MOST Programming

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

At Strattex Solutions, we offer hyperlocal marketing for local business owners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire MOST Programming?

We needed MOST Programming to develop custom software to automate content posting for our clients’ Google Maps accounts.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to get the software built, launched and working smoothly for our clients within a reasonable time frame.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were referred to the MOST Programming team.

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

MOST Programming designed, built and launched the custom software. They went on to teach us how to use it and leverage it for our existing clients.

What was the team composition?

We worked with two project managers and two lead developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

MOST Programming delivered a custom software that has allowed us to serve more clients. Now, we can provide more value to our clientele as a whole.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

MOST Programming designed and scoped the project first and then went on to developing and launching. Our workflow was very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I found their commitment to delivering the right solution the first time to be unmatched. They went above and beyond to make sure they built a product that aligned with our goals and those of our clients.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

At this time, no. MOST Programming knocked it out of the park.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

As the former Director of Corporate Services at HHS, I was accountable for providing I.T. services and supporting business operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MOST Programming?

We discovered the overseas contractor we’d hired was bankrupt and going out of business. Lacking the resources in-house to bring the project domestic, we hired MOST Programming to take over the design and development design for a business intelligence portal.

As a cross between a decision support and data analytics tool, it contains a database of attributes in the hospital community. Via the portal, our marketing and sales team can enter into a search stream and obtain intelligence results.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I made the initial technical exchange, and they liaised with and supplanted the foreign company as our new provider. After arranging with Microsoft to secure a virtual space, they made the transfer. Testing confirmed the business portal still functioned as required. They continue to make minor changes as necessary for monthly maintenance. Their programming help has been crucial to the solution.

What is the team dynamic?

Since the project was turnkey and completed entirely in-house, I’m not aware of the team composition. I interacted with the CEO, Marina Johnson, the most during this project.

How did you come to work with MOST Programming?

They provided a transparent, detailed, and thorough response to our request for proposals. Having worked together previously at HHS, our assistant director identified Marina Johnson as a possible respondent. Marina led the I.T. team prior to my arrival, and founded MOST Programming after retiring.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around 13,000, and pay them a recurring monthly maintenance fee. Their price was the most affordable, and traceable to the same work done by the overseas company.

What is the status of this engagement?

We onboarded in November 2016, after offshoring from the overseas company. Our project is an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The portal has functioned exactly as expected, without any issues. We’ve seen increased efficiency since they started supporting the project. In terms of cost savings, it was turnkey. Since we lacked the resources in-house, they took care of everything. The process was seamless. All the work was delivered on time, within budget, and the quality was perfect. They even beat the term time we had planned to onshore.

How did MOST Programming perform from a project management standpoint?

I couldn't have asked for a better experience. They were absolutely exceptional. We mainly corresponded by phone call or email, and occasionally met in person. They were remarkably responsive, and even contacted us proactively to keep us apprised of their progress. Most notably, I appreciated their transparency.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I felt fortunate to work with them. They were extremely thorough and detail oriented, and went to great lengths to satisfy me as a customer. It was a very pleasant experience, and they’re on the top of my list of vendors if I ever need similar services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an attorney at Wink and Wink PC. It’s a small business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MOST?

We needed help automating and capturing certain client, debtor, and perspective client information, and then provide automated feedback. We also wanted to populate a bankruptcy petition from that information.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built our website from scratch. Right now, it's a questionnaire that we send our clients to, and the results are then submitted to us. The next phase is to include automated feedback at the end, where based on what you entered, it’ll tell you what you’re dealing with. So far, it’s just website development. There's more design on the backend because I had an interface, but they’ve rebuilt it.

What is the team dynamic?

I directly work with 2 different people, and they have at least 1–2 others on the backend.

How did you come to work with MOST?

They were a referral, though I considered other firms. I selected MOST because they were flexible and responsive. They sold me on the idea that we would be working together long term, rather than just viewing it as a single project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2016, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There have been 100s of users so far, and it seems to be working well, though we’re still in very early phases. The feedback has been positive.

How did MOST perform from a project management standpoint?

They've done well. We communicate a couple times a month, using email, phone calls, and in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to define the scope of the project and to work with me to bring the vision to reality.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some backend issues with what I had already developed. They were trying to work with it but eventually said it all had to be redone. They should have brought that to me sooner, and we could have saved ourselves some wheel spinning.

Do you have any advice for a potential client of MOST?

Hire them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of research data management of the U.S. Travel Association. We are a lobbying group for the travel and tourism industry in the United States.

Aside from being a lobbying group, we also have the biggest trade show for the industry where buyers and suppliers of tour packages from all over the world come together in the United States every year to transact their business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MOST Programming?

My team is the research department for the U.S. Travel Association. We conduct research on programs that act as a support to our lobbying activities. Essentially, we calculate the economic impact of travel and tourism in the United States. We provide data to our lobbyists and to some members of other teams within the U.S. Travel Association.

We manage a lot of data, and about 3 years ago, we wanted a website where all this data could be stored. If someone needs something, all they need to do is head to the website and pull the data they need. However, the vendor we were using for that website went bankrupt last year, and we were in need of another vendor who could do the same thing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MOST Programming maintains the website. We send MOST data on a monthly basis, and they upload those sets of numbers to the website.

On top of that, we are currently working with them on building a survey which is going to be housed within that website. They are working like a survey software, but just for this specific survey that we are doing.

What is the team dynamic?

I speak with Marina [CEO/CTO], Wayne [Co-founder and Principal Partner], as well as Slava, and Igor.

How did you come to work with MOST Programming?

MOST was recommended to us by our contact with the old vendor. There were 3 companies that we were choosing from. We chose MOST because we told their employees that we were going to be transitioning to them from the previous vendor.

MOST was also recommended to us by our IT, as they have clear-cut strategies on how to deal with the transition. They felt more comfortable with them compared to other companies that we were considering. It was a smooth sailing transition as they knew exactly what we wanted, and what the website is all about.

How much have you invested in them? 

Confidential.

What is the status of this engagement? 

We started working with them in December 2016, and the work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best evidence that we can share is that we are very satisfied with their service. They are dependable. Their programmers are really smart and knowledgeable, and I am very satisfied with what they know. Whatever you want them to do for your website, they can do it.

How did MOST Programming perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very responsive. We mostly communicate through emails and phone. It is very easy to communicate with them even though some of their developers are located in Russia. Our meetings, most of the time, are conference calls. Sometimes there is a slight communication barrier because we can’t understand what the programmer is saying; however, when we tell them what to do, they get it and do it the right way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing is their knowledge of what we do. We have been working with the same people who already knew what we wanted and how we do things. It has been a very smooth transition to MOST.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing I can think of is most of their programmers are based in Russia. Because of the time difference between Russia and D.C., there is some lag. It would be a lot better if they had more programmers based in the United States. Currently, I send the programmer an email and depending on whether that programmer is still awake or not, there can be a little bit of lag where problem resolution is concerned, which is not a problem, to begin with, but there is room for improvement.