Online Department

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product owner of a package transaction registration company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Online Department?

We needed help designing our app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Online Department made the user interface for our Android app and portal using a collaborative approach. They also did some interviews with potential customers to improve our app’s usability. They asked how the app worked and what they’d like to have included. From there, they translated the findings into a design and UI.  

What is the team composition?

I worked with Dave (Director of UX) and three other people from their team.

How did you come to work with Online Department?

I started after they were already on board. Someone from our team met them at an entrepreneurship meeting.

How much have you invested with them?

If I had to guess, I would say we spent €50,000 (approximately $60,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our most recent project started in May 2020 and we wrapped up in November 2020.

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

Our customers find the online portal and app are very easy to use. Users now have easier access and can more easily learn about money-saving options. Online Department did a really good job. I would give them an eight out of 10.

How did Online Department perform from a project management standpoint?

They made the designs using InVision and Figma.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have ownership of UX/UI processes and execute very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could learn to look at the technical side of the UI/UX so they can work on all aspects of an app.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to go to Online Department and see if they’re a fit for your business.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a counselor to the board of directors at Topicus. Our company delivers software for different industries; my expertise is in the mortgaging and healthcare fields.

What challenge were you trying to address with Online Department?

We wanted to grow our company’s line of thinking and work ethic, and work on increasing empathy for our clients. We also needed to outsource some of our development work.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our company builds complex web and mobile apps for healthcare registration and mortgaging. Their team provided us with development support.

Online Department is also helping us improve mindsets to reach our goal. I wouldn’t say it’s a technology, but it’s facilitating, conceptualizing and researching methods to expand skill sets and outlooks.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one of the co-founders, and a team of about six helps with training activities and individual coaching.

How did you come to work with Online Department?

We didn’t come across many businesses that could help us with our goals. Online Department had passion and expertise in the field.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2017, and the partnership is ongoing.

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

Our trained employees have taken on more initiative and have spread that passion to other team members. The development team is gaining a more in-depth knowledge through the methods and ways of thinking that Online Development is imparting. I’ve seen changes in the quality of input and software.

How did Online Department perform from a project management standpoint?

Online Department takes excellent care of us. Their proactive team delivers on their promises. They bring the entire package, going beyond their initial objectives. Their co-founder supports us with shaping the change initiatives. Online Department’s team is highly skilled and well-equipped to teach our people.

What did you find more impressive about them?

Online Department can balance creativity with discipline. The disciplined way of doing creative work is uncommon to find.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, their team has been a great support.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get to know Online Department and see if they’re a good fit. Run trials first to see if they will work well with your business.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of Retailisation. We offer our software as a service (SaaS) to many fashion and sporting goods companies for inventory management. We work with many large brands and retailers around the world to make sure that their product is available.

What challenge were you trying to address with Online Department?

For various projects, we have needed help to design user-focused and friendly interfaces that could manage backend complexities.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we leveraged Online Department’s input from a user perspective. Through that analytical lens, they were able to limit workflow complexity and deliver a straightforward design. As the work continued, they designed a native mobile app for iOS and Android devices. The breakdown of work has been roughly 20% design and 80% development.

On our web app, we used .NET for backend development and initially delivered our frontend portal via a SharePoint application. However, that was restrictive in workflow and design, so Online Department is now helping us use a flexible shell that we can build around. We're also currently working together to develop a new UX that seamlessly integrates our mobile and web apps.

What is the team composition?

We had one point of contact that helped us with Agile and Scrum activities. He’s worked with us internally, and we consider him a real business partner.

How did you come to work with Online Department?

I contacted people in my network, and one of my former colleagues recommended Online Department. I reached out to them and was impressed with their professionalism and initial response to the project.

How much have you invested with them?

Our current work totals around $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in March 2017 and still have ongoing work.

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

Everyone who has seen the mobile and web app plans has responded enthusiastically, so I would say that Online Department has been successful. Because their team has a good knowledge of retail, the design phase of our projects never took long. We didn't encounter any hurdles when conveying our needs or ideas to them.

How did Online Department perform from a project management standpoint?

