Helping global brands harness the power of mobile
hedgehog lab is a global digital product consultancy that partners with brands and enterprises to help them achieve their business goals using emerging technologies.
With over a decade’s experience in technology, design and product development, we’re experts at delivering digital solutions that deliver real, demonstrable business impact for our partners.
Whether it’s iOS, Android, web, immersive or voice, our exceptional design and engineering credentials have helped some of the world’s biggest organisations to challenge their status quo and provide digital experiences that have transformed their businesses.
Our passionate and award-winning team spread across offices in London, Boston, and Newcastle Upon Tyne has delivered industry-leading results for household names all over the globe including Santander, Microsoft, Kodak Alaris, AkzoNobel, Deliciously Ella, Mitsubishi amongst many, many more.
If you’ve got a business challenge that you’d like to discuss with our experts, get in touch today.

headquarters
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Focus
Portfolio
Deliveroo, Standard Life Aberdeen, LaserShip, Go City (former: Leisure Pass Group), E.ON Energy, Santander, B&M Stores, AkzoNobel, Deliciously Ella, CMC Markets, Kodak Alaris, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Honcho, Healthxchange Pharmacy

Santander - Fueling FinTech Innovation
The global banking group, Santander, recognised the banking industry is about to change rapidly, with the growth of FinTech digital technologies that are set to disrupt the industry. With this in mind, Santander's innovation team got in touch with our Boston office to explore how AR, VR, MR and mobile could change banking. From there, our team of designers and UX researchers embarked on an innovation exercise involving multiple design sprints to generate an innovation vision for Santander.
The team began by looking closely at the current state of the banking industry as well as how customers felt about dealing with Santander. Following this, they conducted a survey over two days, from which several vital points arose:
- Personalisation is a high priority for today's bank customer
- Most customers are banking digitally rather than in-branch
- Mobile apps are outperforming desktop online banking
- Online chat is the primary means of contact when customers require help
- Face-to-face communication isn't a high priority when building a relationship with a bank
Using this data, the team were able to develop cutting-edge ideas for banking on the high street, in the home and on-the-go using mobile. These incorporated many branches of emerging technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), biometrics and 'smart' solutions. This strategy was presented to Santander to explore in their Innovation Lab.

Royal Pharmaceutical BNF App
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society supports the pharmacy profession in England, Scotland and Wales and since 1949 they have published the British National Formulary (BNF), a reference book that provides guidance on dispensing and administering medicines.
To adapt to changing user preferences, we partnered with them to launch an iOS and Android app of the BNF that could be easily updated each year and be accessible offline.
We carried out a wholesale overhaul of the backend for both native apps and dramatically improved useability through the latest UX methodologies. The app has now assisted the prescription of over 10m patients in the UK.

LaserShip - elli 2.0 app
LaserShip is one of the largest eCommerce carriers in the US, providing same-day delivery services in the Midwest and Eastern US.
We partnered with LaserShip to help make their last-mile delivery services even more efficient by utilising a bespoke app experience for their drivers.
Leveraging our user research, design and development expertise, we delivered an overhauled native app experience on iOS that is already delivering efficiencies of over 75%.

Standard Life Aberdeen Choices app
With the financial services sector undergoing massive digital disruption, Standard Life Aberdeen approached us to help them develop a new savings and wealth management app for iOS and Android.
The Choices App leverages the Open Banking platform to connect user's bank accounts to the app, providing AI-powered insights, guidance and goals through their team of digital assistants.

Microsoft HoloLens and Zero Carbon Futures
Our Immersive team has been exploring ways to raise productivity across sectors by leveraging the potential of mixed reality technology. Shaun Allan has been advocating AR/VR and MR at various networking events and in one such event, he connected with Mike Taulty and Pete Daukintis from Microsoft. They discussed the prospect of using Microsoft’s Mixed Reality hardware in the automobile industry.
The inception of an idea
To explore the idea further, Shaun got in touch with Anya Bramich from Zero Carbon Futures. Zero Carbon Futures, an electrical vehicle consultancy – has been assisting towns, cities and nations to adapt the introduction of low carbon vehicles.
