Imaginary Cloud

Could you start by describing your organization and position, please?

My organization is part of the Ministry of Education, more specifically the General Directorate of Education. This Directorate has several departments and I am integrated at the School Sports Department.

I am part of the DE Coordination and for that reason we requested the V / Services for a Site / Portal in this area, that is, the DE. In terms In terms of size, the DE is the largest national club, covering a percentage of significant number of students who are integrated into mainstream education in Portugal.

What platform / project did you develop together or for which were you hired and what were some of the business objectives with this company?

The project to be carried out was to develop a School Sports Portal / Site correspond to the needs of the development of this educational aspect, being A portal is necessary, as the basic platform for an information and communication system. communication between its internal stakeholders / stakeholders (structure of the School Sports:

National Coordination / CNDE, five Regional / CRDE and 23 Local Coordination / CLDE as well as students participating in the DE and their parents.

Allowing, on the one hand, the presentation appropriate messages to these audiences, effectively articulating with different social media supports and, on the other hand, access a platform to have access to a set of information management modules (databases of: plan / report of School School Sports / School Group, CLDE, CRDE and CNDE; frames competitive; training of teachers and supporting students; event management; etc.).

How did you get involved and what were some of the technologies you used in this project? Any specific technology that you would like to highlight or emphasize?

After we agreed on a contract with Imaginary cloud, we proceeded to carry out of a methodology: Briefing; Personas; User Journey; Decision Matrix; Wireframes; Style Guide; Grafphic User Interface; High-level prototype and architecture.

What were the dynamics of the team and how many developers did you assign to This project? How many people from this company work with you on this project?

Mainly 2 people were the main interlocutors, but were also other actors from the National Coordination and the National Coordination Regional.

How did you find it in the beginning and why did you decide to work with them? Because they were the best option for you?

We first made a selection of companies that seemed credible to us, and the from there we asked for the respective budgets. Of the 3 that were selected, the Imaginary Cloud presented the best quality / price profile.

How much did they invest in this collaboration or how much did the project cost (only one track would be good to have an idea only)?

For this project that essentially contemplated the realization of Design, the project cost us 7,400 euros without VAT.

When did the project start and when was it completed? Is it an ongoing collaboration? The Project started in September and ended in February.

What were some of the results of this project? Some general feedback from your company or platform users? What was the impact of your company?

The project had wide participation and was concluded with great success.

How did you act from the point of view of project management? You have some comment on your communications or skills to meet the deadlines of the project?

The Project was carried out with our availability and always with a lot of cordiality on both sides. Sometimes there were adjustments that were always well received by those in charge of Imaginary Cloud.

Was there a strong lead during the collaboration or a strong lead? Something they did very well or in which they stood out?

From my point of view, what they did very well beyond the design of the Project, was the successive changes that occurred in the course of the project due to requests from other DGE stakeholders who were asked to give their opinion.

Some area of ​​improvement or something that they could improve on future projects to offer a better service?

None

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of an e-learning platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Imaginary Cloud?

We needed frontend development and design services for our platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team from Imaginary Cloud was responsible for both frontend development and design. They collaborated with the internal team as well as our outsourced backend developers. The frontend language was JavaScript, and I believe they used Vue.js as well.

What is the team composition?

We started with two frontend developers and two designers. At some point, we also had a technical manager for the whole team.

How did you come to work with Imaginary Cloud?

I knew someone who used to work at Imaginary Cloud, so I knew of their business. We were shopping around for other providers, but when we contacted them and found out they could handle our project, we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere around the low $100,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2018–May 2019.

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

The end product works really well. They were very adaptive and always willing to make changes, which were taking place every week based on feedback from clients and our CEO. They responded well to the frequent changes in scope. 

How did Imaginary Cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

The team participated in all of our daily meetings and was very organized. Imaginary Cloud communicated well with us throughout scope changes and never complained. Everything was very smooth.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a small software house, and it’s clear they want to create a good working environment. They helped us grow professionally — it was very positive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a good conversation with them about what their capabilities are and what you want to build, so that there’s a common understanding of what can be done. Imaginary Cloud is a very serious software agency with a positive attitude and good skill set.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide a learning management system (LMS) for medium and large companies of 100–10,000 employees. The platform is addressed to HR and learning involvement departments.

