Phuse

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of salt.io, a strategy firm that advises and works on full stack tech solutions. I took on a client who needed a partial rebuild of an existing Estate web platform that serves the commercial real estate securitization market. My role was to scope out and lead the project to successful implementation under a very tight schedule.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Phuse?

Part of the challenge was to do a UI/UX redesign on an extremely niche product in a niche market. The existing functionality was designed for extremely experienced financial analysts and very hard to understand for most tech folks without a background in finance. Given the tight (and non-negotiable) timeline, the prospect for an extended ramp up for the tech team was limited, as was the possibility of engaging the existing users for feedback and user flow validation throughout the process. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I think they have a standardized process that they follow, but it’s super flexible. They sort of tailor their process to match my process. I run a development team, and I have a very specific process I like to use. I like them so much because they meld into my system as opposed to making me default to their process.

We do very fast iterative development. We push to production every one or two days. We organize the design work around one-week sprints. That was the shortest sprint that made sense for the kind of pages that we were doing. We sort of melded their process and our process, to come up with the hybrid that works for the project. We organized the sprints and left flexibility to reevaluate at the end of every week and totally change what the next week’s sprint was going to be or not.

As that went along, the first sprint we hit exactly. For the next one, we decided to double our time into two sprints on the same topic because it was more important and needed more depth. The next sprint, we decided to do in half the time because we wanted to be a little bit more shallow. They were really good about moving with the flow of the project and constantly reevaluating what the needs were to make sure we were happy.

The first app dropped everybody into one page and there were 12 different things you could do on that page. So three different users doing three different things end up on the same page and use it differently. There was a high training bar to know all the things you can do on that page. Phuse helped us identify distinct user flows or distinct users and try to come up with a number of flows that can lead to that page or to other pages that were more specific to the flow. Some of them just clarified the flows on that page. The page had a Google Map on it, and you could do all kinds of things with a map. They really helped us understand that the things that make sense to do with the map should happen on that page, and the things where the map does not add a lot of value, don’t need to be on that page. The map would be a distraction from whatever they’re trying to accomplish. That lead us to create a second page, and a lot of people would just go there in the new design and never even get to the Maps page because what they are trying to do didn’t really require a map in the first place. That makes it a lot simpler.

There was one designer working on the project, Cody. They have a project manager, Marisa, who managed it. The founder would pop in from time to time. There were more people available. They do design reviews with us and we give feedback, but then they also do design reviews internally for their team and would come back with changes that their other designers would recommend for best practices. While I only interfaced with probably three people, I believe that more people had eyes on the design.

They’ve worked on two other projects with us. They did my website. I always say that of all the projects I do, the thing that I get most complimented on is my website and I barely had anything to do with that because Phuse did it. People like my website better than anything I’ve done for them. They started to build an application for me but I ended up terminating that but that had nothing to do with them. I have occasion to work with other design firms or my clients work with other design firms. The reason I like Phuse is I don’t agree fundamentally with the process other firms use, and they kind of lock you into that. Phuse is really cool about being flexible.

How did you come to work with Phuse?

I don’t know how I came across them. I feel like I must’ve seen their work.

How much have you invested with Phuse?

We have spent between $10,000 and $50,000 for the current project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first project was built in 2014. They are finishing the project this week. They may get extended. There may be future phases of this project or they may be done for good. They’ve actually completed more than the original scope, and so we’re finding new things for them to do after this last week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The internal feedback has been positive. We’re a finance company and our users aren't typically of tech-savvy, so the feedback from users is more around what the site looks like. The screens look way better. It hasn’t been rolled out live yet, and so while I would say that the redesign is transformational and it is going to directly impact the success of this product, there are no metrics to back that up yet because there are no external users on it right now.

How did Phuse perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very organized. They have a Trello board and a project manager. In terms of keeping everyone on the team informed of when the sprints are, what the scope is, what the price is, what the budget is, it’s all very organized and pretty smooth. They work so closely with you that you just feel like you’re on the same team. It eliminates that sort of feeling that there are different teams operating in distinct ways, and it’s just kind of an extension to your team.

The Phuse designers dove in and worked hard to overcome the learning curve associated with the niche market and the functionality. The reskin was completed on time and on budget and looks amazing. I have witnessed first hand the struggles most developers and designers have when working with technology projects in niche areas such as finance. The Phuse designers are professionals and were not discouraged or deterred.

