Halcyon Mobile

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

Our backend is in much better shape and we have an Android version. We’re also very keen JIRA users.

How did Halcyon Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is excellent at communication. All of the project managers we’ve worked with were very rational and good at breaking down complex problems into manageable chunks. Communication has been a strong point with Halcyon Mobile, especially given the time difference.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Halcyon Mobile has shown themselves to be responsive and dedicated. For example, we had some unforeseen problems with the app over the course of a weekend, but we were able to get in touch with them. Halcyon Mobile worked on a Saturday to fix the problem. 

Their team would often stay late if there was a lot of pressure on what needed to be done. They definitely logged several hours that they didn’t charge for just to make sure things were completed. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The timeline with the Android app took a bit too long. But part of that was due to difficulty QAing in-app subscriptions, which is somewhat reasonable since they are complicated. A lot of people in the mobile industry are having trouble wrapping their heads around the kind of tech you need to execute that effectively.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If things aren’t going well, schedule daily meetings to keep things moving forward rather than relying on weekly or bi-weekly meetings.

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

Since the apps’ launch, we’ve received really positive feedback from customers. We’re thrilled about the level of downloads, and the new in-app payment system has opened new sales channels for us. Everyone internally and most of our customer base especially appreciate the design. Over the next few months, we’re going to assess the success of the apps so far, and then we’ll plan what changes we’ll make. We intend to work with Halcyon Mobile on those updates going forward.

What’s been excellent about Halcyon Mobile is that they really embedded themselves with us as a team. They don’t just sit there and take instructions; they have strong opinions about how things should work and are not afraid to share them. That’s added a lot of value to the project. The quality of Halcyon Mobile’s work and interaction with our team has been universally excellent.

How did Halcyon Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is probably the most outstanding thing about Halcyon Mobile. Our project manager is superb. I’ve worked with a lot of agencies over the years, and he is by far the best project manager I’ve ever worked with.

We communicate through weekly phone calls and then with Slack and Google Hangouts as required. We used Basecamp to communicate requirements and Jira to manage the day-to-day. There also were a couple of trips out to Halcyon Mobile to work with the team directly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The standard of English spoken among Halcyon Mobile is exceptionally high. There's zero language barrier working with them if you're English-speaking. The quality of their output is exceptional. Not only are they very technically competent, but they're also really investing in their skills and their staff. Their team members are happy to be there and constantly learning to become better developers. They have a high level of creativity as well, which is quite unusual to find in an offshore model. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been pleasantly surprised that it's been a straightforward experience working with Halcyon Mobile. It’s felt like a strong match between our two teams since the beginning.

Any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to meet face-to-face at least once or twice during any project. That's the difference between being a good project and an excellent one. It helps you get to know the people, but it also enables you to communicate those things that you can convey over email, Slack, or video call. 

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

The application is not yet live, but we did user testing and we’re very satisfied with their work. I have a degree in computer science. I wasn’t working on the backend, but I did QA and it was very well structured and developed. It was professional.

How did Halcyon Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

There was a designated project manager who kept track of the whole development process, the long-term vision, Gantt Charts, the sprints, and the tasks. It helped us a lot to have a structured process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We previously worked together with another company for a few months and made a small beta prototype. It’s much easier working with Halcyon Mobile because it’s easier to communicate and collaborate with them. They’re very welcoming and open to feedback. They try to improve the design as much as required.

We have a really good relationship and have become friends with their team members. It’s great working with them both professionally and personally. We even traveled to their headquarters in Romania where we had a small workshop that was very successful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the beginning, there were some issues with the time estimates, but it was partly on our side because we couldn’t really define exactly what we needed from them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to have a good starting point with them, which makes the whole collaboration successful.