hedgehog lab

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Musto Management and Consulting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We were looking to create an application and platform for construction safety management. There are a lot of archaic paper-based processes in the construction sector, and we needed to come up with a technology that would be flexible enough to apply to other subsections of the industry but is also easy to use for people who are not as computer savvy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired hedgehog lab to develop a cross-platform construction safety management app. It's essentially three applications in one: there's an iOS component, an Android component, and a web component. They are managing the hosting for us, and we're in the process of working on ongoing maintenance.

hedgehog lab was involved in the scoping of the project, which we called the foundation scope. The original foundation was them working with us to scope out the project. They worked with us to figure out, design, and eventually build the user personas, wireframes, and UI elements for the app.

Additionally, hedgehog lab did branding work for us. They helped us with the app’s naming process, designed the app’s logo and color schemes, and created a brand guide. They even helped us register the name and make sure that the name was unique enough.

What is the team composition?

We’ve primarily worked with five people from hedgehog lab, including Patrick (Managing Director), two architecture product folks, and a project manager for each element architecture and for the design itself. We’ve also worked with three full-stack engineers, a designer, and a bunch of QA folks that came in in phases as required as different sprints were completed.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

We vetted 4-5 businesses through Clutch and Google, and we ultimately went with hedgehog lab.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $650,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our user adoption has been great — about 84% of the users that we’ve brought onto the system are doing their daily work within the app without issue. hedgehog lab also completed the project under budget and two weeks prior to the original timeline they provided despite a lot of scope changes and the things we requested along the way.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

hedgehog lab has performed well in terms of project management. We use Monday.com for project management, and we typically communicate through Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with hedgehog lab’s high technological capabilities. They are able to synthesize the business need before they start talking about technology. We found that in other design and development situations, people jump right into the tech and how they can achieve this or that without getting to the business problem first. 

hedgehog lab did a fantastic job of understanding our business perspective and bringing the needed technologies to the table to help us achieve what we needed today and what we want to achieve in the future.

They're also very easy to work with. They're not overly technical, and all of our conversations have been pleasant and collaborative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if we could have milestone check-ins along the way.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would suggest starting with the foundation scope and making sure that you do what they propose. We didn't augment the team that they put into the proposal — we kept the team, and each piece of that was mission-critical as we went forward. It’s also a good idea to make sure that they're involved as early as possible in the business scoping and foundation elements of your project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of global marketing for connectivity at Edwards Lifesciences, a life sciences company. We have multiple divisions, and we do heart valve replacements and critical care patient monitoring.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We wanted to create an app that can help us educate clinicians on specific clinical protocols. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The hedgehog lab team created a custom native web app that could also run on mobile devices. Their resources had plenty of back-and-forth interaction with clinicians to understand the value of what we were trying to do. They designed the app’s front- and backend architecture. From there, our teams underwent multiple rounds of integration testing to ensure all the features we needed were there. 

Speaking of features, the app was intended to address various challenges. For one, it had to distill clinical study data — which weren’t easily accessible for clinicians — into easily digestible tiles. It also had an interactive protocol guide that walked clinicians through the clinical experience depending on their patient’s status. We also wanted a decision tree feature that could help clinicians give better patient care. They could also use it as an educational tool throughout their service lines. With those things in mind, hedgehog lab had to make an easy-to-use and educational web app. It had to be available on a phone, laptop, or tablet — wherever and whenever the clinic would need it. 

At present, we’re wrapping up the work; we’re in the final stages of finishing everything. However, hedgehog lab continues to provide support services for us; the support will continue for at least another year. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Patrick (Managing Director for the Americas) and two UI/UX designers. Pavel (Senior Systems Architect) serves as the backend developer and database architect. One of my project managers and their intern also help manage the project. They’re the liaison between us and the hedgehog team. 

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I’d heard of hedgehog lab before but didn’t talk to them at that time. When this project came about, I did a Google search and they were one of the firms that came out. I found their information and contacted them. We reviewed a few outside firms, too. However, we were impressed by the hedgehog team’s knowledge and openness right off the bat. They seemed to be a good fit for the project, so we engaged with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship started in February 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. 

