Onephase

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of exhibits at the DoSeum. The DoSeum is an interactive children's museum/science center, and we have over 250 interactive exhibits. Part of my role is to repair and maintain those exhibits for our guests. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Onephase?

A number of our exhibits have coding and programming elements in them, and Onephase helps us with any software issues.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Onephase assists us with the exhibits' software. They look into the source code and try to figure out any programming issues. We have an ongoing annual contract with them to do that work.

To jumpstart the engagement, we provided documentation about our exhibits and all of our exhibits’ source code. They also did a lot of research and discovery (R&D) on all of our exhibits that have programming components. 

Whenever there’s an exhibit that isn’t working correctly, our staff looks at it and troubleshoots the problem. If they’re unable to fix it, we reach out to Onephase, and they look at the source code we have given them access to. They try to fix it, and if the problem is a programming issue, they usually solve it within a couple of weeks.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Rodrigo (Co-Founder). We also work with Enrique (CTO) and 2–3 developers intermittently.

How did you come to work with Onephase?

We were looking for a small local firm that could do coding and programming. We found Onephase through GeekDom, a local coworking space, and they connected us with Rodrigo since he is based in San Antonio. He's also a member of the DoSeum, and he comes here with his kids. That’s how we connected with Onephase. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our yearly contract with Onephase is roughly $20,000. So far, we’ve spent around $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Onephase since February 2018, and we continue to use their services.

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

Onephase is very reliable and always willing to jump in and help. They're very adaptable to different problems. We have many exhibits with various needs and that are written in different programs. They have the adaptability and willingness to always learn and work with us on different things.

How did Onephase perform from a project management standpoint?

Onephase has good project management. They send us different updates on what they're working on through a robust tracking system that always keeps us updated, which is great. We communicate through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Onephase’s team is very personalized. They always want to know how they're doing and what else they can help us with. There's a really strong personalization that they have to their work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We didn’t select Onephase to work on some larger projects because they didn’t have previous experience in it. They're a smaller company that's growing. As they grow and adapt, we will continue to look at them for larger projects.

Any advice for potential customers?

I definitely recommend them to someone who has a smaller-scale tech project. Onephase is good at working within a relatively small scope. Some tech companies won’t work on those projects, but Onephase is always willing to.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Render is a company that integrates interactive media for the promotion of real estate and industrial projects. I am CEO and founder of the company since 1997.

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

We need a development team that will have the experience and capability for the type of project we wanted to develop. In addition to the experience we needed a team that spoke from the point of view of the user experience

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed several development teams however they did not have experience prior to the type of project as well as knowledge of the subject a team just tailored to our needs

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

We needed to integrate a platform for business meeting between buyers and suppliers which users could have their profile and main characteristics of each one. A system that could synchronize the schedules available for appointments between the two profiles.

The initial requirement was defined as well as the different stages and possible scopes in the future. Work and execution plan was developed for each one of the development sprints. The conceptual stage was initiated to land the ideas on visual screens. Subsequently, development began for each one of the elements the formed the project. At the end of the project we went through a process of quality assurance and implementation.

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

The development team consists of a project manager, KAM, front and back end team.

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

It was a very fair-in-time project which required a fast track of the development. During the implementation, different eventualities arose which the development team was able to solve in time.

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

We had a project manager assigned throughout the project which gave us follow-up to receive the information from our team. Through periodic presentations and through communication tools such as slack they put us on so much of the progress of development. The methodology implemented by the Project Management helped to give a structure and development times to the project.

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

The most impressive thing about the development of the project was the end result, knowing the complexity of all the variables and the integration of each of the characteristics of the project in such a simple way for the user.

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

An area of opportunity that was had during the project was to explore different alternatives for the solution of the different problems that were presented day by day in the development. However, the team has the ability to listen to the client's proposals and can adapt them for better development.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of Solofesteja.com. I also own a Business called Mas Prospectos which is a Marketing Agency in Monterrey México. Through our experience in Mas Prospectos we intended to create a sort of Marketplace in the events industry in which we would be able to connect suppliers with customers.

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

At the beginning we contacted multiple software development companies in order to evaluate which company could give us the best fit for the requirements of our project. One Phase presented with the best solution cost / benefit for the project presented. Our goal was to develop a platform in which we could offer different options to a variety of services to the consumers freely, charging the suppliers for every sale opportunity they were getting.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

As explained before, we decided for the best solution price / quality based, in which One Phase offered the best scope being the middle option in the pricing of the solution. Some of the factors that inclined us to work with Onephase were:

1) Dealing with the managing Partner Carlos Egremy, who was always available and observing the project.
2) The knowledge of Carlos of the Events Industry through the experiences of his wife, who works in the same industry.
3) The commitment of the whole Onephase team to making this project a success, as they felt that they were partners in the project and that compromise was expressed through the planning process and the development of the project.

