MLSDev

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We decided early on that we would go for a MVP rather than work on a full-fledged version of the game. We felt that the latter would take too long, be too expensive, and too difficult to change.

Eventually, the result was a complete but simplified version of the game that was released only in one market to test the interest of users. It received only very limited traction, and we quickly stopped the Facebook and Google Mobile Ads marketing campaigns. I was personally convinced that the game needed more features to get users involved beyond the core gaming loop. We are now working on an enhanced version and have prioritized a number of next steps.

What distinguishes MLSDev from other providers?

I don’t have much experience working with different providers so I can’t really say. But overall, MLSDev was well organized, followed their internal rules and procedures, and carried out the development step by step.

Is there anything MLSDev could have improved or done differently?

I would have appreciated a more critical approach from their side, particularly in the design phase. In my opinion they went too straight to the final design, which was efficient but lacked constructive trials and back and forth discussions.

As a solo entrepreneur, I would have appreciated more guidance and consulting on an ongoing basis and not just a consulting session at the beginning. While I had a clear vision of what I wanted, and could carry on with purely operational conversations every week with the project manager, I would have appreciated another layer of conversation on the product, users, positioning, and so forth to help with the brainstorming and idea generation. Given how knowledgeable about the product the MLSDev team became, I think their opinion should extend beyond purely operational details.

Also, I had several issues in the process because of a high turnover at MLSDev. The consultant I worked with quit at the end of the process, as did the sales manager in charge of my account. Next, my product manager was fired and the second one quit after a year or so. I understand these things happen, and the follow up was usually quite well managed internally, but still every time you have to get acquainted with a new person, it takes time.

Finally, there was a period when I was working with the second product manager—who was an improvement from the product manager who was fired—when he became very unresponsive, very uninvolved, and generally difficult to work with. This lasted a few months and was a very difficult period for me. I was really thinking about finding another company to work with. Eventually he left MLSDev, and I got a third product manager who was pleasant and efficient to work with.

MLSDev demonstrated good enough skills in design and software development to create a successful MVP. Communication and the time required to solve any kind of issue was good, and their people ask for frequent feedback to improve the development process further.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

For the time being, the only feedback I have is for a French version of the application on the Google Play store. We will create an English version of it in a couple of weeks. We are testing how the French public is interacting with it.

So far, we have an almost 60 percent retention rate from day zero to day one. Almost 60 percent of people who download the app come back to it the following day, which is quite good. For the time being, we have between 4.3 to 4.4 stars on Google Play.

How did MLSDev perform from a project management standpoint?

We are satisfied. The developer working on the project is very experienced. They have done a great job.

What distinguishes MLSDev from other providers?

They're nice people to talk to and do business with. They are very enjoyable to manage. So far, they've been reliable on a technical standpoint, which is not the most frequent case when dealing with phone app development firms.

Is there anything MLSDev could have improved or done differently?

Nothing obvious comes to mind. I have no complaints.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The project is in the early stages, so we don't have stats or metrics yet.

How did MLSDev perform from a project management standpoint?

We are satisfied with their programming work. Their user interaction smoothness was fair to good. For ongoing maintenance, I'm yet to know the results because I haven't released it yet.

What distinguishes MLSDev from other providers?

The sales guy and project manager is independent. We started off with one project manager, which didn't work. We had a regular meeting and we decided to change the project manager, which is good because it's difficult to resolve an issue with the PM himself. The new one seems genuinely concerned with my site success.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

I assumed that their range of understanding of the basic infrastructure API [application programming interface] functions would be a little better. I was expecting slightly more – like a speediness in getting the concept. They need to be faster especially around the API integration.