modeso

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the head of innovation management at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland's biggest research institution and hospital. 

What challenge were you trying to address with modeso?

We started a new program in 2019 in innovation management that is essentially a venture fund. We use the fund to invest in promising research projects and help them establish startup businesses. We hired modeso to help us develop a tool to help us track and invest in these projects. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

modeso developed an IT management suite to help us keep track of our investment portfolio and startup businesses. modeso developed everything from scratch; we didn't have any processes or IT teammates in place internally. We had a workshop at the beginning of the engagement to establish our target processes and IT tools to see where digitalization could positively impact our business. After that meeting, we worked with modeso to detail our IT project management tool requirements. Once we set our requirements, the modeso team designed and programmed each tool.

Now, modeso serves as our IT support partner. They help us add new features to each tool as needed and make bug fixes. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with modeso's CEO, CTO, IT architect, UX designer, and a team of programmers. 

How did you come to work with modeso?

Since we're a state hospital, we had to put out a public RFP. We interviewed 3–4 companies, but modeso presented the most competitive proposal and solution. Their price was reasonable and their team had a lot of technical knowledge. They proved that to us when they told us it was easier to develop one solution to solve our problem than two, which we'd initially set the scope of work as. We never felt like modeso was greedy or trying to sell us the most expensive solution — they were honest about the project's scope and cost. In the end, modeso's honesty and technical knowledge won them the contract.  

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested a little over $150,000 with modeso so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership with modeso began in January 2020, and it's ongoing. 

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

My department has almost completely shifted to a digital work environment. Our partnership is great because of modeso's technical knowledge and responsiveness. They're available 24/7 to help us; their team fixes bugs within a few hours. 

How did modeso perform from a project management standpoint?

modeso outsources some of their development to lower overhead costs, but modeso manages the project in-house. Their project managers are always available to come in for in-person project workshops. It's also great that we can speak to each other in our native language, which cuts down on miscommunication. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our hospital IT systems are old, but ​​modeso adapts well to the older technologies and work styles. Also, their CEO is very approachable; I can reach out to the CEO with any misunderstandings or concerns and he'll rectify them. I like that their senior-level management is personally involved in each step of the project, gauging our feelings and understanding of the work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their outsourced UX designer was a visionary, and we were committed to his unique design. modeso later told us the design wasn't realizable, which was disappointing. I wish they'd managed their outsourced vendors better so our expectations weren't crushed. However, they rectified the issue before the end of the project and hired an internal UX designer to work on our project. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise customers to explain their exact project goals to the modeso team and check-in as the project progresses. Customers should allocate a specific teammate to oversee the project and have weekly meetings with modeso to review it. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a SaaS startup. We’re a spin-off from an audit company.

What challenge were you trying to address with modeso?

We had an idea to develop a SaaS application for trustees, so we were looking for a development company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

modeso is our software development partner. We’ve explained to them the functions we want and how the system should work, and they’ll build the whole backend of the application. For the process, we provide the information and are in constant contact with the team. They work on the online demo, and we collect feedback from our customers. Then, we discuss it with the developers.

The application is a digitalization and optimization option to create financial statements automatically. Users upload their balance sheets and income statements to the app, and they can make changes and adaptations. It’s a web-based application, and modeso has started from scratch.

What is the team composition?

We have a dedicated team of six people. In particular, the CTO has helped us with the application’s architecture.

How did you come to work with modeso?

We checked several companies in Switzerland and had the best feeling with modeso. They were pragmatic and solution-oriented. We didn’t have to think about another development company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent 400,000 Swiss francs (approximately $438,000 USD) for last year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2020, and our relationship is ongoing.

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

We’re completely satisfied with their work. We take all the input we collect from our customers and discuss it, and they’ve had good solutions for the problems we need to solve. We started with an MVP, and we’ve done fast development and are now in the market.

For quality control, we have a testing stage to check out the new function features. We see if there are bugs, and if it’s working, it goes to the staging platform to see how stable the system is. If it’s all good, we will release it on production. This is a pretty safe method for us to test the system in advance, and if there are bugs, we have a prioritization system to solve them as soon as possible. Them, modeso’s team handles them within a few hours or a day, depending on how critical is the issue.

Overall, modeso is good at developing new features, such as UX and optimization. Also, we’ve constantly improved the whole mapping process, and the project has been a success. We’re pretty happy with modeso.

How did modeso perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been good so far. We have sprint planning, so we have deadlines and the dates for the releases. They’ve just been late once by 3–4 days, but all the other sprints have been delivered on time. Also, we have short daily meetings, so we always have an overview of which tasks they’re working on.

We communicate over Slack and Jira. We have our roadmap in a simple Excel document, where we put in the feedback and open tickets. Moreover, they have excellent communication skills.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very responsive compared to other companies, and it feels like they’re part of our team. modeso thinks about improvements and comes up with solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had someone on our team, but he left the company. However, this can happen all the time. Overall, we’re happy with their communication and results. Up until now, everything has been good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make a good kickoff and set up the structure and rules at the beginning.

Introduce your business and what you do there?

I’m the Switzerland country manager for Blackhawk Network. We’re a worldwide leader in branded payment services.

What challenge were you trying to address with modeso?

One of our customers needed a solution developed for their payment app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our customer presented their requirements and expectations, along with several technical requests. Then, modeso developed customized software, which enabled our customer to provide shop solutions. The software could be integrated into their existing app, which allowed them to sell digital vouchers and gift cards.

What is the team composition?

We had one main point of contact, but there were 2–4 developers we interacted with occasionally.

How did you come to work with modeso?

A business partner recommended them. They had a good reputation, and we liked the value they brought to the table as well as their work style.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent 150,000 Swiss Francs (approximately $163,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–August 2020.

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

Within a few months of working with modeso, our customer's app went live and the solution was running well. In fact, we received positive feedback from our customer. Overall, we had a transparent partnership with modeso, and all parties were satisfied.

How did modeso perform from a project management perspective?

They were available and responsive, and our point of contact provided exceptional support. On top of that, they met deadlines. We communicated via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

They were solution-oriented, which allowed them to deliver high-quality work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their structure and some of their processes.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and transparent to modeso. In addition, provide feedback when necessary, and communicate through any challenges or issues.