including our vendor relationships.

For what projects/services did your company hire Foresight Mobile?

We have an existing legal compliance SDK in our mobile games, which ensures legal compliance for millions of users of all ages across the globe. As the laws and restrictions differ throughout the world, this is a surprisingly complicated undertaking and requires constant maintenance as laws change. We also have an existing bespoke financial and back-office platform that needs to be maintained.

What were your goals for this project?

We need exceptional uptime for the backend systems and good turnaround times for our SDK updates.

How did you select this vendor?

Foresight Mobile had great experience in the technical areas we needed, despite the disparate requirements. We also had an existing relationship with the founder from previous engagements.

Describe the project in detail.

Foresight provides ongoing maintenance and support to our legal compliance system, which comprises of multiple SDKs supporting Android, iOS, Unity and Adobe AIR. These SDKs are supported by a Kubernetes backend running on Google Cloud Platform. They also maintain and support our bespoke financial tracking system, which was developed using Vaadin and Java.

What was the team composition?

Gareth (Director, Foresight Mobile) has been the sole point of contact for the project and has always been very responsive. We know that he has resources to scale up development if required, but so far we’ve had an ongoing requirement for a single developer.

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

The legal compliance SDK has been used by millions of customers and so far we’ve not had any complaints regarding performance. Operation within China behind the GFW has been somewhat challenging, but Gareth and his team have provided innovative and straightforward solutions to these difficulties that have had a real impact on the success of the games.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our communication is generally email and Skype-based. Overall I’ve been impressed with the timeliness of responses from the team and we’ve worked together to discuss challenges and solutions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I’ve been really impressed by the breadth of knowledge within Foresight, both regarding mobile software development and cloud devops. Their solutions to the infrastructure and access problems in China were impressive and measurable, and we’ve had great success so far. Considering the scope of the project the maintenance has been very cost-effective.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I wish I could add something here, but any bumps we experienced were always worked out.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a software product manager at SeeChange Technologies, an AI startup developing solutions for large domestic retailers like Walmart and Sainsbury’s.

What challenge were you trying to address with Foresight Mobile?

We needed their team's development expertise.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Foresight Mobile fully developed our mobile and web applications, which we use to display metrics and information collated through our internal systems. We kicked off our engagement with a discovery phase, wherein we related our requirements to Gareth (CTO). We specifically wanted Foresight Mobile's resources to work with our in-house team to maximize our efforts, so the engagement centered more on staff augmentation.

Gareth then provided us with a team composition and timeline estimates based on our development needs. Their assigned resources utilized Flutter and a PostgreSQL database to build our apps and referred to our data repositories and UX preferences as they designed the platforms. They also did API integration and set up our analytics dashboard to complete our custom BI tool.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Gareth and two senior developers.

How did you come to work with Foresight Mobile?

We found Foresight Mobile online and got convinced that they had the expertise we needed when we saw their experience in using Flutter technology. They also turned out to have the most flexible skill set among their competitors.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent £100,000 (approximately $144,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from July 2020–June 2021.

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

I don't have quantitative metrics to share, but as the project manager, I could confirm that Foresight Mobile effectively and promptly met our needs. They provided straightforward solutions, on-point implementation, and fair estimates, which helped us gauge our expectations accordingly. We received positive user feedback about the apps' usability and responsiveness, which we attributed to their team's strong expertise. 

How did Foresight Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via Zoom and phone calls. Foresight Mobile had top-notch project management skills — they didn't impose any restrictions, and that flexible approach met our staff augmentation needs. Additionally, they were feedback-oriented throughout our engagement.   

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were a candid, reliable, and collaborative partner. We were also impressed with their high-level expertise in Flutter.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We didn't encounter any areas that needed improvement. Foresight Mobile delivered quality results that impressed us.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be clear in identifying your design and functionality requirements — Foresight Mobile will take it from there and meet your goals.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of Flagsmith, an Open Source Feature Flagging and Remote Config Service.

For what projects/services did your company hire Foresight Mobile, and what were your goals?

We needed work doing to our Flutter software development kit (SDK) to bring it up to feature parity with our other client SDKs.

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

Through a referral on a UK web agency Slack group. We selected them on account of their no nonsense can-do attitude.

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

• Refactoring an existing Flutter SDK written in Dart.
• Building CI/CD steps around the SDK to automate testing and publishing of the SDK packages.
• Adding new functionality to the SDK.
• Improving the documentation of the SDK

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

2. CTO and Developer.

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

All the work was done in a timely manner and to spec. There were no real snagging issues to speak of.

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

Great comms via Slack and video calls.

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

No nonsense attitude. Didn't try to add a bunch of fluff that wasnt required.

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

No