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    Boston, MA
    (857) 214-4613

A Team of Hardcore IT Professionals

4.6
4 reviews

We are a consulting tech shop focused on collaboration. We deliver quality software aligned to your business needs. Since 2014 we have been working for the United States small to midsize companies in several industries using the latest Microsoft and Open Source technologies to enable their digital transformation.

 
$25,000+
 
$50 - $99 / hr
 
10 - 49
 Founded
2014
Show all +
Boston, MA
headquarters
other locations

Portfolio

Key clients: 

Small to midsize companies align with our agile & lean mindset but need to keep in mind that our solid roots come from working with big players in the USA. We are ready.

Reviews

4.6
4 reviews
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Custom Software Dev for Network Visualization Platform

“They took a lot of initiative.”

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4.0

Quality: 
4.5
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
4.5
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
2015 - 2017
Project summary: 

Kaizen’s team augmented the development staff to help build modules and features within the product. They worked in .NET on the backend with PostgreSQL as a database and in AngularJS on the frontend.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
Toronto, Ontario
Engineering Manager, Network Visualization Platform
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Kaizen’s team successfully delivered the outcomes as desired from an engineering perspective. They scaled and built the modules and features as required using a collaborative approach. They were quick to clarify directives when needed and proposed alternate solutions where they saw opportunities.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a software company providing network visualization services to managed service providers, data centers, and any other team that has infrastructure to manage. I am the engineering manager, overseeing engineering and builds for our product.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen Softworks?

We needed to extend our existing team in order to get help building our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us to build certain modules and features within our product. Our backend is predominantly .NET with PostgreSQL as a database. The frontend is AngularJS, with standard HTML and CSS on top of it.

What is the team composition?

We signed up with them for a single developer, but there were periods when we had to scale up to three.

How did you come to work with Kaizen Softworks?

We felt that Fabian Fernandez Bargas [CEO, Kaizen Softworks] and Rolando Larrainci [CTO and Co-Founder, Kaizen Softworks] really understood our business culture. They also specialized in .NET development, so we were comfortable with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of their work was $60,000–$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Kaizen Softworks in late 2015 and finished in mid or late 2017. The product is complete for the version we needed, so we’re focusing on marketing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have been able to scale and build the product we wanted using their team. Kaizen delivered the outcome we were looking for from an engineering perspective. From an engineering perspective, it works exactly like we wanted it and Kaizen built it as per our designs.

How did Kaizen Softworks perform from a project management standpoint?

We had them use our project management tools, Jira and Bitbucket. They were comfortable using those.

Kaizen understood where we were in terms of deadlines, and committed to them. If we had a deadline, they worked with us, making sure we could hit it.

I know that English is not their native language, but, from a business perspective, the level is good. We were able to communicate, they understood our requirements, and I understood them. Having both parties working in the same time zone was a big benefit.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I liked about working with them is what it wasn’t a matter of tossing work over the fence and having the team do what I say. If something wasn’t right or if we gave an unclear direction, Kaizen brought it to my attention. If I asked for a particular approach and they found that there was a better one, they would come back and tell me. They took a lot of initiative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the context of working remotely, everyone has the opportunity to improve on communication. Having more communication done more frequently is beneficial. We were always connected through Slack, but in general, it can be improved.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

This was a big project for us using a remote team. Time needs to be put into planning what has to be done and writing it down so that the team can be successful in delivering what the client wants.

4.0
Overall Score My rating is not so much a reflection on them as it is on us. Working with a remote team put a lot of pressure on us.
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 4.5 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    Everyone wants the cost to be lower.
  • 4.5 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Web Dev for Import/Export Software Company

“They’re hungry programmers that do a really good job”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
4.5
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
Feb. 2017 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Working on a multi-year project, they are upgrading and developing the main software systems to go to the web using Angular 2.0, SignalR, and Angular 5.0. Many projects are planned for the coming year.

The Reviewer
 
11-50 Employees
 
Buffalo, New York
Ron Barone
Director of Technology, SmartBorder
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Kaizen delivered superior programming, and two of the applications they developed are in beta testing with customers now. Their nimble team quickly learned new technologies and demonstrated tenacious enthusiasm to find solutions for every problem. The team is engaged and eager to help.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of technology at a company that writes a software called SmartBorder. It facilitates international trade between the U.S. and Canada and around the world. We’re owned by a Canadian company, Livingston International, which uses our software. We also sell the software for their import processes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen?

