Kellton

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Reviewer 1: I’m the deputy VP of technology for an insurance company. We only offer our services digitally.

Reviewer 2: I’m the AVP of technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kellton?

R1: We needed their team’s development expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

R1: We have a continuous collaboration with Kellton to develop our website using a .NET framework. All of our products are configured in the policy administrative system, and the website is integrated with this backend system.

R2: We have two websites. The new website has been maintained internally, and the old website is maintained by Kellton. Our strategy has been to not make big changes to the old product, so Kellton has only done minor changes and fixes. 

Usually, we reach out with requirements, and Kellton starts working on them. We’ve mostly not had stringent timelines.

In 2022, we started a new product, which required some bigger changes. Now, we’re working with Kellton on the new product launch.

R1: The website has always been on a .NET framework, even before our partnership began. We shifted the server to be on the cloud; we are responsible for hosting, and Kellton only provides development services.

R2: We’re working on changes to the website that Kellton manages, so we’ve added two new resources from their team.

What is the team composition?

R1: There are nine people currently, including developers, a program manager, and a business analyst. The team also includes a team lead.

How much have you invested with them?

R1: We spend around $12,000 per month, or $144,000 per year, totaling $1,440,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

R1: We began working with them in January 2014, and we’re still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

R1: The site is currently up and running, but there are a lot of bugs and challenges. I think Kellton should upgrade and come up with a different solution that’s not .NET. 

R2: The Kellton resources we’re working with are not very experienced; they only have 2–3 years of experience. 

R1: Kellton is not agile; they haven’t offered support with Google Ads or SEO, even though we are expecting that. I think they should proactively offer those services because the market and technologies are changing and Kellton is operating the same way they always have.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

R2: We often need to add teammates on demand because we have a strict timeline from our management that we need to deliver within. Kellton’s team can scale the team as needed, but the teammates take more time to complete tasks than experts would. Even with more teammates, we still see delays. They deliver the requirements, but we have to be patient; Kellton’s team needs time to understand the tasks.

For most of the partnership, up until 2022, there have been no strict timelines or major fixes needed. If we expected something in three days, and it took Kellton a week to develop it, it wasn’t a problem. For this reason, we never highlighted the issue. Now that we have stringent timelines, Kellton’s lack of timeliness is a problem. More recently, we’ve brought up the timeline issues verbally with Kellton’s managers.

The project management tool we’re currently using is Jira. This is where we write out and assign tasks. The timeline is managed in Microsoft Excel.

R1: Kellton works in sprints of 15–20 days.

What did you find most impressive about them?

R2: Whenever we have reached out and escalated an issue to Kellton’s management, we’ve seen immediate action taken.

Are there any areas they could improve?

R1: Kellton’s delivery should be on time, and they should update to new technologies rather than working with old technologies. They should be more agile and offer 2–3 solutions.

R2: Additionally, they should add more responsible teammates to the team so everyone knows what’s going on and we don’t have to contact management.

R1: Finally, they should automate their testing; it’s all manual right now.

R2: Kellton should upgrade from traditional methods.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

R2: If your company is more traditional and you don’t have big requirements, you won’t have a problem with Kellton.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of BSS applications for a technology, information, and internet company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kellton?

We needed Kellton to provide custom software development. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kellton provided us with custom software development. The team designed and developed a platform from scratch using React Native and Laravel. The platform is built for Android, iOS, and web, allowing customers to make payments online. In addition, they did user and performance testing. The team continues to provide support. 

What is the team composition? 

Our main point of contact at Kellton is the project manager and the salesperson. I have a very good relationship with the team.  

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost under $10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in  August 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Kellton’s work has been flawless. The project launched in eight months and the mobile app is widely used. 

How did Kellton perform from a project management standpoint?

Kellton has managed the project well. They have a good understanding of our requirements. The team works seamlessly and delivers on time. We communicate via email, WhatsApp, and phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with how flawless Kellton’s work is. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Kellton could have a better understanding of how our industry works in order to come up with their own ideas. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have any advice. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager for Digital CE; we are a farming service and agriscience company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kellton?

We hired Kellton for custom software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have different digital solutions that Kellton supports, including a loyalty program for retailers. We also have various applications for distributors to help streamline the sales process and distributor engagements. The other major development work that Kellton supports us in is master data management. This is the primary medium for all our applications and where we have the main master mappings and end user management. 

Key technologies include .NET, the Microsoft SQL Server, and the IBM server; we’re migrating everything into Microsoft Azure. Kellton also helps us with Power BI dashboard data analysis and reports. These dashboards integrate with the applications Kellton develops. 

How did you come to work with Kellton?