For clarity, our vetting process started in December 2020, and we decided to go for hedgehog lab in January 2021. The development process then kicked off in February 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have any statistics yet since we haven’t officially launched the product into the real world. That said, we’ve showcased it at one of our conferences and talked to a number of clinicians about it. We’ve shown it to them, and it’s been positively received. We’ve heard plenty of great feedback around how the app helps apply protocols and educate people about them. In fact, one of our bigger customers — a large hospital network — is interested in using the web app for education. 

That’s the preliminary feedback we’ve received, and we haven’t even done a full-force marketing campaign. As a result, we’re truly excited about what the app is going to bring to the market. 

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

The hedgehog lab team is highly organized. We’ve had weekly calls with them, and we have back-and-forth communications through Slack. They use Monday as their project management tool for our scrum processes. 

Overall, everything has gone smoothly. If we have any feedback during our calls, they clarify everything and create action items to address the feedback in the next call. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The hedgehog lab resources immerse themselves in understanding our use cases and user preferences value creators before starting the development process. The fact that they want to understand the business first before jumping into the project is extremely helpful; the team has become knowledgeable about what we do and what our clinicians need, making the project move more quickly. 

On top of that, they’re highly responsive to change. Our team hasn’t been fully sure what we wanted to develop when we started. As a result, we’ve had many changes to the scope. Luckily, hedgehog lab is highly flexible and amenable to change; they respond quickly, which is highly impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’d like to use hedgehog lab for our class-device medical development projects, which need to go under the FDA umbrella. To do that, the team also needs to be ISO-certified. It’s a gating factor for us to use them moving forward, and we want to make sure they comply with FDA and ISO standards. For clarity, the web app isn’t classified as a medical device, so we’ve been able to use their services on this project. 

That being said, they’re already working on getting those certifications, and it’s the direction they want to take from a business standpoint. If they can get the necessary approvals, we’d love to continue to use them for some of our future projects. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Bring in hedgehog lab early and immerse them into the project. That way, you’ll help them understand your market and goals. They’re eager to do that.

Moreover, don’t shortchange yourself by thinking you’re only going to use them as a technical service provider. They can do that, but you’ll benefit more from them if you treat the team as a partner on value creation and customer research.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of engineering at Neurable, a brain-computer interface research company. We’re currently building headphones for the consumer market. Our focus is on understanding and deciphering human brain activities and providing feedback to users.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

My internal team built algorithms to decipher EG signals and make sense out of them, but those algorithms don’t add any value on their own. We brought on hedgehog lab because we needed an app development partner to build applications that can demonstrate the capabilities of our algorithm.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first project they worked on was the app development. It wasn’t easy because everything they worked on was completely new. On top of that, Brain-Computer interfaces (BCI) and neurotech is challenging.

They had to integrate the front- and backend in a simple and low-cost infrastructure, so they built a custom web app on React.js from scratch.  

First, they sat with us to understand the requirement. We had very few data points that we could share with them and didn’t have a product owner or a UX designer. They took over those responsibilities. We had several meetings so they could understand what our goal was and what we wanted to build.

Then they slowly started building the UI framework and ran through a few iterations before building a demo app. In this process, they also handled QA, staging, and the production environment. They set up the cloud infrastructure to support the demo.

Since they delivered the first iteration, they’ve continued to improve the platform by adding more functionality. Currently, we’re in the maintenance phase.

I’m currently working with them on the next phase of the project in which they will build a mobile app for Android and iOS. In this project, they’re working closely with the team again. So far, they’ve pulled together the UI framework in Figma.

Once that phase is done, they’ll work on the backend architecture. This is very complex because none of the architecture that’s available in the market can be reused. They’re building a totally unique platform given our use case and the amount of data that’s going to go back and forth between device and the cloud.

What is the team composition?

I have four weekly touchpoints which are the managing director, an architect, a UX lead, and an engineering project manager.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I reached out to a few connections and did a Google search for the top 10 partners in Boston. I shortlisted three companies including hedgehog lab. I ran them through a few interviews to see how they interact with small companies like us. hedgehog lab fared well in all the challenges that I threw at them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021 and our partnership is ongoing.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve delivered a fantastic demo app in a very short time frame. At the same time, they never sacrificed quality. They owned the project. As a result, I’ve never had a project run so smoothly. Throughout the engagement, I’ve never been concerned about the quality or support that they’ve provided. This is — by far — the best partnership I’ve had with another vendor.  

