Ngage

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

FLUX Solutions is a company which provide a revolutionary solution to moisture for Bagpipers. I am the Founder, Designer & Managing Director for the company trading as FLUX.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We set out to create an e-commerce website which was prestigious and clear, to illustrate the product and build brand identity through our site, whilst making it easy for customers to purchase from the site.

SOLUTION

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

Ngage were standout from the get-go. Their incredible ability to quite literally ngage you in the process, with constant clear consulting to make sure the output of their services was exactly tailored to not only you, but your market.

The Co-founders are incredibly supportive around the clock, not only with changes that need to be implemented, but also with security and server health.

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

• Implement e-commerce
• Setup online accounts to take payment
• testing Aesthetic
• Great concepts these guys come up with, crystal clear communication and great knowledge to share for start-ups. Shop
• Showing product images correctly and in good scale on the site, as well as considering customer psychology and how to structure the website for pleasurable reading.

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

2 people, Grant and Jordan. Jordan was great in liaising with me on design and implementation. Not to mention multiple changes just to see how it looked, with no problem and a fast pace. Grant fronts the cyber security; Top class.

And, as a startup company, he informs you with the technical details, but doesn't confuse you. Crystal clear action and when steps need to be taken on your side, Grant will create simple bullet-pointed instructions to make it quick and easy for you.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

An incredible boost in sales, as well as vastly increasing my product awareness on the market. Every aspect of this project was executed perfectly, within more than good time, and in good order. A completely unique website unlike any other!

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

Correspondence via email was key for myself, although Ngage are definitely the type to work with you if you'd prefer another platform! No problem at all!!

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

Their ability to do business quickly, with quality and unique design, was impressive. They understand what you want implemented without having to ask. Complete visionaries! Incredible. + Their top class communication skills.

You'll never have to wait on a reply from these chaps. They also communicated with a team I subcontract for analytics to help my social media. This is the type of service you get with Ngage, second to none.

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

Nothing at all, I had a sublime experience as a startup, and I would definitely use NGAGE in future projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Moffat Centre is a unique tourism research centre which undertakes key consultancy and contract research projects in the travel and tourism industry. The Centre and its staff base have extensive primary research experience within the tourism sector across Scotland, the UK and internationally and have worked on a selection of Economic impact assessments.

The Moffat Centre’s understanding of the tourism sector in the UK is exemplary. Professor John Lennon is regularly required to provide expertise to the UK media and Scottish Government, VisitScotland as well as to a number of tourism organisations such as Historic Environment Scotland, United Nations World Tourism Organisation and UNESCO. To date over 550 projects have been successfully undertaken in over 40 countries. 

Centre profits have funded over £1.1 million worth of scholarships for more than 130 students studying to enter the tourism sector. This is the largest such scholarship programme in Europe and amongst the largest in the world. 

Increasingly, the Moffat Centre is called to deliver its tourism development expertise in international destinations (St Lucia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Malawi, South Africa, Ireland), and is acknowledged as a leader in visitor attraction development feasibility and business planning, tourism and hotel development, international learning journeys and benchmarking analysis of sectors and destinations.

The Moffat Centre has undertaken a wide variety of projects, ranging from economic impact assessments, area major feasibility studies, national tourism strategies and planning to business training and growth and development. In order for our projects to deliver valuable recommendations, we systematically integrate benchmarking/best practice exercises to illustrate clearly and unequivocally new trends and practices which are or will shortly become the standard.

We have more than 18 years’ experience dealing with the tourism industry, government, and the private sector nationally and internationally. We serve clients ranging from airlines to government, destination marketing organisations to leisure operators.

We have developed a network of national and international contacts that we can reliably call upon to assist in building knowledge and data to better inform project outcomes and our language capacity includes German, Spanish and Italian.

Please see www.moffatcentre.com for a full list of clients.

Hugh (Shug) Sheridan (BA), is a Research Assistant, in the Moffat Centre. Shug joined the Centre in January 2014 and has worked extensively on primary research projects, such as Homecoming 2014, Paisley 2021 and Glasgow Jazz Festival, assisting Professor Lennon and Marina Martinolli with the Scottish Accommodation Occupancy Survey. More recently Shug has been managing the day to day collection and analysis of the Scottish visitor attraction research, increasing response rates month on month. Participation in the monthly Barometer report has increased by 10% since Hugh began collecting data.

