LibreWorks

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and managing director of Vitamin R, an IT consultancy. We lead the conception, design, and management of IT projects to help our customers reach their goals. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LibreWorks?

LibreWorks helped us design and implement a specific Confluence add-on for a customer. 

What were your goals for this project?

The user documentation of the after-sales service consulting IT systems is updated and distributed by a Confluence CMS. Because the user base is composed of approximately 3000 employees across nearly 5000 production sites worldwide, the documentation is available in 16 languages; the solution had to allow the documentation authors to easily access screenshots and images in all target languages.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our most important selection criteria were the software quality, reliability, and flexibility. We were already familiar with LibreWorks' performance in these areas because we knew the founders and employees from previous collaborations.  

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They were responsible entirely for the design, implementation, testing, and launch of the modules. 

What was the team composition?

We were assigned one LibreWorks employee, who was occasionally assisted by another employee.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The Confluence add-ons allowed us to prototype our customer’s documentation systems with all major market companies. The plug-ins developed were a decisive component in product approval; our customer was impressed by the fast, agile collaboration and the software’s high quality.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We communicated closely on the project’s progress. The team met all milestones and responded well to last-minute changes.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed by their positive approach to short-notice changes and new requirements. The team was always prepared to consider technical and qualitative feasibility without jeopardizing the established milestones.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

Not within the scope of this particular project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide custom software and cloud solutions for clients in manufacturing and logistics. We help them transform their businesses by digitizing and leveraging existing data and systems. I’m the team lead of our smart manufacturing branch.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LibreWorks?

We developed a custom web application for one of our customers. Libreworks provided manpower to increase development performance, specifically our time, work quality, and throughput.

What were your goals for this project?

The project’s goal was to plan, execute, and monitor performance of student teams and their leaders following a training course in a building. We integrated existing indoor location hardware to provide live location data about every attendee and display everyone on a multi-tiered floor plan. Each floor was displayed on a different screen. The training sessions could be recorded and replayed for educational purposes. We used HTML5 and JavaScript for the frontend and C++ for the backend.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had an existing relationship based on previous work for a different customer. They’re our preferred partner when we are looking for additional manpower in web and Java development.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

One of our team members left the project, and we needed professional support to clean up the code, finish the software, and get an external view on past performance.

We hired Libreworks after a two-step process. First, we wanted them to check the code for flaws and optimize it. This also gave them insights into the existing code base and allowed them to catch up. Due to time restrictions, we gave them 10 days for this phase. They got a rough overview of the project goals, but nothing more. Since we were somewhat surprised to lose the team member, there was not much documentation.

Secondly, we used them to implement various features. We worked using an agile Scrum methodology. They weren’t a part of the development team. They worked remotely in their hometown, which wasn’t an issue.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of a fixed team Scrum master, one or two backend developers, one or two frontend developers, and quality assurance personnel. They adjusted the team size to address current project needs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our software was part of a complete ecosystem provided by our client’s customer. We had a lot of restrictions on the timeframe and some friction regarding the stability and functionality of the solution. The software’s goals evolved over time and to overcome some limitations of the hardware’s stability. Nevertheless, we delivered a complete, quality solution on time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used Microsoft Team Services as a project hub where external partners and customers could collaborate. This included sprint planning, code repository, and documentation. We used TestRail for test management. All services were hosted in the cloud, which was the most effective way of collaborating. There was no language barrier.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They learned from one of the best software companies in Germany, and it shows. They have a wide range of experience and technical skill. They have a developer’s mindset that balances pragmatism, quality, and new technologies. This gets stuff done and fits our own style perfectly. All this is bundled up at a fair price.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

It might help if they had more people of the same caliber working for them.