Phaedra Solutions

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and Founder of an online marketing company called LocalDeals247.com

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

I was looking to create an all-in-one marketing platform for small businesses. I needed the platform to be “easy to use” and to encompass connection tools, like email and survey abilities, promotional tools like newsletters and blogging abilities, video and finally dealmaking tools where end users could look to find deals on everything from automotive services to restaurants to gyms. This software was to incorporate abilities from at least 7 competing websites to create one hybrid solution.

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

Actually their marketing team contacted me by phone. I had worked with several other off-shore companies before and frankly they never quite delivered what I was asking for. So understandably I was hesitant about getting involved with Phaedra Solutions. I would say it was their sr Management member Zee who first listened and helped piece together a detailed plan. Prior this this no other team offered as comprehensive a plan which encompassed all of my needs.

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

I was looking to create an all-in-one marketing platform for small business. I needed the platform to be “easy to use” and to encompass connection tools, like email and survey abilities, promotional tools like newsletters and blogging abilities, video and finally dealmaking tools where end users could look to find deals on everything from automotive services to restaurants to gyms. This software was to incorporate abilities from at least 7 competing websites to create one hybrid solution.

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

There were several people involved with the team. The core contact was Danish A., ha was an extremely competent project manager. Additionally, I worked with at least 2 developers, some marketing personnel, and a designer

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

The project took 10 months to complete. The project is enterprise level and is currently set up for 3 users. Buyers, Sellers, and Admin. In the case of each, a backend, along with necessary functionality and been created. The functionality is original in each case.

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

This is one of the things I really liked about them. They assigned a dedicated PM. We met every morning to discuss upcoming and completed work. We used an ongoing progress board(Click-up) so I could look on my own, to monitor progress.This was something no other developer had done.

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

Their commitment, the P.M. really seemed to care. I am not technical and I encouraged my PM to make suggestions and to help steer me clear of potential pitfalls. He did that and more. They really understood and identified with the project. Their efforts were invaluable.

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

Initially there was some back and forth about what this was. It wasnt a run of the mill discount site, it was a hybrid and therefore had to be lookeded at entirely differently. Well ultimately they got it right. Once they realized this was not a cookie cutter project and they immediately allocated the resources to get this thing done right.

They were able to deliver an enterprise level project in less than 10 months. They project has exceeded my expectations and I doubt any other team could have delivered it exactly as envisioned. I am truly impressed with their work and look forward to working with them in the future.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the innovations manager at locksmithing company. We’re basically building a service that we can redistribute to other locksmiths.

What challenge were you trying to address with Phaedra Solutions?

We have multiple projects going on with Phaedra Solutions as we’re trying to replace our existing operating system. Right now, they’re helping us design a customer portal and a new UI for our existing dispatching software. This is the software that we want to release to other locksmiths.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

So far, Phaedra Solutions has provided graphical support, web page development, and backend scripting. The tech stack includes Python, Django, and JavaScript.

It’s been a collaborative effort. We provide them with some documentation on our vision, ideas, and pre-scripts that we’ve already written. Then, we work with their account manager to come up with better designs. 

What is the team composition? 

We work with Isbah (Project Manager), another project manager, six engineers, and a graphic designer. They’re very flexible in changing out resources depending on our needs.

How did you come to work with Phaedra Solutions?

At the time, we were using a different company and weren’t happy with their services. They weren’t organized, and meetings were too sporadic. That’s when we started looking on Upwork for other vendors. 

I came across Phaedra Solutions, and they contacted me. I chose them because they seemed organized and were just really good at what they did.

How much have you invested with them?

On average, we spend about $12,000–$16,000 per month, but it depends on the resources we require. We’ve had spikes where we’ve had to bring on a bunch of resources to get rolling, which is expensive. Then, on projects that are coming to a close, we can liquidate our resources to get others for different projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since January 2021. They started with a smaller project and have since proven themselves to be capable of handling all of our projects going forward.

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

A lot of the projects we’re working on are just for internal use, and they’re still in progress. We’re constantly changing and upgrading because we’re very picky on our end. I predict that the solution will constantly change for another year and a half until everyone’s satisfied with it.

