Girolabs

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Founder and CEO of a civil society organisation with more than a decade of work catalyzing community innovation to fight corruption in the education sector.

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

We wanted to create a tool that would use all the data we had collected for the past 8 years to publicly expose potential corruption in public investment. This tool would digitalize our existing monitoring mechanism to reduce implementation time and allow for emulation in other communities.

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

We had previously worked with them for a different project and a few of their staff members knew about the open contracting data standard (OCDS) that we have used for monitoring purposes.

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

We needed an interactive map that would use the data we had collected for many years to pinpoint and present information intuitively about infrastructure needs and investments in public schools. This Web app needed basic things like a homepage and blog section. It also needed specific sections for data visualizations and analysis.

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

There were usually 3 people: a senior developer, a junior developer, and a Web designer.

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

We began almost all the work a couple months before the COVID-19 pandemic started. Hence, we still lack measurable outcomes of the project. However, we can clearly claim it will save us weeks of work related to data management and analysis.

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

The project management was good. We agreed on a platform for communication (we asked for Signal and they adapted). We know the team works using agile methodologies and ClickUp. We exchanged emails when necessary.

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

We truly appreciate their openness and flexibility to make certain unanticipated changes to our requirements and needs. That is to say, they sometimes accommodate beyond what we had first agreed upon in the contract if the needed changes would make for a better tool.

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

Their communication and attention to detail could improve. Many times we had to test the software on our own to point out where things were not working or what has not been finished yet. Sometimes it seemed they didn't test the changes they were making and we were confused whether that was something we had to do.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the communications director for a non-profit organization called TECHO, which works to overcome poverty through housing projects and community infrastructure.

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

We hired Girolabs to develop our organization's website, for the international version and for the local versions, for the 18 countries where we work.

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

We hired Girolabs due to their personalized service and prior knowledge of our work.

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

From the beginning, a gantt was presented with each step, which included previous conversations for the creation of the briefing, roadmap, platform design, platform development, migration, training on the use and maintenance of the site.

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

I believe that around 10 people, including directors, designers, developers, etc.

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

The sites are all up and running. Some local operations have already pointed to an increase in the number of donations thanks to the change of website.

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

We had at least two meetings a week, in addition to a WhatsApp group and the use of emails to centralize information.

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

Their communication. They were always very patient, clarifying, and transparent. Even though I'm not an expert in website development, I've always had a lot of clarity about the entire project process.

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

Punctuality in meetings

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a web-based community of individuals with a shared passion for regenerative business practices. We welcome anyone who wants to connect, grow and learn more about it. Our focus is supporting the San Diego bioregion and beyond. I am the co-founder & committee chair.

For what projects/services did your company hire Girolabs?

Website redesign and visual branding

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

Girolabs is a member of NEXT San Diego

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Our website was in need of a cohesive visual brand as well as a cohesive visual flow to how the different pages and page elements were organized.

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

Five team members - Founder, graphic designers, web designers

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

We've had a 25% increase in unique site visitors since we started working with Girolabs.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was good - we worked asynchronously while meeting weekly to sync up.

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

We liked their friendliness, warmth, and passion for what they do.

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

No.