Order Group

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide services, training, and software in the fields of cybersecurity and business intelligence. I’m the operations manager of the company.

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

After researching the market we decided to create a bespoke smartphone operating system that would be highly secure, but also have standard smartphone features. One of the main goals was to create a whole ecosystem of secure apps that will be served from an internal application store.

How did you select Order Group and what were the deciding factors?

Order Group was recommended to us by a colleague that already worked with them on a couple of projects. We were looking for a company that we could trust with handling the project which is mostly R&D, but also be able to take care of the whole project including UI/UX design, mobile & web development, creating custom operating systems, and testing.

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

The goal is to create a safe & secure phone operating system for government officials or enterprise clients that would have most of the advantages of standard phone OS like an app store and data synchronization. We did an initial research phase, partial desings and some development to test if some business requirements are possible to develop. Right now we’re in the middle of the development phase.

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

There are 7 people involved in the project. 3 engineers, a tech lead/analyst, manual tester, project manager, and UX/UI designer.

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

They already delivered the designs for our own app store along with some other key OS features and created initial OS builds. Even though almost everything they have to develop is something out of the ordinary.

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

The project is managed with Scrum. Before we started the development their team helped us with doing proper research and creating documentation that could be used later.

We started the development with a big room planning to set up goals/milestones on the project timeline. We have a planning session every 4 weeks and communicate daily with Slack or Google Meet, the project is handled in YouTrack.

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

They are not afraid of challenges. And even though most of the parts of our project are terra incognita they still manage to deliver on schedule. Also, they really understand the specifics of the security industry.

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

I can’t imagine anything that could be done better. They’re great.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of business developments at Monetor Companies; we have operations in Sweden, Holland, Norway, and Poland. Our company is a decision making consultant for Forex (Foreign Exchange Market) — we help various segments make the right decisions and strategies. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Order Group?

We needed a web app that consumers could use to connect with our business. The app should allow end users to access market data, banks, and different things related to finance.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our engagement started with building the platform and we're still working together. We came in with a backend for an oil company and we needed to transform that into a fintech backend.

The team works with Python and React for the frontend, and mostly working in Javascript. They also currently handle updates and maintenance for the MVP. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 10 people from Order Group.

How did you come to work with Order Group?

The Order Group was recommended by a partner from Oslo.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve already invested roughly €200,000–€250,000 (approximately $230,000–$300,000 USD) for this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started around July 2018.

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

The team is doing a tremendously good job and they are evolving with us throughout the process. We feel like they’re already part of our company. The team produces great outputs that makes the investment worth it.

How did Order Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We like that they are good with communication and organization. Perhaps those are some of the main reasons why we chose to stay with them because we appreciate their professionalism.

The team has a great set up — they often give follow-ups on the demos and on the current project that we're working on. Order Group’s team is also always there for us and very responsive to our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to adapt and move forward with us is impressive. They accommodate us throughout the process which makes a huge difference for our collaboration. The group teaches us how to work more efficiently.

Order Group also gives us their insights — they put their best foot forward and tell us why we should do this. Of course, the final decision is up to us, but just having a team that gives their feedback is valuable to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We can’t think of anything right now, they should just continue on with what they’re doing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We recommend them because their services are a great value for your money.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a digital commerce and marketing platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Order Group?

When we brought them on, it was to do user interaction and graphical design for a mobile app and website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The work expanded a little bit from the design to them, actually doing a lot of project management and project development directly with some of our clients.

Order Group has joined us in our customer meetings. They have been helping us scope the needs of the customers.

We have a technology platform and build websites and mobile apps, so they have been scoping the needs of the customers, helping them define features, and then delivering the user interaction design and then delivering several iterations of graphical design, as well as communicating directly with the customer until they get the final approval in the design.

That is when they hand it over to us, and we do the development.

For the first project we had together, we brought them on later. We met the client, and then we gave them instructions on how we wanted the UX and graphical design. Then we found that they were skilled enough actually to handle the whole process. We upgraded our cooperation with them from just coming on for the design work to onboarding at the start of the process.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working directly with three people, including a project manager and graphic designers. There is a lot of work they do in the background, and I’m not sure how many people are working on it in total.