How did Phaedra Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s just a great experience. Isbah takes her job extremely seriously and is on the ball at all times. She’s available day and night — if I send her a message at 3 a.m. or 2 p.m. her time, I’ll get a response. I don’t even notice that we’re at a 12-hour difference. We also have daily meetings (sometimes 2–3) to discuss any situations.

Literally working with their project managers makes my life easier. I like that I don’t have to be technical to get my idea across. I can just send them what I want to do, and they’ll do it, which makes for easy communication.

In terms of project management tools, we use Slack and ClickUp, the latter of which we’re starting to look at using in our own company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the biggest aspects of the relationship is that we can work together as one team, going back and forth to figure out solutions. We might identify something that we want, and they’ll recommend a different approach. In the end, we meet in the middle and get something that was better than what each side started with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t really think of anything. They’re very flexible, which makes things easy. Even when they send a suggestion that doesn’t work for us, they don’t hound us. Instead, it’s a dialog around the pros and cons.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Slow down and take the time to do the proper layouts upfront. We didn’t have that opportunity on our end because everything was a rush, but it’s important to map things out first to set expectations. It’s just not practical otherwise because it puts pressure on both parties.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing and Communications Manager for a nonprofit organization. I write blogs, social media posts, increase SEO engagement, and a wide range of other tasks. I also handle special projects like this one.

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

We wanted a simple to use an app built for the Shopify checkout process that would allow shoppers to "Plant 1 Tree for $1 with Shopify.org".

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

They came highly rated and we were not disappointed with the results.

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

Our app development was broken into different sprints which were planned and completed on time.

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

Throughout the course of the project we worked with 5 or 6 different team members with Phaedra and had weekly meetings.

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

The project was completed on time and on budget.

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

Communication was handled through clickup, google chat and weekly meetings through google meet.

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

I was impressed with how attentive they were to answering any questions I had. Any message I sent was returned very quickly.

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

I would have liked more of a detailed breakdown on what is happening on the backend of the app in case I need to answer any user questions.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the director of Whitstable windsurfing. Our web shop Boardworx needed a update

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

To have a new web site e-commerce web site that was secure and easy to use

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

I stumbled across them with a problem another company could not fix. They were so helpful sorting this problem and did not charge me I immediately felt safe and in good hands for a full site upgrade

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

I was advised to use shopify which was not a platform I had considered and in a short time all the information from our old web site had been imported from our old magento sire to shopify

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

Anfal was my immediate point of contact who was all ways fast to get back to me. Polite and efficient never was I left waiting for things to happen. There was Talha the techie Isbah who seemed to sort anything else out and I guess more people working behind the scenes.

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

The new website immediately gave us better customer experiences and more profit.

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

We used google zoom chats what’s app and Google chat. Very good communication

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

The speed everything happened.

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

No I never found anything they were not familiar with

Please describe your company and your position there.

As the founder of D & A llc -SW Florida's Premier Software Solutions Company, we have designed award winning solutions for international media content distribution companies, monitoring and dashboard reporting solutions for CirrusPoint Solutions as well as designing and developing a customized solution for local IT startups such as My Undercover Agent.

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

We hired Phaedra to assist us with the "My Undercover Agent" launch. We needed their help to complete and implement the web design and later we asked them to design a mobile version of the web application.

How did you select Phaedra Solutions and what were the deciding factors?

Phaedra had many great reviews and seemed knowledgeable and dependable. We love the team, they are very great at thinking outside of the box, and have solved many complex issues.

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

We worked with the Phaedra team to design the mobile and web application for My Undercover Agent. We had many steps from the design build to the implementation, to the subscription and stripe integration to the final launch. We used nodejs, AWS, React and many other technologies.

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

We worked with project managers, designers, mobile and web developers.

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

The project was a success, and won the SWFL Innovation Award for Technology in 2020. We have enjoyed working with the Phaedra team on launching this successful application.

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

Their project management is very organized and they are always make themselves available for meetings. As the communication is good, we have met our timelines with no issues.

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

Their humbleness, and willingness to resolve all the issues. They helped us immensely as we launched our application there was so much work to do, they eased into it without complaint.

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

none

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a software startup working in the energy space within logistics and procurement.