What did you find most impressive about Phuse?

I think their founder is a strength. James [Costa, CEO] is a super neat guy. He writes on the topics of leadership; I love reading his work. He has believes in culture and how to grow and shape a team. In terms of the mission, culture, and tone set by the founder, I think it’s really a model for other companies, my own company included.

Are there any areas Phuse could improve?

Everyone can improve in everything, but I can’t think of anything specific.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Shuffle's focus is "smart" communication solutions that allow users more flexibility on a single device with multiple contact points while protecting their personal privacy.

What is your role at the company?

I am the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Phuse?

I was looking for a reputable company that can deliver top quality work at an affordable price. We wanted to design the company brand and iOS UX/UI [user experience/user interface] to deliver an iOS and Android version of Shuffle for the United States and Canadian market.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

The scope covers the entire branding and design process, from initial development of a brand and corporate identity to full UX/UI design process in order to deliver a logical flow for the app.

How did you come to work with Phuse?

It involved various Skype conference calls with the CEO and the team that would work on Shuffle. I was referred to Phuse by a colleague.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Costs relating to branding and UX/UI design only is roughly $60,000 to date.

What is the status of this engagement?

Delivery of version three of the iOS interface was around October/November 2014. We have since done various updates and optimization and see this as an ongoing process as the app evolves.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We had fantastic results. Phuse is an awesome company to work with. Probably the best company I've worked with ever. Phuse did an awesome job delivering an outstanding product. Always under budget estimates and beating deadlines. They come highly recommended.

What distinguishes Phues from other providers?

Phuse's crystal clear communication throughout the entire process is a cut above anyone else I've ever worked with. You are never "in the dark" with these guys, which makes the entire process so much easier to control. They don't make promises they can't keep, and they don't disappoint.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

I could honestly not think of anything. They are awesome all around. Get engaged with them as soon as possible to save yourself time and money contemplating compared to other agencies.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Right now, I run a startup called Settler. We're based out of Los Angeles with two remote people. Settler is a bare metal provisioning service, which allows for rapid and a relatively advanced deployment process for companies that are looking to deploy their metal hardware as an infrastructure.

What is your position?

I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Phuse?

To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for. When I initially talked to Phuse, I knew that I wanted some type of sales and landing page, and then I had an idea of developing a website for the software we had written.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

I indicated that I wanted something attractive and unique as a sales and landing page and asked for their help. We kind of worked through that process together and finished that specific agreement. In working with them, I became aware of the fact that Phuse was awesome and that I really enjoyed working with them, so I asked them to build a web frontend for my software.

How did you come to work with Phuse?

I tried a couple of outsourcing resources, and I wasn't pleased with the limited results that I got from them. I actually talked to a friend of mine who had some connections at Phuse. He showed me some of their portfolio, and I got in contact with them. It's through that kind of referral that I was introduced to Phuse.

Once I actually had a conversation with them, I realized that I would like working with them because they reminded me of me. I work in the tech field, so getting some people that I really would enjoy working with and who were in my field was just as important as the quality of the work that they delivered.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The web front end was in the $30,000 to $40,000 range, and the sales and landing page was in the $6,000 to $8,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them last October. We built out the landing and sales page in about three weeks. Then, from late November through June, we worked on the web front end for the Settler software. At that point, we didn't have too much more to do, so I've just been keeping in general contact with them and wishing them well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics or other feedback from your work with Phuse?

The actual work that they and their developers did was probably some of the best work that I've actually ever seen. Together, we made a great engineering and development team, with me being in the engineering field and them being in front-end development. 

I didn't have a specific idea of what I wanted when I went in with the website, and their graphic designers and developers sat down with me and one of my partners and walked us through what the site was going to look like, what some of the requirements were, and what I wanted the site to be. At one point, everything just kind of snowballed into the application that was exactly what I wanted when I started talking to them. Overall, their work was fantastic, from design to implementation, to my overall ability to work with them.

What distinguishes Phuse from other providers?

I'd say it would be two things. One is their ability to work with others. Phuse is extremely friendly and extremely easy to work with from a project management and actual development standpoint. The second thing is their creativeness. They were able to do some things that I didn't know were possible and had never thought of, in terms of the design and implementation of the code that we both wrote.

Is there anything Phuse could have improved or done differently?

No. I wouldn't change anything or take anything back – that's for sure.