Shaun and Anya discussed the issue of maintenance in electric cars like Nissan Leaf. The brainstorming sessions led to the development of a prototype intervention for assisting maintenance technicians to ‘remove, repair and replace’ fuel cells from a Nissan Leaf.
The outcome
Following the meeting, hedgehog lab setup a five-day hack along with Microsoft and Zero Carbon Futures and developed an interactive experience on Microsoft HoloLens showing a step-by-step implementation process to ‘removing, repairing and replacing’ the Nissan Leaf’s fuel cells.

PixPax - Launching a new brand with Kodak Alaris
Launching a new brand in a crowded marketplace is not easy, but we managed to do just that with Kodak Alaris and their popular photo printing app PixPax.
Working with the legendary photography name, we carried out market and user research to shape design, branding, price and go to market strategy before designing and building both iOS and Android apps.
Following launch, the app has proven extremely popular, garnering rave reviews and has been featured by both Apple and Google.

Go City - Digital transformation for world leader
We partnered with Leisure Pass Group, the world's leading leisure pass provider, in an ongoing multi-year digital transformation project to transform their line-up of iOS and Android apps across a range of geographies and markets.
Incorporating modern UX techniques and a complex system of API integrations, the apps have helped to boost in-app revenue, customer experience and customer loyalty.

Deliciously Ella - An award-winning app
Following rapid growth over the last few years, wildly successful UK health and wellness brand Deliciously Ella needed a brand new iOS app that matched their brand promise and was hotly anticipated by their loyal fans.
They needed an app that boasted the latest UX techniques as well as strategic guidance for adopting an entirely new revenue model for the app itself.
hedgehog lab worked closely with the brand to overhaul the look and feel of the app to provide a premium and up-to-date experience for users through micro interactions and refreshed branding.
A brand new CMS and support for a wider range of content formats were introduced as part of a pivot towards a subscription payment model, fuelling a 93% subscriber retention rate.
The iOS app has proven phenomenally successful, garnering rave reviews from users and has been featured over 30 times by Apple on the App Store.

Sourced powered by Deliveroo
We partnered with tech unicorn Deliveroo to design and develop a new ingredient sourcing platform for restaurants on iOS, Android and Web.
The platform, which includes bespoke apps for both restaurants and suppliers, gives restaurant owners a quick, easy and convenient way to source new suppliers, order ingredients and track deliveries.
Leveraging our in-house user research capabilities, we carried out research with target users in real restaurants to ensure the apps were meeting real user needs.
Reviews
the project
Web App Development for MedTech Company
“They were very responsive to changes and requirements throughout the project.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the former interim CTO of Oxehealth, a MedTech business that delivers hardware and software products. Our product is a web-based app that enables healthcare providers to have computer vision-based patient monitoring in single-occupancy rooms. We have teams that install, run, and maintain hardware, and that operational service is in support of our product.
What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?
We were running a web app delivery project and had some scoping around an app that needed to be built. We needed to move away from legacy tooling and make in-house tools to better support our growth and teams as we scaled to existing geographies and international markets. We were struggling with resourcing for some new projects and decided to hire hedgehog lab to reduce the impact on our internal teams and source externally.
What was the scope of their involvement?
hedgehog lab helped us with internal tooling. First, we identified some requirements and success metrics for the project, and we provided them with the wireframes. They helped build an internal customer requirements portal that helps capture complex customer needs through sales, contracting, and onboarding.
The portal’s functionality is to help us through our contract live process, which involves engaging with the customer and getting them set up with our product and services. Then, the portal helps manage that engagement on an ongoing basis through appropriate change management processes and protocols.
Our staff is the target audience: the operational teams who run our product at the service level. The hedgehog lab team focused on a few objectives, primarily improving the data quality of our onboarding process and how we capture customer requirements. We also requested that the tool reduce our operational model's risk, ensuring that requirements are up to date and improving our contract live process insights.
What is the team composition?
We worked with two developers, and Sarat (CEO & Co-Founder) provided some high-level oversight.
How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?
Sarat and I are in similar trusted CTO networks, and I reached out to him for help. We knew that hedgehog lab had provided similar pop-up teams for other businesses I have spoken with in the past, so we decided to go with them.
How much have you invested in them?
