Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company

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

We measure in a couple of ways, one of which is the ability for us to get projects out quickly, and I think it has also helped us in our sales process that we have. Our customers also appreciate the speed and efficiency of workflows, absence of errors, and intuitiveness. If the client has 6,000 retail stores and probably 25,000 employees, training them on a new system would be quite expensive and with our solution, the training is actually pretty minimal.

Throughout the project, Fresh Tilled Soil has listened to the customer’s requirements and needs, they work with our team, come up with mock-ups, and present the mock-ups to the customers, and then get their feedback. So, for everything we did with them, they not only had our input but had our customer’s input. On all three of the projects, we did that.

How did Fresh Tilled Soil an ADK Group Company perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very professional, and they are very engaged. They keep things on track and make sure that they have what they need and make sure that they show progress every week. It is very convenient for me because they just do what they are supposed to do. 

I think of Fresh Tilled Soil as an extended part of my team. They're very talented. I trust them to do a good job, and I don’t have to review ahead of time what they are going to show the customers. I know they listen to the customers and know what we are doing. 

The team also takes the time to really understand our business and understand what it is we are trying to accomplish. We are not a B2C site; we are mostly providing workflows for the operators and clerks. It is a very different user interface and user experience than a consumer mobile app.

We use InVision to keep track of all the prototypes which makes it very easy for the developers to actually implement what they have done. We use Zoom or Teams for conferencing. In the early days, they would come to the Boston office every now and then and we were getting to know each other, but of course, now we all do everything remotely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think the most important thing Fresh Tilled Soil does is listen. They don’t come with a solution; they listen, they make sure that they understand the problem they are trying to solve and then they come to a solution for our problems. They don’t assume that they know the answer when they start.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they are pretty easy to do business with and pretty easy to contract with. They do a good job. These aren’t skills we have in-house and we rely on them heavily to do this. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a solution brief and make sure you are clear about the scope and context, and what problem you are trying to solve. Make sure that you have them talk to the end-users as well.

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

Having a strong web presence is crucial since that’s the first place people will look. They’ve been able to guide us over the years in what we’ve needed to stay relevant and look professional. For example, they’ve let us know that having our site display on mobile has become just as important as on a desktop since a lot of people look us up on their phones.

How did Fresh Tilled Soil perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent. All but one of their project managers have set a budget and have been very professional to work with. As far as organizational skills, and coordinating all of the groups that have to provide data and content, Fresh Till does a great job. We communicate mostly via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The websites that they put together are very user friendly in a way that just makes sense. There are some sites I’ve been to where it’s a hassle to find information, and I don’t experience that on Fresh Till’s site. The sites they create are intuitive and easy to use.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think I have any suggestions off-hand.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to get your messaging correct about what you want to say about your business, and what brand you’re trying to project, as well as what actions you want from the marketplace. Organize yourself clearly so Fresh Till can help you achieve those goals.

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

I don’t have any metrics to share because their work isn’t available to customers yet, but we’ve already seen some beneficial outcomes. We’ve started using their screens during presentations to investors, and they’ve directly helped our sales process in terms of pushing enterprise deals along. Having this improved UX has made a huge difference in our efforts to secure additional capital.

We’re in the process of rethinking the backend architecture to match the new UX. The design should be live in about a month.

How did Fresh Tilled Soil perform from a project management standpoint?

As a former management consultant, I’m well versed regarding project management styles, and Fresh Tilled Soil excelled in this area. They never once missed a call or email and had everything scheduled. We always knew exactly what the team was working on. The team exceeded our expectations in terms of what they were able to get done in the timeframe.

Part of why they performed so strongly was that they were extremely flexible in their communication. We used a combination of Slack, email, calls, and Skype, and they tailored their outreach to our preferences.

To augment some of this more rapid communication, they also used a formal project management tool. We had access to their project plan, and our team was able to comment on and interact with it. This multi-faceted communication approach made the project run very smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The seniority of Fresh Tilled Soil’s team makes them stand out, especially in terms of their flexibility. Having experienced designers allowed them to be more dynamic and match our demanding timelines.

For example, two members of our leadership team are constantly traveling, and Fresh Tilled Soil was able to adjust quickly and stay in communication. A more junior group of designers may not have been able to do that as effectively. Fresh Tilled Soil shines with organizations that need that extra level of sophistication in their UX team.

I also really valued their holistic approach. They did an excellent job of gathering and considering multiple opinions. We had our own hypotheses going into the project, and they leveraged their expertise to elevate the conversation past our initial thoughts. What we ended up doing, based on their recommendation, was much more of a drastic, foundational change than we were anticipating, which I appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any improvements to suggest, and I don’t say that lightly. Fresh Tilled Soil is one of the few vendors I’ve been willing to jump and the phone and give a five-star referral for, and it’s because they are very good at what they do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Because their team is very experienced and effective, you should make sure to have a precise idea of what you want them to focus on. That’s how you’re going to get the most out of them. Even a small amount of prep work can go a long way in terms of saving time on the discovery phase. They will be most useful once they get to the core challenges of the project and start solving the thornier issues.

My other piece of advice for potential customers is to make sure that you’re ready for their level of expertise. This is a powerful group of UX designers who will deliver. If you’re looking to keep your budget small, there are other options for that.

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

Engaging with them saved us quite a bit of time. It would’ve taken a year or more for our internal UX/UI designer to do what they did. The design is much better than our previous platform.

How did Fresh Tilled Soil perform from a project management standpoint?

They were easy to work with and incredibly organized and detail oriented. We had an aggressive timeline, which they met, but they probably needed a bit more time to schedule their work properly. The entire team was communicative, and we used Basecamp to track project progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They didn’t just do what we asked, but they challenged us when they knew it would make for a better product. They worked to understand our business and answered all of our questions, including those about best practices and industry trends. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their documentation wasn’t as clearly organized on Basecamp as it could’ve been. They should have a single source that, at the end of the day, I can click onto to see the most recent product. The updates weren’t all consolidated in one spot.
 
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If possible, try to meet them in person to get to know their team. Push for good and consistent communication and share all the data you have about your product and customer base.