They manage the entire project and have always delivered the product on time and within the scope/budget. They use Slack, Skype, and Jira in their regular communication, and we have additional weekly meetings in person. Every Tuesday, a member of their team comes to our office, and we discuss deliverables and progress for each of the two-week development cycles. These meetings ensure that the development team is in control and prevents potential scope creep or misunderstandings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re so engaged in what we do that we consider them a part of our team. They took the time to understand what we do and how we interact with our client base, which is unique in my experience working with vendors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing they can change to make our experience better. They continuously think a few steps ahead of where we are in the process, and we’ve never had a negative project with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend significant time up front detailing how you add value to your customers’ experience. This is especially true for us since we interact with larger companies, using complex algorithms and supply chains. The initial effort to ensure that their team understood how our users behaved and what they wanted has resulted in an efficient workflow.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a business developer for PowerHouse, an energy tech company in the Netherlands. I’m a marketing advisor to our management team and CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Online Department?

We previously had several websites that all conveyed different messages about our brand and product offerings. Due to this confusion, we wanted to hire someone to help us ensure that we had one brand, one strategy, and one team across the board. We also wanted to create a new website that was scalable and combined information from the old ones in order to reduce our maintenance costs.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them a smaller task to start out with, which involved creating an infographic about our business. This project helped them get acquainted with our brand and also gave us a marketing tool we could use to explain our new strategic direction to both management and our customers.

After that project was successfully completed, we gave them the requirements for the website. Scalability was one of our primary needs because, although we’re a large company in terms of revenue, we have a relatively small marketing department. We wanted a site we’d be able to maintain ourselves when it came to adding content, pages for new products, and additional site features. We also wanted a site that was straightforward enough for us to make edits on the backend as well. In order to accomplish this goal, we had two or three intensive design sessions about how we could achieve this scalability in WordPress while still integrating all of the site features and functionalities we wanted. Once Online Department felt like they fully understood our needs, they built the site.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was Frans (Customer Value Creator, Online Department). I was also in contact with the lead of this project.

How did you come to work with Online Department?

We got a referral from a colleague of my wife’s who’d worked with them before. I contacted them and found that we had a really good creative rapport.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on this project from September 2017–September 2018.

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

The new site is stable and the whole look and feel of our company is much better. Without even making any marketing efforts, we saw new sign-ups for our newsletters and increased brochure downloads within the first two months. Being able to see the live energy prices have been an especially welcome change, not only for our customers but also for our account managers. Internally, our staff has been able to concretely see and feel the change in the company, which has been exciting.

How did Online Department perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a good job, especially in the early and middle stages of the project. We usually communicated by phone, Trello, and WhatsApp. We also held regular stand-ups via Skype or in person. We chose not to use email with the product team as those messages would likely get buried.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their enthusiasm and commitment to delivering an excellent end product were impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

From a business point of view, they could do a bit better for themselves during the finishing-up phase. They were really energetic with the project, but they might’ve spent more time than necessary on some things.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make use of their creative knowledge and give them some space to surprise you. That said, make sure to ask about how the project will wrap up. Their team gets enthusiastic and will go out of their way to provide extra features, but this also means it may be hard to cut the project off by the appropriate deadline.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of customer and user experience for ANWB, a Dutch company offering road assistance. We also sell insurance, vacations, and credit cards, and have several shops throughout the Netherlands where we sell products in our spare time. I have a team of UX designers who create designs for the website, apps, and newsletters, as well as one person who conducts UI research.

What challenge were you trying to address with Online Department?

One of the scrum teams we are organized with had a large UX project and wanted us to improve the website. The team sought us to create a better platform experience for their customers because the content was about cycling, and many of our customers are cyclists. We sought outside expertise because design demand was already high for my team and we needed more people.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Online Department helped with the team’s vision and business value propositions. Outside designers that we hire get the same treatment as in-house designers as they become a part of the team. I ensure they understand our ethics and design language, including the official designer. We have weekly meetings concerning progress and design solutions for several businesses.

We also talk about expectations on both sides and how we can help each other. We teach each other on areas that are unfamiliar to either party.

The client wanted to know what the most important job was for the user visiting the platform, so Online Department ran a workshop on the cycling team by conducting in-person interviews. They asked customers what they needed and how they decided where to go cycling, then helped create the vision of the project by providing the results from that workshop.

How many resources were assigned to your project?

Initially, there was just one strategist on the cycling team, then 4-5 months later we added a junior designer to create wireframes and templates. We’ve also collaborated on different projects and started a course with Online Department. We’ve decided that creating a common language and vision for the design team would be best, so each month we have a training day at Online Department where we learn about UX, efficient mapping, user story mapping, and interviewing.

We already have designers of various professional levels on staff, but everyone comes from a different background. We want the team to remain updated and on the same level as far as design trends and experience lingo goes.

How did you come to work with Online Department?

