JDD Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the operations director of ShowPlanr, a live event production and promotion company. We produce and promote live events at various venues, delivering high-quality entertainment experiences to thousands of ticket holders each week. We’re part of the KMJ Entertainment / DEAG group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire JDD Agency to accomplish for your live entertainment events?

We needed help with creating a promoters portal which tracks bookings, forecasts booking P&L and all other aspects of promoting a show whilst also populating our public facing site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

JDD Agency has created our entire web system from scratch. The team has delivered a mission-critical system across multiple sub-organizations with no major post-launch failures. JDD Agency has successfully integrated multiple complex third-party systems at scale. The team has implemented structured QA (automated testing, formal UAT, and staging environments) with no major defects caught pre-release. JDD Agency has built scalable architecture designed to handle growth in users, data volume, and locations. The team operates with enterprise governance (clear roadmap, risk management, stakeholder reporting, and SLAs).

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from JDD Agency.

How did you come to work with JDD Agency?

We found JDD Agency through a referral. We chose them over other options because they were a great culture fit, had good value for the cost, and had company values aligned with ours.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with JDD Agency in 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

JDD Agency has delivered measurable improvements in booking efficiency, resulting in more shows. The team has also improved our financial forecasting and planning, resulting in more accurate and detailed forecasts. JDD Agency has improved our admin task times, increased system reliability, and improved user satisfaction.

How did JDD Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

JDD Agency has really good communication and delivers each section on time. We primarily communicate through virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

JDD Agency's communication has been key and helped shape and improve the final site design. The team works with us towards our goal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have been happy with everything we have done so far.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on October 27, 2023.
Chris Jenkins
Founder, ShowPlanr

Arts, entertainment & music

London, England

11-50

Jan 2022 - Ongoing

$50,000 to $199,999

Project summary
JDD Agency is developing a consumer-facing website for a live entertainment company. The team is responsible for front- and backend development and implementing sales data reporting.

Feedback summary
JDD Agency’s work has been met with positive acclaim, thanks to the successful delivery of the website and the achievement of milestones. The team's workflow is highly efficient, and internal stakeholders are impressed with the service provider's seamless process and collaborative approach.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.
I am the Founder of ShowPlanr

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Produce and promote live entertainment and experiences

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire JDD Agency to accomplish?
We wanted to centralise all our event management information in the backend which powered our front end consumer ticketing website.

SOLUTION

How did you find JDD Agency?
Referral

Why did you select JDD Agency over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from JDD Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• A robust consumer website for millions of visitors.
• developing the front and backend from scratch and creating reporting from sales data.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Phased delivery and milestones
• www.showplanr.com is now live and has millions of viewers each year.

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

Efficient. Prompt. very good. thorough and good communication. helped to troubleshoot throughout the process.

What was your primary form of communication with JDD Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We've enjoyed the process and collaboration so far.

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

Sometimes resource/staff allocation was challenging

STAR RATINGS

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 4.5

Cost: 5

Schedule: 5

Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the SVP of Sales at a company that provides digital services for capital markets, including roadshows, conferencing, data rooms, and docent distribution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with JDD Agency?

We secured a large contract with a banking client to provide virtual conferencing services and needed a system to receive and process bookings, allow administrator control, and provide fully automated reporting on attendance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

JDD Agency delivered a reliable and secure platform integrated with the client's CRM to receive and process virtual event requests. The project included building a booking system, a scheduling UI, API integration with the client CRM and vendors, and reporting tools. The solution needed to be cost effective and delivered within a tight deadline.

How did you come to work with JDD Agency?

We found them through a referral.

What is the team composition?

There were between 2 and 5 team members from JDD Agency assigned to our project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in September 2023 and is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform was delivered on time, and uptime has been acceptable. Critical issues are typically resolved within 60 minutes. We saw an excellent user adoption rate, with 80% of users adopting the platform in the first year, making the product highly profitable for us.

How did JDD Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

JDD Agency delivered on time and demonstrated flexibility in managing third-party dependencies that arose during the project. Our primary communication was through virtual meetings and email or messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a deep understanding of our business and objectives, which enabled them to make excellent recommendations throughout the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In some cases, their internal testing could be more robust. However, once an issue is identified, they always resolve it quickly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-founder of We Are Outcome

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a managment consulting company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire JDD Agency to accomplish?

