Notch

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the IT manager at Belcar, an automotive services company that's part of the Beerens Group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Notch?

We needed to develop an end-of-contract (EOC) app for our big customers, such as leasing companies. These companies would use this app to manage tasks related to EOCs with end customers. As part of that process, we wanted to manage some tasks ourselves via a software solution on which we could also provide feedback.

With this solution, we wanted to manage the EOC process online. Instead of having those companies calling us for every need, we wanted them to visualize information related to dates, tasks done, inspections done, and the vehicles' statuses.

We had launched an old app via PHP, but we wanted to redesign it and take it to the next level. We wanted the new app to reach new standards and have the right architecture. However, we hired Notch because we didn't have the resources in-house to do this project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Notch has provided us with a scrum team that has helped us rewrite our entire app. Their work has included UI/UX design, front- and backend development, and testing.

Initially, we did an in-person workshop in our offices, and Notch came in with a few team members to do a business analysis. Then, we also went to their offices in Zagreb to do a kick-off meeting and start the project. The main scope of the project lasted around 13 months. After some thorough testing, Notch helped us launch our app. Now, their team helps us migrate customers to the platform.

What is the team composition?

Although I've been presented to Notch's whole team, I currently work with a project manager who communicates with us on a daily basis. I obviously worked with a salesperson initially, who I think is now an executive.

How did you come to work with Notch?

I read a lot of things about different companies, and Notch's differentiators were that they were a young company and the fact that they were close to a university. Notch gets specially trained talent from the university, which is great because it allows them to keep innovating. When I read those facts about Notch, I was interested in engaging with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around November 2022, and our engagement is ongoing. In fact, I went to Zagreb recently to talk with Notch about a new project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We already have one customer company using our app, which is a very difficult milestone to achieve because the migration process is complex and requires the customer to subscribe to our platform under a contract. Another company is coming soon.

Our first customer has been very respectful and pleased with the platform that we've created. This customer is the third-biggest leasing company in Europe, and they're very pleased with the software they're now using. Additionally, we're now communicating on a high level with them, so we've basically gone from zero to hero.

In the past, they weren't pleased with our software, as it was an outdated platform that had been around for 14 years. The new platform has proven to be very modern and future-proof, so they like what they see. Its functionality is clear, and the UI/UX has been vastly upgraded. The functionality itself has also had a major upgrade.

How did Notch perform from a project management standpoint?

Throughout the project, we had a small issue with our budget, but the issue was more on our side. I had some issues following up on the business side, so there was a lack of communication that ended up costing us more money. However, this issue wasn't Notch's fault. It was something we should have seen sooner, so I can't blame them for that. This issue caused us to go a bit over budget, but it wasn't a big issue either.

Still, every new app faces these challenges, and even the big software platforms suffer changes over time. Moreover, it's common for software development projects to go through scope changes throughout the process before the product is released. That's why we love the agile development process; it allows us to shift directions throughout the process.

Notch's responsiveness has been very good. They've asked us a lot of questions and been very open. We can always pick up the phone and give them a call. We've actually had some emergency calls, and we visit them as frequently as possible. About three weeks ago, I went to Zagreb for the fourth time. Overall, we love their open communication and working style. Although their style is new to us, it's very productive.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Throughout the project, Harvey (Chief Customer Officer) has collaborated with me a lot. Although Notch has a great project manager and excellent team members, Harvey has collaborated with me to move the project forward. When he was a salesperson, he was very committed to delivering, so he deserves a shout-out.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Notch has grown a lot since we started working with them. Now, they have about 60 more team members compared to when we first engaged, which is great for them. They have a great process for harvesting new talent. This process includes training and a lot of boot camps and hackathons for students. They do a lot to attract new talent, and happy talent does great work.

Moreover, a great thing about Notch is that they're flexible and listen to our needs, but they also provide their opinion. They don't say yes all the time. Instead, they come back with suggestions on how to make the project better. After some iterations, we define the direction to follow.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everyone has room for improvement, and Notch isn't the exception. However, I can't pinpoint an improvement area in particular. Everything requires a learning curve, so we could have invested more time in the initial workshop, but this had to do with both of us.

