What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They completed everything to our satisfaction.
We aren’t working with the U.S. clients Planet Web developed mobile apps for now, but the e-commerce website for our Taiwanese client is performing well. While the luxury goods site changed its design and focus—it’s not selling luxury products any longer—it’s still using Planet Web’s Magento platform.
Planet Web’s team continues to help me with SEO for my scheduling platform, in order to attract organic users.
How did Planet Web Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?
We have regular Skype calls, after which Planet Web takes our requirements in detail, and creates an SOW [statement of work]. Upon SOW approval, they move to wireframing and visual design, in the case of more complicated products. For smaller projects, they start on visual design directly. When it’s ready, I decide on technology—Magento, WordPress, or custom development. Once everything is finalized, Planet Web starts development.
We have clearly defined milestones. I’m comfortable with a WBS [work breakdown structure] in an Excel format. Planet Web sends me weekly or monthly sheets, depending on the project, and they’ve never missed a milestone. Once the product is ready, QA is completed, and we’ve approved it, we report any bugs we find, and they fix them. We’ve always launched on time.
The process is streamlined. This is one company I can trust to follow the project milestones completely. I am very satisfied with their quality of development, communication and general project management process. Their communication has never been a problem for me, which is one of the biggest contributors to a project’s success.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their development—coming from the design industry, I find that Planet Web does an amazing job.
Are there any areas they could improve?
It was difficult for them to manage milestones when we made changes to the development requirements, but it would be for any team.
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
If you’re looking for a great team that is open to suggestions for development, no matter how silly, Planet Web will definitely work toward a satisfactory solution. Their deliverables are technically very sound. We had some challenging requirements, but they didn’t mind going the extra mile to do the work.
However, Planet Web won’t sacrifice functionality for a quick fix. In my eagerness to launch an app, I requested a simple chat function. But they pointed out potential legal complications and conflicts with cross-platform apps and helped me understand the technical challenges of using a free server. Planet Web wants products to function efficiently long-term, rather than focusing on the launch alone.
If a company is looking for a long-term collaboration with a team they can rely on, Planet Web is the clear choice.
The formerly antiquated app is now functional, stable, and features fewer bugs. Planet Web Solutions' QA saved vital development costs, although their inspection into the code initially increased the budget. They were noted for their attentiveness and their ability to communicate and resolve problems.