Moffat Centre staff has significant experience working on tourism research projects using postal and email questionnaires and telephone interviews to ensure robust rates of return.  

From 1999 the Centre has undertaken the annual Visitor Attraction Monitor (VAM) and the Visitor Attraction Barometer (VAB) on behalf of VisitScotland. In 2010 the Centre continued with this research independently on a commercial basis.  

The VAM boasts an impressive response rate of 89.4%; out of 822 attractions contacted, responses were received from 735 in 2019. A questionnaire is used as a research tool to gather the data for the VAM. This questionnaire is primarily quantitative with small qualitative elements.  

Circulated via the Visitor Attraction Online Portal, by electronic survey and via email in a staggered approach from September until December taking into account seasonal closure of attractions

The VAM is published each year at the beginning of April and is the most comprehensive range of data available on visitor attraction performance in Scotland.

The report is used by local and national government to inform policy and is used by industry to benchmark and compare performance with competitors. The monthly Barometer reports on trends and patterns in visitation to 600 attractions across Scotland and is the fastest published indicator in the UK.
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Ngage Technology were hired to implement a digital transformation of our Visitor Attraction Monitor (VAM). The VAM incorporates the gathering, analysis and reporting on visitor data from 700+ visitor attractions across Scotland.

Having previously been a largely manual, resource intensive process Ngage Technology were hired to help automate and improve the creation and delivery of the Visitor Attraction Monitor.

Following this project, we have since enlisted Ngage Technology’s support with ongoing running and maintenance of the Visitor Attraction Monitor.

The aim of the project was to deliver a web-based platform allowing for more efficient and eco-friendly collection, analysis and reporting of data. 

Specific goals included:

• Development of a user-friendly web-based interface and data repository to accommodate the following use cases:
• Attraction Operators - a portal to allow attractions to input information pertaining to the current year as well as editing information associated with the attraction (e.g. contact details)
• Subscribers – ability to access purchased data and manage their account information
• Administrators – access to edit, view and manage all data, users and reports.
• Allow Administrators to analyse, validate and handle data in a simple and time-saving manner.
• Ability to produce VAM and VAB reports in pdf format.
• Produce dashboards for all users with the ability to personalise. 
• Secure and compliant storage and handling of data by the portal.

SOLUTION

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

We had distributed a brief to several potential vendors. Ngage Technology were selected because their proposal clearly demonstrated a particularly good understanding of our aims and ambitions for the project. They were also innovative in their thinking around the key challenges and committed to deliver good value.

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

Ngage Technology were tasked with building the new online system from the ground up. This started with a Q&A session following the distribution of our brief. The team was curious, attentive, and very professional in looking to understand current pain points and outcomes of the project. This made for an incredibly positive start.

Next, they submitted their proposal and offered to come in and present their vision of the new system and offer a Q&A so we had a chance to raise any questions we had. The proposal and presentation were clear in highlighting the phases of the project, milestones as well as what considerations and buffers where built into the project timeline while meeting our delivery requirements.

Once approved, Ngage Technology started the first phase which was building the web-interface. Initially, there was not much to see but they were active and responsive in keeping us up to date and timelines were met.

They were good at dealing with myself and other members of the team to ensure they had the right information and were able to keep us informed throughout the process. As the web interface was nearing completion, they engaged with us ahead of time to prepare and the second phase managing the data.

Development, configuration and integration of the data repository, analytics and reporting system was a significant part of the project. We also knew the data itself had evolved over the years (started in 1990’s). The team were quick to recognise this and reviewed the data proactively. The data was cleansed prior to work commencing on phase 2.

The second phase was like the first, however with a greater focus on sharing information and understanding of the data, how it would be used and how this will differ for different users. This again came together nicely. Ngage Technology were also good at letting us know what to expect from the various rounds of testing being done. 

The final weeks seemed to be about packaging it all together and testing it with the real-world data. While time-consuming, the promise that the new system showed was very encouraging. We also knew to expect small bugs as errors until final testing had been completed. Once it was, we were happy with the new system.

Ngage Technology also offered training sessions given the depth of options and controls on the system. We would highly recommend this. We did two sessions the first week and a session a week after that for about a month. This was useful and allowed us to use and build confidence on the system quickly.