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

I just gave them a PowerPoint of what I really needed and they broke it down into user stories. Once that was complete, they input the information onto monday.com so we know how they are executing.

The team has run weekly sprints. They’ve stayed on top of everything, and as a result, they delivered the first iteration in just six weeks — it was amazing.

They ask questions and challenge us to remain on top of things as well. The only touchpoint I have is a weekly 1-hour call. I don’t have to get on any other calls or respond to any emails from them. In addition to monday.com, we use Zoom and Slack to stay in touch.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The overall experience has been impressive. I don’t have to worry about anything. They take care of communication, delivery, and support. Every time I need new changes, I just ask them for it and they quickly put together a cost estimate.

They felt like an extension of our team. It didn’t feel like I was working with a vendor.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They handled everything well. We had the right level of communication and escalation. Everything felt right.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear and precise about the requirement and scope. Understand what you need. That helps them to stay focused on what is necessary and just get things done. If you don’t have any guidance, things can go back and forth and take longer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the principal project manager for a utilities company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We were looking to build a mobile and a web application. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They made a foundation document that identified user stories and specific details on the app. After that, they provided wireframes to demonstrate the flow of the app and developed the native iOS app for iPhone and iPad.

The app allows users to access the field guide while performing inspections and walkthroughs. It also helps identify degradations in a power plant storing. It has the ability to take pictures, record notes via text or voice, and notify collaborators of something requiring their attention. The information is uploaded to Azure and a digital library is created of the walkthroughs performed by our users for future use and reference.

What is the team composition?

There was a scrum master, two technical people, and a manager of those two, as well as a development team of roughly nine people who worked on the various sprints in parallel.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

A third-party provided us with a list of software application development teams to choose from. We narrowed it down to three teams for the bid evaluation process and ultimately chose hedgehog lab.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around May 2020 and our partnership is ongoing. The first step of the process was completed in October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are currently in beta and are preparing to develop the foundation of our MVP. The app improves the efficiency of recording walkthroughs, as well as the retrievability of records. There are some tweaks to be made, but there haven’t been any crashes to date. I’m extremely happy with the performance of the team and their ability to step up and help our in-house team where needed, to get things running on our Azure.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They use a strong Agile approach with sprints. We had two weekly meetings, one to discuss progress, and one to discuss everything outside of development. The scrum master follows up regularly, keeps things moving, and ensures that issues are identified and addressed. They are transparent, using Monday to track sprints and statuses, which we could see at any time. We also had calls between meetings as needed to resolve issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

While their technical ability and communication skills are excellent, they go above and beyond to assist our IT team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn’t anything they need to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Follow their methodology, such as creating a foundation document. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO at a digital agency that provides development services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Netsells handled a large project for a third-party client, building a complex ERP system using .Net and Azure services. This client has had bad experiences working with developers in the past, so asked us to help with finding a match and running the project.

SOLUTION

How did you select Netsells Group and what were the deciding factors?

We reached out to Netsells based on their portfolio and experience with building large .Net applications for corporate clients. We also spent time speaking with their Lead Consultant who gave a full overview of Netsells’ technical expertise and approach to projects.

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

Netsells started off the project by producing a high-level technical overview of the platform, this allowed us to understand how this could integrate with existing back end services and APIs.

From here, they worked to spec out the technical architecture requirements and built out a plan for delivery of the system. The actual delivery of the project has been broken down into Scrum-based sprints to allow for long term delivery against a complex backlog.

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

We worked closely with their consultants, project managers, business analysts, technical architects and product owners in initial stages. During sprints we have constant contact with our project manager and product owner to understand progress against deliverables.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first phase of development has gone really well and we now have a functioning MVP that is being used on the ground. The backlog is pretty large though, so we expect ongoing development with Netsells to continue for the foreseeable future, as we’ve been extremely impressed with the speed and quality of deliverables.

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

The team has a good grasp of Agile methodologies and has incorporated us directly into requirements gathering and stakeholder feedback exercises. We have daily contact with our assigned project manager, who is extremely responsive and understanding of our/our client’s pressures.

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

Netsells experience and recommendations have made and continue to make a great impact. There have been significant changes to the system thanks to their knowledge and understanding of extremely niche technical constraints.

