Joen.io

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a design company that specialize in interactive art installations for museums and other venues. We’re a small company, and as a Studio Producer, I perform a range of functions. I maintain schedules, budgets, and interact directly with our clients and vendors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Joen.io?

We were hired to create an interactive mobile application for a state-of-the-art pet adoption center. We don’t keep many developers in-house since we’re a small company, instead relying on a number of freelance developers to help with special projects. With the client’s permission, we reached out to Joen.io to build the app based on our concept and interface designs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The application works as a companion piece to the adoption facility. Each pet has their own profile with information about their history and adoption status which can be accessed through touchscreens at the facility or through the app. Users can create an account and then scroll through photos of pets, mark their favorites, and share the profiles with other users.

The app provides users with directions to the center, lists hours of operation, and also highlights stories about how pets can help treat things like PTSD.

There’s also a photo sharing function designed to encourage active participation. The adoption center features a large, 55-inch touchscreen in the main lobby that displays pictures of pets and their owners. Users can upload their own photos which show up instantly on the lobby screen. This helps users feel like they’re part of a community.

While our initial budget only included iOS development, there was so much interest after launch that our client fast-tracked the creation of an Android version.

Now that the application is live, Joen.io works directly with our client to provide ongoing maintenance.

What is the team composition?

Jon (Kravetz, Managing Partner, Joen.io) was our main contact and handled the day-to-day development work. We also worked with Gabe (Haffey, Senior Partner, Joen.io) on occasion, though for this project our scope was largely directly with Jon.

How did you come to work with Joen.io?

Our technology lead discovered them. They're a local company. Jon lives ten minutes away from our office and Gabe lives close to the adoption facilty.

How much have you invested with them?

Between $45,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between March 2016–June 2017. It was a unique project, so there were some delays related to the physical construction of the adoption center.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This was a complicated app with a lot of features, but we worked together to create a successful product. It functions as we designed and the client was happy with the result. The app was very popular and earned a sizeable number of downloads during the first month of launch.

How did Joen.io perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re used to dealing with individual freelancers, so it was nice to work with a professional organization like Joen.io. As an established company, they understood the proper way to file contracts and process change orders, which made things easier for us.

I essentially served as project manager, so I kept Jon on task. It was a complex, often unpredictable project, so there were naturally stressful moments, but Jon was great to work with and met deadlines when expected.

We primarily communicated through phone and email, though Jon also visited our office for in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're a pleasure to work with and our honest partnership helped during the moments of stress that inevitably occur on any large project. Our freelance developers aren’t always accommodating, but our open candor with Joen.io’s team kept the project moving and resulted in a very positive experience. They’re wonderful people and we still keep in touch even though we’re not working together at this time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their project management could be more robust, but we hired them strictly for development work as a cost-cutting measure. Ordinarily, Gabe would have played a more active role in scheduling.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Since we provided the concept and designs, we didn’t take full advantage of Joen.io’s services. They also have design capabilities and can help conceptualize a project from the beginning.

Communicate openly–as you should with any vendor–and they’ll deliver on time and on budget.