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

I'm not very familiar with the technologies used, as we were confident they would offer the best technology available at the time. Talking about the process:

1) We designed a process that we thought was the best way available. In the beginning, we had multiple meetings in which we discussed our customer journey and proactively Solofesteja's team as well as Onephase's modified the process in order to get the best solution to the market.
2) After these, Onephase's team divided the project into different sprints in order to launch the different functionalities and test them.
3) Even though there was a plan, this project iterated constantly as we were getting feedback from customers, which required the ability to adapt to the circumstances until we launched to the public.

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

At One Phase there was the Scrum Master, also there was the Data Base Responsible, two developers, and another person responsible for the testings as far as I can remember. Carlos was also very involved in the project and in almost every meeting.

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

At the end of the project we had a complete platform with the payment methods habilitated fully functional. In general all the deliverables were met in time and with great quality. Due to the extension of the project as well as changes of the scope due to the nature of the development, some reportes weren't able to be finished because that budget was used in changes in the platform.

I really liked the transparency in the process as well as the great communication we had with the Onephase team through slack, as well as the professionalism documenting all the development process using bitbucket, leaving the possibility to us as customers and proprietors of the software to work with other developers in case of need, which wasn't the case. Onephase continues to support the project and give us support.

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

Their project management as I told you before is very close to the client. We had communication mainly through slack and Whatsapp Groups, and we met periodically every week / 2 weeks to see the advances in the projects. I also have a Jira account which supports all the changes done to the platform. The project had normal delays because of some changes in the design which were made in consensus, normal to this kind of projects. In general I'm very satisfied with the quality of the work and the time taken for the development.

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

The first is that it was a very professional development company that adapted to the budget we had. They were the only ones who used Jira as a way to document the whole process of the development in order to give transparency to other developres in the case we needed to change the provider. That gave us  lot of confidence, also the involvement, interest and commitment offered from Carlos and his team from the beginning of the project.

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

Overall, I was very satisfied with the outcome, although there were some differences at the end of the project about the scope (the reporting part) which was exchanged for changes in the flow of the platform, which wasn't talked until the end of the project. I think there was a lack of communication from both parties about the scope of the project, which could be resolved earlier. Nonetheless, they offered plenty of support even after the final delivery, keeping in touch with us until today, two years after the end of the project.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Founder of a Wealth Management Company. We manage investment portfolios and give financial advise.

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

Develop a web app to manage data form clients and stocks. With a investor's home page were the clients could download data.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We believe that OnePhase was a great option because they had experience dealing with the financial sector.

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

1. Regristration Site: For the clients where they could upload information and documents.
2. Customer Management: Site for managers to authorize or delete clients.
3. Portfolio Management: Site to manage each portfolio
4. Stock Management: Use of an API to get prices and general data

Technologies used:

• Vue.js
• Laravel
• MongoDB
• AWS cloud
• PHP

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

• 5 Designer
• 2 Developers
• QA
• Scrum master

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

The project was deliverd on time even though there where changes along the way. The product works.

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

Definitely the team was open to hear solutions. The talked vía Zoom and email.

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

They were able to adapt fast to changing needs, and their friendliness and openness to listen were amazing. They were focused on solving the problem rather than just delivering something. 

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

At the beginning we lacked clearness on the progress but by the end they were very clear on the progress all the time.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Commercial refrigeration for food retailing, Engineering Lab & Model Manager

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

We need to reduce the reporting time and have online visibility of the testing being perform in order to monitor and make decisions

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Cost, there propose solution and timing for execution.

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

The objective of the project is to develop a web application that allows to automate the analysis and reporting of the tests and make it as close as possible to real time through the following activities:

1. Data collection of the test data in a near real time.
2. Administration and management of data that will allow to save, analyze and generate test results.
3. Graphical reporting development visible on a web application.

Steps:

1. Discovery/Setup
2. Design
3. Development/Testing
4. Implementation

Key deliverables:

1. Report automatization
2. Online monitoring

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

2 developers, 1 QA, UI/UX y 1 Scrum Master

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

All the sprints define at the beginning of the project were met

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

Communication was constant using XOOM for meeting and WhatsApp for quick dialogs and solutions.

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

They're technical and solutions-based with excellent teamwork.

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

Due to the pandemic we could not have personal from Onephase on site, this could something that will probably improve the understanding on the current situation.