Perpetual

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I worked with an international development company. At that moment, I was the director of digital architecture and applications. I was in charge of the digital transformation, finding new ways to use technology to do what the company does.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perpetual?

Our main challenge was attempting to build an entirely new application to manage our field projects, which was the core of the business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought Perpetual in from the beginning. They were involved from the conceptual phase to the detailed design. They completed 70–75 interviews with potential users and broke them down into a document that codified and cataloged all the findings. We looked into a couple of cross-platform development tools to build a web app that could also translate into Android and iOS. They used Figma and Miro for the frontend, and the proposed solution would use Java with a React frontend, along with PostgreSQL and AWS. In the end, they delivered a document that described the proposed technical architecture.

We also used them to maintain the AI. We were primarily Azure customers, but we were starting to dabble in AWS. We had a separate contract with Perpetual to maintain and support our small AWS footprint.

Additionally, they did a quick demo video for a mock-up and helped with vendor selection for a separate effort. Another group in the company contracted them to help select a company; it was an urgent need.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a total of five people. We had two frontend designers — one was a senior; the other was a junior. Also, there was a system analyst and architect, an AWS infrastructure expert, and a business analyst. Additionally, one of the founders led the project.

How did you come to work with Perpetual?

Another group in the AI was using them. I knew the person who selected them; I’d helped on that project for about three months. We sent out an RFP to them and a few other companies, but we decided on them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $200,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2021–April 2022. We haven’t finished the application, but they delivered the conceptual work and design. We need to take that to the executive team and board to get the approval to move forward, which would be a second project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

First, we presented the video mock-up they did to the board, who gave us the go-ahead to proceed with the conceptual project — that deliverable clearly worked. Then, they did an excellent job mapping the catalog into the UI for the web and mobile applications.

How did Perpetual perform from a project management standpoint?

They had a full-time project manager running the project. They used Notion and Trello as management tools, and we could always see what was happening. We had a few overruns, but it was from our side. It was during the conceptual phase, so things changed quickly. However, they did an excellent job.

For communication, we met at least two times a week. Also, there was a daily stand-up that we could join if we wanted and monthly project reviews with my boss and other interested parties.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, their senior designer was one of the best I’ve worked with in the past 30 years. He was awesome. Also, they had a solid project management team — they were flexible and adaptable to what we were doing. Since what we do isn’t well-known to the public, they also did a good job understanding that, which came down to their vast international experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had a few growing pains. For example, sometimes they thought they knew better than us. Also, they were stuck on doing their processes. Although they were open to feedback, they should be able to change their operations based on the client’s idiosyncrasies. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have your internal affairs locked down. It’s probably not useful for Perpetual, but it’s useful for you. Also, spend more time upfront defining the project with them. We moved quickly in the contracting phase, so we didn’t know what we wanted, which left too much leeway. Finally, get the senior designer if possible; he’s amazing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product management at Sangoma, a provider of unified communication as a service. We offer all kinds of communication tools, from SMS and voice calls to video meetings and collaboration platforms. In my role, I oversee all of our product offerings, including mobile and system applications, and I also oversee our UI/UX design strategy to ensure we offer a unified UX across all of our products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perpetual?

We needed help with UI/UX design implementations.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Over the past year and a half, Perpetual was a crucial member of our team in the design and implementation of UI/UX components, helping us establish a design system across all of our applications. They also helped us redesign and refactor various legacy applications. Additionally, their scope included mock-up design, prototyping, and user research, leveraging Figma as the main design and prototyping tool.

Throughout the engagement, we provided Perpetual with some documentation. Still, we mostly collaborated hand in hand on establishing new design systems and ensuring all of our applications followed the same standards.

Whenever we had a new UI/UX design project, we met with Perpetual’s designers and our engineers to discuss the goals and objectives of the new features to be added to the applications. Then, they did some research to see what our competitors were doing in that sense. They also reviewed those competitors’ forums to see end users' feedback.

After the research phase, Perpetual designed the wireframes for the new feature, and we met to review the design’s feasibility. We then looped in our sales department and some of our partners to get feedback, iterating on that feedback to refine the designs.

Once we ended the design phase, we entered the implementation phase, where the engineering team took care of implementing the designs into the applications. Throughout this process, Perpetual’s design team reviewed what was being launched into our testing environment to ensure that the features implemented matched what they had proposed with the designs.

