Q agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m responsible for customer engagement for the pharmacy channel in Europe at a pharmaceutical company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Q Agency?

We needed to build an online tool focused on managing stock-out situations in the markets.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Q Agency has designed and built a web application that has been launched in 11 countries using Symfony. The project started with market research to identify the needs of pharmacists. Based on that, the team built the application from scratch. Q Agency is in charge of front- and backend development, and they’re connected with another partner that manages the app's data warehouse and hosting.

Over the years, we’ve continued to upgrade the tool based on each country's requirements. The team analyzes the possibility of upgrades and then develops them. Q Agency has also proposed some design upgrades based on user behavior insights.

The app has two kinds of users: internal and external. Internal users are our company employees, while external users are pharmacists. Users can search for products to check their status, availability, and stock. They can also check the alternatives available in the market. The tool connects different data sources, such as the Ministry of Health, internal data, and competitor data, to have all the information in one place. Q agency is responsible for the app's maintenance.

What is the team composition?

I’ve been in contact with many people at Q Agency. The team changes constantly, but we usually work with 3–4 teammates at a time, including developers and project managers. The project managers coordinate bigger development requirements. If a country requests a big improvement, the project manager coordinates different features and people in the company.

How did you come to work with Q Agency?

When I took over the project, my colleagues had already identified Q Agency.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around €400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Q agency is a reliable team. 

How did Q Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

When a task has been assigned, the answer is quite immediate. They always respect the deadline, and if they can’t, there’s always a reason why. Q agency respects the budget. I have a yearly budget based on experience. If we spend more, it depends on the hours Q agency spends developing, and there are usually no surprises. We use Teamwork for project management and communicate via email and weekly meetings.
Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Marin, the developer, has followed the project since the beginning. He's really a great person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their competencies, speed, and quality of output.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For long-term projects, Q agency should give more continuity to the teams that support us. In the past, when there was a dedicated team with a project manager, I had to change the project manager 2–3 times per year. The move was smooth, but having the same team always helps a lot. However, we've found a balance now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as precise as you can be. They’re not experts in your area or market, so you need to be specific about what you want. The more specific you are, the more they can provide you with what you need. They’ll reach what you want, but they need some background.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a program manager for Subsea 7. The company deals with oil and gas engineering works and below-the-surface projects. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Q agency?

We use Q agency for various resource demands but predominantly for app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Q agency is involved in 4–5 app development projects that we’re doing concurrently. We’ve started with one app, but our engagement with them has grown over the last couple of years. The products are mostly desktop apps, but the more recent ones involve mobile apps, too. 

Depending on the project, we usually provide Q agency with a list of requirements to start a project. We then do a formal discovery process, discussing the requirements and receiving estimates for the time and resources needed to complete the project. 

For mobile apps, we mainly build for Android and iOS users; for desktop apps, we use Angular and .NET on the frontend and Azure infrastructure on the backend. Q agency has also proposed using new technologies such as Docker containers, Kubernetes, and others. 

What is the team composition?

Normally, we’re in touch with an account manager and a regional account manager. We also have separate project managers from the development team and work with UI designers and QA testers. The team composition depends on the project—one project can require 10–12 resources, while another can need only 3–4 resources. 

How did you come to work with Q agency?

Our head of development found Q agency, and we reached out to the team and had a few sessions with them to understand how they work as a company. From there, we started working with them on one of our projects. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $3 million–$4 million in Q agency’s services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started in December 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had a great relationship with Q agency. The feedback from our team and the business stakeholders has been positive. The company has seen the value of bringing Q agency resources into our team, so our relationship has naturally grown—it’s a valuable one. 

How did Q agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We have other providers, but Q agency comes out on top in terms of costs and their understanding of our requirements when compared with bigger consultancies or agencies. 

For deadlines, we don’t have any end date for any app. We’ve just done continuous development and improvement, so none of our projects are closed off. Our reviews showcase all the development work, and everything has been positive. Moreover, the Q agency team is open to working and reporting to us in different ways to meet our specific requirements. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Q agency can translate our requirements into proper solutions. They understand our needs straight away. For comparison, other providers tend to offshore resources to other places, and the resources they get aren’t always the best at understanding requirements. Sometimes, we must go through various iterations to find a solution. Conversely, Q agency understands our requirements and gets us to the endpoint quickly. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only recent issue we’ve faced has something to do with the new account manager. Our previous account manager was a relationship-focused teammate, so he built relationships between our teams and understood our requirements. On the other hand, the new account manager lacks that quality. To be fair, we’ve had a conversation about this, and they’re working on it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be fully equipped with your requirements. Don’t be vague; be specific and engage with the Q agency team from the beginning of the project, not halfway through or when you come across a problem. This way, everyone can understand what’s needed and put the right resources in place. 

