Gearheart.io

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

We receive feedback from users that OLIVIA is modern and easy to use. Some of our Reps are not as technologically savvy as others, but I think they get it and appreciate that there’s a lot of meat and functionality in our software.

How did Gearheart.io perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a standing 9:00 a.m. [PST] meeting on Thursdays, so they’re working with us towards the end of their day, in the evening. If I need to reschedule or we need extra time or extra help, they’re very accommodating. As far as language barriers go, I haven’t had any problems. Our points of contact speak English fairly fluently, so that hasn’t been an issue.

If there’s ever a time when I feel something’s not being communicated well, I just write it out for clarification. Both timing and language support have actually been better than you’d expect.

In terms of deadlines, sometimes things do take a little longer than we expect. To be fair, some projects turn out to be more complicated than originally thought. They do a good job of managing all that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don’t have a lot of experience managing software builds, so I don’t have a lot to compare them to. But we’re such a unique niche business; we’re not aware of any other software product quite like ours, and Gearheart has done a good job of understanding our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have the impression that there are a lot of coders on the team. Sometimes we get a very literal translation of what we’re asking for. For example, if I want a certain function, they might give something that basically works, but isn’t necessarily intuitive for the user. They do have designers on the team that they’ll bring onto the project at certain times.

I find that it’s a better when a designer involved for new features from the outset, someone who can think through all those moving pieces. They do offer that, but we typically have to pay extra to add a designer to specific projects. I wish that process was a little more integrated.

Do you have any advice for potential clients?

The one thing that I would say to somebody who was looking to work with them is to make sure there’s a designer on the team early on.

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

Our application isn’t in production yet. We did set some aggressive timelines for getting our MVP application finished, which was important to our customer base who were anxiously waiting to use it. Gearheart.io remained consistent in sticking to our timeline and not letting anything slip up.

How did Gearheart.io perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication skills are excellent. Everyone, including their senior project manager and company owner, speak excellent English. We communicate primarily over instant messaging applications. We write to each other more than anything else, and there hasn’t been any issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They employ mostly full spec developers, which is extremely nice when building this kind of application. If you have people that only either do front or backend development, it puts a real strain on productivity because someone is always waiting on someone else. There’s always this huge communication buffer that you need to keep filled to make sure everyone is on the same page. Having developers who are able to look at the entirety of the software makes the process fairly autonomous, which is very nice.

Their project management is their most valuable asset. Anna [Business Analyst, Gearheart.io] is very impressive because of her amazing attention to detail and ability to never miss a beat. Every step of the way, she has validated our assumptions on some of the design and technical decisions. She’s offered alternative ideas and solutions, and has contributed to the overall health of the project outside of a normal development relationship. She’s definitely helped us think through complexities within the app. It’s like having another person who can analyze and deconstruct to point out flaws. This is one of the biggest reasons we’ve stayed loyal to Gearheart.io, and why we consider them to be such an integral part of our process now.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My only pain point is that they use their own project management software heavily. I understand why they do it, because it’s tied into their process, but it would be nice if the entire process had been done in JIRA. They’ve also been using our project management system, so it’s not like they completely ignored our process.

Do you have any advice for other potential customers of Gearheart.io?

I believe there should always be 80% design and 20% implementation. There should always be time or money spent to come up with a thorough application design or document that is in-depth and capable before engaging with companies. These companies will allocate a lot of resources and will move faster than you, so you have to be completely prepared. When you’re not, that’s when things slow down and you end up having to figure things out on the fly, which is how mistakes are made.