Following this we decided to offer Ngage the contract to maintain and update the platform. Similar to the project, they have again been reliable, helpful and accessible to work with us, help us and collaboratively brainstorm upgrades and changes to the system. 

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

We worked with two contacts throughout the project: the lead programmer and a user advocate. During the project we dealt with both regularly which made for good collaboration and productivity throughout.

The varying skills and impressive experience also added valuable perspective highlighting considerations and opportunities which could easily have been missed otherwise.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new system has allowed us to provide on-demand 24/7 access to visitor attraction information to our partners, attractions and clients in addition to monthly and annual reports. The system has also made it easier and more flexible for attractions to input their data and see relevant results that much quicker. Importantly, the new system has enabled the VAM end-to-end process to become more environmentally friendly which is important to us.

We’re always looking to improve and Ngage Technology have been supportive while continuing to exceed our expectations.

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

Ngage Technology were well organised and good at gathering our expectations at an early stage. They delivered on these and remained consistent throughout the project. When needed, they were also able to adapt and accommodate. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a start-up looking to build a new offering for the energy sector freelancer in the UK market. I founded the company whilst undertaking an MSc in Fintech and went through the University accelerator program. We have now secured funding and are progressing with the platform build and are due to launch Q3-4 2020.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ngage?

We initially hired Ngage to build a simple website, thereafter this led on to a paid-for an exploratory mapping session and a requirements specification document (RSD).

At this stage, I was the sole team member with little tech experience but with 20+ years of project experience. We discussed the need for a lean-agile project, so I took the role of PM with the Ngage hired to undertake the technical development.

In technical development, the RSD was to create a piece of software to intelligently match freelancers to contracts posted by companies, allow them to engage, transact and on completion score the engagement. The matching would need some work but overall there was nothing overly challenging about the scope.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals were stated in the RSD, at a high level, ability to create individual profiles and contracts that are then matched, thereafter bid submission, contract award, and payments all executed through the platform.

Tech-wise it was to be written '...in a mixture of Python, PHP with the usual HTML and CSS for styling'. We hoped to be up and running for Q4 2019, with the impact being having the ability to start operations.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The process was to obtain three proposals from local software developers. Score them based on a ten-point matrix ranging from technical, history, legal, commercials etc.

I had met Ngage through an accelerator program and had built a relationship with them by getting them to build us a holding page website and through the creation of the RSD. Where they scored lower than others in some aspects they were young, keen, and full of excitement.

That won me over and was the key deciding factor, I thought the start-up company with a fresh dynamic team would be a winning formula. The decision was mine and mine alone so decided yeah let's do this! It started well...

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Ngage was responsible for building the software in line with the RSD that included 4 key milestones, I was responsible for the project management. During the course of the project, I hired the services of a software developer to support the transition of the project in-house post-project (in a phased approach), a PR agency to support professional copy and as the project threatened to derail, a technical consultant.

We aimed for a lean agile development with features being passed for testing as and when created, code drops, and a continuous feedback loop. We set up a Trello board and encouraged the use of github, this was declined due to 'security concerns' and instead a sandbox was created on the CPanel for us to access periodic drops.

We didn't provide any guidelines although we did request two changes:

1. As a start-up, we gained access to AWS vouchers so asked if we could switch to AWS (Given this was in the first two weeks of the project we felt it was a reasonable request). This was agreed as a logical step, although they stated it had delayed the project by two weeks they still felt the delivery was achievable.

2. We also got feedback from our customers that a PayPal type option wouldn't work as it had to be bank to bank so we sourced a provider, engaged with them, and agreed on them as the solution to install. The integration documents were passed over and communication channels set up with Ngage included, again no real delay was predicted, so we progressed with the provider as a change.

What was the team composition?

The initial team was the three directors (although one parted company mid-project). They were supported by interns but it was only the two directors that I dealt directly with. One was technical and one Sales. Internally, I was PM, we also required a software developer in support of transition and a technical consultant to support and steer delivery.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unfortunately, the project derailed. The project and the result of engaging with Ngage set us back a year. Should we not have been in the fortunate position of gaining access to a further accelerator including funding we would not still be operating today. It was a horrendous drain on me personally and for the business.

We had started to discuss and promise the market a solution which we failed to meet. You don't get much chance with some of these clients and we have been working hard to rebuild credibility.