We spent about £75,000 (approximately $94,000 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from January–April 2022.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The quality of hedgehog lab’s work was high, and the maintenance has had a relatively low overhead. They were very responsive to changes and requirements throughout the project. The feedback from the operational teams has also been strong, and they’re very excited to use the tool. Since we’re still trialing and rolling out the product internally, we don’t have any hard metrics yet. However, the portal will allow us to deliver our products faster and realize revenue sooner than before.
How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?
They were great at meeting deadlines; they communicated expectations clearly around timeframes and effectively organized to complete tasks on time. The team hit all the milestones along the way, which is rare in teams solely staffed by engineers without project management support. We primarily communicated over Slack, and we used GitLab for issue tracking and task management.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I’ve had mixed experiences with other agencies in their ability to deliver quality, and hedgehog lab felt like a safe pair of hands with solid talent. Sarat made a point of checking in regularly to make sure that the project was successful rather than leaving it all to the very end when there’s a higher risk of everything going off the rails.
Are there any areas they could improve?
In hindsight, I would have liked to have a bit more automated test coverage of the work they delivered for us. However, that was far from a deal-breaker, and I didn’t stress it as a hard requirement going into the project. Overall, there wasn't anything I had significant concerns about.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I recommend having a clear idea of the project's scope and the expected deliverables, which is good for any project you outsource. Although hedgehog lab was very communicative, I had to take the initiative to ensure we had appropriate sprint planning and prioritization since I worked with the engineers rather than project managers.
the project
Clinical Protocol Web App Dev for Life Sciences Company
“The hedgehog lab team is highly organized.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
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.
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.
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.
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.
the project
Web App & Software Development for IT Security Nonprofit
"hedgehog lab is transparent and they allow us enough time to make good decisions."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the principal analyst of a security nonprofit and our organization has around 450 members. We produce information security materials for companies to use, such as risk assessment methodologies, standards of good practices, and benchmarking tools.
What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?
We were looking for a vendor that could help us migrate our existing toolset into a series of web apps.
What was the scope of their involvement?
hedgehog lab built a web app for us and a full software solution that initially included gathering requirements and elicitation. They provided us with design, development, and UI/UX research, and approached the project from a psychological perspective. This was something we didn’t have internally, and they came up with a solution that was going to work for us.
We currently have a support contract with them where they’ll continue to make changes with the app, and build three more — they will be our primary vendor moving forward.
What is the team composition?
We’re currently working with Ben (Interim Head of Product) as our main point of contact, three technical specialists, a dedicated lead designer, and several members of their support team.
How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?
We did a lot of our initial research through Clutch to make our short list of candidates. We liked the idea of working with a vendor in the UK so we could see them, and that was one of the reasons why we hired hedgehog lab.
They’ve had big customers and were a bit more expensive than our previous vendor at first, but we’ve had an easier experience working with them, so the money is well spent now.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve roughly spent £150,000 (approximately $200,900 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
Our ongoing partnership started in May 2021.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We haven’t released the app yet so I can’t really provide a figure at the moment. However, in terms of the budget, they were very spot on with the figure they gave. Some functionalities fell by the wayside, but they were always upfront when it comes to issues, and that’s something that’s really important to us. hedgehog lab is transparent and they allow us enough time to make good decisions based on all the knowledge they provide.
The app is good overall and functions as expected, so we have no concerns. We just recently finished a penetration test and there have been a couple of minor issues, but nothing really major.
How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?
We haven’t had any concerns with their deadlines and they’ve hit all the major milestones that we set perfectly. They manage their projects through Basecamp, and we typically communicate over the phone.
What did you find most impressive about them?
We’re impressed by the fact that they consistently hit their deadlines, treat the project seriously, and are always upfront and transparent.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I can’t really think of anything because I don’t remember being disgruntled at any point in the relationship.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
The hedgehog lab team is very upfront and if you’re the same towards them, then they’ll come up with the best solutions for you as an organization.
the project
Custom Software Dev for Software Company
“This is — by far — the best partnership I’ve had with another vendor.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
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.
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.
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.
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.
the project
App Dev for a Nonprofit Organization
“While their technical ability and communication skills are excellent, they go above and beyond to assist our IT team.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the principal project manager for a utilities company.
What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?
We were looking to build a mobile and a web application.
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.