Perpetual remained available after the implementation was finished in case we got feedback, complaints, or suggestions for improvements from end users. If that was the case, they helped us make changes within the next couple of days. It was an ongoing iterative process.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with a designer from Perpetual, and we had monthly conversations with Amish (Managing Partner & CEO) to go through the roadmap items and discuss any roadblocks or challenges.

How did you come to work with Perpetual?

When I joined, Perpetual was already our partner, so I wasn’t involved in that process.

How much have you invested with them?

On average, we spent between $10,000–$20,000 per month

What is the status of this engagement?

My company started working with Perpetual almost three years ago, in 2019, and our engagement ended in July 2022 because we wanted to change our approach and hire full-time in-house designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Perpetual’s work quality was outstanding, and they worked very fast.

How did Perpetual perform from a project management standpoint?

Perpetual always delivered what they were supposed to and met our deadlines. They were highly responsive and got back to us very fast. Throughout the implementation phase of any project, Perpetual’s design team was always available to answer questions the engineering team might have, and they oversaw our product management team. Our engagement was entirely virtual, so we communicated via emails and video meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Perpetual had very knowledgeable team members, and they constantly monitored their performance, which was really amazing. They were very caring and always ensured to provide what we needed. Additionally, they were constantly on top of new technologies and took the time to do proper research, which was really beneficial for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The quality of their work is amazing, and they could get expensive depending how many hours they work with you on your projects. Reach out to them and negotiate for the hourly ratings.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Perpetual is very timely, and they will follow your process. Therefore, be clear about how you expect them to work with you to achieve success.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a news agency that licenses news to other news organizations. In my role, I act as the business and product owner of a B2B platform through which we sell our news to our partners’ content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perpetual?

We were trying to explore a mobile app approach for our platform. We only had a desktop-based platform with a mobile browser experience, but we wanted to see what else we could do in the mobile space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Perpetual conducted an exercise involving competition analysis, mobile app design, and user testing to explore the mobile app space for our platform. Initially, they assessed our existing platform and performed a market and competitor analysis to see what other companies were offering. After that, they provided suggestions on what was working and what wasn’t, and they complimented their research by conducting user and stakeholder interviews to get internal and external feedback.

After the discovery process, Perpetual built a prototype of our app, incorporating the feedback they received from our users and us. With the prototype ready, we went into a user testing process with about seven customers. Then, they incorporated the output from this process into the final designs, which they ultimately handed off to us. They designed the mobile experience both for iOS and Android, taking into consideration the accessibility features needed.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around four people from Perpetual, including Amish (CEO), Akshay (Senior Product Designer), Sara (UI/UX designer), and another person.

How did you come to work with Perpetual?

We had worked on previous projects with them, so they were already an approved vendor for our company. I had heard excellent things about their work quality, proactiveness, and timeliness on those other projects, so we were confident that they would do a good job. When this project arose, we decided to check if the scope fit their skills, and we then went ahead with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $100,000–$125,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2021–February 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The user interviews and research that Perpetual conducted were very insightful and thorough, and their approach was very structured. Some of the opportunities they identified resonated with our customers very well. For example, one of the top suggestions was that the mobile app should be used as a tool for seeing content on the go. Now, we’re taking the input we got from this exercise and translating it into an action plan.

How did Perpetual perform from a project management standpoint?

Perpetual performed very well. They were very proactive and timely and communicated well with us. We had weekly meetings and other check-ins throughout the week if needed. This helped us to be constantly in the loop and provide real-time feedback, which was great.

Additionally, Perpetual handled the interviews and interactions with our customers and stakeholders really well, and they foresaw any challenges ahead of time. All in all, they offered a very good project management effort.

Perpetual used Figma for the designs and several other tools like Miro and Notion to keep the project on track and well documented. Additionally, we constantly communicated to keep the project moving forward.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Perpetual’s work quality was very solid, and their team was very collaborative and easy to work with. They also understood our feedback well, which made our relationship easier because we would just explain what we wanted, and they would incorporate that feedback into their work very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only area that needed improvement was Perpetual’s competitor research. Their user research and testing were great, but we felt that their competitor research could have been stronger.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Scoping your project and deliverables very well is key, so go in with a very clear scope.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am head of Software development for M8 Systems which is working to bring automation to agriculture. Our goals are to enable more precise irrigation which will reduce labor and water costs for farmers. This is especially important in the current water shortage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had a working Web based app and wanted a Flutter based mobile app with better usability and future access to phone functions.