It would have been great if we had done more planning work for our first project, but we've learned, and we're doing it now. These lessons have been reflected in the project cost as well because we've done more thorough planning, and the cost has been less. Moreover, Notch is headed to deliver a better project.

Another thing we learned is that steering the project was our responsibility. We've had to make someone constantly available from our side to steer Notch's team in Croatia. Our most difficult challenges have been steering projects and providing staff with the time to manage both teams, and those challenges have been on our side. We can make better and faster projects if we're on top of them, but those are areas of improvement on our side.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Do your work internally and define the project you want to do, which includes defining a detailed scope of work that includes what the development team has to do and what you have to do. After that, talk with them, ask them their opinion, and get to an agreement on how you'll work together.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CIO of ProAg

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

ProAg delivers crop insurance that provides a level of security to farmers and ranchers, who operate at the mercy of the weather and markets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Notch to accomplish?

• Development of a next generation quoting system for two insurance programs.
• To be one of the top three tools in the market and attract agents and producers to write with ProAg
• To position ProAg as one of top three US insurance providers in customer/agent experience for livestock quoting.

SOLUTION

How did you find Notch?

• Referral

Why did you select Notch over others?

• Referred to me

What was the size of Notch’s team?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Create a custom web application for livestock quoting that fulfils agent's core business processes from coverage recommendation and quoting to market research and analysis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Implemented a solution with enhanced UX experience, simpler and easier to use.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Notch delivered on the commitments they made and were very responsive to our needs. They would also bring concerns forward when necessary and didn't hesitate to ask for what they needed in order to meet our expectations.

What was your primary form of communication with Notch?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The strong partnership they brought to the table from day one. They took accountable for their commitments, raised concerns when necessary and were 100% on board with meeting the goals that we had.

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

Not at this time

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of delivery for a technology startup currently building an HR SaaS tool. We’re developing an extended workforce platform for large enterprises to manage their outsourced workforce. People like non-employees or contractors aren’t always easily managed by existing systems, so our platform will allow them to manage those workers and give the enterprise a complete view of both their internal employees and outsourced resources.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Agency04?

We needed to scale our development capabilities quickly, so we engaged with Agency04 to help us with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Agency04 has collaborated with some of our senior engineers remotely to build specific web apps for suppliers and workers to manage their interactions with their enterprises. These apps help them with various things, for example, assigning workers to certain jobs, submitting timesheets and expenses, and other HR-related tasks.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three junior engineers, two mid-level engineers, and two senior engineers.

How did you come to work with Agency04?

Another provider of ours recommended them. When we reached out to them, they impressed us when they told us how they wanted to do the work. They wanted to create a partnership with us for both of us to grow our companies.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around €400,000 (approximately $395,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in April 2021, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our success is mainly based on the fact that we can get our software into our customers’ hands. Agency04 has brought a lot of good and solid engineering practices with them, allowing us to share software releases with our customers daily and get their feedback to keep improving our offerings. Since working with Agency04, our app usage has increased significantly.

How did Agency04 perform from a project management standpoint?

Agency04’s project management is very good. They actively monitor support requests from customers and address technical issues quickly. Overall, they’re very customer-focused, and they always ensure that our releases don’t impact them negatively.

We also have regular meetings with our account manager to address issues that arise, which they quickly solve to our satisfaction. We mainly use Slack for daily communication and Zoom for weekly meetings, although we occasionally communicate via email as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Agency04’s ability to quickly get up to speed with our project and understand our complex technology and business is impressive. Additionally, I really like that they aren’t interested in building technology for the sake of it; instead, they always want to build technology that solves our customers' needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’re pretty good, so nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Establish a partnership, work closely with them, and allow them to understand your business. If you do so, they’ll immediately start helping you improve your product. Treating them as part of your company makes them more likely to get high-performing results for you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Football Company is a startup with the vision to drive football culture through technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Agency04, and what were your goals?

We have hired Agency04 to fully develop our next generation Football Fantasy Manager, and NFT Marketplace for digital goods from backend to native mobile applications frontend.

SOLUTION

How did you select Agency04 and what were the deciding factors?

We have selected Agency4 out of several candidates. The agency had the right size, not too small, not too big. The first contact was very positive. We met the people remote and in person. They asked the right question and gave us the feeling they understand what we need and want.