What has impressed us the most is their ability to think around problems and come up with viable solutions that don't balloon estimates/costs to an unsustainable level.

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

I don't think so. Netsells is doing a really good job. Especially when compared with teams we've worked with in the past.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the UX/UI Designer for HVAC controls systems and the lead R&D researcher for Air Conditioning Solutioncs (ACS) Inc. ACS Inc. specializes in high end controls systems for HVAC chiller plants and complex duct work systems. Our company specializes in high-end commercial complexes and structures, rather than residential properties. We have designed, invented, installed, and programmed one of a kind HVAC systems for notable clients such as Simon Property Group, Equity, NBC Universal, Irvine Company, and many more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire hedgehog lab?

We wanted to create a mobile app to easily log critical HVAC system data and help us provide analytics for our customers.

What were your goals for this project?

To streamline the HVAC chiller logging process and automate analytics for ourselves and our customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed several app development agencies for several weeks. After careful consideration, Hedgehog Labs proved to be the most compatible with our needs. We were looking for an agency that would fit our budget, exercise communication synergy, and had a robust portfolio. Hedgehog Labs was ultimately selected because they checked off all of the boxes and promised the best value for the amount spent.

Describe the project in detail.

The scope of the project primarily focused on 5 key features, the ability to: create user accounts, manage teams, log chiller data, store data on a cloud database, and provide visual analysis of collected data. I designed a wire frame and low-fidelity prototype in order to help app development agencies understand our needs and user story. Hedgehog Labs used the low-fidelity prototype to produce a high-fidelity prototype.

We reviewed the user flow and features many times, while their programmers laid down the back-end foundation. Once our general review was complete, we conducted weekly reviews to verify time tables and the functionality of features of each sprint. Hedgehog Labs developed both the Android and iOS versions in parallel, but the Android version was completed a month prior to the iOS version. Aside from the primary project, Hedgehog Labs also provided assistance with branding and logo design for our project.

What was the team composition?

The team assigned to our project consisted of a Project Manager, Lead Developer, and a Managing Director. I primarily worked with the Project Manager and Lead Developer during our weekly reviews. We had about 4 to 6 other Hedgehog Labs employees assigned to our project, who worked under the supervision of the PM and Lead Developer. Little contact was made with the developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still in the early phases of our launch (which has been delayed due to Covid-19), but we are please with the overall functionality and design of the application.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our workflow was very efficient. Hedgehog Labs utilizes Monday.com for project management. I could log in at anytime to address any questions from the development team or track their progress on each sprint. If I added new tickets or made comments, Hedgehog Labs was quick to respond and always worked quickly to find a resolution to any changes or issues that came about during development.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to communicate effectively and work with their customers sets them apart. Although we had contracted Hedgehog Labs to develop an app for us, we have built a partnership and it feels like we are more than just another customer or project to them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

While Hedgehog Labs is great at communication and developing solutions to problems, sometimes their scheduling and time tabling can be off. Despite delays, I was always informed of why the delays were occurring and our contract has been revised--proving that they value good customer service.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re Continental Express, Inc. We’re a regional truck carrier in Ohio. We haul refrigerated food across the country, like milk and yogurt.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We were looking for an app to replace our current system that helps us communicate with our drivers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The native iOS app was built from scratch strictly for iPad. Right now, the app needed to communicate with the driver—from our system to the app and back. It needed to have directions, maps, live updates, and alerts. This is the first phase, and we plan to add more features in the future. We are just wrapping up the UAT phase, and a 30-day trial.

What is the team composition?

We were in contact with two people on their side.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

We did research online and found them on Clutch. I interviewed a couple companies that I found on Clutch. I then interviewed a source that worked with them in the past, so they gave some context into their work experience.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $95,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019 and the project is ongoing.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our drivers are testing the app, and they all seem to really like it. All the drivers like the feasibility of it. This is the first app hedgehog lab has done for a trucking company, so it’s a little difficult to explain exactly what we want. Still, they’re always willing to work with us and do exactly what we need.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

We talked every week and gave an overview of what we wanted. Then we went back and forth and would critique.

We’re on Monday, and we have a weekly conference call, and we send emails.

Their communication throughout the process has been really good, but their ability to meet deadlines has been questionable.

