Origen Software

Introduce your business and what you do there? 

I’m the CEO of ParkShare Technologies. We’re a mobile parking provider.

What challenge were you trying to address with Origen Software?

We needed to develop a mobile app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Origen Software advised and guided us throughout the project to make the best choices. They developed the mobile app and were involved with aesthetics, features, and functionalities. They worked in Firebase and Google platform-based services.

The app is like Airbnb for parking. It connects drivers with empty parking spaces in parking garages. They can prepay for their spot to reserve it.

What is the team composition?

There were 3–4 people involved from their side, including Harley (CEO), who was our primary contact, Jonathan (Software Developer), and another coder.

How did you come to work with Origen Software?

I found them through my best friend, who does cybersecurity.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent 120,000 South African Rand (approximately $8,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2020–September 2021.

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

They helped us formulate a marketing strategy, and we’ve reached 57,000 people on social media, such as Facebook and Instagram. We’ve also seen a 1,305% increase in website traffic in the last month.

Moreover, we were satisfied with the quality of the finished product. The app worked well. We presented it and have been able to secure capital venture funding. 

How did Origen Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They were organized and easy to communicate with. They went the extra mile for us.  A delay added two months to the timeline, but they didn’t charge for the extra time it took to finish. Origen Software mapped out project tasks and provided progress updates in meetings, which we had once or twice per month. They also responded quickly to emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered a product that looked like it had the budget of a major corporation, but it was an affordable price for a small business. Also, they cared about the project’s success as if they were shareholders in our company and didn’t hold back from giving honest feedback and critiques.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any criticisms.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Respect and welcome their input. Moreover, view them as a partner rather than an employee.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive at a digital wallet company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Origen Software?

We needed a vendor who could help build our software, do the designs, and handle integrations.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Origen Software is building the whole app using Firebase. Their tasks include developing a registration form, database set up, and more. It’s going to launch on both iOS and Android. In terms of features, the app has a feature for scanning bar codes and adding cards to profiles.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with someone who's the dedicated developer for the project. 

How did you come to work with Origen Software?

A former co-worker referred them to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $3,500 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

They help with translating the designs into an actual working product. Another important thing they do is update everything on the app to pass all of Apple’s requirements for the App Store. Overall, we’re delighted, and everything works great.

How did Origen Software perform from a project management standpoint?

I work directly with our contact person, so I don’t have any issues in terms of deadlines. In addition to that, their communication skills are good and clear, and they provide feedback on building things that add value to our app — they even include short animations, which are very cool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to replicate exactly what the prototype looks like is impressive. Sometimes people can get something completely different from the prototype, but we can’t tell the difference with ours.

Are there any areas they could improve?

More communication would be good in the sense that they could let me know beforehand when they’re going to implement something. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them; they know what they’re going and always have their client’s interest at heart. Also, keep communication channels open, break down the project into chunks, and check in every two weeks.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I have developed a discussion starter board game that we are in the process of developing into an online game with video/audio integration to enable video chat. www.turkeys-and-eagles.com

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

COVID stopped a lot of our sales as people were and still are scared to meet in person. Online meetings are the norm these days and we thought that the time is right to develop an online version of our game

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

Origen (Harley) is mutual friend and has also done work for my partner, so he recommended Harley to me

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

I'm not sure what software or technology was used as I gave Origen a physical board in the beginning and then explained what I would this online game to look like and what it must be able to do. Once they had a good understanding of the game dynamics, they plotted out a project plan which we approved after some back and forth communication.

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

2. Harley is the senior developer and he also had another more junior developer on this job whom I worked with quite closely to ensure the smooth development process as far as possible

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

Our first phase was to build the actual back-end and database to make the mechanics works. That is now up and working and we're super pleased with the outcome so far. No doubt we'll probably make improvements as we go along, but very happy with the way that this project was managed, the clear communication along the way, the expectation management that was done properly. As it normally goes, I got a lot of new ideas along the way. They are brilliant in terms of delivery of what we've agreed on.

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

Super pleased with the project management style. Their communication was really good and when they were not able to complete a task, it was communicated. They have a "Lets-make-it-happen" attitude and it was really a privilege to work with them. Because of the way in which this project was managed, I'll gladly with with them again

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

They are super clued-up in terms of what is possible and if they didn't know how to make something happen, they went the extra mile to find out and make it happen.

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

Honestly speaking, they did really well with the limited budget that was available to make it happen. My next phase would be to work on the look and feel to make it more inviting, but functionality-wise... all is working well so far

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner and head developer at Ubiquity Applications a holding company for the application IP Howya. Howya is an event based app that bridges social media and meet up (event based) apps. We are a start-up based in South Africa.

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

Our app needed to introduce a ticket based solution to provide users to sell tickets using a third-party payment gateway. This also required a management platform for vendors to analyse, collate and generally manage events.