How did you come to work with Order Group?

We found them online. We were testing many design agencies, so we ended up finding Order Group to be the most skilled and motivated companies we were testing.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, over that time, it would be around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe we started our engagement with Order Group in February 2018.

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

Our clients have felt very safe. We work with international clients, and they’re able to communicate very well with English-speaking clients. Order Group understands their needs and translates them into a product.

How did Order Group perform from a project management standpoint?

I would give them a top rating from a project management standpoint. They’re integrated into the dedicated Slack channel for the project with our team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Order Group is a skilled team that understands products. While the output I am getting from them is the graphical design and user interaction design, I can actually put them in a place where they need to understand the project’s needs and scope.

I can put them there, while with other agencies we have worked with, someone from our team has had to do the first part themselves when it comes to the scope of the project, understand the user’s needs, start working with the designer and get the UX, and we would do the iterations ourselves, but with Order Group, we can give them full control.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve been very happy. There isn’t anything I can think of straight away.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If they’re looking for design work like we were doing, I would consider letting them handle as much of the project as possible and not limiting what you are giving them too much.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital transformation lead of a B2B furniture manufacturer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Order Group?

We had a website in WordPress but it wasn’t great.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They rebuilt our website from scratch. Their team also helps us with digital linking from the customer-facing website to production. They’re implementing solutions that allow us to take the data and use it for production. Our website was built in Django, and I also had a lot of help with JavaScript for online 3D applications as well as Python.

What is the team composition?

The number of team members has changed depending on the project stage but it’s always between 1–10 people. We work with a UX designer, front- and backend developers, a project manager, and the founder.

How did you come to work with Order Group?

They were recommended to us through a friend.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in January 2016.

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

We’re very pleased with the collaboration. We have very complicated and demanding projects, and Order Group has exceeded all of our expectations.

How did Order Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate on a regular basis as well as hold meetings and weekly updates. Our teams have developed an efficient project management process that fits well. Usually, we start with project suggestions, ask for an estimate, and then receive a rough estimate. Then, Order Group completes the project within the timeline and by the deadlines. If there are any changes, they take care of it. Their team is flexible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

My favorite part about working with them is I have a feeling that everything’s possible. Whatever solution we need, I can ask Order Group, and they can make it come true.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any areas that need improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Start by having a discussion with them and see what’s possible.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of REDS SA, which develops solutions to improve energy efficiency for railway operators. During the project described here I was a Product Manager at REDS and worked on that project as a subject matter expert.

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

Order group was hired to develop a new product line for our company which would enable us to offer energy efficiency simulation based training for railway drivers in a VR environment.

How did you select Order Group and what were the deciding factors?

We had a tendering process where they were chosen based on their experience and the price offered.

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

The project had several well defined modules and deliverables including the VR application with simulation engine, physics, weather as well as several 10s of kilometers of artificial route.

Additionally a web application for the purposes of managing the simulation was delivered. The technologies used where unity/C# for the VR application and python for the web application.

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

The main vendor team consisted of a VR programmer and an experienced graphics. At times of increased needs additional 2 graphics were used. The main point of contact was a PM, and at critical junctions in the project the VP of Order Group was also engaged.

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

The project resulted in a succesful delivery of our product into a new market as well as cretion of a new product line.

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

We worked using knowledge bases as well as weekly/biweekly (depending on needs) meetings.

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

A very forthcoming approach towards customer and a direct and strong engagement by high level managers in times of need.

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

Nothing in particular needs improvement for this company.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Cage, a company that helps customers develop products to reduce development time. We work from the initiation of an idea through the concept phase and into the building of the technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with Order Group?

We needed a team to help us develop a control system for a renewable energy power plant for one of our customers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Based on the workshops we did with our customer, the Order Group team collaboratively created a custom control system. They developed the Cloud backend, as well as the frontend. They created graphical, and user design.

The team used AWS with multiple accounts. For the backend, they used Python and Go Language. React was used for the frontend.