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.
the project
Software Consulting & Design for Comms Software Company
“They’re the best we’ve ever worked with.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I am the CEO of Halo Solutions Ltd. We provide communications and instant management software.
What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?
We wanted to scale our software so that it can be used globally. We also wanted to add about 100 new features.
What was the scope of their involvement?
hedgehog lab helps us navigate the problems relating to our software. They’ve given expert guidance and advice on different budgeting and framework options.
hedgehog lab offers full solutions for our database, web, iOS and Android design. They also provide wireframes, branding, and design. They’ve helped us completely redesign our database, taking us away from off-the-shelf products like SashiDo and taking us towards a bespoke build for AWS.
Now, they’re working with us to deliver version s4 and 5 of our software, which will have about 90 new features of the 100 that we want to build. It’s for mobile apps and websites.
What is the team composition?
My main point of contact is Christian (Account Director) and the team includes Russell Head of Technology), George (Support Product Lead), and Lizzie (Product Manager). There are other people involved as the designer and someone else who works on other parts of the system.
How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?
We found them through a wildcard internet search. We wanted to leave our current agency and find a new agency that was bigger and better.
We settled on hedgehog lab because of their Clutch ratings where they were number one in several areas. They have a great attitude for helping, and they had really clear designs to help us; they had the same kind of mindset as us. Another main factor was their pedigree of existing brands.
How much have you invested in them?
When all is said and done, it will be close to £600,000 GBP (approximately $848,000 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
The partnership began in December 2020, and our work is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They’ve delivered on time and on budget 100% so far. In terms of customer service, their attitude is really friendly and they’re really good at understanding concepts.
The database redesign was a huge project because it carried a massive amount of risk. It was financially very large, and it was something that we had been worried about for a long time, but they have been able to completely sort it out. Now, we own all of the IP on our product, including the database, which is great for our business evaluation.
How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?
They are always on time and always on a budget, which is good. We use Basecamp and Google Meets for project management. They have excellent communication and design skills. They’re the best we’ve ever worked with; they help us visualize solutions that we never thought possible.
What did you find most impressive about them?
We were really scared about moving from our developers to another one because we are not technically minded. We felt vulnerable, and we weren’t sure what was involved in switching providers. They made that switch so much less scary and so much more achievable, and we are really grateful for their guidance. I was really impressed with that.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, nothing comes to mind.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Don’t be nervous about your own lack of knowledge if you want to move from one supplier to another; hedgehog really helped us in our transition, and I’m sure they can help other people transition as well. They’ll give expert guidance and really put you in control to get rid of those fears.
the project
Software Development for Facilities Services Company
“hedgehog lab was a welcomed member to our leadership table.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the former business transformation director for Bidvest Noonan. It was an organization that offered cleaning and security services for various facilities, whether it be hospitals, offices, shopping malls, or something else.
What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?
I worked with hedgehog lab to take Bidvest Noonan from a paper-based organization into the digital era.
What was the scope of their involvement?
hedgehog lab helped formulate a proposal to digitally transform Bidvest Noonan. They suggested a multi-function software solution that would make our frontline staff’s lives easier.
The main function was related to staffing. Beforehand, our frontline staff would roster their teams on Excel sheets, which were collated into a back-office database. We proposed building out a robust mobile solution that would allow staff to check their shift on their phone. This would be particularly useful around holiday scheduling.
In addition, frontline staff would use the solution to document any potential risks when arriving at a facility. They would take photos on their phone and submit them to the proper department for a further risk assessment.
From a back-office perspective, the solution would streamline several manually-adjusted transactional processes such as expenses. Our previous backend ERP systems were broken, so hedgehog lab looked to see where automation could support a faster turnaround and eliminate manual handling from one department to another.
We’ve completed the embryonic stages of the proposal, and hedgehog labs will continue to stay on as a development partner.
What is the team composition?
My involvement was mostly in the early stages. I worked with a senior team from hedgehog lab’s side on the ideation process, pulling together the right end-to-end journey that would streamline our workflow.
How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?
They’d already done some small development work for us at the beginning of 2020. When I came in, I was responsible for assessing them to determine if they had the right capabilities for our project. I was more than pleased with their ability to support a broader, faster digital transformation as well as their proactiveness in being a true partner.