SOLUTION

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

I had heard of Perpetual through a mutual contact. When we met with them we were impressed by the skills available, fair cost, and a similar project they had just completed.

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

A working mobile app which called our APIs was the single deliverable. PNY created the Flutter based UI which called our APIs running in Mongo App Services, aka Realm. The app displays the state of the irrigation systems and enables a user to schedule new irrigation sessions. There are also features for irrigation history and manual control.

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

The team was 2 developers, a PM, and a QA resource. The latter two were part time given the M8 team's co-development activities.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The mobile app works well and looks much better than its Web based predecessor which M8 developed in-house. It has enabled us to get new customers and potential investors by giving M8 a much more "polished" look.

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

We worked well together as one team. We added them to our Slack channels and Jira backlog and they were able to execute tasks and update status easily. Through Slack we answered questions asynchronously which minimized impact of the different time zones. The M8 team worked on the APIs while the PNY team worked on using them. There was no "wall" to toss things over. PNY wrote code to use our data and we provided data per their input on what format was more efficient. Great process.

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

In a word, results. PNY kept us on our toes trying to keep up with how quickly they implemented things. They understood what we were trying to do and provided suggestions for us to consider beyond what we specifically asked for. We remain SO impressed that we are engaging PNY for follow-on projects.

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

It would be helpful if clients has better access to test the code under development rather than seeing PNY demo it and then not being able to fully test it until it is released.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior director at a prominent international media company. I look after new product development. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perpetual?

I’ve hired Perpetual on numerous occasions, and we most recently engaged them for a UI/UX design project. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Perpetual worked on building a comparative analysis process for us, where they were required to do stakeholder and customer interviews to fuel their research. They also did an audit of our existing app while cataloging all of its existing components. As we finished the discovery phase, the team built user onboarding flows. They worked on how app features would work and how user profiles and settings were set; they had to design these things specifically for Android and iOS devices. Perpetual used Figma for this design work, but they also used Sketch and Abstract.

We also engaged them to redesign a section within our website. This project required a bit of customer research and content analysis. Their resources built new components that didn’t exist while documenting a library of components. Moreover, they worked closely with the engineering team to ensure that their designs could be converted into good code.

For ongoing projects, we usually take care of maintenance. However, I keep Perpetual resources around for post-launch. If we need any support or run into any issues, we call them. Moreover, they also usually do enhancements; they take an existing framework from us and add their flair to it. They build new modules and features for such frameworks. 

I’ve also brought them on for projects where they have to build something from scratch. In such projects, I don’t give them any design direction. Instead, they work on understanding our business requirements and do customer research to validate their designs. Then, they give us a vision of how we should build the project.

What is the team composition?

We work with around 10 people from Perpetual. Five of them work full-time with us. Then, they bring in experts that focus on particular aspects of the project. My main point of contact is Amish (CEO); I reach out to him when I have a specific question about the engagement. I also interface with Sarah (UI/UX Designer). 

How did you come to work with Perpetual?

Perpetual has done business with other parts of our organization. They were recommended to me by one of my colleagues, telling us to talk to them if we wanted an agency that understood our work. I gave them a chance, and that was when our engagement started. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Perpetual in June 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website section we’ve launched has been seeing great results in terms of engagement and traffic. I attribute some of that success to Perpetual’s work.

Anecdotally, I’ve worked with many agencies, and I tend to switch them up a bit to gain new and fresh ideas. I find my collaboration with Perpetual to be successful because they’re easy to work with and they come up with fresh ideas. Their team is open to feedback and highly collaborative, and my team enjoys working with them.  

Moreover, their documentation and handover process is unparalleled — that’s hard to find in any agency. Their resources are thorough and provide great post-launch support. They’re always ready to jump on the phone to work with us. On top of that, they’re highly knowledgeable not only about their business but also ours. That’s a huge plus for us. 

Overall, I’m extremely satisfied with Perpetual’s work. They’ve exceeded my expectation and set the bar high. Now, I’m looking forward to getting dazzled one more time. 

How did Perpetual perform from a project management standpoint?

Perpetual’s project management is perfect. They’re on top of the engagement, and the team is highly transparent when there’s a change in scope. Their team gets booked up fast with projects, so they actively ensure that everything is moving forward according to plan. 