It’s not taking as long as I thought it would, but the project was initially supposed to wrap up in November, but that got pushed back to December, then January. I just think they set an unrealistic timeline at the beginning of the project, and they couldn’t follow through.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Honestly, they’re personable. It’s like they’re working with us and they want the app to work really well too. They always give genuine feedback. They want the app to do well, and they’ve been super involved.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Like I said, just be more realistic on their timelines. They didn’t take a long time, but at the beginning, I was surprised at the timeline they suggested, and it’s clear that it just wasn’t realistic. I’d rather know how long it’s going to take.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Like any collaboration in this day and age, you need to stay on top of them to make sure everything gets done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is the largest regional last-mile e-commerce delivery company focused primarily on the East Coast and Midwest regions. We have an independent contractor model for our drivers that meet at our branches, get the packages, and go out for delivery every day.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We had an older version of a mobile app that our contract drivers use and we wanted to upgrade it but decided that would take too much work, so we had it redone completely by hedgehog lab instead.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They are designing and developing both an iOS and Android app for our drivers that will allow them to find and record all of their deliveries for the day. That includes all of the backend architecture and frontend UI/UX design as well.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Patrick (Owner, hedgehog lab) and we interact with their product owner on a regular basis as well. Then they have a development team of around 5–6 folks behind the scenes as well, so the overall team probably adds up to 8–10 depending on how much work we have to do.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I found their team on Clutch originally. We had a few conversations with them and a few other companies, and after about a month of discovery, they had established a lot of confidence with us in their ability to deliver so we decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested around $500,000 in the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The discovery phase started in June 2019 and our development work began in August. The project is ongoing, and we plan to release the apps in March.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been running pilot tests over the course of this month, and so far, everyone who has interacted with the app has loved it. The app is going to greatly improve the quality of our deliveries, in terms of getting drivers out the door much faster and improving compliance with a variety of related tasks as well. The app has been very reliable, and we continue to catch and fix any issues that arise successfully.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team does a great job keeping us up to date, and we use a Monday board with them and see progress daily. On top of that, we meet a few times a week to go over any outstanding issues and make sure everyone is on the same page.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by how quickly they were able to come up to speed in understanding our business. That combined with their technical skill and creative problem solving has made the project incredibly successful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been very satisfied with all of the work they’ve done and their approach to it as well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would just emphasize how important it is to spend time upfront making sure that everyone understands the business and the core requirements that you have.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of a startup that offers a tax assistance application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We already had an iOS application built by another vendor, but we were looking for a new development shop to take over the Android development. We engaged hedgehog lab to create that new product and orchestrate a redesign of the iOS app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team got familiar with our current practices and our one- and two-year visions of where we wanted the apps to go. They conducted a full review of our existing iOS application and suggested some changes for the update. Throughout the Android development process and the iOS update, hedgehog lab found better ways to summarize the app’s data, along with more appealing displays and colors. hedgehog lab utilized Microsoft Azure in the backend and coded both products with their native languages.

Our application helps users who have homes in two or more states track how many days they spend at each location. If one owns multiple homes, it’s possible that you could be considered a resident in a second state by spending too much time there, which would then require paying income taxes. We help users track their days in different states, and the app produces reports they can share with accountants or attorneys while filing taxes.  

What is the team composition?

They have a pretty large team, but we only interface with two people—a frontend designer and a backend developer.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

We searched online for companies, and hedgehog lab seemed to have good reviews. We compared several new vendor options against our existing provider, but we liked what hedgehog lab had to offer. They had some exciting ideas in the first meeting, and we thought they were reasonably priced for the services they provided.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d estimate we’ve spent between $50,000–$75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in November 2018 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still in the pre-launch stages with the Android product, but so far, we’ve had a healthy working relationship with them. They’ve been collaborative and understanding of our needs.  

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very responsive. We’ve made good use of Monday.com for our project management needs because that’s easiest for them. Otherwise, we work well through phone calls and emails, as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared to our previous developers, hedgehog lab had much more experience working with relevant technologies. They knew what they were talking about.

Are there any areas they could improve?