How much have you invested with them?
The contract is easily a few million British pounds.
What is the status of this engagement?
The initial proposal development lasted from July 2020–February 2021. However, hedgehog lab has a substantial three-year delivery plan with us.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’ve just completed the embryonic stage of the transformation proposals, so I can only give anecdotal feedback at this point. Because we were moving very fast, they had to make several U-turns to meet our ever-changing business needs. COVID-19 and the national lockdown also presented us with more challenges.
Regardless, hedgehog lab was quick to put forward solutions that were sometimes cheaper or temporary but equally good. They made sure that their suggestions would help us meet our goal of making our frontline staff’s jobs a lot easier.
How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?
hedgehog lab was a welcomed member to our leadership table. Initially, they were a bit reticent to communicate freely with us as a partner. Once we started to understand each other’s way of working, they became more forthcoming.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their ability to adapt to changing, slightly stressful situations quickly and with a positive attitude was impressive.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I thought they were excellent as a partner.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Invite them under the premise of a true partnership rather than as just a delivery partner, and you will get the best, most-committed teamwork.
the project
Web Platform Development for Mental Health Nonprofit
"We were very well looked after with hedgehog lab; I can’t speak highly enough of them."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the director of external affairs for a mental health nonprofit.
What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?
We wanted to create a digital hub that was about building a social movement of people who were impacted by, affected by, or do something about preventing suicide.
What was the scope of their involvement?
The brief behind the project was to help us build a digital hub that would be a place where people could sign up to support the campaign and show their interest. We also wanted the digital hub to be a source of support and help for people who were affected by the issue. It’s a place where people could see others who joined the movement and hear their story.
We also wanted to include resources for people to read and watch. The platform hedgehog lab built is integrated with social media channels and has an interactive sign up capability.
What is the team composition?
We had a lead point of contact who was our main connection to hedgehog lab. At any one point we had two or three other colleagues who joined us in weekly meetings. There may have also been other people involved behind the scenes that I wasn’t aware of.
How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?
We were working with another creative agency who was supporting us in the development of the campaign. They were the ones who brought hedgehog lab into the mix in terms of delivering on the digital hub, because they didn’t have that capability in house.
We met with hedgehog lab through the process of the campaign as the client, and we were really comfortable with their approach. They were great at dealing with people like me and my colleagues, who don’t have technical skills or knowledge. The team made us feel very confident about what we were doing and why at all times.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent in the region of £40,000 (approximately $54,000 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in July 2020. We launched the digital hub in September, and we’re wrapping up with them now.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
A few thousand people have signed up since we started the campaign at the end of September, which we’re absolutely delighted with. We also have the ability to use Google Analytics to look at the performance of the site. People’s experience when they come onto the site has been a huge part of being able to keep them with us and convert to sign up.
The hedgehog lab team also supported us to communicate with those people that signed up. We’ve been looking at open rates of our newsletter, which have been above the industry benchmark.
Anecdotally, the team has helped us build something great. They helped and supported us in the process of design, giving us really good advice throughout with their knowledge and experience in creating websites and content.
The team was absolutely crucial in helping us make some pretty vital decisions. They helped us understand when we were going in the wrong direction, without pressuring us to go with their advice. However, hedgehog lab’s suggestions were always well-intentioned, and we were often pleased to take them.
How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?
They were excellent. We always had an open communication channel. The night of the launch, we had a problem with the site, and even though it was after hours, hedgehog lab got on board right away to fix it. They were extremely responsive to the situation. We were very well looked after with hedgehog lab; I can’t speak highly enough of them.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They turned the project around in days, when it was something that should’ve taken weeks. Their ability to respond in a really tight timeframe, and their patience with us as we were working through a complex campaign, was really impressive.
We loved working with hedgehog lab from start to finish. Their ability to respond quickly, give us good advice, and be there when we needed them are all signs of a great agency to work with.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Nothing jumps out at me as particularly important. They’ve always been available when we need them and provided organized status updates. There’s nothing that springs to mind.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
As a client, we didn’t get to meet hedgehog lab until they were discussing with the other agency, but if we had, we would’ve been able to give them a much clearer brief on the project. My one regret would be that we didn’t insist on speaking to hedgehog lab sooner, because I think we lost a few days on the project.
the project
Software Development & User Research for Government Entity
"Overall, they made the project really easy for me. I knew they were doing what we needed."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the digital program manager for a Newcastle City Council, a large local government and we deliver public services.