• Develop our portflio management web-based platform

SOLUTION

How did you find JDD Agency?

Referral

Why did you select JDD Agency over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from JDD Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We wanted to build a web-based platform to help out corporate clients better manage their innovation pipeline/innovation portflio. The platform was to be deployed on-prem on the clinets' server. 

The paltform is desinged to give clinet companies transparency over theri investments in innovation and make it easy for them to take decisions with respect to each item in their portfolio.

JDD helped us build this platform from scratch. We only had a clickable prototype when we started engagming with them and they helped us build it to the point where we can present it to clients, run pilots and deploy it with the ones that are intrested.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The fact that we have a working platform. 

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

we have a shared Asana and we collaborate there on top of email and direct messages. In Asana we keep track of what is being delivered, how long it takes and how much it costs. The guys are answering very fast to every Asana question or new item being added - in particular around bug fixes or whenever we have a client request on our end. 

What was your primary form of communication with JDD Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

It's impressive how fast we got an answer on flagged issues and how dedicated the team was to solving our problems

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

I can't think of any at the moment. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Operations Manager of Helpbox UK

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Accountancy services for small businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire JDD Agency to accomplish?

• Rebuild existing bespoke CRM system in modern language
• Develop solutions to solve business management issues
• Create an exceptional customer experience throguh technological solutions

SOLUTION

How did you find JDD Agency?

• Online Search

Why did you select JDD Agency over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• High Quality Communication

What was the size of JDD Agency’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope of the project includes the rebuilding of an existing .asp bespoke CRM system in PHP with a modern user interface, aimed at improving user experience and efficiency. Additionally, solutions will be developed to manage accounting periods and optimize business-related processes. A client portal will be developed to enable customers to access their accounts securely, manage their profiles, and view transactions.

The project will also involve the creation of a ticketing system to integrate client communication into the software, allowing for efficient tracking and response to customer issues. The system will monitor SLA compliance, providing real-time data on service levels and response times. Finally, an advanced document management process will be developed to facilitate easy access to and management of client accounting data by type and period.

Overall, the project aims to improve the company's operations, increase productivity and efficiency, and enhance customer experience through the implementation of a modern and streamlined CRM system, along with additional business management solutions, a client portal, ticketing system, and advanced document management process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• All deliverables of the project were completed and have been successfully utilized by the business and customers. The existing .asp bespoke CRM system was rebuilt in PHP with a modern user interface, resulting in improved user experience and efficiency. Solutions were developed to manage accounting periods and optimize business processes, further enhancing productivity.
• The ticketing system was implemented, allowing for efficient tracking and response to customer issues, and monitoring of SLA compliance. An advanced document management process was developed, facilitating easy access to and management of client accounting data by type and period.
• Overall, the project has successfully achieved its objectives of improving the company's operations, increasing productivity and efficiency, and enhancing customer experience. All aspects of the project have been fully integrated into the business processes and have been utilized by both the company and customers.

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

I cannot speak highly enough of their professionalism and expertise. From the initial scoping phase to the final delivery, Jamie provided excellent input and guidance, ensuring that the project met all of our requirements. What impressed me the most was Jamie's ability to offer valuable insights not only in software development but also in business consulting and process management.

Their consulting services were of the highest quality and provided us with comprehensive solutions that addressed all aspects of our needs. Throughout the project, Jamie was highly responsive to our needs and ensured that the work was completed in line with expected deadlines. Their project management skills were exceptional, and they were able to manage the project effectively, ensuring that all deliverables were met on time.

In summary, Jamie's expertise, professionalism, and customer-focused approach made them a pleasure to work with, and I would highly recommend them to anyone in need of software development or business consulting services.

What was your primary form of communication with JDD Agency?

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

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

What impressed me the most was Jamie's ability to offer valuable insights not only in software development but also in business consulting and process management. Their consulting services were of the highest quality and provided us with comprehensive solutions that addressed all aspects of our needs.

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

No, excellent working relationship and continue to provide fantastic support.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Director of Lawes Marsh Limited

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Fire and Safety Risk Management

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire JDD Agency to accomplish?

• Create a new and bespoke risk management platform

SOLUTION

How did you find JDD Agency?