We met at a workshop where our companies got acquainted. We later asked three companies to give presentations of potential services in regards to a project we had coming up, and Online Department had a vision of SaaS or user-experience-as-a-service, so we talked to them about collaboration. They really add value to our company, and that’s the main reason we wanted to hire them over the competitors.

How much have you invested with Online Department?

We have spent between $300,000 and $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Since January, the cycling platform has reached 1.5 million visitors and our complete website has 10 million sessions a month. The in-house stakeholders are very happy with the results because it shows that Online Department was truly invested in the project.

They currently give my team valuable training that helps us renew knowledge about UX. We do a lot of production, and this training helps us easily see the UX of an entire company. The impact my team has made is bigger than it was in the beginning of the year.

How did Online Department perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication is easy, and I have direct contact with the people working with us as well as the person who handles finances. They’re really a partner instead of just a supplier. We have a good relationship.

What did you find most impressive about Online Department?

Their key strength is UX and everything that comes with it, including research, workshops, and knowledge sharing. The customer is in the forefront of their minds with everything they do, and they work with a network of outside resources to achieve their goals. They have mentioned integrating coding and marketing materials into their business, but their main focus is UX.

Are there any areas Online Department could improve?

I once gave them feedback about one of their team members who wasn’t working out, and they resolved the situation. Time management was an issue occasionally, but especially on training days.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Easygenerator, a SaaS [Software-as-a-service] company that delivers an authoring solution for subject matter experts. We are in an emerging market. The product is live, and it’s being used in over 160 countries by thousands of people. It’s a live platform that we launched 2 ½ or 3 years ago, and it’s our core business.

What challenge were you trying to address with Online Department?

We are trying to sell our solution to people so they can create e-learning courses, which is a complicated task. The pitch that we have is that people can sign up without any training or coaching. We do have built-in support, but users can create courses without any learning curve.

We're now refining the platform and making sure it’s even better. The challenge is the improvement of an existing tool. I think our tool is fairly easy to use, but we know it should be much easier than what we were able to achieve by ourselves. That’s why we reached out to Online Department.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have a couple of services that we use, from UX [user experience] design and graphic design to coaching a product owner. We decided to start with the design since we wanted to improve the look and feel of the courses created with Easygenerator. For that, we started working with Online Department’s senior partners. They did the project management and coached the product owner. We worked with one of the graphic designers to create the design and a couple of other things.

During the project, we found that they are better on certain items than we are. As a result, we decided to change our structure by integrating Online Department’s services into our approach. They would still coach a product owner in deciding what to build and what not to build because this ensures the course will have value for our customers. Online Department’s team also helps create user stories. We just started working with their user interface designer, who delivers wireframes. Our own graphic designer will do the design and their graphic designer will review it to make sure it’s at the right level. That’s basically what we do now with them. We started this process 2 weeks ago.

How did you come to work with Online Department?

We’re a relatively small startup, and the only people that we could hire wanted a full-time job. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough work for full-time staff. Then, we started talking to about 20 agencies. We had 2 really nice conversations with the guys at Online Department, which was important.

A small detail is that we’re located in Rotterdam, and our development department is in Ukraine. By default, they work from our office, which I really like. That allows for easy integration with the marketing and sales team in addition to the development team, which is really important. The goal is to not only improve the product, but also my teams. I think they can learn more in that way, so those things were really important to me.

How much have you invested with Online Department?

The whole contract has a budget of about €30,000 [$34,255]. We’ve spent roughly 1/3 of that in the first 3 months. We also have an hourly rate for certain functions.

What is the status of this engagement?

I think our partnership started in March or April of 2017, and the relationship is ongoing.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The whole redesign took 2–3 months, and we really loved the results. It only needs to be implemented by our development team, and that is where we went wrong. Unfortunately, we’re still struggling to see how we can implement their work. It’s a big thing that will take a year to build, which is not an option. This means that it didn’t have any direct business impact so far, which I don’t like.

As of last week, Online Department has become an integral part of our day-to-day work. Since we work in 1-week sprints, that means the first result of their work will be in the product this Thursday. That’s when we can start seeing and measuring the impact they have on our users. That was something we didn’t do well, which I partly blame myself for, but it’s also something they could have done better. Now, I think we have an approach that I prefer. It is much more effective for us and much more agile.

What I really like about Online Department is their flexibility, which means their knowledge has an impact on our product pretty quickly. Their flexibility helped me change the project without changing the contract. They have a proven track record of working with companies like ours.

How did Online Department perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform very well. We have a very simple approach. Each Wednesday, a couple of their guys work at our office. We did struggle a bit because Wednesday is also a very busy day for our development team. It’s the last day of the sprint, and they have to do stand-ups and retrospectives. They were really flexible about that. I think they do a great job here, and I’m happy about that.