I’m unsure because my company was already engaged with Kellton when I started. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in early 2018 and are still engaged with Kellton. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are very pleased with the service from Kellton. They know our company values and are dedicated to understanding our purpose and needs. They are willing to do anything we ask, which we appreciate. 

How did Kelltonperform from a project management standpoint?

There have been a few issues with staying on schedule and communication, but overall we’re very happy with the collaboration. They have a process they follow for development, and when we come to them, our requirements go to the right people. 

We typically communicate through email, and we use a software management tool for tickets and when we need to let Kellton know about enhancements and other requirements. We also use this tool to track the project's progress and have daily stand-ups. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are highly experienced and can outline and analyze everything when we have new development requirements. They complete extraordinary work for us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Kellton could take more ownership over the decisions they make because we feel like they don’t always come to us with solutions when issues arise. Kellton is sometimes more concerned about the work than the application's outcome. 

We also wish Kellton would help us with AI because it is so important now. We are actively exploring AI and hope they can get up to speed to help us.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They supply excellent service, and we recommend people use their company. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a department manager at a semiconductor company. We make semiconductor chips, as well as software and hardware, for various original equipment manufacturers so that they can use them to build their end user products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kellton?

We needed help with website maintenance, support, and ongoing development. Our main challenge was upgrading our platform from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kellton has helped us upgrade our Drupal environment to Drupal 8. Initially, we had a series of meetings with them to walk them through how our current system worked. Since then, they’ve helped us with website maintenance, and we work on an ongoing project basis to enhance both our external website and intranet.

To access our intranet, employees get connected through our SSL. This site is just a basic CMS to house internal documents and information. In addition to Drupal, the technology stack includes JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and PHP.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with four people from Kellton, including one project manager and three developers.

How did you come to work with Kellton?

A colleague who had worked with Kellton at a previous company recommended them. When I compared them to their competition, they had similar skill sets, and their cost was slightly lower. However, my colleague's high praise was a deciding factor. He already knew how they worked, and he was very happy with the past project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2020, and our engagement is ongoing, although we’re currently in maintenance mode.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although our site looks the same in the frontend, the Drupal upgrade has allowed us to adhere to Drupal’s security requirements.

How did Kellton perform from a project management standpoint?

Kellton has delivered on time and on budget, with no surprises in that regard. They’re always very upfront, and everything has aligned with their initial estimations. Throughout the Drupal upgrade project, we shared emails and Jira tickets interchangeably, and we held weekly Zoom meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Kellton is responsive, and they answer our questions quickly. Moreover, their work is very consistent, and their team is good at solving issues quickly. Still, whenever they feel they won’t be able to complete something according to my expectations, they bring it up in our meetings and explain their reasons. During these meetings, they also give me suggestions on how to work around those challenges or change my expectations so that I’m still satisfied with the alternatives.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if Kellton improved their QA processes. I’m sure they have QA resources. However, during the Drupal upgrade project, I felt as if I was the one doing QA.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand your needs and expectations for the project, and be aware that their team works from India, so you might face time difference challenges.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a software development manager at MSA Safety. We provide gas detection equipment for retail and industrial customers, and I’m in charge of software development for our fixed gas fire detection team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kellton?

We wanted to move our systems into the cloud. As a small company producing hardware, we didn’t have the expertise to do it ourselves, so we needed help with building our cloud-based solutions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged with Kellton to develop a greenfield product used to track maintenance on our equipment out in the field. Their team first worked closely with us to architect the solution, defining a set of milestones to be delivered within a year. Then, they developed the solution following the plan they had defined. After delivering the solution, they kept working with us for two years in a maintenance support mode as we brought the project internally so that we could support it long-term.

As for its technology stack, Kellton developed this solution’s backend in PHP with a Laravel framework. They also used Angular for the frontend and MySQL for its database.

One of the key features of this product is that it is a multitenant solution to support a wide range of customers, for which Kellton helped us overcome the login complexities associated with that. As this is a paid service solution, it also has an administrative side to support end customers. As end users are technicians who aren’t necessarily tech-savvy, Kellton also integrated simple forms for them to enter the core data for the administration, allowing higher levels in the company to read that data.

Moreover, the heart of the product is to assure compliance for equipment owners. Depending on their geographic location, users have different compliance requirements, so this app helps them with that compliance. It tells them when they should go to check the equipment and what to do once they find the problem. It also has an engine to generate reports that users can then supply to the different government bodies that enforce regulations.

What is the team composition?

Kellton’s team changed over the years. At its largest, we worked with six people: a software architect, a project manager, three developers, and a QA engineer.

How did you come to work with Kellton?

I wasn’t involved in the selection process, so I don’t know how we found them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around July 2019, and the project ended in October 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Kellton designed our system to standard modern practices. After they delivered it, we found that their team was helpful and responsive to support tickets.

