Promwad

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a company that caters to the public transportation sector. We develop real-time passenger information-related products such as CCTV cameras, display screens, and onboard computer units. I’m responsible for overall engineering.

What challenge were you trying to address with Promwad?

We needed to migrate to a new hardware platform that was FPGA programmable, but we didn’t have the in-house skillset to develop that hardware. That’s why we sought the services of Promwad.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Promwad helped us fine-tune our architecture to better pair with the hardware that they would develop. They then worked with us to cost and purchase the necessary tools for building the hardware. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from their team. The project manager was involved during the estimation and weekly tracking, but the FPGA engineer did 70% of the work. There was also an account manager and an electronics schematic engineer. 

How did you come to work with Promwad?

We googled for FPGA designs and came across a website that provided these along with information about various vendors. Promwad was listed there and highly recommended by different sources. We reached out to them and learned that on top of having the skill set we were looking for, they had also built similar hardware in the past. 

How much have you invested with them?

Since this entire technology was new to us, we decided to have a time and material arrangement as opposed to a fixed cost agreement. We ended up spending roughly $60,000–$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This partnership started in January 2020 and it's still ongoing. We were supposed to finish last July–August of 2020 but there have been some logistic issues from both sides. We are hoping to wrap it up by end of this month.

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

We are generally happy with Promwad’s knowledge and the services they’ve provided to us.

How did Promwad perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager mostly sends us weekly reports and timesheets breakdown of what is being done. We also use our initial estimation of the project to track our progress as opposed to relying on reports. I believe this aspect could be a little better, though, as we didn’t get clarity on certain things. It has caused us to exceed the original timeline by 3–4 months.

We use Microsoft tools such as SharePoint, Teams, and Project Planner to track the progress of the project and communicate with each other.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Promwad is technically strong and very open to feedback and suggestions. When needed, they would bring in senior folks to help us design and solve problems. They’ve partnered so seamlessly with us and provided affordable, high-quality work that they’ve become an extended ring of our company. We’re confident that we’ve got the right partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve done software design documentation differently so that we didn't get the suggestions after the implementation.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're quite a big and skillful company, but as a project manager, you need to set in place what is expected of them so that they can do things accordingly. If you have a clear plan of what's to be done, at what point, and with which criteria, it'll be very helpful.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior software project manager at Vestel, a company that produces smart TV sets and set-top boxes, and we also provide IP services. I work in the R&D department. Every year, we’re delivering almost 10 million TVs in France, the UK, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Poland, and Nordic countries, and others.

What challenge were you trying to address with Promwad?

We had a very tight schedule and were facing some technical challenges. We have 200 engineers working on software projects composing different project groups but, from time to time, we’re not able to deliver on time and we need additional technical support, so we work with Promwad.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Promwad is working on a project for a domestic company that provides mobile and internet services. They also provide some operative business support; they deploy their specific set-top boxes that have custom services on it, including YouTube, which needs an application. 

With Promwad, we’re working on TR-069, an Internet protocol, and others, including software updates in the fields. They’re delivering the software downloads and TR-069 management parts as separate processes — they implemented all of that from scratch. 

We also work with a company that is a SOC (System on a Chip) provider and Promwad supports us on these issues, as well. So far, we’ve worked with them for set-top boxes, but I know they also offer Android services. They deploy using C++ for the software and have other areas of expertise, so we’re open to working with them on our upcoming Android project. 

What is the team composition?

There are 5–10 people working with us, including project managers.

How did you come to work with Promwad?

We met them around five years ago at an event. We found their technical capabilities to be very good, so we decided to work with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020 and our engagement is ongoing.

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

So far, their deliverables are of good quality, which we can tell from the tests and our customer feedback. They’re a very competent team. Their engineering service quality is at a good level.

They implemented modules that are so well-coded they are essentially portable for our TV sets, as well, which is really great. They provide really high-quality engineering support. They’re good at working with connected devices, internet infrastructure, and other processes.

How did Promwad perform from a project management standpoint?

The project managers have frequent meetings with us to ensure they’re delivering on time and at our level of quality. From time to time, they’ll even respond late at night on WhatsApp. There’s also a high-level manager who reaches out to us a couple of times a month to ensure we’re happy with their deliveries. We use Jira and they meet all of our requirements. Occasionally, they do better than expected from a quality and time point of view.

They also make any changes we want. We had a test drive with them for a couple of urgent issues from our customers, and they were open to this and implemented what we needed. They deliver quick solutions to us — it’s great to have that kind of partner. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

In such a short time, we trust them. They’re really good and we know we can do a long partnership with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

So far, they’re really good with their technical expertise. We don’t have any issues with their communication or English level either.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a very dependable and trustworthy company. I recommend working with them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-owner and CTO of an embedded design house working in various application domains, including digital TV and medical systems.

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

We subcontracted the hardware development of a Set-Top-Box project for the hospitality market, as well as the development of the associated test bench

How did you select Promwad and what were the deciding factors?

We met Promwad back in 2009 to audit their engineering capabilities.

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

Custom Set-Top-Box hardware board design. Custom enclosure design including thermal and injection simulations. Custom test bench development (hardware assembly from COTS, Windows and Linux software applications development)

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

A project manager was our primary contact. The project has involved hardware engineer (Set-Top-Box PCB), designers (enclosure industrial design), mechanical engineers (enclosure design and simulations) and software engineers (test bench)

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

The project ran smoothly, with direct and close collaboration with our own team members. The Set-Top-Box resulting of the joint efforts has been successfully introduced on the market.

