Pragmile

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the managing director at a large consulting firm in the UK, I sell and deliver large and complex core insurance transformation programmes where we design and implement front to middle office systems (policy and claims administration, digital portals and omnichannel experiences, full scale architecture and cloud migration).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Pragmile?

We have partnered with Pragmile to provide specialist technical support across architecture, development, and testing across the programme.  This includes development of COTS package solutions on Policy adminstration, custom digital portal development, ETL and data conversion development, and testing services across all the above.  Pragmile has also provided Devops and application architecture support both for our own team and directly to the client 

SOLUTION

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

We started our relationship based on my personal relationship with the cofounders on previous projects when I was with another firm.  I had complete confidence that Pragmile's ability to quickly and effectively recruit top talent with incredibly niche skills against very aggressive client timelines.  Ultimately cost and skills are always deciding factors in our line of work, Pragmile has been exceptionally flexible in helping us augment our team in key areas, working with us on cost and time pressures at times, but always with us as a true partner

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project entails a mix of custom and package development around our clients core middle and front office insurance operation.  This includes a mix of proprietary scripting, custom java and react development, business and technical analysis of business and system process flows, technical integration and service specifications, and data mapping and ETL development.  In addition there's a broad need both for manual and automation testing services across all of the above. 

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

The recruiting proces has become quite efficient over time.  My central PMO team communicates a request to the Pragmile team (or I make a request directly over the phone or email), we received a confirmation automatically and then track the process through regular email updates with the Pragmile team.  Once candidates are found, we schedule an interview with a member of the project team and if the candidate is the right fit (Pragmile nearly always identifies candidates that are suitable nearly straight away), we schedule onboarding.  Pragmile then works with my Operations team to sort laptops and access with little effort needed on my side, which is always welcome.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still in delivery, but in key areas especialyl Digital delivery, Pragmile has made  a massive difference and I feel mitigated a serious risk early on where we struggled to find the right mix of skills and experience.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I genuinely could not ask for a better partner, their people are collaborative, and we have never had a discussion around roles, responsibilities, or contracts.

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

Again, what srts Pragmile apart in my mind is they genuinely act like a friend to the firm and not a contractor.  I do not feel like a client, but a partner and in the end, this has made not just me but other leaders in my practice want to work with them more.

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

I would love for them to start offering a managed service function!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Corporator, an innovation-based software company. We develop platforms for clients worldwide. Customers can use our off-the-shelf platform to build solutions themselves. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pragmasoft Sp. z o.o.?

We wanted to deliver value at a faster rate. I needed to onboard competent people to help us work more efficiently.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pragmasoft is providing development support for a new software we’re about to launch. We’re programming the product using React. It is JavaScript-enabled and uses a Redux store. We’ve worked with several different vendors to create a variety of components. Pragmasoft is helping us integrate all these aspects into the software. They’re making sure each one is representative of our brand’s style. 
 
What is the team composition? 

Pragmasoft’s team includes four people with competencies in frontend and backend development.

How did you come to work with Pragmasoft Sp. z o.o.?

We’d had little success trying to hire resources in the competitive Norwegian market. I looked through all the LinkedIn invites I received over the past year. Pragmasoft was one of three vendors I reached out to. I met with their CEO and CTO to discuss our company, products, and business challenge to see if they were a good fit. They had the most solid references and made the best impression.

Based on the work we showed them, they assembled a team and sent us an offer. Pragmasoft is co-located in Warsaw, which is rare for an outsourced company. Many competent vendors provide the right resources, but their teams don’t necessarily work together in the same location. Having an agile, cooperative, and focused team was essential to us. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Pragmasoft worked well with our in-house developers and delivered great results. The quality of their code is always very high. Compared to our internal employees, their teammates aren’t lacking in any way. My QA testing team in Norway had provided very good feedback. Pragmasoft focuses on solid principles of coding. They're highly involved in our project.

How did Pragmasoft Sp. z o.o. perform from a project management standpoint?

Pragmasoft is very tidy and presents hours in an orderly format. Their billing is wholly transparent. I put a lot of trust in the team since I have no way of tracking their work hours online. I feel comfortable paying their invoices and rely on them to deliver.

We use Scrum to plan tasks. Our close engagement includes a constant dialogue with the developers in Norway and Poland as well as the QA team is in Romania. They all work very closely together using collaboration tools and video meetings. They contribute their share and offer useful critiques. I treat them as if they are our own employees, even though they’re located abroad. Our method works very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with many companies before, and Pragmasoft is the most easy-going one. We are very well matched. They’re agile, spirited, performance-focused, and committed to delivering great results. Pragmasoft is a great partner for us, and I’d recommend them to anyone else. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything specific to point out. We have a strong collaboration. As we go along, they could challenge our team and each other more. They offer critiques if we plan incorrectly, but they could be even more vocal. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Global Development Manager at an EdTech company. We provide a learning management system for students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Right now, it hosts 2.5 million users worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pragmasoft?

We contracted Pragmasoft to expand the amount of Scrum teams to work on our SaaS learning management system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

By using multiple teams of developers, Pragmasoft is able to independently target specific areas within our platform that need attention. Over the course of our project, we’ve relied on them for general maintenance and the implementation of new features. The projects have centered on file cloud storage solutions, data warehousing, advanced reporting, and predictive analytics, among others.

What is the team composition?

At the peak of our project, we’ve had as many as 4 scrum teams working with us. A team composition has a 4:1 ratio of Software developers and QA, in addition to an onsite Scrum master.

How did you come to work with Pragmasoft?

We were familiar with the work of one of the owners – a Senior Software Developer.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in June 2014 and have ongoing projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the main areas they have contributed to is the reporting system. They have provided great user experience on the reporting feature in the LMS, making it easy for users to see grades for each person or per course, allowing teachers or administrators to track progress or lack of progress. We have received excellent feedback on what Pragmasoft has delivered.

How did Pragmasoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We operate using Skype, Jira, and Confluence. We have worked alongside them from the beginning, so we have built a culture and developed expectations together. We appreciate that they aim to produce quality work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take pride in the quality of their work, and they are dedicated to helping us accomplish our goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Being part of a bigger project cross many sites, we need all sites to be transparent – over the years working with Pragmasoft we have needed to work harder to create more openness between this site and the others. Today this has improved a lot, so working side by side helps build a common culture for transparency.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of insurwave

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Insurwave is a platform for insurance teams who need to manage their insurance portfolio, generate insights and share data and documents with operations, brokers and insurers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Pragmile to accomplish?

• Extend Agile Delivery Teams with contract workforce

SOLUTION

How did you find Pragmile?

Referral

Why did you select Pragmile over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Pragmile were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Provision of developer services and workforce to increase the delivery capacity of Agile Delivery Teams, which includes active contribution to software design, implementation, testing, delivery and maintenance as well as continuous improvement of software engineering practices and tools.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• continuous delivery of the work increments (stories within sprints)
• on-time delivery of the planned software features
• equal day-to-day performance to permanent team members
• positive feedback on collaboration within team and organisation

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The embedded members have integrated well with the rest of the team which ended up with continuous delivery of the planned work items. They address all our needs in a feasible manner.

What was your primary form of communication with Pragmile?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Culture alignment and high work standards which allowed an easy integration with our delivery teams.

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

None.