What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?
We had a basic prototype version of a product, but we needed to improve it so it would be more credible when we launched.
What was the scope of their involvement?
First, they conducted user research. They went back to square one to understand what our users need. The collected 350 survey responses and provided us with a comprehensive report. They used various pieces of software to analyze and test how users would use the platform.
Based on that information, they designed a new beta version. The next step was to develop a beta product that met accessibility and security requirements, as well as UK government standards.
What is the team composition?
There were about five people on the team, but I interacted with 2–3 people on a regular basis.
How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?
They were recommended to us, so we invited them to participate in our procurement process. They competed and won the work based on their tender.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent £46,800 (approximately $63,000 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in August and we wrapped up in November 2020.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We had a number of show-and-tell sessions and several stakeholders from our organization attended. Our executives provided glowing feedback. They were all very impressed because the new product is a huge improvement compared to the original prototype.
We also did a retrospective, which was like a debrief at the end of the project. We discussed what did and didn’t go well, and overall, we gave them very positive feedback. Very few things went wrong.
How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?
They did really well. They communicated exceptionally well during the user research, but that could have been better through the development stage. Overall, they made the project really easy for me. I knew they were doing what we needed.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They were nice people and they knew what they were doing. They were reliable and they came up with a great solution.
I was also really impressed by how they conducted user research. That had a huge impact on the success of our project.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I knew that they were busy building the site and writing code, but I would have liked to have more regular progress updates during the development process.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Outline communication protocols from the outset. Agree on how you communicate and how often they’ll be in touch. You might want to schedule weekly calls.
the project
App Development & Research for Development Company
“We were unfamiliar with mobile app development, and they were willing to hold our hands throughout the entire process.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I work for a consulting company that was assigned to work with hedgehog lab for a high-profile individual.
What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?
The client spotted a gap in the market on a Caribbean island. We wanted to create an app to scale and launch his new company.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We contracted them to provide a working prototype and to determine whether there was an appetite for the product through research. They were responsible for research, branding, and mobile app development.
The project was broken down into two parts, the first being the prototype build, research, and branding. Next, we’ll focus on the full development of the app. Their market research helped us determine to develop the platform for Android only.
What is the team composition?
We worked with about 6–7 individuals in total, including a project manager, an account manager, a branding specialist, a researcher, and a technical team.
How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?
The client approached us with some initial research but wanted us to undertake some of our own research as well. He also requested that we find a partner company that was well-known and had a presence in the UK. We didn’t want anything to get lost in translation with various languages, either.
We shortlisted about 25 app developers and examined their portfolios. After narrowing it down to three options, hedgehog lab checked all of our boxes.
How much have you invested with them?
To this point, we’ve spent £30,000 (approximately $39,000 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together on the prototype from August–September 2020.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’ve yet to test the prototype with users, but the team’s delivery was strong. They were on time and on budget, staying proactive throughout the effort to drive the project forward.
How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?
We were new to Basecamp, but they used it well for the project. They always returned to us with questions about our requirements and asking for our approval on progress within an appropriate timeframe. We appreciated that they always laid out next steps as well.
What did you find most impressive about them?
We were unfamiliar with mobile app development, and they were willing to hold our hands throughout the entire process. They were clear with objectives and next steps. Tom (Product Manager) and Russell (Head of Technology) both have a wealth of knowledge. Our client was impressed with the level of branding that was implemented in such a short timeframe.
Are there any areas they could improve?
When we neared the end of the project, things felt a bit rushed. It was sometimes unclear when we should expect final deliverables and alterations. This didn’t tarnish the overall experience, which was excellent from all perspectives.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Be open with your experience surrounding mobile app development because they’re willing to accommodate all levels of experience. Have a clear understanding of your goals and communicate them clearly. They’ll add more value to your project that way.
hedgehog lab delivered a high-quality product with low maintenance overhead, receiving positive feedback from internal stakeholders. Responsive and organized, the team communicated expectations clearly and delivered on time. They checked in with the client constantly, making them a reliable partner.