Online Search

Why did you select JDD Agency over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

What was the size of JDD Agency’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

To review the existing risk management platform and create a development plan for upgrading and improving it, ready for monetization and commercial application.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Successful delivery of agreed project plan, within timescales and on budget

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

Jamie at JDD Agency was very personable and seemed to understand my objectives clearly, offering some great ideas to help transform the original vision into something much better. His ability to take on board any/all feedback and work with me (the client) and his team of developers effectively, in order to deliver some great outcomes was very refreshing. I would have no hesitation in recommending Jamie and his team to others.

What was your primary form of communication with JDD Agency?

Virtual Meeting

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

The ability to interpret and enhance my initial ideas, development of the required project plans. and communicating these effectively to his team, whilst managing their successful implementation.

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

JDD Agency have a very robust system of project management and a very personable and effective approach to the development process. It is difficult to see where this may be improved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

World Commerce & Contracting is a not for profit association and the only global body promoting standards and raising capabilities in commercial practice. We inspire individuals and organizations through our research and ideas. We equip our members with knowledge and networks that support successful contracts and commercial relationships. I'm a Head of IT Governance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire JDD Agency, and what were your goals?

Our organisation has several systems that were created a few years ago, and JDD is looking after them to ensure all the errors and bugs are resolved and implement any changes. We also occasionally create new tools that JDD develops.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

JDD was recommended to us by one of our partners, and after a review, we decided to work together.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

All projects are managed within Asana; however, we have kickoff calls to discuss new projects or priorities. JDD is very good at producing a project scope and agreeing on deliverables. The systems that JDD developed are very specific to our industry.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A project manager is our main point of contact. Two/three other developers are working with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Our members enjoy using our new tools, such as Maturity Model and Software comparison tools. Our partners are keen on registrations.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We often have interactions via the Asana management tool and via email. The communication and responsiveness are excellent.

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

The updates and changes that are implemented look very professional.

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

Sometimes the task is completed, and we are told it is ready, but actually, it hasn't been tested. On our feedback, the updates are implemented quickly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the project Manager for a not for profit who has been delivering a grant funded programme for a local organisation, and since the success of that website we are now launching a similar product under our own brand name

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire JDD Agency, and what were your goals?

We needed to create a comprehensive online portal for clients to be able to provide us with details about their business as well as a platform for them to be able to book appointments with us and watch videos that recorded how much time they had spent doing so.

This all needed to give us accurate data for auditing purposes and the first phase had to be created in a month to allow clients on to our programme. The programme we were running lasted a year and details kept changing which meant we had to keep evolving the website without ever over engineering

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We chose JDD based on their work with someone else within the company. They were able to do what we wanted within the incredibly short timescale we needed it done and went above and beyond what anyone else wanted to to ensure that we could deliver on time.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had a scoping meeting where I dumped everything I wanted the website and development behind the scenes to deliver and then Jamie translated that in to what we needed. One of the most important aspects was ensuring that we could record to the second how long people had watched the videos on our website.

I'm not technical so I can't say all the web or development terms for what we have, but I do know that what we have works and that JDD listened to what we wanted and provided solutions for us, despite the fact I have no idea what I'm asking for

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We have a project manager, the owner and as far as I am aware about four/five people behind the scenes working to ensure we met deadlines and updated things as and when we needed them throughout the process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We were able to deliver a 12 month project to 1200 people providing business support and help for them. Our KPI was only 488 people we wouldn't have been able to achieve this without the setup that JDD developed for us. It made our entire project slick, professional and deliverable.

To the point that we are continuing to work with JDD to develop a similar product that we have launched commercially. The way JDD have been able to evolve our website and the bits behind it as we have had to evolve at speed has meant that we have ended up with something of value rather than something that would end at the end of the project

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

For us we found that their project management style fitted in with us. I was able to call, text or email when needed and would get answers. It was a very stressful project for me at times and JDD never took it personally or got flustered but always manged to calmly explain what they were doing. Everything on this project has constantly changed and never once has Jamie said no, not possible or not delivered.

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

Their ability to adapt and change as fast as we had to is impressive - so many aspects changed during the course of the project and none of it seemed to faze them! (just me it would seem!). Jamie's attitude is exceptional and we wouldn't be working with them on our new venture if I didn't trust him to understand and deliver what we need.