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

We are working with real time data from an external data provider that we need to process and push to a huge audience in real time in order to give our users a vibrant experience.

The goal here was to create the fastest engine on the market. In order to achieve that we've built the backend with Java, Spring Boot, Micronaut, Rest API, k8s and use Firebase Cloud Messaging. We are also using ReactJS and Kotlin for the frontend.

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

We are working with a team of seven developers and one project manager. From Junior to Head.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The outcome is very good so far. Everything is working as expected and is built exceeding our expectations.

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

The project management is built based on our requirements. The team is basically self organized. Everything is on time and the communication is seamless.

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

Now we are coming to the most interesting feedback. Every person involved is very dedicated to the product they are building for us. We can feel a lot of passion, enthusiasm but also responsibility and everyone is self driven. Solution oriented by always finding a good solution to our challenges.

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

We have a very direct and open communication and fix things on the go. There is nothing to improve here.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the product owner for a product we are currently developing together with Agency04 for a client of us. My company is the cloud-based platform for product content to share accurate and reliable content with their partners and consumers. We additionally implement custom product content related solutions for some of our customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Agency04, and what were your goals?

We have hired Agency04 for two projects where AG04 provided the whole scrum team besides the Product owner (several full stack developers, UI Designer, Scrum master). One project is already finished, the other one is still ongoing.

We now also have started to add some Developers from AG04 to some of our existing product teams. Our goal was to get more people helping us with the development as we didn't have enough internal people to cover all the work and specifically to cover the extra projects which we wanted to start.

SOLUTION

How did you select Agency04 and what were the deciding factors?

I wasn't involved in the decision as I started at atrify after the selection of AG04, so I can't give information here.

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

We work with the scrum methodology in 2 week sprints. The scope is to create a web platform, which is supposed to replace an existing solution. We are providing every few weeks a new version to the customer to be able to test and verify our solution. The big milestone will be the goLive when all necessary features are done, so the old solution can be replaced.

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

On the first smaller project it was: Senior Engineer, Junior Engineer, two Solution Experts (one with DevOps background), UX/UI Designer and Scrum Master On the currently ongoing project it is: Senior Engineer, Professional Engineer, Qualified Engineer, Junior Engineer, two Solution Experts (one with DevOps background), UX/UI Designer and Scrum Master

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We work closely together to develop a great product. The deliverables after each sprint are always good. There are misunderstandings which lead to needing to fix stuff, but this is why we work in short sprints to find issues early. The whole team is committed to the product and does their best to have good results.

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

Communication tools are defined from our side. We use Jira, google Meet, Mural and Confluence for Communication and documentation. As said before, timelines are defined by the sprint length and the main project management is done by me.

One issue for me is, that they took the DevOps out of the scrumteam, although we still depend on his work. To get clarification when he is going to deliver what is therefor very difficult. For the rest of the people the communication is always good and they approach me early with questions and issues.

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

The willingness to improve as a team. Openness for feedback and the real work together to find good solutions.

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

Seems the DevOps they planned to support us, has too much on his plate. They decided to take him out of the scrum team and to make im a supporting specialist, but this is still not working properly and adds work on my plate and things he needs to deliver often come later than agreed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Sr. Principal Program Manager at a full-service digital agency

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Agency04, and what were your goals?

We wanted to develop an app that our client would use to present their products in an exciting new way to their customers. This means access to whole product ranges and showcase of unique selling points - practically all relevant info for the customers in one elegant app.

SOLUTION

How did you select Agency04 and what were the deciding factors?

We were looking for a partner to help us scale our projects with a large client. We needed support especially in the area of ​​frontend development with Angular.

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

Development of a Progressive Web App that sales representatives can use during their customer meetings. Focus was on showing novelties and direct interface to CRM

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

Five people are working in our team: two Junior Frontend Developers, one Mid Frontend Developer, one Senior and a Project Manager. We plan to introduce more frontend developers in future phases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first project phase is about to launch in April. The reviews with the client were very successful. The feedback about our deliverables was great!

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

We used SCRUM with 4 week sprints. Communication tools were Jira, Confluence, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. Development Kickoff was in November. Go-live is April 1st

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

The motivation of each team member to achieve the best possible result is amazing.

