The NineHertz

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of the company. We’re developing a beauty app in the Dominican Republic.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The NineHertz? 

They’re helping us develop an on-demand beauty app. Users can ask for a service and independent providers will provide it. We get a percentage of the cost of every appointment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After agreeing to a budget and submitting a payment, The NineHertz had us meet with their team leader and programmers, who communicated how the process would work. We started with the design, and then they added all the functions of the app that I described. I also explained the general process of using the app from the user’s point of view. 

The most important feature is that the user can make an appointment, and that process sends a signal to all the nearby service providers, who then can accept or reject that appointment. After the appointment is accepted, if the service provider decides to cancel it, then that sends another signal and someone else will take over the job. This sequence makes for a simple, automatic process. 

Another important capability we’re working on is a payment gateway that will allow users to pay directly in the app. The solution is for iOS and Android. The NineHertz is working in React Native. We’re starting in the Dominican Republic, but if it goes well then we’ll expand country by country. 

What is the team composition?

I mostly talk to a project leader and a project manager, but there’s also a UI/UX designer, a programmer, a tester, and more. In total, we’ve interacted with 7–8 people. The NineHertz has a senior programmer that works on multiple projects and several junior programmers who focus on individual projects. They have a sizable team. If one of the junior resources assigned to our project has an issue, then they can ask the senior programmer for help. 

How did you come to work with The NineHertz? 

I looked for local development companies, but there weren’t many app development options in the Dominican Republic so I started looking online. I liked The NineHertz’s proposal, and they were clear about their rules and processes. Their sales team was very responsive as well. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2020. The app is nearly complete, and then we move into six months of support from The NineHertz. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The NineHertz has been good so far. Progress is coming a bit slower than we expected, but that happens with app development according to what I’ve read. Certain functions seem simple at the outset and then become more complicated. 

The NineHertz does their due diligence and follows through on what they say that they’ll deliver, whether it’s difficult or not. They are responsible. Their team has quickly resolved any issues we’ve had. 

How did The NineHertz perform from a project management standpoint?

They work through stages: design, development, and more. Certain aspects of the work could be improved, like being able to change the design after we closed the design phase. New ideas have come up throughout the project that I want to include, but I also don’t want to keep making changes forever. I’m not sure how to fix this, but there are some things I wish we did differently in the design stage and could go back and fix now. 

The NineHertz’s team uses a web-based project management tool where we can post documents and chat. Google Meet, Skype, and WhatsApp also help us communicate, along with email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

This is the first time I’ve hired an app development company so I’m not sure what distinguishes The NineHertz from other options, but I enjoyed how they started the project. There was good clarity up front about how the work and relationship would go. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I may do 80%–90% of the design at the beginning of the project and then move the final 10%–20% to the end of the project so we could incorporate changes and new ideas we had along the way. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more you know about app development and the features you want to develop — especially any local complexities you might encounter — the better. Trying to install a payment gateway in the Dominican Republic is not as easy as it is in the United States. Some providers aren’t accessible to local currencies, and that’s impacted us down the road. The more you study before the project, the more you’ll be able to help The NineHertz complete the project.