We needed development help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with Google Angular 2.0 to upgrade all of our flagship product’s main systems to go to the web. This is a multi-year project. So far, we’ve completed the customer profile systems and our export software. We’re almost completed with our import and security filing for ships coming into port that have to report to the government what they’re bringing in for security reasons. They also used Microsoft SignalR and Google Angular 5.0. They’ve stayed up to date and upgraded as things have been evolving. We still manage our backend with Web API, but they integrate within our API that we give them.

We have them lined up with maybe 15 other projects until next year.

What is the team composition?

We have four developers and one designer.

How did you come to work with Kaizen?

It happened over a few years. My software development manager was looking for different firms. They contacted him with a cold call. We’ve been looking in different areas of the world because the prices were better per developer. We found them, vetted them, and watched them grow for a few years. Fabian [CEO, Kaizen Softworks] came here to Buffalo and we talked about strategy and how they manage things in Uruguay. We gave them money for three programmers and a small prototype, and they did the prototype really well. We considered that to be sufficient and gave them more business.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $200,000–$999,999. We’re planning to spend a few hundred thousand dollars more with them this year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have two applications that are in beta right now with some customers. We have to train the rest of our customer base. There are still some changes we have to make, but I’m really happy with the results. They’re hungry programmers that do a really good job.

How did Kaizen perform from a project management standpoint?

We do most of the project management because I have my own private manager. We’ve used them as consulting resources. We use Jira for managing our user stories and bugs. When we’re slow on project management, they pick it up and start working with us. They do a good job. We also use TFS online as well. We’re probably going to be moving to GitHub soon. We have daily meetings which are efficient.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They learned two brand new technologies that they’ve never worked with before. They were able to ramp up quickly because their people are very smart. They have done a much better job than I would have internally with my people. For the web tech stuff, their people are younger, really into it, and they’re very hungry. They’ve found a solution for everything I’ve thrown at them; they’ve never said they can’t do it. I’m really satisfied. I’ve been in this business for a long time. If I had this team 10 years ago, I’d be in a much different situation right now. I really like them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they had a project manager and handled that more formally throughout the company, that would be a helpful service.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having daily meetings is so important. Also, have a well-defined backlog for your user stories and your bugs. Have demo meetings every two weeks at the end of every sprint so you can review all the work that’s been done. Save the feedback for the end of the project. Let them do their work with a vision of fixing it up and cleaning it up later. Visibility and understanding on both sides are imperative.

5.0
Overall Score Everything’s going perfectly as planned and as expected. I couldn’t expect anything more from them. I love the company. It’s a pleasure working with them.
  • 4.5 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    Sometimes a team member may not read the backlog or pick and choose things and we have to tell them what to focus on. Then, everything is fixed.
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    We’ve met our deadlines. Costs are very clear. We dictate cost and quality and they dictate the time.
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
    They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to. I’ve never had any problems with them pushing to get things done.
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    I’d definitely refer them. I already have.

Web Dev for Systems Integrator and Software Dev Company

“We’re really happy with them and hope to work with them for many years to come.”

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4.5

Quality: 
4.5
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
Oct. 2016 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Kaizen currently works in tandem with internal resources to develop a web portal for a cloud-based learning platform.

The Reviewer
 
50 - 100 Employees
 
Carmel, Indiana
Soren Hjorth
Director, Learning Solutions
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The ability to analytically consider all solutions has allowed Kaizen to contribute truly useful suggestions. A responsive, communicative, and dedicated team participates in weekly sprints to ensure timely delivery. Their quality control sets them apart from competitors.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of learning solutions at CuroGens Learning in Carmel, IN.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen Softworks?

We were looking for a partner who could help us build a new learning solution platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our platform is cloud-based. We had very strong Azure Cloud virtualization knowledge in-house, but we didn’t have the same with web portals. They worked together with our internal team to come up with the best solution for the cloud.

What is the team composition?

We have two mobile developers in Ghana, Africa who’ve been working with Kaizen. Kaizen also has frontend and backend developers, as well as designers. Our team consists of about 5–6 people and an occasional project manager.

How did you come to work with Kaizen Softworks?

We looked around the world, including the U.S., because we couldn’t find any companies close to us. A good friend recommended Kaizen because they’d worked with them in the past and were very happy with their services. I had a couple of meetings with Fabian [CEO, Kaizen Softworks] and Rolando [CTO & Co-Founder, Kaizen Softworks] to discuss scope and other details.