What challenge were you trying to address with Imaginary Cloud?

We’re a startup, and the full design of the platform was done in-house. We found it necessary to bring in someone from the outside to conduct a UI/UX audit. The audit needed to identify problems and improvement points, and to propose solutions. We wanted to have a quick and targeted process so that we could start implementing those recommendations immediately.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided Imaginary Cloud with access to our platform. We asked them to use it as though they were end-users and to identify any problems. They did that for the first two weeks, during which time they only got back to us with 1–2 questions.

We had a meeting after that, where they presented a document with 60–65 suggested improvements that were organized by ease of implementation. They exposed both simple and more profound problems, all of them centered around our main goal of increasing usage. All issues were divided by habit formation, navigation, readability, visual aesthetics, responsiveness, how critical they were, and their level of impact.

Imaginary Cloud also provided a list of potential ideas, such as new features. It was a detailed report with a lot of ideas for us to work on in the next six months.

What is the team composition?

Their head of design acted as our project manager, and we worked with one of their designers on the details.

How did you come to work with Imaginary Cloud?

Tiago (CEO) is a member of Startup Lisboa, and I met him there four years ago. I learned about his work and talked to him about the startup business. I received an email from another company at one point offering UI/UX auditing services, and I liked the concept. I contacted that company as well as Imaginary Cloud, and we liked Imaginary Cloud’s proposal the best.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost was close to €20,000 (approximately $23,700 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Imaginary Cloud between June–July 2020. The whole collaboration lasted 4–5 weeks.

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

This was the first time we had professional designers work on our application. We’re currently implementing the corrections proposed by Imaginary Cloud. We’ve completed some of the quick ones already and shown them to customers, and we’ve gotten good feedback. 

I don’t know what the full impact will be. We’re launching the new version in September 2020, and we hope to see some results in three months’ time. I’m quite optimistic.

How did Imaginary Cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

They were flexible in including our additional requests, and their CEO phoned me regularly to see how the project was going. They were willing to do some extra work to ensure that the final deliverable was what we needed. The project was extended by two weeks because we asked for more work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This is the first UI/UX audit we’ve done, and it was quite comprehensive. They identified around 60 improvements, each one ordered by occurrence, impact, and cost and effort to fix it, along with some graphics.

We preferred working with professional designers because using focus groups would’ve been too complicated, and we were very happy with Imaginary Cloud’s delivery.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We were always asking for more design options, but we’re happy with what they delivered. I’m happy with the results, and I plan to hire them to work on complete features.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Imaginary Cloud is a fantastic option for someone looking to do a UI/UX audit. I recommend talking to Tiago, who has a lot of experience working with large multinationals.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Oligo Swiss Fund Services, a company that specializes in going over the presentation and distribution of foreign investment funds.

What challenge were you trying to address with Imaginary Cloud?

We needed help developing proprietary tools of our own.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired them for several projects, including web design. They analyzed the tools we had. They also provided us with algorithms for statistical analysis, project management of our IT systems, and web hosting management. They did everything related to portals and our internet connection. 

What is the team composition?

I was in contact with at least 12 people. I worked directly with their CEO and project manager of the web design team. We worked with a person that manages the host system, a PHP developer, a Ruby on Rails developer, and a java developer that specialized in algorithms and statistical analysis.

How did you come to work with Imaginary Cloud?

I worked with them when I was at another company for all our webpage designs and investor portal. When I founded my company, we reached out to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2013–January 2020.

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

I’m very happy with them. The quality of their work is excellent. We will definitely use them for any projects that we need.

How did Imaginary Cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

They use an online tool that we can use to see the status of our project and who is assigned to each task. They review the tasks on a daily basis and we have weekly calls with them to see where the project stands. We’re always informed because they're so on top of things. They make sure that we know if there are any issues or if something isn’t working as it should. They meet deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The design process they put in place is very good. They have a very good approach to how they design the graphical interface and the UX. It’s integrated well with their development team. The project management is very good as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they had a couple more people, it would help. When we have a new project, they may not immediately have the resources we need right away, but they do make a huge effort to try to find people to work for them really quickly. Once they engage with us, there are no issues with timing or deadlines.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go for it. Don’t be afraid to work with them. The quality they deliver and their engagement is very good. They are ready for challenges. They like complex projects that allow them to think out of the box. If you try them once, you’ll use them for the next project.