How did Kellton perform from a project management standpoint?

Kellton was communicative and good at meeting deadlines. Although we had geographical challenges and an expected churn rate over the last two years, their team’s project management was positive overall. We used Slack to communicate, Microsoft Teams for daily meetings, and Jira and Confluence for task tracking and project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Kellton’s engagement level and rapid turnaround time were outstanding. Whenever we gave them a problem, they responded to it very quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Looking back, it felt like Kellton simply handed off the design part of the project to the architect. It didn’t feel like the team was behind this person, so it would have been great if they had followed up on the design work more thoroughly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have any particular advice. Every project is different.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CIO for NCS. NCS is a FinTech service provider within the Mortgage industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Development of a very complex verification of employment application. This application supports processor with a single interface that engages customers and verification employers though phone, email, fax and web engagement. This application also supports several third party partner services to ensure a quick, secure and accurate verification process.

SOLUTION

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

After working with Kellton on several smaller engagements, we were satisfied that they would do a great job on this larger multi-year engagement.

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

Human automation of an otherwise very manual verification of employment. The application must support all possibly customer and verified employer engagement and deliver a variety of completion reports delivered through web and API.

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

A team of 4 fulltime developers plus one project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application has been in full production for over two years. We continue to add new services to further speed up the historically slow and tedious manual employment verification process with increasing automation and efficiencies. Average manual employment verifications time has been cut to a fraction of the time prior to the application.

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

We meet with the dev team twice per week to review progress and new tasks. We use Jira for project management. NCS also uses LeapWorks to do QC.

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

Developer effort is very good, often working late in our EST timezone to accomplish tasks within our schedule.

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

We recommend that any engagement also include a fulltime Kellton QC specialist on staff.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Pristine Surgical is an early-stage medical technology company. We build systems around visualization and digital platforms related to that technology. I serve as Chief Product Officer for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kellton?

We had a robust digital platform that wasn’t an optimal match to the market. We needed to reconfigure the platform to fit our customers’ needs better.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kellton developed the initial system, so they were familiar with it and had the documentation in place. However, they didn’t have our perspective on how the platform should look to customers, so we initially talked through that and provided guidance. Through various conversations, we came to an understanding of how the system should be reconfigured. From there, they developed a three-phase approach to implementation, each with more subcomponents and phases defined by software specifications.

They develop the software based on our requirements; we review it and go through iterations until we finalize it. So far, phase one is complete, and phase two is ongoing. Currently, we’re starting to outline what we’ll do for subsequent software releases.

What is the team composition?

As we work together, they bring in more resources. We have a project manager, two developers, a QA person, and a UI specialist at the core. Other people have provided small fractions of their time and energy, and a client manager interacts with us and keeps an eye on our relationship.

How did you come to work with Kellton?

We had a preexisting relationship with them. We initially acquired the platform from Kellton, so we continued to work with them to reconfigure the system.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ll spend around $70,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2022, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We keep a close eye on performance regarding budget, schedule, and the robustness of the software — everything has been bulletproof. They've met our expectations and built a robust platform. We’ve run it through its paces and couldn’t break it, so we’re pleased with the results so far. 

How did Kellton perform from a project management standpoint?

They provide standard reports and the software application to test it. We have an excellent working relationship. Initially, we questioned how the UI development would be integrated, but they immediately responded to it and made some adjustments. Overall, they’re very responsive; the output has been excellent.

We use Asana as a project management tool, and they use something similar. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most pleasant surprise is the structure of resources they can provide. They have the right level of resources in terms of development and quality — all specialization areas match our requirements. They’ve brought in the right people to deliver our solution. For example, they have a program manager that leads more than our program, but we have his full attention. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

With any collaboration, the only challenge is the commonality of terms to get on the same page and understand the scope of work. However, you just have to go through the initial phase and establish the communication.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of an early stage startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Kellton to help us strengthen and automate a brittle, locally run set of scripts and algorithms. The goal was to ensure a component of our software was strong, scalable, and automated.

SOLUTION

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

I found them via a referral and also interviewed a series of other vendors. My decision was based on price, ability to bring in team with a huge variety of skills, and their ability to begin the engagement quickly.

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

The project entailed a robust code review and collaborating on building an action plan. Once the goals and objectives were agreed upon, we prioritized the work and broke it into a series of epics and stories. We ran a 2 week sprint cadence and met 3x a week. We collaborated via a shared Jira board. The team developed in python, java, and laravel. Additionally, they provided a significant amount of AWS architecture support.

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

6 people. Project manager, AWS architect, back end, front end. data science.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to create a fully functional, automated, cloud based pipeline, as required and scoped.