We ended up choosing Kaizen and two other European companies. I didn’t know the web technology, so we were looking for people who did. I needed someone who was adept in Angular and mobile platform usage.

We found that Kaizen had the best team. I had a far better feeling from them than other companies. Other companies were very sales oriented, whereas Kaizen looked at solutions as a whole. They were practical and gave suggestions. We had good chemistry and I was excited.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They really took their time to understand what we wanted to do. Since they did this early on, they’re now able to come up with ideas when we brainstorm new features. They’re not just coders that we give tasks and tell them to go from top to bottom. They come back and give suggestions that make our product better.

I love that we’re able to discuss things together. Things sometimes look a certain way in my head but would be too complex for them to build, and they’re able to identify that. They don’t just build what I ask for. They look at things critically to see if it’s applicable with the solution we’re building.

How did Kaizen Softworks perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re easy to understand. We use Slack a lot, which was new to me at first but I really like it now. It helps me catch a things before they turn into issues and also allows us to quickly change direction before they get too deep into coding. We have daily communication. They’re fast at getting back to me. We don’t have any language barriers. We understand what they’re building 99% of the time. We also do weekly sprints to make sure we’re on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I view it as a partnership more than outsourcing code to someone else. I rarely find issues in their work. Their quality control is better than I’ve seen from other companies, and I’ve worked in IT for over 20 years with outsourced companies from India, Ghana, South America, and Eastern Europe. It’s very rare that I come across people who are this self-conscious about quality and what they need to deliver.

Kaizen tests a lot. There are things that only I can find because I’m so invested in the pedagogical approach. It’s very rare that I have to send something back to them to redo. We’ve only moved our timeline by two months, and I’m used to being 6–12 months off. This is very good. We love working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any bad things to say. We’re really happy with them and hope to work with them for many years to come. I’ve recommended them to others because I’m that pleased with their services. We’re a very happy customer.

4.5
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 4.5 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    I’ve recommended them multiple times.

Multiple Developments for e-Commerce Service

“They had architect-level talent that was able to move our project forward.”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
Confidential
 
Aug. 2016 - Jan. 2018
Project summary: 

Kaizen Softworks’ team supplemented the development capacity as needed. They did several developments over the years, mainly working on a CMS platform. They also worked with C#, Angular, and UI in HTML and CSS.

The Reviewer
 
50-100 Employees
 
Boston, Massachusetts
Chief of Product, E-Commerce Service
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The team’s strong expertise in Windows .NET development made them an attractive partner. They made robust contributions to the quality and speed of the software development process, giving helpful feedback along the way. Their flexibility and drive toward continuous improvement impressed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer at Blueport Commerce, which is a Software-as-a-service e-commerce platform focused on the furniture vertical.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaizen?

We wanted to expand our internal development capacity.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were using them to increase and decrease development when we needed it. They worked predominantly on our CMS platform, but they did multiple developments for us. We’re a .NET shop and we were using them for C#, Angular, and a bunch of UI work in HTML and CSS. They also did SQL server work.

What is the team composition?

We had three developers on the team.

How did you come to work with Kaizen?

I found them via LinkedIn. I believe they reached out to me originally in a connection capacity. They were looking at companies that were doing .NET development. I watched them for a while. Latin America is great because we were trying to find people to work as an extension of our own development team in a similar time zone. We selected them because they have a strong background in Windows .NET development. Also, they had good English skills and embrace a lot of the same kinds of cultural philosophies that we do around continuous improvement in Agile. Culturally it was a great fit for us and worked well.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2016 until January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were really strong contributors to our team. They had architect-level talent that was able to move our project forward. They were able to help us complete some projects that were at risk. They were flexible, moving from one project to another when we needed them to, and contributed greatly to the speed and quality of our software development process.

How did Kaizen perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked as part of our team. We owned the project management. They were very flexible and great about providing feedback to us about what was working and what wasn’t. They were able to understand that there are challenges to working remotely. They had to find ways to overcome them and helped us help them overcome them in ways to make us all work more efficiently.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to embrace flexibility, change, and constant improvement was particularly noteworthy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They were perfect for what we needed. They were flexible and easy to do business with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re planning on using them as an extension of your team and working closely with their developers, then they’ll be a great fit.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer