What was the scope of their involvement?
The product is a mobile app for the Litter-Robot. It allows pet parents to see how frequent the Litter-Robot is being used by cats in their household or if there are any fault modes. For example, a common fault mode would be a user putting too much litter in the Litter-Robot or the drawer getting full. The Litter-Robot mobile app tells users when they need to empty the drawer, if it’s in a fault mode, and how frequently it’s being used. The app also allows users to change the settings, such as the night light, the wait time, and push notifications.
The first big goal that Jackrabbit had was to get a prototype ready for a trade show, which created a very short window to finish the whole project. They got a prototype finished for us. Their team came out to attend to be there at the booth with us for a little bit.
Jackrabbit did only the development of our iOS app. It is now a completed project with ongoing, continued development. We are in official public beta, and our customers are purchasing in a small beta round right now. Our second beta version is about to launch within the next 2 weeks.
We chose to develop native apps, which are integrated with Magento using a proprietary open-source API.
What is the team dynamic?
In the whole project, there were two project managers speaking with us daily, as well as one iOS developer, one API developer, and one designer. The API developer was the most communicative, well-spoken, and organized developer we could have ever asked for. She quickly understood our product and the algorithm behind how the app works without making us repeat ourselves at all. She was so quick to understand everything, and so was the other developer.
How did you come to work with Jackrabbit Mobile?
We realized what we were looking for was beyond what one individual engineer could do alone, but we weren’t ready to hire an internal team. We were looking for a team of experts that had knowledge beyond what one person could offer us. We wrote a proposal for what we were looking for, similar to an RFP, but very detailed and with wireframes.
We evaluated five potential vendors, and we selected Jackrabbit. Jackrabbit impressed me with one of their blog entries, which was about hybrid versus native mobile apps. The knowledge in that article was something that I was looking for, and the article was well written and so well illustrated with examples. It gave me confidence in their ability to understand the problem and the situation we were in and have an answer to our questions.
Jackrabbit's VP of Engineering, an iOS developer, and an Android developer were involved before we paid them, which I valued very highly. They evaluated the current code and quoted the project based on what was actually there. They came back with questions to the current developer. They also had video walk-throughs of the current code, asking for very specific deliverables before they would even quote the project. Most other companies just blindly quoted low to get the business. Jackrabbit was the second most expensive of five quotes, but they had more of an intimate understanding than any other vendor based on the questions that they asked in the rigorous proposal process they put us through, which I appreciated.
How much have you invested with them?
We have spent between $50,000 and $200,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started the proposal process in the beginning of July 2016 as we were phasing out the previous developer. Throughout July, there was a knowledge transfer which we were not billed for. iOS development went from September 2016 until August 2017. They’re getting started on Android in August 2017.
Beta users of the iOS app have offered overwhelmingly positive feedback. Jackrabbit’s team is creative and able to actively problem solve to cope with complex logic. They communicate daily and have stayed on-course, even when a new project manager stepped into the role.