What challenge were you trying to address with Phaedra Solutions?

We needed a reliable technical partner to build out a software solution.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We built several software assets, including mobile applications, a web portal, and a backend infrastructure used to manage our data. Initially, we hired them to build a single mobile app, and that expanded to an MVP of our entire platform. We’re expanding their development services further organically this year as well. 

The software is an internal enterprise resource planning procurement and logistics platform. Since our relationship started, we’ve pivoted to capture more of a global market. They’ve done a great job adapting to that, taking it in stride. 

What is the team composition?

We work primarily with the developers directly, however, we have contact with the CEO and CTO. Their executives have always gone out of their way to provide the services we needed from them. 

How did you come to work with Phaedra Solutions?

I originally found them on Upwork and spoke to them about our initial task for them. They performed well and our relationship grew from there. We’ve since moved off the Upwork platform, integrating their services more closely with our team. Our business is largely focused on the market in Southeast Asia, so a partnership with their team also made sense to us geographically.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$200,000 on their work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since June 2019.  

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

The quality of their work is very high. I needed a technical partner to adhere to our needs from a development perspective without making assumptions about our needs on their own. Our industry and needs are niche, and they understood that in their work. As we expand our work with them, we’ll likely be augmenting our team with their software resources.  

How did Phaedra Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re good communicators. While there are some expected drawbacks from a time zone perspective, they’ve always been very responsive. If we bring an issue up, the management team going above and beyond to solve it. I’m happy with the relationship. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re great developers, working well with our give requirements and use cases. We also have a shared cultural knowledge through Pakistan, which is useful. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything comes down to communication. Make sure that you take creative charge of your project, and don’t leave requirements up to the interpretation of their team.

They definitely have the ability to work with clients outside of their time zone and hemisphere. They’re experienced at communicating on that level.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Include someone with experience in product management in your communication. That will help you communicate exactly what you want. Issues in communication and misunderstandings will occur if they have to make assumptions as to what your team needs.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of a personalized shopping service. My role is to look after everything tech-related.

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

We've recently hired a designer and an expert to do a full re-branding exercise for the business. Since we're an e-commerce business, a lot of this exercise also meant an update in the UI/UX of our entire web application. As this was quite a big task and we had a timeline we wanted it completed by, I've decided to hire an external agency to do the changes.

How did you select Phaedra Solutions and what were the deciding factors?

I hired Phaedra Solutions based on excellent reviews on Upwork and based on previous work they've done for other clients.

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

They took over an existing Ruby on Rails project and implemented the new UI/UX on it over the course of a few months, including addition of new features and a major clean up and optimization in the code.

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

There were 2 people from their team working with me on a regular basis: a full-stack Ruby on Rails Developer and a team lead, who would oversee and consult on each sprint.

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

We were able to launch the new, re-designed website with all the new features and deliverables on time. On top of that, due to their familiarity with the project and good work ethics, we hired them to work with me on a regular basis, to help with future development work going forward.

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

Project management was great. The full-stack developer had a daily report every day of what was done and was to be done the next day. On top of that, the team lead got involved regularly for weekly calls and for any issues that came up along the way.

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

Unlike most digital agencies, with Phaedra, I had both direct access to the developer and the team lead, pretty much at all times. They were available daily for any kind of review and were very flexible when we had to make additional changes to plans, treating this project as their own business and advising on best practices, rather than just a one-off task list.

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

One comment that I might make is improvement in communication. For the most part, all conversations were done through a team lead, who had excellent English and excellent technical skills. In his absence, I struggled a little bit to communicate directly with the developers sometimes.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Digital Director at Katch International, a PR and Marketing firm with offices in Sydney, London and Dubai.

For what projects/services did your company hire Phaedra Solutions?

A client required development of an app for both Android and iOS. The app contained several complex systems, and was to include backend cloud-based CMS to manage app users and their listings.

The team at Phaedra was exceptional in both understanding the scope and executing on abstract ideas that required a high level of creativity and a thorough understanding of logistics.

What were your goals for this project?

1. A polished look and feel for the app
2. A scaleable approach to development to parallel the growth projections of the business
3. on-time delivery
4. on or under budget

How did you select Phaedra Solutions?

