HeyPayless

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of a small medical clinic.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire HeyPayless?

I hired HeyPayless to create a custom mobile app that would create a telemedicine platform on iOS and Android. Administrative access would be available through a website that connected to the database.

What were your goals for this project?

Creating a functional, seamless, custom platform that patients can get secure telemedicine visits.

SOLUTION

How did you select HeyPayless?

I found them online and used them previously.

Describe the project in detail.

The mobile app would allow users to schedule online video and text visits. Registering a visit would also prompt users to fill out forms using simple conditional logic.

Visits would be done securely and through a backend database. A payment gateway (Stripe) would be integrated to get user payments. Administrators would also be able to control basic functionality (adding users/deleting users/looking at information of users) using an online dashboard.

What was the team composition?

Team composition varied throughout the project. There were mostly three programmers involved: one for Android, one for iOS and one for the online dashboard and database.

There was a team manager and a project manager who had less of a hands-on role but who communicated issues. I also spoke with Malcolm, based in the USA and who is the Director of Customer Relations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was mostly a failure. The only success was that the team was able to finish the Android version of the mobile app but did not finish the iOS version or the administrator website portal completely.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project was very dysfunctional and I found HeyPayless to be inadequate to complete the project. The project took over 5x as long as it was proposed to be done (and would have taken longer if I had not given up working with the team).

The project slowed down after all payments were received. Communication was often lacking and I would have to ask for updates. I had numerous complaints of the quality of the code and poor QA with the team

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I had a prior good experience with them, but this project was a disaster. I paid over $16,000 and have nothing to show for it. The company claims they have a working program that can be delivered, but after 50+ weeks of poor quality, enough is enough for me.

Are there any areas for improvement?

All factors would need improvement. The management was flawed from the beginning as there was not enough resources devoted to the project. Most of the time, there was only one programmers working a few hours a day (I surmise) on the project.

The project took over 50 months to near completion before I ended the entire endeavor. Management did not have any process to notice any issues or correct the team being behind.

At one point, I had to wait weeks for an available iOS Developer on their team. Quality of coding was terrible with obvious problems (ex. back gesture on iOS did not work, functionality did not work, audio errors occurred, etc.).

The team also had communication issues that compounded upon the time difference to make the project even slower. The team would often ask to meet on the phone and the meeting would last 5 minutes, but then we would lose an entire business day when clarification should have been done much more efficiently.

Customer service has been terrible as well. I have tried to resolve finishing the project, but it seems like Malcolm (Director of Customer Relations) either ignore my requests or states that this is "normal software development".

"Normal software development" does not take 5x the estimated time to finish and involve the client doing hours to debug the latest version.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with HeyPayless?

We needed to create a web-based application for estate lawyers. I didn’t have in-house programmers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I contacted HeyPayless with my concepts, which they took and developed into an app for both desktop and iOS. A lawyer can use it to visualize an estate plan with their client and see where assets are allocated in different types of gifts, along with a general overview of what the will is going to look like, all generated on the app. HeyPayless was good at giving suggestions about things that would and wouldn’t work. They helped on the design and execution of the app as well.

How did you come to work with HeyPayless?

I didn’t do a lot of comparative shopping. The project started as a personal idea. I found HeyPayless on the web and they were very responsive to what I was trying to do. I didn’t have to look anywhere else; they were able to do what I wanted to do.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in August 2015, and the work is ongoing. The project has been launched but we’re still working on revisions and improvements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

It’s all brand new so I don’t have any metrics to share. I’m one of the users so it was made mostly for me, and they’ve done an excellent job. I use it regularly and I think they executed the project as well as they could and were able to achieve my goals.

How did HeyPayless perform from a project management standpoint?

I get regular feedback from them. They’re very accessible whenever we need to discuss things. We communicate over GoToMeeting.

What did you find most impressive about HeyPayless?

Their communication is great and they keep me updated. Their response times are also impressive.

Are there any areas HeyPayless could improve?

I don’t have anything to compare them to. They’ve been great to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of Exceed Events. We provide support to the trade show industry through software, hardware, and service solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with HeyPayless?

We had a software development challenge. Our registration systems had to be built to match industry standards. We used another system last year, but it wasn’t exactly what we wanted.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we put together a list of our requirements and approached HeyPayless to construct our registration website. It would allow exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, and attendees to register for one of our trade shows. We were able to extrapolate from a previous system what we wanted to improve on, and HeyPayless provided good suggestions. During our collaboration, we found some enhancements that would make our system grander than we had planned. There were other areas where we scaled things down to meet the need.  

HeyPayless built the site on PHP and Java. Its core features are data collection and registration payment. We also created a full dashboard system that every user has access to. They can edit their own information, adjust their schedule, and add or drop classes. Users can even make purchases via the dashboard. It’s a very robust tool, from the user level up to the administration level.

How did you come to work with HeyPayless?

I went to a forum for developers and asked for recommendations. We did research on the 4 firms that answered and narrowed down our choices to 2 firms. HeyPayless presented their proposal in a way that felt comfortable. The company also had a large team of developers, so I knew that if someone disappeared, the project could move forward.

How much have you invested with HeyPayless?

The cost of the project was just under $10,000. We went beyond their initial bid, but they were flexible about adding things that we needed. They were up front about the costs of any additions we wanted.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2016, and the work is ongoing. The project will wrap up in August. HeyPayless will be supporting the project until the trade show is over. If the client wants to continue, we’ll decide what to do next year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The quality of the work has been pretty good. The site’s functionality is great. We have 81 speakers registered, 123 sponsors, 209 exhibitors, and 525 attendees booked to date. There are users who are technically challenged, so we’ve had more user errors than anything. There are also occasional bugs that have to do with browser type. HeyPayless has been very responsive in fixing those issues.

HeyPayless’ team tells us what they can and can’t do in the timeframe allowed. For example, one of the features we wanted was a waiting list for sold-out classes. HeyPayless told us we could do that, but due to other pressing issues, we were going to have to prioritize because it would delay the project. That kind of honesty was refreshing. In my past experience working with developers, they often have very little feedback. I would just tell them what I want. Unfortunately, I’m not technical, so I don’t know exactly what I’m asking for. They would build what they think I want, and it ends up not being the same.

How did HeyPayless perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been good about outlining each phase, building that, and then moving to the next phase. We communicate via Skype, email, and GoToMeeting.  

What did you find most impressive about HeyPayless?

Going directly overseas with HeyPayless was favorable for us. Previously, we hired a local developer who had a team overseas, but it didn’t work out. We had felt that if we used a local person, we would be able to talk to them. But that wasn’t what happened.  

The team I’ve had has been fantastic. HeyPayless is good at deciphering my needs, and we had open communication throughout the whole process. Sometimes, we would see something that made sense on paper but not in reality. In those cases, we could quickly take action to make the necessary changes. That has been the biggest benefit of using HeyPayless. It has been a fabulous experience.

Are there any areas HeyPayless could improve?

The only thing would be to check the grammar. That would help alleviate any embarrassing moments for us.