Once they know who the stakeholders are, they engage those stakeholders directly with our permission. This is truly highly helpful because we don’t have a dedicated project manager; we only have product people who do their day-to-day work in addition to managing the product. 

In terms of tools, we use Jira to track progress and ensure that the work is cut out for them. That’s also our main tool for communication and project management. We also use Teams on a daily basis.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills are their strong point. I’d always pick an agency with a great communication style — this is key in all deliverables. Beyond that, the Perpetual team has a great work ethic and works fast. They have disparate teams that allow them to run a global operation. Their resources ensure that tasks are completed quickly. If we set our expectations ahead of time, they tell us clearly what they can and cannot deliver. Simply put, they always do their best. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

This isn’t an area of improvement per se, but I’m curious how Perpetual will perform if I simply ask them to build something that the world has never seen before. 

To elaborate, they usually have their task cut out for them — we provide direction and timeline, along with a budget. They’re great at that. Meanwhile, other agencies may not be as effective as them in terms of execution and communication, but those agencies can generate 5–10 great ideas and iterations for us. I’m curious whether or not Perpetual can perform well in that arena. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent about your needs. Perpetual can turn around tasks quickly, and they do their part. As a result, do your part and be explicit about what you want; tell them where you want them to invest their time and energy. If you want the blue-sky thinking on any given design or topic, then be explicit about that — they’ll flex their design muscles. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a financial services asset management firm that manages about $160 billion in primarily public sector and institutional assets. The other side of our business — prior to being acquired — worked with municipalities and other public sector entities to issue debt.

I was the senior marketing manager within our centralized marketing group. My general role was to work across the organization to build our strategic marketing plans and help business leaders execute on them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perpetual?

We’re using Perpetual for a number of projects, including redesigning two of our websites.

When our asset management business was acquired, we had to split our website from our old organization and build a new one based on an existing template. We also had to update, remove, and orient the old one for the successor firm that would spin off from the acquisition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start, we created a carbon copy of our website, and Perpetual streamlined its content to use as a new framework. There were many differences, including removing content, creating content and building new sections and pages. Perpetual tried to repurpose as much of the site as possible but largely redesigned its backend architecture.

While they handled the technical development, we created the design in-house and worked with their team to implement it and build any necessary components. We’re using Sitefinity as the CMS. Notable features include a tool that transforms resumes into PDF files and a carousel on our home page that highlights our different products and services.

Perpetual also brought in a subject-matter expert to perform an ADA review of the website.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with 3–4 people, including Amish (CEO), Kumar (Project Manager), a systems engineer, and a few others depending on our needs, like a UI/UX designer and an ADA compliance expert.

How did you come to work with Perpetual?

About one-and-a-half years ago we started a larger scale technology process across our larger business. After an RFP and due diligence process, Perpetual was number one. They did a phenomenal job building an online client access portal, so when we needed to do this website redesign project, we decided to call them. It was a no brainer.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $75,000–$150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since January 2021 and have a monthly retainer with them for support and ongoing management and development of the website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s ironic that we don’t have many statistics on the website given that we’re a finance firm, but the biggest plus about Perpetual is that we were able to successfully redesign, reorient, reimplement, and launch an entirely brand new website for a $160 billion asset manager during an acquisition process. The outcome of their work is self-evident of Perpetual’s quality. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.

How did Perpetual perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done very well. Everyone I work with is sharp, organized, and willing to work and go the extra mile. Their team helps us keep a lot of things straight.

Perpetual is probably tired of me at this point, but we have weekly and bi-weekly check-in calls, as well as emails. They send progress reports and are effective at communicating across disconnects, particularly between technical people and design people.

In terms of tools, we leverage Figma and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s two-fold: their flexibility and adaptability. Perpetual is quick to jump in to find resources get the scope moving without issues. At the outset, they quickly adapted to our needs.

Based on different providers I’ve worked with, Perpetual invests the most in us as a client. In fact, they followed up with me four times to get this review call with Clutch scheduled. They’re incredibly client-oriented, and it shows in how they interact with us.

Finally, the amount of time they took up front to understand our business, qualify it, and understand what we were looking was great. It allowed them to accurately translate our requests later on in the project. It was a great discovery phase.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were times where they built something that was close to what we wanted but also didn’t quite work for us, and we had to go over it a few times. Because of the deadlines, we could have been more explicit with how we were communicating, but the nice part is that they’re extremely flexible.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to be open, honest, and transparent about pricing, scope, and budget. Tell them what you need and be deliberate on discovery calls, providing the required context. All their folks are open and transparent, so if you need something just talk through it with them. As a client of theirs, this method has allowed us to be very successful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a golfing application startup. We also have a podcast and a video series.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perpetual?

