Groove Technology

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder & ceo of Little Birdie TV. We are a media / content company in the gambling space in Australia.

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

Groove executed our project in two phases, the first was the web platform and backend, the second was the accompanying mobile app. We chose Groove due to the fact that they had the inhouse talent and expertise to excute both projects seemlessly.

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

Groove gave us the confidence that they had the expertise to execute both phases of the project and they did not let us down.

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

Groove provided an end to end service from discovery, scoping and documenting our requirements, branding and designing the user experience, building the backend and web platform, the mobile application to testing and production deployment and support. Although the web and mobile components were executed by 2 different teams, the experience was seemless and they held our hand throughout the process.

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

1x PM/BA who was our point of contact. 1x Graphic Designer, 1x .NET Team to execute the web/backend, 1x Mobile App Development Team to execute the Mobile App.

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

The ability to execute both components of this project, design and development of both web and mobile, end to end with the same development partner made this development process incredibly streamlined and painless.

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

We had a single Project Manager who also played the role of Business Analyst who was our point of contact from the beginning to the end of the project and who coordinated all components of the project.

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

I am impressed with the way the whole process was managed seamlessly and communicated consistently which meant we maintained our confidence in their ability to deliver throughout the project.

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

None.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

DeliverEasy is a new startup delivery software company aimed at providing a platform to collaborate, customer information, routing solutions, and managing delivery/order/product data under the one platform. 

What challenges were you trying to address with Groove Technology?

Being a startup, we used Groove Technology to build Stage 1 of the software; our admin platform. When the time comes to build on Stage 2 (final stage for DeliverEasy) we will be using their services again.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had come up with a vision initially of DeliverEasy and put that onto paper and provided a detailed Requirement Specification. As anyone in this space knows, transforming ideas into reality is not as easy as it sounds and the team at Groove Technology made our vision a reality. 

Our technology is built using Microsoft Full Stack; .Net Core, MS SQL, Entity Framework Core with Bootstrap and Angular Front-End. We also have a Google Maps integration. Groove Technology provided Jira and Confluence (Atlassian) project management tools.

What is the team composition?

To begin the project we went through an analysis/scoping phase with a BA. Once this initial phase was completed and signed off on a team of developers were assigned to us specific to the technology we were using with a lead developer managing the project on their end. They are a very professional team. 

As we move into the next stage of our development (Stage 2 project) we will be assigned the same BA and lead developer meaning we should have some if not all the same team members previously assigned to Stage 1 who are now fully across our project.

How did you come to work with Groove Technology?

The owner is a mutual friend of ours. We were discussing the project with our friend, and he recommended Groove Technology to us. 

How much have you invested in them?

Stage 1 of our project has cost $38,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our project was completed in May 2020. The total time including the analysis/scope phase was roughly 6 months. We had time on our side however, therefore this could have been done a lot faster if we had wanted it too. The team we had assigned to our project worked incredibly efficiently. 

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

There were a couple of components to our technology we had envisioned yet weren't sure how they would be reflected in reality. DeliverEasy hasn't launched as a business just yet so we can't give too much away, however they followed our requirements to a T, we are very impressed with the results.

How did Groove Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

Fantastic. As mentioned earlier, Groove Technology provided Jira and Confluence (Atlassian) project management tools. We had regular video conference, Skype chats, emails, and were all ready and available when needed. 

We were about halfway through one of the final milestones of the project (build phase) when COVID-19 struck and like most cities around the world, Ho Chi Minh was also put into lockdown meaning their entire team was forced to work remotely. Their transition was seamless, in fact, we may not have even known if they'd not told us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They worked seamlessly and paid attention to detail. The team asked a lot of questions to make sure they understood what we wanted. Everything was spot on. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there was nothing negative about the project. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Be prepared yourselves, have a good understanding of your requirements, and make sure you have allocated time appropriately to work with the team because they will be ready day one to hit the ground running. This is a slick operation where no time is wasted and if it is it's likely on you for not being prepared enough.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Xsights Digital is an IT company focused on Audience measurement and Analytics and Asset Tracking, both utilising Bluetooth technologies. As the Solution Architect, I was responsible end to end, design, documentation and testing of our products.

For what projects/services did your company hire Groove Technology?

Groove Technology was initially engaged to perform a system review and security check. From that point we commenced a project to rebuild an integrated web and mobile application for Asset Tracking. This also had integration points with previous products and ongoing support and build.

What were your goals for this project?

A product that met out vision, that was delivered on time and on budget, with open communication and clear processes for control, ownership and management of tasks.

How did you select this vendor?

Groove Technology came recommended from business contacts who had built a product of similar size and complexity.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The main project was a web and mobile application using BLE technology that was scalable for multiple tenants and for both small and large users. Groove Technology working off a detailed design document provided full range of skills, project planning, support and tracking software, development testing, and project management.

What was the team composition?