I have worked with Phaedra on projects in the past. They have always delivered on our agreements and they are my perferred dev team for all complex projects that come through Katch.

Describe the project in detail.

We used our in-house designers to create the different views in the app. Prior to that, we ran several discovery meetings to understand the user story and how they would progress through the app. Once design and UX was established, we handed it off to Phaedra to complete.

Phaedra provided us with the requirements they need (hosting, domains, 3rd party software etc.) to get everything done. They then take the wheel and setup the milestones and tasks on Trello, so we can monitor every step of their progress.

What was the team composition?

Project manager Lead developer Development team

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The app was launched on time, despite some unforseen challenges.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent communication, with the assistance of a well set-up Trello board.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Expertise in every aspect of the development process. A clear understanding of what needs to be done. Cost effective

Are there any areas for improvement?

I cannot think of a time when I have been let down by anyone at Phaedra over the course of several projects.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Foodkarma. We connect restaurants, wholesalers, and other companies to customers and professionals in order to reduce food waste.

What challenge were you trying to address with Phaedra Solutions?

Phaedra Solutions took over all of our app and website development needs.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did our website and backend development. They also developed an app for us for both iOS and Android. The app can be used by both the customer and the merchant. They have also been creating some marketing ads and videos to promote the app.

The product is a delivery app. Users can scroll through different types of food by wholesale, cuisines, merchants, and the user can also track the order. There are live notifications, and the user will see how much food we have saved and how much it has impacted the environment.

What is the team composition?

We work with a total of five people. We regularly work with 2–3 developers. On top of that, we have the creative people who we work with when we need to make new videos.

How did you come to work with Phaedra Solutions?

It was word of mouth. They were recommended by someone I know who helped us at the beginning to start the base development. We needed to have something bigger and more sustainable and this vendor referred me to Phaedra Solutions. 

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent between $40,000–$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around the end of August 2019, and we currently have them on retainer. 

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

We send our customers a small questionnaire every two months to see what they like and what they don’t like. We use their feedback to plan for new updates. 

In terms of bugs, there were a little more at the beginning, but over 85% of users are absolutely loving it. Everyone loves the flow and how clean and practical the app is. We have been getting amazing feedback about it which is great, and that’s why we’re still working with them.

How did Phaedra Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been super responsive, and get back to me even when I contact them after hours. They are based in Pakistan, so sometimes, especially with my being French, there may be a mistranslation and I need to reexplain things, but otherwise, it has been amazing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I haven’t worked with that many providers, but I have to say that they are super flexible and extremely responsive. Every time I have an emergency, they are on it and try to solve it within 5 to 10 minutes of me texting them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the beginning, because they didn’t know me, they didn’t take the initiative to tell me what they felt was better, but now they do that. They don’t wait for me to tell them to do something, they come to me and tell me what they think would work better. They are taking the initiative which is what I appreciate. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be extremely clear about what you want. For example, I like to create a point of reference so that they properly understand how I want it to look when it comes to the color and wording. If you know exactly what you want in your head, it is good to put it on paper for them so they won’t waste time trying to clarify with you.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a software architect for Dudley Debosier, a law firm and legal services company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Phaedra Solutions?

We hired Phaedra to create and manage a number of software projects and services, including large scale enterprise applications.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to find a reliable trustworthy software partner that could fulfill our hiring and project requirements.

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed many vendors and ultimately went with Phaedra because they have a history of providing outstanding technical services and they have a proven process for managing talent and projects.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Phaedra does two very valuable things for us, they manage the recruitment and HR responsibility of hiring and retaining top development talent, as well as the technical responsibility of managing our software projects.

What was the team composition?

Phaedra currently has around 50 developers with many senior technical leads and management. They also have about 5 executives to manage business processes.

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

From the beginning we set out project guidelines and have managed those expectations step by step.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I had very specific and unique requests regarding my project management structure. My project requires 24 hour development which requires shift management. Phaedra worked to find the right team members for my project and insured it's success.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I recently took a trip from the US to visit their office in Lahore. I was surprised to find a 3 story office, with a work environment that I would put on par with any business, anywhere in the world. This is a top-notch organization.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are always areas of improvement, but I can't think of any specific improvements at this time.