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

We had worked with or interviewed a multitude of developers and/or development houses. We investigated the flexibility, transparency and cost of all available candidates and based on these factors decided to use Origen. Their ability to communicate transparently as well as integrate their team with our internal team made it a clear decision,

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

We had a handful of in-person and digital kick-off meetings to discuss our needs. This included a clear outline of deliverables that were needed. As their head developer had been involved in a different capacity with Howya previously, he had a full understanding of our brand and workflow.

The project then kicked off and the code was stored in repositories will full access and reviews for our internal team. As milestones were hit we were taken through a project catch-up with walkthroughs on deliverables to that point. Every miletstone was hit, therefore we did not feel the need to have too frequent communication.

The deliverables included a basic wireframe, a project skeleton done in UI, api and data integration, restyling, internal testing, external testing and hand-off. The technologies were based on React, Javascript, Google Firebase and Microsoft Azure to complete all needs of communication and code.

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

We had 3 members of Origens team working on Howya. These positions included a head developer, a project principle and a quality assurance tester.

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

We have launched the ticketing solution as provided by Origen and since hosted 12 ticketed events in our first month of operation, including internally hosted event. This included an increase of +30% of active users on the platform

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

Our project management style was unique based on our needs. We used a repository for internal code reviews and used weekly review meetings to ensure the directions was as intended. We then used instant messaging platforms or video calls to manage smaller scale needs and changes. This worked for our needs and ensured a timely provision of outcomes. However, before starting the project we did ensure full project communication terms and legals were agreed upon by both parties and a multitude of options for communications was offered to suit our needs.

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

The most unique offering of the company is their ability to adapt and integrate regardless of needs or methods. Our company is run on a very lean and agile basis where decisions and directions may change rapidly and current solutions may need to be adapted. Origen were able to adapt continuously and communicated through any platforms and during any times to make it seamless. This included a crunch period to meet deadlines

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

The areas of improvement for Origen will just be in the scaling of their company. However, since we have started working with them their team has grown considerably and has addressed these areas appropriately

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of a company called Tripa. Tripa is a marketplace that enables travellers to create and book their own tour in under five minutes and pairs them with the most relevant tourist guide. Tripa was accepted into the tourism innovation program run by the Technology Innovation Agency of South Africa.

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

We hired Origen Software to develop a PWA for our company. My goal was to have a platform developed that is sustainable and needed to be developed in a certain timeframe within a certain budget.

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

After our initial meeting to discuss the project I knew I would select them as our technology partner. I have had bad experiences with developers before and Origen has completely changed my perception for the better. The deciding factors were the initiative shown, the compassion for my circumstances as well as the foresight for growth and a long-term partnership.

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

I provided the team with a flow-chart outlining the app after which they immediately went to work! The project was divided into 4 months with a review every two weeks. The project was developed in the Flutter Framework, a speciality of Origen Software. They have met every deadline so far and in some instances completed the required work ahead of time.

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

I have met two of the team members so far. Their positions were Cofounder and Business Analyst.

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

Each deliverable has been met so far and we have a bi-weekly review of the work completed as well as the work needing to be done.

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

We generally stuck to email communication with the project timeline and sprints being shown via Jira. They have shown me that they have the initiative to get the project done without having to be constantly checked up on. The sprints are done bi-weekly.

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

Their initiative as well as their general understanding of how my project works were very impressive. I have been through a lot of developers who could never grasp the concept. The quality of the platform and code so far has been amazing as well.

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

Nothing to add here so far!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and C.E.O of Where & When. Where & When is a geo-location based E-commerce platform. It offers special prices and easy assess to make purchases. More so it opens the doors to the entertainment industry. There are platforms for the artist to post their content as well.

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

We hired Origen to develop a mobile application that was both fit for IOS and android. The goal was to bring the live entertainment industry back to life. To allow people access to hard to find information and get people out the house to enjoy the experience of true talent.

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

Trust, Faith & dedication

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

There is a lot of implementation required for an app like this. step one was to figure out what was a good idea and what was a practical idea. the front end needed to be easy to understand, the back end needed to relay the correct information accurately. The tech used was Flutter, Firebase and react

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

we had a team of four. Lead engineer, UX & UI, payment gateway and maintenance.

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

The team has been tasked with a lot of deadlines to meet. they always put the work first so I believe the build will come out seamless. We currently have the test version and it is very impressive. We had to make extra features to monetize the platform more ( hence the time of the build ). their team has delivered once and I expect no different. Tech is not an easy game, I would recommend Origen to elevate some of that headache.

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

communication is open and they are willing to take pointers at all times to allow both parties to line up. They are always on time and available.

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

Their dedication and passion for the projects are impressive.

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

Faster turn around time.