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

The team did very well. An area for improvement would be to to favor the faster solution over the more flexible one.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide national IT services for universities and research institutions in Croatia, for almost 50 years. International projects also play a big part in our daily operations. I am the Head of Information Systems Department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AGENCY04?

We hired AGENCY04 to help us with development of national Current Research Information Systems (CRIS). We are in need of extra developers to give a helping hand to our own.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal is to create a new national research information system, which will be integrated or interconnected with a number of other information systems in Croatia and several international systems as well. It will consist of approximately 50 different modules, all implemented using Spring Boot.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

For this project, the public procurement took place. AGENCY04 provided the best offer with regard to both value for money and the expertise and experience of their developers, which was important to us.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They are helping design, develop, configure and deploy a number of modules for our system. Their developers bring the necessary experience and provide a valuable insights and suggestions to improve all of the key factors of each module.

What was the team composition?

The project team has about ten people, and some of them come and go depending on the skill needed at certain point in time. Their developers are integrated in our team as equals, with our own project manager. An agile development approach is taking place, with very frequent releases of new versions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This project represents a national research information infrastructure. It is going to be used by all of the people in all the fields of science and research in the country, as well as many national agencies, ministries and other organizations.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management is communicated via regular weekly meetings and daily via Slack, Jira, Confluence and GitLab. Their developers regularly inform about any possible delays and suggest other paths that could be follow. They are generally proactive and creative, thus giving the project manager more options and flexibility.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive part of our collaboration are skillful developers that they not only do what is expected of them, but also think ahead, ask difficult questions and yet try to find many answers themselves, communicate clearly and thoughtfully, and on top of that, understand the common goal we're working on.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only area of improvement would be to train all of their developers in social skills. We had some of them in our previous collaborations who were not so skilled socially, and that could generate a loss of time, which is our valuable asset.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're an R&D company developing proprietary computer vision technology optimized for realtime processing on mobile devices. Advanced neural networks and deep learning techniques are used to process the fastest and the most accurate text recognition locally on a mobile device. Therefore, we offer a variety of products as mobile SDK (software development kit) or Web API tailored for specific use-cases. We aim to completely eliminate the need for manual data entry on mobile devices, thus improving user experience and engagement. I work as a CTO and I'm also one of the cofounders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AGENCY04?

For software development services on verification project.

What were your goals for this project?

We're launching a new product and the goal of it is to be able to verify identity of the users of mobile and web apps online. Agency04 is helping us with software development on the iOS platform on this product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We've known Agency04 for a long time but never had a chance to work with them. We reviewed several other candidates for this topic but Agency04's references, technical talent and the approach to software development looked as an excellent match.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Project consists of mobile (iOS and Android) and web components. Agency04 worked with us on the iOS side. They basically started from zero, and with collaboration with dedicated Product owner on this project, got us to a position to launch the product with the first client in 4 months. They were responsible for - SW development - SW Architecture - technical product steering - talking with the client - integration support

What was the team composition?

On the project we've collaborated with their Senior iOS software engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With the results of the project, we're now working with several potential clients that are interested in using the product. The clients are in finance and banking sector. We expect to see return on investment with the first couple clients.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project managment was done internally by us. We're happy with the results.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their technical knowledge, flexibility, work ethic, and culture are impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We're very happy with the work so far and wouldn't change anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

EdTech company with large user base.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AGENCY04?

We were developing a content contributor platform and didn't have enough internal resources to build it.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to build the platform in iterations, from a prototype, over a functional closed beta version with friendly users up to a production version open to the globe.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We knew the team from projects in previous companies and as we worked well with good results it was an obvious choice to hire them.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Developed a Kotlin+PostgreSQL backend and React frontend.

What was the team composition?

The project had three mid-level developer from the Agency to complement internal resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a tight schedule and the system was delivered on time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

An internal developer was PM from our side and most experienced developer from the agency was doing code reviews and managing other developers from the agency. Initially we were all on-site and using tools like Jira, Confluence and Slack while after covid-19 measures we all switched to remote work.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The developers from the agency are very adaptive. They were experienced in Java and had limited experiences with Kotlin. As our projects were all in Kotlin they quickly switched.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Communicating how something will be developed ahead can reduce the number of iterations in development.