Imaginovation

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

BattleQuestions.com supports teachers and schools that participate in the Battle of the Books reading incentive programs around the United States. Thousands of questions are written from books that are selected by educational organizations. Those questions then automatically generate into interactive games and quizzes to help Battle of the Books teams effectively practice and ultimately become champions in all levels of competition; county, regional, and state.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Imaginovation?

Needed a few issues fine-tuned and most importantly, we needed our site to be reliable for teachers to use in the classroom environment. When "technological difficulties" occur, most kids don't sit quietly and calmly while the teacher tries to figure things out.

What were your goals for this project?

Originally, we were just interested in having a responsive and experienced group to ensure our site was reliable for our customers. After meeting with the Imaginovation team, we got much more: marketing advice, user interface suggestions, fixes to issues we didn't even know about, and all with a no-pressure collaborative atmosphere. The site has never run more smoothly and we sleep much better for it.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed several web support companies, carefully read reviews, and felt most comfortable with Imaginovation. We spoke for about 45 minutes over the phone initially. They recorded the conversation and were nice enough to send me a copy so my partner could review our conversation. We then met in person, agreed upon a couple improvements the site needed, and its been great since then. The site crashed one day, due to our last company leaving a back door open. Joe answered his phone immediately, diagnosed the problem with his team, and had the site back up in 30 minutes. Didn't charge us a dime. (Though we do now have a discretionary fund for future occasions.)

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The team improved our admin controls: allowing for deletion of book questions from the database, allowing for deletion of customer subscriptions, closed a "back door" that made our site vulnerable, fixed a complex multi-player interface with all three games so it now operates smoothly and without glitches, and began an email advertising campaign with a landing site that has created multiple leads.

What was the team composition?

We've worked mostly with Joe, Zach, Pete, and Michael. Every meeting is timely, organized and productive.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have complete confidence in our system. Before, we were nervous to have glitches bare their ugly head at conferences. We'd also get angry emails from customers about the unreliability, how the website was running very slowly, or that the multiplayer function was not working. NO MORE! BattleQuestions.com is finally a solid and dependable product, thanks to Imaginovation.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

All contracted work is discussed to ensure our mutual understanding. It is then laid out in a contract that we all sign. As the project is in development, the guys keep us posted about progress and give us access to the development site. We use the Slack app that allows all involved parties to view and participate in communications.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

So this is our fourth web design/support company we've worked with. Separated from the first due our agreeing that the scope of his skills could not encompass what we needed, as we had grown. Left the second when they just kept charging for fixes that they didn't/couldn't fix. Third try we thought would be the charm, but alas, no. The third company had the tech skills but lacked responsiveness and general social skills to work collaboratively.

With Imaginovation, we feel like we've hit the jackpot! Tech skills, that's a big yes. Responsiveness: usually within minutes of contact, and if my message is marked "urgent" I get an actual phone call within minutes. Caring/collaboration: This team has sat down with us multiple times, learned our business on a deep level, and is working with us to continue to grow exponentially. We feel VERY fortunate to have formed this relationship with Imaginovation and look forward to many more years of success with them as partners.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Maybe they're workaholics. Communicated through the Slack app one Sunday, just so they'd see it first thing Monday morning. Both Pete and Joe responded within an hour, ON A SUNDAY. Hope they don't burn out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the president of Contractor Score LLC, a company that provides B2B financial assessments of commercial construction contractors. Our background is in construction finance and accounting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Imaginovation?

Our company assesses a contractor’s financial strength based on internal reports and financial statements. From there, we render a score that other contractors use to ascertain their financial viability for a project. 

We had a relatively primitive website and database tools to accomplish this. Our team had gotten to the point where we needed a professional website and database to form an integrated platform. We were looking for a complete enterprise solution to run the operation and allow customers to interact with us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Imaginovation developed a website and database for our company. They created the exact solution we were looking for and built a cohesive platform. Their team integrated essential features that allowed us to interact with consumers and execute transactions.

We later went on to launch other small projects with Imaginovation. They’ve created videos, business cards, and brochures for our company. Their team also did the graphic design for our website, including completely redoing our logo.

What is the team composition?

We worked primarily with Zach (Senior Project Manager, Imaginovation). I also interacted with two principles on an interim basis so I always had contact with senior management. Altogether, we worked with six members of the Imaginovation team, three consistently and three here and there.

How did you come to work with Imaginovation?

I searched for developers online. We had two qualifications in mind, the vendor has to be able to develop an enterprise database solution and they had to be local so I could meet with them face to face. Imaginovation met both of these requirements. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about $125,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Imaginovation began in December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Imaginovation team created the exact solution we were looking for. The visuals and graphics are wonderful.

How did Imaginovation perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated with Imaginovation over Slack and one other software. It helped our teams document every issue that came up, and their team could track whether it’s been resolved or not. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I loved how frequently they would reach out to me. It never rested on my shoulders to contact them about an issue. Imaginovation contacted me once a week during big projects. Their communication has been outstanding. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were already fast but they have gotten even faster. Their team shared with me that they’ve made changes and improvements as our collaboration continued. They’ve updated their internal wireframes and code development.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at Le Ali Sul Mondo SRL

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

organizes vacations 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Imaginovation to accomplish?

• App

SOLUTION

How did you find Imaginovation?

word of mouth

Why did you select Imaginovation over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from Imaginovation were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

developing a software that will make our back office faster and more fuctional.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

by the end of the project we will be able to provide a more efficient service to our clients

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

yes

What was your primary form of communication with Imaginovation?

Email or Messaging App

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

We were particularly pleased with their response times.

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

none

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder of UpFor

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provide a way to connect people in real life, passivly and simply.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Imaginovation to accomplish?

• Create our App (iOS and Android)

SOLUTION

How did you find Imaginovation?

Online Search

Why did you select Imaginovation over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Imaginovation were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Transform iteratoin 1 of our iOS and android app to a clean, profeesional version. Basically a full overhaul.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The project was fully published in both stores. Beta testing was completed and continual improvements roll out currently. THey are still heavily involved in the support of the completed project.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Their project management was a highlight. THey communicated well, and their team was top-notch. Any timeline slippage was reported, and mostly due to them flagging area which could be enhanced, and asked which we would prefer.

Overall, their project management skills were excellent.

What was your primary form of communication with Imaginovation?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

their flexibility, execiution and dedication to us as the customer-

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

not really.