We wanted to create a mobile app for golf because it’s a complicated sport that doesn’t have great technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Perpetual is creating an Android and iOS mobile app for us. Everything started with tech discovery, where their team figured out the platform we wanted to build everything on and CMS we needed to employ on the backend. They did a full assessment of everything based on what they thought our needs and requirements were. From there, we started working with a branding agency that collaborated with Perpetual while doing everything from the UX to the development of the product.

In terms of the app’s functions, we’re tied to a few private databases to pull in information related to golf courses. We’re also building out features for golfers to enjoy themselves through these courses — it’s a new product that competes with the very few golf mobile products out there. At the moment, we’re preparing to launch a beta version of the app to collect user feedback and launch publicly after that.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working directly with around five people from their team, including a product lead, a UX lead, the person who acts as the liaison between tech and product, and Amish (CEO). There’s a development team working on our project, but we don’t interact with them, and that’s fine by me.

How did you come to work with Perpetual?

I used to have an agency myself, and I met several people in the industry. One of those people was Vishal (Managing Partner), and when I started this project, I sent them the RFP. I chose them because the first chats went great, I worked closely with Vishal in the past, and they hit the timing and budget perfectly — they had a nice initial approach.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re in the alpha phase now, so we have a few people testing our app. We’ve been receiving great feedback, like the app’s fantastic stability.

How did Perpetual perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fluid and transparent, which is nice. Their team is also working with modern tools that are easy to use, like Sigma, Slack, Jira, and Google Docs — that help us see where the project is going.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to quickly scale up their team is outstanding. Our app grows along with its features and functionalities outside the original scope, but Perpetual’s team efficiently provides the workforce required to get the work done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could change their presentation of their deliveries, but I already gave them that feedback, and they started presenting everything the old-school way, which I like.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Public Financial Management (PFM) is an institutional asset management organization oriented towards servicing the investment needs of governmental-related entities like state and local governments, bridge commissions, and turnpike authorities. We help them with their funds' investment for short-, mid-, and long-term needs.

I’m the director of application delivery and support, so I’m responsible for all of the applications that are run to support our organization, including a line of business, back-office, and enterprise applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perpetual?

We had a legacy client portal, which had been in place since first crafted 12–14 years ago. It was very outdated in terms of its UX, technology, and capabilities. Our goal was to address this and upgrade its technology, capabilities, and UX to bring it up to date and make it modern.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our platform previously used a Microsoft.net web form technology, and the application directly interacted with our back-office databases. Perpetual has been developing a modern portal using React.js, and we’ve added APIs to connect to our back-office databases. Our databases have stayed largely the same, but we’re essentially enhancing our front-end and middle-office technologies.

Perpetual helps us with a mix of design activities that are largely wrapped up; we’ve completed around 90%–95% of the job. Currently, they’re focused on frontend development, and they’ll hand the work off to my team, who will connect it to our APIs.

What is the team composition?

We work closely with three people from Perpetual, who are actively involved in the design activities.

How did you come to work with Perpetual?

I found Perpetual on Clutch. Initially, I was overwhelmed by the number of digital design agencies, and I was just looking for those oriented towards financial services. I used Clutch to narrow the options down and identified eight potential candidates.

I had interviews with various agencies and narrowed our options down to three. Then, we went through an RFP process with all three agencies, and we picked Perpetual based on their responses. Our selection criteria included evaluating their comfort level with financial services, previous experience, cost-effectiveness, and overall cultural fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $125,000 up until June 2021, and 85% of that amount has been invested in design services.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first invoice was generated in February 2021, and our engagement is ongoing. We’re now contemplating using them for other projects outside of their initial scope.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback from everyone has been really positive, not only on the work product but also on the interactions with Perpetual. Everyone is very happy with the people that we’re working with, as well as with their demeanor, approach, knowledge, and experience. We’ve had very solid feedback so far.

How did Perpetual perform from a project management standpoint?

We initially had biweekly meetings calls which then moved down to weekly calls. We’ve also used Excel to manage our sprint cycles for the development activities. Additionally, Perpetual organized the design process into time blocks, so we knew beforehand that we would finish the design activities by mid-July 2021. In terms of accuracy, comparing what we expected to where we are, Perpetual has been spot on with minor variances.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Perpetual is courageous and challenges the status quo. On occasions, we wanted to do the design one way, and they provided us with reasons not to do so, as well as with recommendations.