A very small critique would be that they could offer more in terms of in-house testing, but my team also prefers to be very hands-on, so we help out with that process. Otherwise, hedgehog lab has done really well. They’re on top of everything and keep up with timelines.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take full advantage of the experience they have, and feel comfortable and confident in the solutions they recommend.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of business development at NetVirta, a startup with a focus on digital 3D scanning technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

Our central business premise centers around providing our customers with a way to 3D scan a part of their body so they can order custom-fit apparel and accessories. We needed to completely revamp both our iOS mobile app and our web portal user interfaces. At the time, we had just formed a partnership with a large custom-fit football helmet company, and we needed to customize our entire app and web solution to integrate our services with their business. Although we worked with our client to figure out specifications for user flow, operational mockups, and the product’s overall functionality, we needed an outside company to do both design and development work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our partnership began with a discovery call to give them the opportunity to learn about our business, which was helped by their previous experience within relevant industries. Although their work was not completely from scratch, the design was entirely their purview. hedgehog took the ten mockups with which we provided them initially and expanded them into a fully realized mobile app design. They also drafted both the app and portal’s low-level functionality and user interface alongside the specifications with which we provided them.

During the primary stage of the project, they worked on coding the frontend of the app in React Native, as well as collaborating directly with our internal development team to integrate hedgehog’s design with the backend, to make sure that everything was cohesive. After their initial development phase, we reviewed their work alongside the client, and gave hedgehog feedback. They provided us with different variations of the final products until everyone was satisfied with the outcome.

The app was made for iOS, but in the future, we intend to have hedgehog create an Android version. Once the app was completed, they went through the same process for the web portal, utilizing HTML, CSS, and Bootstrap, and then integrated it with our extant backend.

What is the team composition?

There are four primary team members with whom we worked, although I believe there may be a few others who assist on their end. Patrick is the managing director for the US, and although he supports the project and attended calls with our client, he was not involved on a day-to-day basis. Alex is the lead designer for our project, and he has been phenomenal. Ryan is the project manager, and Bruce is the web portal’s frontend designer.

How did you come to work with hedgehog Lab?

Having used Google as my primary search tool, I reached out to a number of web and mobile development firms, conducted interviews, and received price quotes. After that process, we decided that due to their technical expertise, prior experience, and affordable cost, hedgehog was the best fit for our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

About US$100,000 for this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged them in October 2017, and our work with them is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have any tangible metrics, in part because the final versions of both the app and the portal are still being finalized. There have been no issues or bugs of any significance so far, thanks to them having planned for most possible scenarios. For us, the important thing has been delivering a good product in a timely manner, which they have done.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management has been great, with Ryan having been in touch with me almost on a daily basis regarding deliverables, by when they needed feedback from us, scheduling meetings and calls, and other necessary details. Having him touch base with us so regularly has been very helpful both for us internally and for our own communications purposes for our outside partner. He and I spoke mostly through email, although we also had a call scheduled once a week via Zoom. Our whole project team used Basecamp to do most of our day-to-day work, and their team used both GitHub and Atlassian in addition to the above. Additionally, Patrick was always available for questions, and would respond to emails right away.

What did you find most impressive about them?

hedgehog has been very easy to work with and open to matching our company’s unique work style. In particular, they are good about collaborating, and have gone above and beyond to provide multiple options for any design or feature when requested. They had experience with other complex technologies like AR and VR, as well as prior knowledge of 3D scanning or printing, and they were able to apply that specialized knowledge to our project. As a result, it felt like hedgehog had a deeper understanding of our business and the ways in which our customers interact with it. Additionally, they work at a rapid pace. After that first discovery call, they were able to provide us with a broad set of designs in under a week, which was far faster than I had expected.

Everyone involved has been very happy with both end products, the app and the portal, and everything was delivered on time. We had a good experience with them and their employees. I always felt like they were receptive to our ideas, and their own ideas were always top notch. In the end, our collaboration produced the best app and portal that was possible. It has been a pleasure working with hedgehog.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only real negative to working with them is that they are based in the U.K. while we are based in Boston. Any project of this scope is easier to do in person. It would be fantastic if they could have more than just two representatives here in their U.S. office, but I recognize that likely is not feasible.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that the company has relevant experience to your industry. It is also important to make sure that you will be comfortable working with those people and that you know who is going to be involved from day one – how many designers there will be and what their experience levels are, for example. Lastly, have a good idea from the beginning what their day-to-day process is going to be like, from discovery to design to development to implementation.