Please describe your company and your position there.

The platform is a digital, personalised, family health platform to help them care for themselves and their loved ones by placing them at the centre of their own Circle of Care. My duty as product manager was the management of the health platform. • Elicitation and analysis of their requirements; • Management of feature’s life; • Features specification and testing; • Management of the daily stand-up meetings and feature development according Agile principles.

For what projects/services did your company hire Imaginary Cloud?

Develop the platform.

What were your goals for this project?

Launch the platform in Ireland.

How did you select this vendor?

I had worked with Imaginary Cloud and they delivered high quality software.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They worked in the back-end and front-end to launch jinga life platform, from the infrastructure to the production deployment. They designed, developed and configured all the platform according the specified requirements.

What was the team composition?

3 Developers 1 UX/UI Designer

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

Despite the short development time, they delivered a high quality product on time to the launch.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They demonstrated good communication skills to understand the requirements and adapt the work as needed. We worked in a 2 week sprint system and met daily to discuss the work done and next the requirements to develop.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The agile skills and ability to adapt to a new condition or requirement were impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. They are an excellent team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of an organization that wanted to reuse AI and cognitive modeling to support strategic business decisions.

What challenge were you trying to address with Imaginary Cloud?

At that point in time, I was responsible for global services and strategic pricing. I required a significant number of data points to make pricing decisions. We cramped the data into an Excel spreadsheet.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Imaginary Cloud supported with frontend and backend development, helping us to put our data together in a way that worked. We provided them with mockups. They built the frontend as a way to check the data consistency with each input. Their team helped us with processing activities and sure that the data quality and consistency were good.

What is the team composition?

We had a main point of content. I also kept in close contact with the project manager and the CEO of Imaginary Cloud.

How did you come to work with Imaginary Cloud?

I got to know Imaginary Cloud through a colleague because Lisbon, Portugal is a small, big city. I spoke with the CEO many times and saw their previous work. They were reliable and cost-effective, so I tried them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $200,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project around 2014. Their work continues, but I left the function.

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

The feedback was positive. We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish with the difficulties of organizational transformation at that point in time. Their team was trustworthy.

How did Imaginary Cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

We used a tool to keep up with the project, which was completed on time. We had delays on our side, so we were happy to have them keeping the drum beating. We didn’t exceed the budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s impressive how they’ve been able to grow but also keep close to their customers. They grew and remained agile.

Imaginary Cloud focuses on the customer experience side of products. UX design is their key value proposition. UX design and development are part of their culture.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m not in a position to say what they could change.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise them to say what they need and what they want. Imaginary Cloud will tell you if they can or cannot complete the project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and CEO of Topgim, Lda, an online sports equipment retailer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Imaginary Cloud?

We had a paper catalog and it was essential to have a web presence. We needed someone to develop our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Imaginary Cloud designed and developed our e-commerce website. They did the front- and backend work.

What is the team composition?

I am in contact with Tiago (CEO) and João (Full Stack Developer).

How did you come to work with Imaginary Cloud?

Someone recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2010, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

The website is very easy to use, and we receive a lot of partners from it. We don’t have to spend money on marketing. They made some new implementations but the design is still the same from 2010.

How did Imaginary Cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is good, and they communicate well. The team always meets deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Imaginary Cloud has a strong ability to solve problems, and they present a solution in a short timeframe. They have an excellent team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Share your idea with them and they will have the knowledge to help. I have full confidence in their capabilities.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I owned a design agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Imaginary Cloud?

They were a development partner for a website we were working on for a client.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I debriefed them on what the client wants and they came up with a solution that met their requirements. Basically, they developed the front- and backend stuff for the websites. Sometimes the do the UI part as well.  

At the beginning of our engagement, we designed everything, but our partnership grew. We would connect them with clients and they took on more of the design aspect.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about five people, and I always talked to the owner of the company. He delegated everything else.

How did you come to work with Imaginary Cloud?

I heard of them from a friend of mine. I was searching for a small company, and we were one of their first clients.

They’re very solution-driven, they’re trustworthy, and they always understand what the client wants. They’re very focused on delivery and they plan every step of the journey. For me, I find that very helpful. They take care of everything. I know they’ll deliver good work on time.

