Mediapark

Please describe your company and your position there.

Startup that solves company employees health and sustainability problems. My position- Product owner & cofounder.

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

Our Backend program code was written as concept and had many problems. Mediapark goal was to audit existing code, provide solutions for existing problems and implement new functionalities for business needs.

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

In Lithuanian market its a well known service provider. Recommendations from other companies helped to make final decision.

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

1. Existing Laravel code and infrastructure audit was completed within a month after we provided access;
2. Most required Laravel code changes were implemented immediately;
3. Digital Ocean VM infrastructure was changed based on our loads;
4. For new functionalities UX/UI designer was preparing Figma high fidelity prototypes which were later transformed to actual functionalities.

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

3 Backend PHP developers,

2 Frontend RN developers,

2 Web Wordpress developers,

2 QA people,

1 UX/UI designer.

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

Issues quantity that were hearing from our customers reduced dramatically. Also we were able to bring new functionalities from idea to live within 2-3 weeks.

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

Using comfortable communication tools as Slack and Google meets helps to solve questions faster. Also tracking everything in Jira provides clear view of situation.

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

How every minute that partner, UX, UI, PM, DEV, QA, or anyone else spends is tracked is very impressive.

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

Having more programmers would help to be more flexible with unexpected tasks.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Sun UW MGA is an Insurance and Reinsurance group of companies trading under the same name in various jurisdictions. Position - ODI Project Manager

For what projects/services did your company hire Mediapark?

We hired Mediapark to design and develop our mobile application for personal accident insurance on-demand «SunMobile Kids»

What were your goals for this project?

We had to finalize the application after negative results with another team.

How did you select Mediapark?

We chose Mediapark thanks to the recommendation of our common IT partner.

Describe the project in detail.

SunMobile Kids is a modern and unparalleled digital mobile service for insuring children from accidents. You don’t need to visit the office of the insurance company, stand in line, draw up a large number of papers and remember about the end of the insurance coverage. The app is available in 5 languages: Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, English and Russian.

What was the team composition?

I’ve worked directly with Denis (Project Manager), the main team including QA, React, BE etc.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have successfully launched the application in the 3 App markets.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We met weekly for Scrum meetings and were constantly in touch messaging. They were always on top of letting me know of progress and development updates while troubleshooting technical issues.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Mediapark truly cares about our project. Their ability to adapt to changing and stressful situations quickly and with a positive attitude was impressive. They have high-quality engineers. I’m impressed by how fast they’re able to complete tasks and the quality of their code.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, I thought they were excellent as a partner. There were not any major issues I had with the team. We were extremely satisfied with their work and the app they delivered.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Civitta - leading consultancy in Central and Eastern Europe. We help our clients from private companies to governments and non-profits to challenge their own industries by becoming more innovative, efficient, and dynamic. Position - CEO

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

We needed to make a good modern website and the Mediapark team approached this task in the best possible way. We needed a simple but at the same time modern and pleasant-looking site.

How did you select Mediapark and what were the deciding factors?

We have known each other for a long time and often work in tandem. So it was an obvious choice.

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

NDA

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

About 6 people:

• 3 front-end developer
• 1 designer
• 1-2 PM
• 1 back-end developer

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

Now we have no problems with communication. As we launched a feedback form on the website. So potential clients and applicants can contact us directly through the site. Also it is very clear and simple.

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

I guess it would be best to call Mediapark management style democratic. We shared thoughts, ideas and suggestions with each other to make a quality product together. They did’t press with their expertise, but always listened to us.

The communication tools were chosen those that are convenient for us - Skype, email and Slack. The deadlines were not missed, and if they were postponed a little, it was always for an obvious reason.

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

Mediapark always pleases with team coherence, quality of services and experience in solving any issues.

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

In my opinion, the team is already great. It remains to wish only creative growth.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a product manager for a company which has grown as a spin-off from a media company. We are trying to make urban life a bit better.

What challenge were you trying to address with Mediapark Kaliningrad?

We had a project dealing with public transport systems, providing information such as when the next bus would come. It was a complex and unique system, so we were interested in finding a local company with enough experience for dealing with a project of this scope. My boss, the owner of the company, had some conceptual ideas, but we needed to work them out and understand what the details would be. It was important to us that the app work properly and not overload users with too many functionalities.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I communicated with their team, outlining the project idea. I collected some reference data, watching out for best practices from around the world. The app will inform people about bus arrival times, as well as provide maps and directions. Since we are a media company, the app will also deliver news items.

We have developed a kiosk system with a touch panel that is located at bus stations. Right now, we’re ready to proceed with the site and are working on an application as well, which will be developed natively for iOS and Android. The early stages of the project involved design and prototyping. The team coded the backend servers which enable the functioning of the touch panel and made it so that the website and application will be able to work on the same server. This is quite convenient for us.

We use Linux on our systems, which connects with Raspberry Pi devices. The local CRM [customer relationship management] system we use in Russia is called Bitrix24.

What is the team dynamic?

The team varied at different stages, but we’ve worked with at least 5–6 people from Mediapark, including a database expert, a Bitrix24 CRM expert, a CTO [chief technology officer], a project manager, and designers.