They also developed some services for the Linux-run gateway. They used libraries from AWS to read the AWS backend, and developed the services in C++ and Python, primarily.

What is the team composition?

The team consists of three people: Karol (Co-Owner & Head of Development), who worked on the UI and the customer journey; Arek (Backend Developer); and Maciej (CTO & Co-Founder), who is part of the team as a full-stack developer. We also worked with Dmitri (Backend Developer) for a bit.

How did you come to work with Order Group?

I’ve known them for a long time, and they were the best fit out of the companies we considered. They grasped the scope of the project and were willing to do a more flexible payment arrangement. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in June 2017, and the work is ongoing.

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

They are senior software developers with a good concept of professional system development. For example, we said that we wanted to increase test coverage of the code produced, and they did just that with no further explanation. 

They helped us develop and establish an Agile method working in two-week sprints for our customer. Order Group is supportive and flexible, delivering high-quality results. The system is still in proof of concept, so there is no actual user feedback, but the internal feedback has been positive.

How did Order Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We set quarterly milestones, broken down into smaller epics, and further broken down into stories to be taken into sprints. We worked in an Agile mindset, with Scrum sprints. They have a very high completion grade consistently delivering what they take on. It’s impressive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are above average in their flexibility, trying out a business model that was unknown to them, supporting our way of working, and delivering efficiently. We trust them, and we have open communication.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a medical doctor at Universitätsmedizin Magdeburg

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

mapping and digitization of the internal work processes of the clinic, searching for solutions for the organizational chaos inside the hospital, dedicated tools for therapy planning and communication with the patient, medical product, DiGA

How did you select Order Group and what were the deciding factors?

previous projects and professional first contact with the client

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

software life cycle slightly conform with ISO 13485 - procedures

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

A perfectly selected and well-coordinated working group consisting of a Manager, front / end and back end developer, user-experience architect and others (7 employees).

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

• Almost all requirements were met
• Analysis of the documentation and the workflows used by an internationally experienced team of experts from Heidelberg (DE) has confirmed the work quality of the project
• The future cooperation also on even more embitioned projects is welcome

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

everything digitized, no time gaps, immediate availability, always targeted solutions

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

The latest technological solutions combined with high-quality service while minimizing formalities. This combination makes OrderGroup a more attractive partner than the established companies in the DACH region, especially for disruptive ideas.

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

Should be certified according to DIN ISO and start a close cooperation with a company specialized in IT security.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company delivers IT solutions and business consulting to Small and Medium Enterprises, mostly focusing on FMCG industry. We have the opportunity to work with wholesalers, retailers, as well as manufacturers. I am a CEO.

For what projects/services did your company hire Order Group ?

We have found an opportunity to enter a tobacco industry by creating comprehensive solution for tracking tobacco products in order to meet European Union directive requirements. My company took care of business analysis and testing while Order Group was involved in developing IT system.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to create a system which has a mobile app fot the end users and a backend layer which will be connected with European Union repository and will allow system administrators to manage company data and all the request. The solution had to be reliable and fast since end users will be conducting hundreds of operations daily and this led us to choosing Django as a backend platform and android for mobile app. It is worth to mention that we had less than 2 months to roll out the MVP for production.

How did you select this vendor?

Order Group was recommended by a friend of mine. I considered other 2 vendors, but since the deadline to go production was very strict and I had a strong testimonials, I decided to go with Order Group. It is worth to mention that we had very professional and promising contact since the beginning, and this also helped me to make my decision quick.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Based on business and functional analysis prepared by my company, Order Group designed mockups of frontend which we tweaked in. That in a short period of time(1.5 months) the group of programmers developed MVP which, after some iterations of fixes was rolled out into production. Than we focused on adding some other functionalities in next sprints and implement changes based on end users feedback.

What was the team composition?

The project had about 5 people, including project manager, full stack developers, analysts and graphic designers.