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

Sense check things a bit better before making them live- we did have to double check things as sometimes there were slight errors (like phone numbers being formatted in a US way)- they were all changed very quickly though

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of a marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire JDD Agency, and what were your goals?

Custom application web development.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Proven ability to deliver this type of product, in the short lead time given to a very high standard from the brief provided.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

A thorough design and process flow brief was provided following initial planning consultation with the development team. The system when built needed to ensure the interface was accurately styled and functioned as per brief and most importantly that the backend system functionality, that was comprehensive, would function to 100% accuracy on every request it managed.

There were 3rd party obstacles along the way that the development team needed to find solutions for during stress testing and these were successfully overcome to meet the original functionality requirements and were scalable on its custom AWS server set-up.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There were a number of people in the core team with the main points of contact being a lead developer and project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The project was successfully delivered on time and is currently in live use with a global banking client and meeting its expected accuracy requirements in a 'must not fail' environment.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We both use Asana and have milestone project meetings as the project progresses so their approach is very similar to ours with good communication at all times and transparency of project status.

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

We were impressed by their ability to deliver quality deliverables with utmost confidence.

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

Because the planning was thorough and the deliverables were on point there is nothing we would have changed in this process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a program manager for a business support organization in the south of England. We work with people who want to start their own business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with JDD Agency?

We wanted to move our process to the online world through a simple format that people could use without needing support from a business advisor.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

JDD Agency developed a web-based startup tool based on the brief and specifications that I gave them. The tool helps people learn everything they need to know before they start their own business. It also helps them ask themselves all the right questions about their personal circumstances and whether or not they have the right personality and skills to start their business.

Then, it moves the user through the whole process, including business planning, budgeting, marketing, attracting customers, and selling products. It also covers the financial and legal aspects of starting a business.

What is the team composition?

I mainly dealt with JDD Agency’s owner. He had several people working on the project behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with JDD Agency?

A colleague of mine recommended them to us. We reached out to four companies to get quotes for this project, and I felt that JDD Agency had a stronger sense of design and functionality.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent £25,000 GBP (approximately $35,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2020, and the website went live in May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve only just started testing and piloting the solution, so I can’t provide any statistics on it yet.

How did JDD Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

JDD Agency offered great project management. They knew what we wanted to achieve, and the communication, while we were developing the tool, was always very clear. They were easygoing and understanding; everything was really good.

We had regular meetings either on Google Meets or over the phone. I sent changes during the project phases over email, and we went over them to ensure that they understood everything correctly. They also did various presentations for our organization to ensure that everyone was on board and updated about the development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

JDD Agency understood what we wanted and knew how to implement effective plug-ins to our WordPress-based site. Other companies were all style and had no substance. I needed our tool to look nice, but the actual content and how it flowed was more important. JDD Agency understood that really well, and they were able to add a lot of value.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I was really happy with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you want. I provided them with very detailed specifications and a content plan, which was really helpful for them. You need to prepare and know what you want to get the best out of them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Heads Up Training Services is a private training provider who offers courses for health and wellbeing. Our courses include Mental Health awareness, First Aid, Personal training and Safeguarding. I am co director of this company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire JDD Agency, and what were your goals?

We were a new business and we hired JDD Agency to design and develop our first website. Our goal was to have a professional but approachable website that was easy to find what you needed.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

A friend of mine went to an event and JDD designed the website for this company and we thought it looked great. We then found JDD on google and looked at the rest of the samples of their work. We thought all the website designs used as examples on their website looked professional but approachable which was the look we wanted.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We sent an initial email explaining what we were after and asked for a quote. Once we agreed emails and phone calls were made back and forth with ideas and changes from both parties which worked really well. They were very open to our feedback and continued to make design edits until we were 100% happy.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Jamie - website developer and owner was the only person we dealt with

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

After the launch we monitored google analytics and there was some good traffic. The main thing for us is the feedback we have had. Many people have said how fantastic the website looks and easy it is to use. We have also had business come directly through the website and after the pandemic we hope this will grow more.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Process we completed timely and emails, phone calls and video calls were used for communication.

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

Simply the look of the designs, they were exactly what we were after and looked modern and professional.

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

No.