Perpetual

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 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.

I am the former director of research and development (R&D) for a media provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perpetual?

We needed to develop an application for Google Glass when it was a beta product. We wanted a pilot that could demonstrate the capabilities of our content provider.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We passed on some design sketches to them. The goal was to debut a new technology to the public. In doing so, we wanted to build a content library that would introduce content to Google Glass and seed the app store. We wanted to be an early adopter of all kinds of new technologies. We used the development process to get closer to Google’s goals and play with a new form factor for our content.

What is the team composition?

Since it was a small build, we communicated directly with one developer. We were also in contact with Amish (Head of Product Development, Perpetual). Having Amish as our lead person was very helpful; he was invested in our success.

How did you come to work with Perpetual?

We were referred to them, and the referral played a big role in the selection process. Their cost was also competitive. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $50,000–$100,000. It was a competitive hourly rate.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–August 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working with their team was great. They figured out a new technology and worked with us to build a form factor. They provided a lot of guidance and thought leadership. Amish was very smart and creative. We leaned on him a little more than we might have done if we were just working with a developer on a standard product build, simply because we needed a lot of analysis and creativity to reach our goals.

How did Perpetual perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. We didn’t have our own development team, and I’m not a technical person, so they did things like basic blocking and tackling. They really carried me along, setting up API keys and basic AWS. They helped a lot with that and took ownership of it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

At the time, most people who built Google Glass apps had their own development teams. It was especially heavy lifting to get them to understand our use case and the new technology, but they did so very well. They have a team overseas and traditionally work on larger, routine stuff. Our project was unique, but working with them was still great.