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

We successfully managed to implement my product to more that 10 companies and already received a very positive feedback. This resulted in requests for some additional modules which we are already implementing together with Order Group.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Since the team was working in scrum, I had the reports after each sprint. We also had a calls and face to face meetings set in order to discuss core aspects of the solution. I feel that the team was highly motivated to meet the deadlines and deliver each part of the solution on time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to meet the deadline was impressive, even if they are extremely short is outstanding in Order Group. They seem to be specialists in delivering projects in a short period of time. I would also mention good communication with project manager so that I was monitored about the progress. I rate the programming skills of the team which is working on my project very highly. Having a programmer background myself, I feel I could easily recognise the quality of the code which in my case resulted in only a few minor bugs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is very little they can improve. Pricing seems to be competitive and the communication in the project was more than satisfactory. The only thing I should mention was the deadlines for delivering the next stages of the app which could be a little shorter, but comparing to other software houses which I had the opportunity to work with, Order Group is still on pole position so the overall experience is great.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder and the COO of AP-Tech.

What challenge were you trying to address with Order Group?

We needed help developing a navigation app for an ambulance organization and their helicopters.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were responsible for the entire development, UI design, and some analysis on how to apply certain requirements we gave them. We provided some wireframes and documentation, and the app was built natively for iOS and Windows devices. We don’t have an Android version at this point. The app is available on PC as well, but it’s mainly used on tablets. It can be used in the field for air navigation.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with as many as ten and as few as four people, including a dedicated project manager, depending on changing project requirements.

How did you come to work with Order Group?

I was referred to them by a friend.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2016 until December 2016.

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

The best feedback I can give is that our client extended their license for the application for 2018. Our model is to sell the application and provide updates for a one-year period. After that time, the user needs to buy the product again. I’m very happy about the fact that our client extended the license. The app is also being used by the Polish air force as well, for their own goals and missions.

How did Order Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicated over email, but we also scheduled weekly or biweekly meetings, during which we explained our requirements and discussed results. We participated in Skype sessions and they gave us a tool that allowed us to track the cost, time, and effort being spent on the project. They reported each and every hour of their work, linking it to the specific tasks they were working on. We had deep insight into their allocation and chief control over how they were spending their time.

We’ve generally worked in a time-and-materials and Agile manner, discussing requirements, mockups, and designs. Rather than providing a whole specification in the beginning, we discussed each function sprint-by-sprint, in terms of what needed to be delivered.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated the fact that they didn’t blindly agree to all the requirements we gave them. They tried to provide their own ideas on what we could improve and how we would do it. If they felt that one of our choices wasn’t optimal, they pointed that out.

They had to adapt to a market they hadn’t worked in before, one with specific regulations and requirements. They had to adapt to this quickly, given that we had some hard timelines for this project. We’re very happy that they followed our direction. We also deal with the aviation and airports markets, so they will be working on additional projects for us. They are great in terms of cost, and I was amazed by their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s a need for constant learning in our area. Even we—as the investors in this project—learned a lot. Had they been as experienced in the beginning of the project as they are now, we may have done some things differently.

We’re very happy in general though, since we also had a lack of knowledge in some areas. Right now, we’re giving them another piece of work for improving our product, based on customer feedback. We’re both more experienced, so we can now produce higher-quality work.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of BizBot, a B2B technology company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Order Group?

We're creating a platform to automate a lot of the administration processes inherent to running a company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted to build a web application that’s optimized for mobile use. We provided them some simple sketches in Microsoft Paint and in our own words. Then, they designed a clickable, live version in InVision that we could show to investors. They focused on the UI/UX while we had other people doing the front- and backend. They also helped us plan new features, and narrow down the scope of the project, which let us work efficiently, as a cohesive team.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two designers.

How did you come to work with Order Group?

They were referred to us by other companies here in Norway.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since May 2017.

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

We’ve gotten great feedback regarding the design. We had a very nice clickable demo that didn’t just look like a PowerPoint presentation.

How did Order Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated using Slack and Skype, and they managed the project using Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understand what we’re doing, and if they don’t, they ask. We’re able to avoid unnecessary costs and lost time because of the sketching and scoping we did in the beginning.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would have been easier to work together if they were in our office.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to be specific with and help them to understand what you want. Just telling them to build something isn’t helpful.