Perspective Unity Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a company working on a car fuel project called Benzin.bg. We sell fuel for delayed or reduced payments, through cards.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perspective Web?

They’re developing our whole system, which features a lot of interactions and workflow.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've been developing our system in Python. It instantly communicates the payment data received from gas stations to the bank channels. The system is the most important part of our business, given that it handles our transactions and invoicing. If something went wrong with it, our business would be in big trouble.

What is the team composition?

Kristian (Manager, Perspective Web) was our project manager who we communicated with 95% of the time. He knows everything by heart, which makes our communication easier, and he did the work at the time, but he now has a team of 10–15 people. Kristian also has someone helping him with project management and discussing things with IT. We also worked with his designer, a Python specialist, and a developer whenever we needed to translate business language into IT requirements.

How did you come to work with Perspective Web?

The system would be handling large amounts of money, so we needed a partner that would take the project seriously, though our budget wasn’t that large initially. We’d been looking for more than a year for a team, then one of my friends knew someone who knew Perspective Web.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re developing new things and paying them on a monthly basis, so it’s hard to say. I would estimate our spend is around €200,000 (approximately $225,800 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in April or May 2016 and the work is ongoing, with a lot of things happening to the system all the time, from updates to new projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The success of our business is the best metric I can give. It’s important for us not to have problems or system downtime. During all its years of operation, there’s only been one 12-hour period of downtime.

We receive all of their deliverables on time, with debugging and everything. We never need to figure out how a component works; we can simply plug and play. That’s the most important part for me, since I’m not a tech guy.

How did Perspective Web perform from a project management standpoint?

Kristian is a good professional with a lot of experience, having worked for a large insurance company in Bulgaria. He’s proven himself as someone who understands problems and takes them to heart. Whenever we have an issue, he can explain it well in non-IT terms.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re currently using them for other websites within our structure. All the work we’ve given them is delivered on time and with high quality.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve had some issues over the years, but there’s nothing I could mention that we couldn’t live with—especially considering the fact that they’re growing and that we’ve managed to tackle everything we faced, maintaining our work style and good communication.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager at Royal IHC, a traditional shipbuilding company in the Netherlands. We focus on specialized vessels for dredging and offshore activities, as well as separate and mining equipment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Perspective Web Ltd.?

We wanted to bridge the gap between the younger and older generations in our company with something other than a normal workshop or presentation. We’d already developed our idea and vision for the game itself and the behavioral change we wanted it to produce. We needed help programming and developing it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The game itself allows our employees to manage their own shipyards, maximizing their investments while also scoring contracts—just like the real world. Perspective created the entire game from scratch including the front- and backends, graphic designs, and 3D animations. They used a host of traditional technologies, including HTML5 and PHP, as well as more specific tools, like one that ensured quick screen refreshes.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work their project manager but also bring in their developers (two backend and two frontend) when we have detailed discussions. We’ve also worked with a 3D animation designer.

How did you come to work with Perspective Web Ltd.?

We were looking for a company that we could trust, and I had an acquaintance who knew someone who worked at Perspective. We contacted their references and everything sounded okay, so we decided to give them a try.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent €100,000 ($116,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since March 2016. The developed the first version of the game in nine months, and we’re going to redesigning a second version for later this year. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Based on surveys we put out after people played the first version of the game, they loved its design and thought it was quite professional. It far surpassed their expectations, as they were expecting something simple, 2D, and text-based.

How did Perspective Web Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

It took time to fine-tune and build trust in our cooperation in the beginning, as well as align on a vision for the future. However, we finally clicked and found our rhythm; it’s always harder to understand someone via virtual conversations than it is speaking face to face. We adopted their project management tools including Confluence, Jira, and a chatroom and also met once in person.

Their project manager understands our requirements from both a technical and a psychological point of view. He makes suggestions to bring about the behavioral changes we want to see, and we incorporate a lot of his ideas. He’s like our sparring partner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their level of comprehension is incredible. They dove deep into our problem and uncovered exactly what we wanted to get out of the game: it was a tool for us, a means to an end. The most valuable feedback I can give is that they've become a true member of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While their support services are much better for the second version we're working on, they were confusing during the first. Overall, they could provide more professional management.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them immerse themselves in your world and problems and they’ll develop an understanding of exactly what you want. Then they’ll produce something creative that you’ll be glad to have.