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

We had regular on-line meetings

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

It was very impressive how the company was both skilled and reactive.

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

We had to spent more then expected of our time to get the test bench fully working. However they have been reactive on that and have sent over two engineers to do common on-site debugging, on time for the start of the production.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder of the company. JVL Labs is a software and hardware company, designing amusement and gaming consoles and the associated games.

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

We retained the services of Promwad to design the hardware and software for our new media streaming device that would integrate into our gaming console. This music streaming device seamlessly integrated with our menu, offering our customers a selection of music from a 3rd party music provider.

How did you select Promwad and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed a number of companies. The criteria were as follows:

• Integrity
• Expertise in C++ and Linux
• Design of embedded hardware applications
• Speed to market
• Ability to work with our team in Canada and in Minsk

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

• Concept design of the streaming media
• Participated in specifying the features of the product
• Identifying individual stories based on the features
• The stories were approved by JVL's CEO and the stakeholders
• Proposed design timeline Spec approval
• Prototyping of the hardware
• The "finishing team" from Promwad arrived in Canada
• Delivery of the final prototype in Canada

Promwad remained on the project for a while for backup, service and transfer of knowledge - allocated a "finishing engineer" for 6 months.

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

Promwad engaged 6 people on this project: C++ specialist C++ programmer Linux specialist Mechanical engineer QA engineer Manager

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

The project was delivered on time and on schedule. The rollout was as expected with good support from PromWad. The post-delivery support was great. PromWad is a professional and reliable organization - there were no surprises.

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

• A calm, measured approach
• Good connection with the management
• Assign good quality specialists to the project
• Are not afraid to make a suggestion
• Care for the overall project

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

They impressed us with their equal level of professionalism spread over a number of technical expertise. In the case of the design of our Media-Steam, PromWad became a reliable design partner supplying the expertise in Mechanical, Hardware, and software engineering.

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

I would highly recommend PromWad for anyone seeking the highest level of professionalism and I would definitely engage PromWad on a new project if it would be needed.

Please describe your company and your position there.

CEO in iomico. Iomico is a custom IoT product and solutions development company assisting customers globally with building impactful IoT engineering solutions powered by the latest technologies.

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

IoT-enabled fridge reinventing workplace eating. It’s like having a mini Whole Foods within your office. Attenders can purchase food 24/7. It automatically knows what was purchased and charges accordingly.

How did you select Promwad and what were the deciding factors?

Promwad is a well-known European electronics design house. I've heard a number of positive feedbacks from my colleagues and partners.

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

Promwad worked on a modular USB-connected computer. Having connectivity, sensors, RFID, storage, camera, compute, and other modules.

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

Project Manager, PCB Engineer, Schematics Engineer

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

1. radio-electronic components research
2. selection of components
3. schematics schema
4. PCB design

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

Promwad combining Agile project management methodology with a variety of communication tools such as Skype, Whatsapp, Telegram, and Google Meet.

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

• They provided a fast and efficient way of communication.
• Mature Agile project management.
• Inspiring and honoring leadership
• Estimation flexibility

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

Nothing so far

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing specialist at a belarussian - american startup specializing on making video content shoppable.

For what projects/services did your company hire Promwad?

Oyper and Promwad were cooperating on the integration of the shoppable video solution to IPTV. Being professionals in these spheres, Oyper and Promwad had a great high-level and successful collaboration.

What were your goals for this project?

The prior goal of this collaboration was to pursue the world's first shoppable video solution for IPTV.

How did you select Promwad?

Oyper's aim was to find a strategic partner with high reputation and great professionalism. We are very pleased and honoured to define Promwad as a perfect match.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Team Promwad developed sdk for the simple integration.

What was the team composition?

The whole team included16 specialists: 10 members from Promwad and 6 ones fron Oyper.

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

The success of our collaboration is absolutely obvious - our integration turned into the first pilot project with a local IPTV provider in Belarus.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The cooperation between the 2 teams was very accurate, specific, up to date, well-organized, and highly professional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Promwad is a company of great professionals and business enthusiasts ready to widen the horizons in achieving common success.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Luckily, we have only positive feedback as a result of our partnership with Promwad. Looking forward to new projects.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Electronics Company in North America

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

Promwad provided support for vary features prototyping based on Open Source projects. It was Development and complicated integration of features to prove technical conceptions for customers

How did you select Promwad and what were the deciding factors?

Promwad has capabilities in Embedded SW development along with Hardware Design and Devices Prototypes manufacturing so its efficient to work with Promwad on all aspects of Embedded systems

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

Scope of work included (on features level)

• SW Architecture and Design
• SW Development and Integration
• HW Schematics Design and Verification

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

Team size vary but always included Technical Lead / PM , SW Developers, Hardware Design experts and Verification team

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

Promwad has strong capabilities to deliver project assets against agreed Milestones in time and especially for projects where shipment date cannot be changed.

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

Promwad Technical Manager / PM provided overall project status and deliverable in time via Scrum process set up

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

Their technical competence in Android AOSP was impressive

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

Not Applicable