What did you find most impressive about Online Department?

The guy in charge of project management and coaching came up with different approaches we could use. We design new things, and we come up with innovations. It is hard to get a feeling for how much value they will add to the business, so it’s sort of an educated guess. Fortunately, Online Department came up with a methodology that allows us, with very simple and short efforts, to measure impact before actually building something. That is something I really like, and we’ve implemented it for all the innovations that we are doing. Since I’m a bit distant from product development, it gives me much more insight. More importantly, it helps us make decisions on what to build or what not to build.  

Another thing, the guy that was working with us as a graphical designer is extremely good. He could do designs maybe 10 or 20 times faster than my own designer, and they were better as well. Although he was a bit more expensive, it was much more productive and cheaper in the end.

Are there any areas Online Department could improve?

I think that working with a remote team is a challenge, especially for communication. Aside from having cultural and time differences, we also had a conflict of interest. We solved that by getting some people to The Netherlands and getting them in 1 room. I think that could have been better. The other thing is the fact that we created something that is very hard for us to implement in a relatively short time. We should have found a much more agile way for that than we did. With their experience, they should have seen that coming and advised us a bit better.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a partner-to-partner collaboration platform that works closely with Microsoft Partner Network. We make sure that Microsoft’s partners can find other partners with whom to collaborate.

What challenge were you trying to address with Online Department?

We were trying to create a second version of our P2P platform. The first one was created in Drupal, and we chose to make a technology switch to Sitecore for the second version. We needed a UX/UI designer to help with delivering the right user experience on our platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed both front and backend developers experienced in Sitecore, as well as the involvement of people who understood the user interface part of creating a web portal. We didn’t have the knowledge internally, so we asked around to get recommendations. Online Department was the company that we chose to help us with this part of the project.

To start, we had ideation sessions about the user experience and customer journey creation. They moved into interaction and visual designs, and they conducted interviews with our members to get a feel for what the members liked. They did both the design and the development for the frontend, and another company supplied the backend developers.

I wanted all the development done in the same location, so I asked them to always be on-site to work with the backend developers and co-create the website. We had six to eight people sitting in one room together, going through the process of delivering the designs. On the other side, there was we were doing the planning, making sure the front and backend components all connected.  

How did you come to work with Online Department?

They were referred to us through Caesar Experts, which was the company that did the backend development. We had some talks with them, and we were happy with their involvement in the end. I think we looked at three agencies at the time, but Online Department gave us the best feel about what they were doing.

What is the status of this engagement?

I think we started working together in February or March of 2015, and we completed our engagement with them in May of 2016 when we brought the design work in-house.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Their work has had a huge impact on our business. They designed the whole user interface. We’re a partner collaboration platform, so the user interface is very important. If it’s bad, you don’t get any members, and we’re still successfully in the market. It’s getting better and better, and a lot of that is because we had the right people to design the user experience.

The feedback from our users is always very positive. They say it’s a clean interface, easy to understand and use, and visually appealing. We’re very happy with that.

How did Online Department perform from a project management standpoint?

It took several months before we had a good working process. We started with people not being on-site, and I realized that didn’t really work for us. They were very open to making changes, and they added a project manager after a few months. After that, our working relationship improved greatly, and we continued to improve the process bi-weekly throughout the rest of the project. I believe they’ve incorporated the process we worked out into other projects as well. They’re using what they learned on our project with their new customers. I think it was a learning experience at the start, but in the end, we had a really good process going on.

Part of the learning experience was deciding on a tool to use and setting up the workflow within the tool. We decided on InVision to share all the designs. We had good communication and feedback in that tool about the designs. We also used Visual Studio online for all the planning.

What did you find most impressive about Online Department?

I think it’s their passion and trust. That’s probably why we had a good relationship. I don’t like to get political in business. I just want people to tell the truth and take ownership, and that’s what they did. They’re very passionate about designing. They’re a good, small group of people with the same attitudes within their company. They have a good balance of work and pleasure, and they deliver what is needed.

Are there any areas Online Department could improve?

They could improve in project management, getting control of the project. Also, they were a bit thin on best practices in UX/UI work a few years ago, but I don’t know how that is at the moment. For me, it was going very well by the end of our project. If you’re doing small, passionate projects with a company like that, it works like a charm. If you’re doing a huge, political project with large companies, they might have a little difficulty in managing that. Passion and politics don’t always mix.