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

The team was amenable to be on our cadence and to use our tools, though they brought their shared jira board, which was great.

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

They had an incredibly deep bench of resources with broad skills.

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

I found that the time to get up to speed was much longer than planned. Also, we did our best when we communicated via Jira AND in calls. When our communication broke down we had some gaps and challenges and delays.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a nonprofit as a health and nutrition technical advisor. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tivix?

We hired Tivix to develop our platform’s website and provide technical support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tivix built the whole website and set up its structure, helping us improve its functionality and meet our needs. Our website was under the umbrella of an organization’s larger cluster system, and Tivix had worked under that system before; they used this as a starting point. Even though our website was similar to other websites within the cluster, its functionality wasn’t completely the same. With that in mind, our team provided Tivix with graphics, content, photos, and style guides.

On the backend, they helped us develop a dashboard that allowed us to monitor requests for support from end clients. Simply put, the dashboard was an internal monitoring system for us. The team also developed surveys and forms sent out to end users. They also did search function integration between our platform and another one that provided technical advice. 

What is the team composition?

I mainly worked with Mariusz (IT Project Manager) and Mateusz (Junior Project Manager). I talked to them about the development pipeline and for plugging any bugs or issues on the website and dashboard. I was also in contact with their finance department for billing purposes. 

How did you come to work with Tivix?

We were referred to Tivix as they were already providing web support services to the cluster system. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000–$70,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from February 2020–September 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The dashboard worked well, although we had to update its functionality as we used it. 

Going forward, we’ll be using the dashboard fully; we’re still onboarding people into how to use it and making sure everyone in the team understands its functionality. 

How did Tivix perform from a project management standpoint?

Working with Mariusz was helpful because he asked questions that made us think through options that we wouldn’t otherwise know. Moreover, the Tivix team let us understand what could be done easily and what would require significant effort and money. Overall, they were helpful in guiding us through the whole process. 

Like in any other project, things weren’t always delivered on time due to unanticipated issues that came up during the development. However, when such issues happened, Mariusz was clear in communicating them. He’d tell us when they’d deliver the solution, explaining why deadlines were changed or what implications to expect. Nonetheless, the delivery of the dashboard and website upgrades we wanted was on time for the most part. 

In terms of tools, they used Jira. To manage the guidance documents they wrote for using the platform, they used GitBook. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Tivix understood what we needed from them, and they suggested options to us on what could be better and more useful for the project. Their communication was also great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, they were slow to update our GitBook or user manuals. As a result, their work would be delivered but there wouldn’t be timely guidance for me. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Foster an open relationship with Tivix, and be clear about your main objectives. That way, they’ll be able to guide and help you achieve your goals. If you have a close working relationship with them, you can reach out to them easily to get a quick response for any issues. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company tests prototypes of mobile devices, and we help our clients bring their products to market. Specifically, we handle compliance with regulatory and industry rules. 

I help manage our software innovation, including the internal development of applications for streamlining operations and test automation. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tivix?

We needed to increase our resources as our team was stretched thin.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tivix helped us with the architecture workshop and design phase of a software development project. Unfortunately, due to ownership changes in our company, we were asked to put a pause on our projects.

During our workshop, Tivix lent their expertise to our team, and they helped map out requirements, gather user stories, and produce data structures. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Brandin (Product Specialist) and Sumit (CEO & CTO).

How did you come to work with Tivix?

Our executive VP met Tivix’s founder at a conference. Our options were limited at the time because we were looking for a very specific consulting team that could work on Python, Django, and ReactJS.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $11,760. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together in December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Tivix generated high-level design mockups. They were quite organized, and they had an excellent framework structure that they used to gather requirements, interview key stakeholders, and map out user stories. 

I liked that they started with a glossary — they wanted to ensure that our teams were using the same terminologies. 

How did Tivix perform from a project management standpoint?

Tivix was very good at project management. They were always on top of the engagement’s progress, and they always checked our availability. 

They were very accommodating, and they checked to see if we wanted to reschedule or had some difficulties. Additionally, their team was very competent and was pleasurable to work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Tivix’s organization was impressive — I liked the order in which they went through the requirements gathering as it had a nice flow. They started with the glossary, and that got a lot of the confusion out of the way. 

Whenever I work with third-party consultants, they often don’t use the correct terminologies. As a result, we spend so much time fixing miscommunication. 

Tivix resolved that by having a glossary and understanding what our goals were upfront. That way, we had something to go back to, and we could also ensure that we were staying on track with our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some of the structure for the requirements gathering was a little cookie-cutter; our needs didn’t fit into their mold. That said, I understood the need for creating that structure so they could achieve consistency in their deliverables. Overall, they did a good job adapting to circumstances.