As far as initial goals are concerned we hoped to have a platform to offer the end of 2019 but in the end, we chose to exit the project after Ngage repeatedly failed to meet a milestone. It was a painful decision to make given the time and money we invested but the advice we got was that 'those that get you in a hole are very rarely the ones to get you out' and we just lost trust that they were doing anything to rectify our concerns.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management and communications used e-mail and Trello. We suggested GitHub but it was a security concern (red flag!) so used CPANEL sandbox to share progress.

As far as other tools were concerned, we didn't use Slack, Jira, asana, or any other standard tools. We have since set up, Slack, JIRA, Github and g drive/ hangouts. Responsiveness by e-mail was good, responsiveness to share any work was poor. It was stated from the outset that we wanted transparency, not due to mistrust but more because it's our livelihood and we wanted to understand the tech more.

The alarm bells started when we requested a site map for the PR company to write the copy, in return, we got screenshots of my suggestions from keynote and LinkedIn but we rolled forward. At milestones we expected work to be shared, we reached milestone two and the work was provided, we got this: - https://www.voltajob.com/

This is a template but when we challenged we got told, that is was unsubstantiated and it did not reflect the level of work undertaken behind the scenes. We also got told that as we had downloaded from CPanel (to send to our technical consultant) that we were in breach of contract. This drained time with a legal review.

At this point, I felt I was consistently in a gray area of understanding, was this the way software development was undertaken? It was my first 'tech' project and I was aware of my shortcomings, so I felt a third party was needed. We re-engaged and held a session to walk through the development and to try to realign management and delivery expectations.

We got told the previous site didn't reflect the work undertaken so we agreed on further deployment of code, what we got was a dating site template. Again this was defended as only the GUI to show functionality, not the full working code which was not provided.

At this point, we felt that we would try manage an outcome, with that being, something workable. We gave them space and reset the deadline for the third time. In order to meet this deadline we were told they would have to revert to their original plan, no AWS and no payment provider of choice. If I wanted that I'd have to commit funds upfront pre-development.

This was a poor position to be put in, get what I want but pay upfront despite my concerns or revert to a piece of software that didn't work for our clients. Given what we had seen and their complete reluctance to share any of the 'bespoke code' they had written due to their IP concerns we agreed for them to demonstrate for a third time to reach milestone two, what we received was this: - https://simplejobscript.com/

This is a job board script downloadable for circa £50. I have no objections of templates being used but it didn't meet the functionality agreed in the RSD, Ngage flatly stated that it did and they had achieved what they set out too. We asked to see the code that undertook the core functionality of the matching, we got told it was a chron job and couldn't be shown.

This was despite discussions on matching key inputs and using multiple decision criteria analysis (their words), we put a lot of work into this element and it was all forgotten. What we were being shown were templates nothing more. I was the project manager and I had got here 8 months deep, messed it up and the buck stops with me, the project was a disaster. So in the end, we made the decision to walk and requested a refund.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The only positive I can take from the experience is I now have a better understanding of what an aspiring tech company should have in place, the systems, the approach to project management, the transparency, honesty, and collaborative working approach. I hope that Ngage can do the same.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everyone has bad projects and as mentioned above this was one of my worst, I certainly came up short in areas. As far as Ngage are concerned their biggest failure was not to grab a golden opportunity to raise their game and work collaboratively with us and our consultant of 25+ years.

Looking back they can likely deliver simple word press sites competently, but this scope required and was sold as something more. I felt was a chance for them to step up, raise their game as developers, learn for free from the consultant, and build something we were all proud of.

Instead, they tried to shoe-horn a template into our needs and the requirements of the RSD. They fell short. Not only that it was the manner in which they did so, we can all get lost in projects but I would say they chose a path less honest. In the end, it was actually a relief to stop working with them and we gave up on any refund or court action.

Everything said, what's the main area of improvement, my development! It was a harsh expensive lesson, but I'm now determined not to be dragged into a gray area of understanding again, we've improved our PM, contracting and technical delivery capabilities, onwards and upwards! So why take the time to write this review, partly to let others know of my experience and partly in a roundabout way help Ngage.

I hope that this review changes actions, not necessarily in customers not using them, but hopefully, they see this review and learn from it. That way no one else has to endure a project and engagement that I just have.