How did you come to work with Mediapark Kaliningrad?

It was a challenge to find people with enough expertise and flexibility to wait for our decisions. We also needed to test the software on real touch panels, so the team needed to be located in the Kaliningrad region. Mediapark was the perfect match for us.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been just below $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had our first meeting with them more than a year and a half ago, in June 2016. The contract was signed in November and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We haven’t released the platform yet, so I cannot mention any numbers. Working on this project hasn’t been easy since we’ve changed our concept and ideas multiple times. Mediapark’s team needed to have strong nerves in order to proceed.

We have already given several presentations to our local administration and the city manager. The touch panel is in place at bus stops and we are getting investments in order to scale the project. If the quality level had not been good, we wouldn’t have been able to do any of this.

How did Mediapark Kaliningrad perform from a project management standpoint?

The initial concept was for an application, but we’ve released the touch-panel system first. We always changed our minds, but the team from Mediapark was flexible. Project management is their strongest point. The owners of their company have their own vision, which helped us maintain flexibility. They respond quickly and have worked out good prices for us. We were never dissatisfied with deadlines or anything else.

They are located in the same city as us, which is quite convenient. I can go to their office and work face-to-face when we needed to discuss issues. We also use email and phone to keep track of things, and they have their own task-management system. We keep in touch with their project manager, so if something required our input immediately, he would give us a call.

At one point, we needed to make a presentation for our bosses in administration. Mediapark helped organize that conference in the space of an hour, even though it wasn’t something they were obliged to do.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to respond adequately to the way in which the client wants the project to be managed. Mediapark understood our Russian thinking and were willing to change contracts and work with us as we were. They were never hard on us and were willing to make different agreements. This enabled us to continue the partnership, along with the adequate mix of price and expertise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are always things we can improve. Mediapark could work more on visual designs. They know how to do things technically, but visually-pleasing designs are not their strongest point. Hiring a designer who is able to follow trends and work quickly would enable them to charge even more.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a development company specializing in e-commerce platform development. Our platform features 700 different apps and is being used by various customers from various segments, from medical to retail and wholesale. We have very large retailers as customers, but we also work with businesses that only sell one product online.

I am the founder of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Mediapark Group?

A number of our customers have requested mobile-centric functionalities. As an example, one of them is managing a fleet of drivers who pick up blood samples from doctors. They needed to make sure that the drivers could log in on a mobile app and see their route, scan orders, and so on. We don't have an in-house mobile development team and needed help in this area.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Mediapark Group was involved in designing the interface and coding the fleet app. We provided server-side APIs for their developers to use.

Another client using our e-commerce platform wanted to provide an app which gave their clients the same shopping experience as the website. The app had custom pricing and discounts, real-time notifications, and so on. Mediapark Group built this app for Android and iOS, along with 15–20 others over the course of our collaboration. Mediapark Group has developed three apps for Windows Phone as well.

Internally, we are using C#, MySQL, and Entity Framework as a middle-tier. Mediapark Group was given access to our web-based APIs.

Depending on the scope of a project, Mediapark Group's team varied from 1–6 developers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Mediapark Group?

It was important to see who I was dealing with, and not choose a fake company. We have serious clients, so it would be a liability for us to take on a project and fail to deliver it. I went through many different options and gave each candidate a test assignment for creating a small app which connected to our backend. I also looked at their portfolios, organization, and response times. Mediapark Group delivered the best result and also had adequate pricing. After our small initial project, I met with Mediapark Group's team at their Minsk office and became comfortable enough to assign them a larger project.

How much have you invested with Mediapark Group?

The cost of Mediapark Group's work has been above $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Mediapark Group three years ago. We have a few ongoing projects with them, including one which is in production and another in test mode. We are collaborating with the client in order to make small functionality changes. There is also another project which we've put on hold after needing to further develop requirements.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

In general, I'm very happy with Mediapark Group. I'm not looking for alternatives and don't plan to create an in-house mobile team either. Mediapark Group gets the job done, and the management is responsive and reliable.

How did Mediapark Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Mediapark Group has a very good project management team. There is strong follow-through, they're always available, and they try to understand our problems.

We have our own CRM [customer relationship management] platform which is used by Mediapark Group's developers, but we also use third-party tools like Status Hero, Flowdock, and uTrack.

What did you find most impressive about Mediapark Group?

Compared to other companies we've interviewed and worked with in the past, Mediapark Group's team tried to understand the big picture first, and have gone through the process with us. Mediapark Group is a solid, good company with which I'm comfortable.

Are there any areas Mediapark Group could improve?

We can always wish for more in terms of pricing model and working speed, but Mediapark Group is on par.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Leading site for expats in Hong Kong.

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

SEO

How did you select Mediapark and what were the deciding factors?

Wide ranging improvements to a 20 year old portal

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

We are still in the process of evaluating results

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

1 key person

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

Mediapark was very responsive and thorough in their approach. We have just completed the project so waiting to see if the changes will impact our SEO positioning and traffic

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

Regular phone calls with email updates

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

They are responsive. They had the ability to work with our team on the implementation.

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

No