Although they push back, they know how and when to do it. In other cases, as we knew our user base better, we still needed to do things our way. Ultimately, we’ve always landed on a good solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be good if Perpetual had a clear picture of the extent to which their resources are being allocated. We ran into situations where we weren’t getting the velocity that we needed, so I had to raise my hand and tell their principal that we weren’t moving fast enough. However, he quickly addressed the issue and augmented their team’s capacity.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be involved, knowledgeable, empowered, and decisive. Bring top-notch people from your team who know the subject matter and participate in the process; this will help you move forward quickly and efficiently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a Commercial Arts and Entertainment company, working with major clients on everything from creative development, production and post. I am the lead producer at Special Operations, oversee various projects thru completion.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Perpetual to help with the UX Design, Development and Build for a client's new website. The redesign required an updated, clean layout and color scheme, incorporating requested elements, enhancements and opportunities to display original content while minimizing the need to reformat existing posts, photos, videos, etc.

SOLUTION

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

We have worked with Perpetual in the past and knew they had the team needed to make this a successful project for us and our client. They have access to great UX Designers, are excellent at communication and organization, and the expertise required to work on complete large projects like ours.

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

• Redesign the website (with an updated, clean layout and color scheme, incorporating requested elements, enhancements, and opportunities to display original content while minimizing the need to reformat existing posts, photos, videos, etc.)
• Make a Clean and easy-to-update way to display daily and weekly schedules.
• Integrated way to display schedules embedded within press releases
• Automatically add the date to Press Releases and Posts.
• Add link for visitors to share posts/videos/photos on their social accounts
• Make the Search Function easier to find on the site with better functionality and the option to search by relevance or by date
• Social pages should open in a new tab, build a social ticker on the page that is functional and not distracting.
• TECH FEATURES: Photos: External Change download function to instant for photos. Find an Easy way to embed native video files on site Upgrade the existing WordPress

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

We worked for 4-5 people from the Perpetual team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far the site looks and operates beautifully and our client, is very happy. Perpetual helped the site integrate seamlessly and continued to provide their tech support as the site launched. If our clients needed help with their new site, Perpetual was there to make sure that the end client felt confident using the new site.

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

Vishal lead the project, kept us organized and on schedule and was great at breaking down each step to my team and the client, who are less tech savvy.

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

They were all amazing.

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

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing and product development at Azul, a small research company focused on procurement.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perpetual?

We built an app prototype using R, but we needed to be able to scale it in Python.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It’s basically a benchmarking app for procurement technology, so there was a large database on the backend, but there was no easy way for users to access that information. The app poses questions about core business problems, and then automatically pulls a shortlist of vendors that can meet their needs based on their most important decision factors.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a US-based Python lead, a UX designer, the CTO, two Indian-based Python engineers, a project manager, and a tech architect.

How did you come to work with Perpetual?

We used Clutch to identify firms we wanted to work with, and then we issued an RFP. Perpetual seemed to have the right background for the project. Their response was more detailed than any other provider we spoke to and they asked questions. They were comfortable using Python, while other firms just proposed other ways to complete the app. I also appreciated that they work in an agile manner. Finally, they were the most affordable option and they were able to start working on the project right away.

How much have you invested with them?

The project will cost $88,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in July 2020 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re entering the final user acceptance testing phases. So far, users understand how it works and like how they’re able to navigate the app. Perpetual has perfectly replicated the functionality and has even improved the design. They’ve met all of our milestones.

How did Perpetual perform from a project management standpoint?

It has been a very iterative, agile process, which is in line with how we work internally when developing apps. They’ve been very responsive; we have at least two meetings a week, but at the beginning of the project, we met almost daily to get the design just right. If they had any questions, they stopped to clarify what we wanted and didn’t make assumptions.

We used Jira and Slack to communicate but also used Figma for UX design mockups.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and can-do attitude really stood out. They were flexible and made minor tweaks to the scope. We really valued their team approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project has been delayed by about two weeks, and I would have liked to be on time. Otherwise, I have nothing bad to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Generally, new clients should make sure they have clear requirements and know what they want to do. They should be able to communicate their goals effectively so Perpetual can do their jobs well.