PSL Corp.

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

We went live about 18 months ago, and the number of bugs and errors have been low. Our previous system would crash frequently. Another benefit of the web application is that it allows the sales associates to work offline because the Internet connectivity is spotty in some areas of Colombia. Once connectivity is reestablished, the system updates the new information. That function wasn’t available before. Overall, we’ve seen a growth in efficiency since the new system has been implemented thanks to the robustness and reliability of PSL’s technology and software practices.

I don't necessarily handle all the technical KPIs because I'm more on the business development side. But from a big picture perspective, we’ve seen tremendous flexibility in what we can do with the new system from PSL. For example, with our legacy core system, launching a new product would take 2 or 3 months. With PSL’s new system, the process takes 2 or 3 days, which allows the whole process to go much faster. Our rate of product introductions has increased significantly.

They have also used data to create an analytics aspect, which has facilitated a new system that’s much more flexible. The consumer finance company can turn around a complex analysis in a matter of days where before, it used to take weeks. So these are tangible results we’re experiencing. With the new system from PSL, we haven't experienced any major issues with the system crashing or having to dig into the data to correct it. We haven't quantified all the benefits of the new system, but from an anecdotal perspective, they are substantial.

How did PSL Corp perform from a project management standpoint?

I would say they performed well overall. We had only 1 minor situation with one of the team members. Once we mentioned it to them, they were quick to change that team member and put in place a person who was better equipped to serve the needs of our client. It proves their ability to cater to a client's needs. The architects and the project managers from PSL were proactive. They knew about the industry we were working with, so they had relevant, industry-specific knowledge that was useful. They also were able to take our internal IT team to a new level. Our IT team feels they learned a lot in the process and they are better at their jobs since working at PSL.

The communication was always very fluid because they already knew about making the core of a finance product. It was just a matter of us explaining our approval, application, and collection process to them so they could adapt our project to the core financing technology that they had already developed for other clients. The interaction was always smooth.

We had experienced team leaders who helped us maneuver all these financial regulations. They helped us address the challenges of having the redundancy of a large number of clients in the database. They also provided an agile way of working, which was new for this company and for Celerix at the time. It proved to be quite efficient because we did iterations and sprints. Every 2 or 3 weeks, we would meet and have a little bit more of the project done. We had a lot more visibility in how the project was progressing than we were used to seeing in other projects, where we would see updates every 2 or 3 months. That was helpful in making sure that the final product we were producing was what we really wanted.

What did you find most impressive about PSL Corp?

The local software developers are way ahead and agile. Their team members tend to take pride in their work, and they go the extra mile when it’s required. It’s always comforting when you find committed people while outsourcing. They feel the client’s pain. Like with any process, we had our ups and downs, but the relationship went smoothly in the end.

Are there any areas PSL Corp could improve?

I would say some specific team members might have areas for improvement, but I feel they did very well. I can’t think of anything worth mentioning.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I think probably the best time for us to answer that will be toward the end of the year. We've done some alpha testing with a BI [business intelligence] component of our solution and received very positive responses. We do expect that the volume of work that we'll be able to handle, and the performance of this new system will be orders of magnitude more scalable than anything that we've been able to produce before. It's a paradigm-shifting platform, so it's hard to put direct numbers on the product until we're actually out in the market with the customers.

How did PSL perform from a project management standpoint?

We're very pleased with their approach to project management. Our organization has been going through what I would call a business transformation, moving from a traditional waterfall approach to a more agile approach to business. It's been beneficial to gain experience from the PSL project management team. Our scrum master, for example, is an expert at that delicate balance between process and diplomacy and has done a very good job of helping a number of people on the Xtiva side of the equation pick up and learn the agile process in a practical way.

I have to say that Jorge [Aramburo], the founder of the company, and Alejandro [Vasquez], our relationship manager, are really good, really responsive. They understand the software industry and how to help companies who are in the service of other companies like ourselves develop a platform and adapt new technology. There was a good chemistry from the beginning.

What distinguishes PSL from other providers?

There are a couple of things I'd like to highlight. One is I think they've been extraordinarily flexible in working to adapt to Xtiva culture. Often in working with other third-party sources, we've had issues in communications or in synchronization internally versus externally, and PSL has turned out to be very easy to work with. They've helped introduce some best practice and been very patient while we go through growing pains on the Xtiva side. That's a big plus.

The other is that the culture is very positive. The organization seems to do a good job of engaging and retaining its staff. There's a lot of focus on training and camaraderie among the staff, so there's a nice family feel to the culture at PSL. They're not as sterile or corporate or hyper-devoted to the process as we've seen in other organizations. They do a nice job of importing the Colombian culture, to the team, and that's been very beneficial. It helps with cohesion in the team and supporting one another to achieve some very challenging goals.

Is there anything PSL could have improved or done differently?

I would say that we've worked with them to embed the team into our organization I think to a deeper level than they might've been used to. Exporting that idea to other engagements will be good. I think that the Xtiva engagement has been a bit unusual in that regard, but I think that by applying that, they'll actually be able to serve even broader groups of people.

It's always a competitive recruiting environment. We've come to them from time to time to help scale up, for example, and sometimes that can be a challenge because we typically are looking for very senior skill sets, and often in specific niches of the technology. We've pushed the envelope on resources in that regard and, as long as they continue to grow their tech resources, they'll end up being unique in the Colombian market in terms of some of the technical skills that we're developing there.

How did PSL perform from a project management standpoint?

PSL was very pleasant to work with. They are happy and professional people, which makes them very productive. There were times when we needed to meet a deadline fast. Without asking us, PSL worked through the weekend in order to get it done. They became part of our team and treated the product as if it was their own. They wanted to see it succeed.

At one point, there were over 100 people working on development, quality assurance, automation, business analysis, and so on. When our relationship ended, because they had hired good people, they were able to move them to other projects, instead of terminating their employment. I got the sense that PSL doesn’t hire employees just to fill a project, instead they’re aimed at acquiring long-term employees. People working for their company felt secure as a result.

They integrated with our processes very well and worked together with us to find the best solutions. Compared to other vendors, especially in Europe, this is a great advantage.

What distinguishes PSL from other providers?

We worked with two developers at the same time, and the main quality that made PSL stand out is that they were continuously improving. They ran surveys for this purpose and acted on them. I always felt that they were telling me the truth and trusted them whenever they told me what would work and what wouldn't. Whenever we had issues with any developer, they took care of it either by coaching them or having that person assigned to a different project. PSL integrated with our processes very well. Their English, for the majority of the team, was very good from the beginning. The ones that didn't have a good enough level improved quickly. This again speaks to their continuous strive for improvement.

Is there anything PSL could have improved or done differently?

Every member of our team was hardworking and did a good job, but not everyone was highly technical. This is the only point of improvement for PSL.