How much have you invested with them?

Over our entire engagement, we spent between $250,000–$300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2013 and wrapped up in December 2019.

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

We received some feedback from the client a few months later. They were satisfied with the work. Whenever there’s a detail that wasn’t quite right, Imaginary Cloud was quick to resolve it.

We have a lot of confidence in them and they knew the project very well. They were able to develop everything very quickly. They had the skills to develop everything we couldn’t at the time. It made things easier all around.

How did Imaginary Cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

They accomplished all the deadlines on time. They planned and carried out every step of the project roadmap. They also explained everything to us in a simple way, which made it easy to communicate with clients.

When I worked with them, we used phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very trustworthy. That’s so important when working with someone.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go ahead and trust them because they will deliver exactly what you ask doe. They’re deliberate and solution-driven. Their skills will improve their work and their relations with the client.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a social platform for fitness based in Los Angeles. I’m the co-founder and CEO of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Imaginary Cloud?

We needed to increase our development capacity.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired one frontend developer from Imaginary Cloud who works in React Native. Primarily, he works on the mobile platform but also our mobile-optimized web app to an extent. The developer’s part of our team but is based in Portugal.

What is the team composition?

We work with one developer but the CEO of Imaginary Cloud’s our account manager.

How did you come to work with Imaginary Cloud?

A colleague recommended Imaginary Cloud.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019 and the work’s ongoing.

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

We’ve worked with a number of different developers over the years. The developer provided by Imaginary Cloud has definitely been one of the best that we've engaged. He’s a skilled programmer and a great member of the team. He’s committed, motivated, and easy to work with. 

How did Imaginary Cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

We use JIRA and follow an Agile methodology. We use a range of remote working tools such as Slack and Google Hangouts. The estimates that were provided by the developer were accurate.

The developer has great communication skills and is available despite the time zone difference. He came to Los Angeles to meet our team. Imaginary Cloud was supportive of that trip and covered some of the costs associated with the travel to California.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Imaginary Cloud has a good understanding of business realities. We haven’t had problems when we needed to reduce hours or pause a project for a while. That’s a big difference compared to other companies that are more rigid with the terms of a contract.

Imaginary Cloud’s forthcoming and understanding, making them a good partner. They’re a premium agency in terms of outsourced services, but you get the quality that you pay for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our platform’s developed for Android and iOS devices. It’s possible but we could've provided those devices. It’s a minor issue, but it would’ve been nice for the agency to provide a developer with testing devices for both iOS and Android.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Rely on their expertise. Be open-minded and establish a good relationship with the company.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT manager of a vehicle rental company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Imaginary Cloud?

We had a very old ERP that I've been maintaining for two years. We decided to look for an external company to develop a new one for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our ERP from scratch, doing the front and backend development, the admin panel, and the migration from the old ERP system. They used React, Node.js and MariaDB on top of Linux.

We provided them the old ERP system and gave them full access. I designed the full database structure, and they developed on top of it. We now have three git repositories. One is for the booking process, another for the frontend of the admin, and another one for the API and backend.

What is the team composition?

I was in contact with Tiago (CEO, Imaginary Cloud) and Ricardo (Developer, Imaginary Cloud), who was the main developer. A project manager from their site also joined during the process, but I was mostly dealing with the developer.

How did you come to work with Imaginary Cloud?

I know them personally from many years ago. We compared their proposal with two other companies’ proposals. We liked Imaginary Cloud’s proposal the best because the technology was good, we were geographically near them and their price was lower than the others.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent €100,000 euros (approximately $109,000 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2018 and the work is finished.

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

Their work is finished, and we are about to put it into production. The ERP is stable, fast, and does what we wanted.

How did Imaginary Cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Redmine and gave me access. They also gave me access to their internal hour reporting tool. We created tickets together and checked them on a weekly basis. I could see exactly what they were working on and what their next steps would be.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really liked the migration process. It was a hard task because the old ERP was almost prehistoric, but there were almost no bugs. It took more than a month and it went well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The assigned developer was senior, but he needed some coaching regarding what to do next with the features. It’s not their fault. If we had given them better specs, it would have been easier.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They always put extra effort into project management. If you don’t have a full-time person to dedicate to the project, don’t skip the project management side of things. Don’t pay only for the developer. Pay a bit more to have project management also.