What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We launched the website in October 2018—translating the site into four languages caused a delay on our end. So far, the website is serving our needs in all the countries where we have a presence.
For us, the crucial parts were for the website to work, not to crash, and to rank highly in Google search results. We actually dropped positions initially, but I learned that this is normal when changing a website. According to our monthly ranking reports from Grind Web Studio, we’ve risen above the position we had with our previous website. Now, we’re still moving higher and higher.
The site also functions as intended. For example, when a customer wants to get a quotation from us, there’s an interactive part of our website where they can see all the information they need. It uses a user-friendly format—with pictures and prompts—and doesn’t require registration.
In addition to providing regular reports, Grind Web Studio is on retainer for maintenance and any feature requests we have. There are also packages that their team uploads on it from time to time. We’re in contact with Grind Web Studio once every two months or so.
How did Grind Web Studio perform from a project management standpoint?
We don’t work on IT projects too frequently, so I can’t easily compare Grind Web Studio with anyone else from a management standpoint. We ran an ERP implementation project in 2013. The team there was larger, the implementation period was longer, and it was a much more substantial project overall.
The team that Grind Web Studio assigned to us was relatively small. They described everything in the offer, and we made a few modifications to it during the development and launch periods. All of that was handled swiftly. Grind Web Studio kept to the promises, timelines, and budget we assigned to this project. I can’t say anything negative about them in terms of project management.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Bulgaria is becoming a bigger and bigger IT market for both local clientele as well as internationally. Something that distinguished Grind Web is that they were very proactive. They found and approached us, whereas most local IT companies seem to be so busy that we have to go looking for them. Grind Web Studio’s approach made a good impression on me.
They kept to their timelines during the project, which is another issue I’ve had with vendors in general, not only in IT projects. Timetables are usually modified afterward, and we might experience some delays depending on the workload. This wasn’t the case with Grind Web Studio.
Are there any areas they could improve?
One key programmer changed during the project. I’m not sure how they could improve on that. I have many colleagues running companies like Grind Web Studio, and I know that turnover is an issue with IT specialists.
Because of the change, we had to do some things twice in the development part. That was a minor problem, and I don’t think they could’ve handled it better, frankly.
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
As with every IT project, plan everything thoroughly in the beginning. Have a clear idea of what you want to achieve in the end and which parts are more important. Grind Web Studio will ask a lot of questions about those factors. In our case, we learned a lot of things on the journey, which is why the project took so long.
We started with three months of deliberation on our side, and Grind Web Studio helped us during this part. We looked at some good industry examples and other websites of worldwide leaders in our business.
Clients have to be prepared to invest time and money into clarifying requirements before the engagement. Grind Web Studio will be able to guide you through this phase if you can’t do it yourself, but it will take more time.
They adhere to last-minute client requests and make themselves available outside of typical business hours. Although communication could be better, internal stakeholders are generally pleased with the engagement. The team is open to using various project management tools and systems.