The team from Groove Technology included a project director, project lead, lead developer, developer and a number of technical staff were utilised as specialist skills were required. These staff stayed throughout the project and were available for communication. All communication went through the Project Lead

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

The project was delivered on time and on budget. The UAT process was also fast and efficient with the rapid turnaround delivering a completed product ahead of schedule. The ease of communication and the quality of the documentation and process control made it a stress free project. The final product looks and functions magnificently, far exceeding our expecitations.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project structure and progress were tightly managed, with detailed weekly project updates confirming the deliverables. Jira was used for the task tracking and UAT ticket logging and resolution, with MS Teams used for conferencing. There was only 1 hour time difference which didnt pose any issues, and the fully team was available for conferencing when required. The project staff all had excellent written English and the project managements communication skills on all levels were exceptional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The organisation of our development team meant we always knew exactly where all tasks were at. Their development and internal QA skills and their attention to even the smallest details meant there was no wasted time and their understanding of our issues and requirements - through detailed questions and scenario examples removed the risk of miscommunication. It was evident throughout the entire process that our Development team at Groove Technology wanted to deliver a solution that met our intended requirements not just the requirements that I had documented.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It is not often that I have completed a project that the outcome aligned with or exceeded my expectations. From our side, we should found Groove earlier.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Product Director of an online event content management company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Groove Technology?

We needed someone to build our initial concept and then take on the responsibility of continued innovation, optimisation and enhancement of our platform.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to become the #1 solution for online event content and event discovery.

How did you select this vendor?

We were introduced via a mutual acquaintance. Groove understood our concept very quickly and immediately started adding value through the creative thinking of their development team. We felt very comfortable continuing the conversation and ultimately engaging.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Groove has done everything on this project except for the UI/UX design which we do in-house. Groove was able to take our idea and deliver it end to end well within our budget and timeline expectations.

What was the team composition?

1x Project Manager, 1x Business Analyst, 2x Full Stack Engineers, 1x QA

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

We could have never achieved the scale of our development capabilities we required in our local market. Partnering with Groove has given us the opportunity to work with vastly talented development teams which we would not of otherwise had.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The team at Groove work in weekly sprints, we maintain a backlog of work in a prioritised order and at the end of each sprint our Project Manager takes the prioritised tickets, sequences them for the next sprint and circulates it to all the stakeholders.

Quite often we will have short term priorities that may disrupt the sequenced tickets for the week, the flexibility of the team to react and adapt to our dynamic priorities is invaluable.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were honestly blown away by the quality of their developers compared to our local market and the attentive and best practice approach to everything.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that we've experienced.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of a data and analytics company focused on providing data to the racing industry and consumers.

For what projects/services did your company hire Groove Technology?

We hired the Groove development team to enhance and maintain our core platform.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals are to provide superior data and statistical analysis and ratings to our customers through our web platform.

How did you select this vendor?

Groove was able to demonstrate to us the quality of talent they have available and their strong processes and communication made it a very easy choice.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Full service, scoping, system architecture, development, testing and continued devops.

What was the team composition?

.5x PM, 1x Full Stack Devloper, 1 Tester

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

Grooves best practice approach to implementation and scalability means that solutions are robust and scalable, the ability to scale our development efforts up and down in line with our business needs made working with Groove a key part of our strategy for our growth.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We prefer to work directly with the technical people on our project within our own processes, however working with Groove's project manager helped to streamline a lot of our internal processes as well as keeping our development efforts on track all while keeping us regularly informed of all progress, risks and blockers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The independence of the technical team to work through our intentions and apply robust solutions and suggest alternative approaches when they saw the opportunities.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Creative Director for an Ecommerce agency in Australia.

For what projects/services did your company hire Groove Technology?

We needed a partner to do the implementation work for a number of Shopify ecommerce projects.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to find a partner who could not only quickly understand and implmenet to our customers requirements, but help us evolve and innovate for our customers.

How did you select this vendor?

We chose Groove Technology based on their existing eCommerce expertise and experience.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Groove do all the implementation and integration work for our Shopify projects including store steups, custom coding, liquid, custom shopify apps and front-end dev.

What was the team composition?

1x Project Manager/BA, 1x Backend (integration) developer, 1x Front End developer, 1x QC

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

Groove Technology's experience and ability to quickly understand and ask the right questions when things aren't understood, makes our job easier and allows us to provide our customers with highly valued services.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management is a strength of the Groove Technology team, all requirements are well understood, all risks are communicated clearly and estimated timelines are almost always met.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The ability of the Vietnamese team to understand and and ask the right questions makes our jobs so much easier, we dont have to worry about over or under communicating.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we are extremely happy with our relationship as it is.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a solutions based company which provides customisable job seeker experiences.

For what projects/services did your company hire Groove Technology?

We hired Groove and their vastly talented development team to develop and continually evolve our SAAS platform.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to build a fully customisable and whitelabelled job seeker experience on a multi tennant SAAS platform.

How did you select this vendor?

We were already aware of the reputation Vietnamese engineers have for their intelligence and innovative thinking, Groove was able to demonstrate to us the quality of talent they have available and the strong processes and communication which made it a very easy choice.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Groove provided full development services for our project and platform. Starting with discovery and scoping, system architecture, development, testing and continued devops.

What was the team composition?

1x PM/BA, 3x full stack engineers, 1x QA

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

The flexibility of working with a strong offshore partner like Groove is invaluable for our business, we can scale up and scale down as needed and Grooves best practice approach to implementation and scalability means that solutions are robust and scalable.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our project had a delightful young project manager who was/is as thorough as they come when it comes to attention to detail and asking the right questions. Our business priorities are always very tightly aligned to the development efforts due to the connection we have with the PM. Risks are always identified and raised early so that we are always fully aware of any implications, there are never any suprises.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality of the work, the depth and bredth of the communication and the way the development team take ownership for their work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None of the top of my head.