For instance, we once engaged them when we were already through with a third of a project. This didn’t help them. If we had engaged them to understand the project from the beginning, they could’ve delivered it much more quickly. To be clear, this isn’t an issue on their side; it’s more of an issue on ours. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Corporate Branding and Marketing Director of Sela

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Founded in 1997 as Saudi Arabia’s first FIFA-recognised player representation company, Sela has grown to be a leading organisation specialising in the sport, entertainment, culture, leisure and hospitality industries. Across these sectors, the company conceives and delivers spectacular experiences and creates iconic destinations that millions of people enjoy each year. 

For more than 25 years, Sela has been proud to partner with some of the world’s best- known brands to offer event management services and curate experiential moments that build engagement and connect with audiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Q agency to accomplish?

• Develop a website for Via Riyadh
• Develop an app for Via Riyadh

SOLUTION

How did you find Q agency?

Clutch Site

Why did you select Q agency over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Q agency were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Developed the customer facing website and app that promoted the Via Riyadh property to showcase the various components within the venue.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Launching within a very challenging timeframe

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

They are always responsive, coming up with creative solutions, and always adding value from previous experiences. Their methodology is bullet-proof, and the team members are highly skilled and cooperative.

What was your primary form of communication with Q agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They really took care of the client and made us feel like this was the most important project for them. I felt always prioritized, and that the Q Agency team is simply part of the extended Sela team.

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

Not a single thing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Product & Technology Officer of Stepathlon Lifestyle UK

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Stepathlon is a “Virtual Race” Fan Engagement Platform that effectively combines Mass Participation with Wellness and leverages ‘Fan Love’ to Engage and Expand Fan Communities for Stakeholders (Team, League, Event, Celebrity) across Sports, Media and Entertainment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Q agency to accomplish?

• Help us define detailed requirements for our new platform
• Augment our product team with developers to deliver our new platform
• Refine high level design concepts into developer ready assets

SOLUTION

How did you find Q agency?

They contacted me

Why did you select Q agency over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Q agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We engaged with Q to redevelop our entire virtual race platform. The platform includes:

1. mobile apps for iOS an Android which connects to 40+ fitness trackers to automatically record activity
2. web apps for managing clients & races, a web app for embedding into existing native apps
3. an API based backend exposing newly build services to aforementioned apps as well integrating with a number of 3rd party technology platforms proving SSO, CMS, CRM and CDP functionality.

Q helped us defined detailed requirements via a discovery phase and ongoing augmentation of our product team to deliver the new platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The discovery phase produced a very detailed set of requirements, technical proof of concepts and project timeline and budget requirements. The project is currently delivering in an iterative manner across all of the key deliverables; API platform, management web app, mobile apps for iOS and Android.

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

The discovery phase was time boxed and tightly project managed by a dedicated PM. Once we entered execution our own team took over PM responsibilities. We've been able to augment the team within days notice, adding more resources in response to apparent bottlenecks.

What was your primary form of communication with Q agency?

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

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

For a remote first company the entire team lives and breathes the same values. They're well-versed and competent in their areas of expertise and helps us shape our approach. It's a real partnership.

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

I genuinely can't think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder of Accunea, a medical device startup in the R&D phase working with organ transplant patients. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Q agency?

I’m a programmer and electronics engineer, so I built the hardware side of the device, but needed a usable interface. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Q agency developed our device’s UX/UI so we could view and pull data. The goal was to have interface capabilities to turn the data into explainer graphs and the ilk. At the beginning of the project, I provided Q agency’s team with Arduino-based demo boards that interacted with specialized frontend hardware that captured usable data. I also gave Q agency information about the protocol and data format I was using. 

Q agency used the logo, color scheme, and user information I provided for the UI design. We went back and forth on the design before Q agency began development in Android Studio. At the end of the process, Q agency the interface, which allowed users on handled tablets to interact with data and offload it onto a PC to analyze, 

What is the team composition?

I worked with 3–4 teammates from Q agency, including Peter (Key Account Manager), an engineer, and UX designer.  

How did you come to work with Q agency?

For this project, I needed a company that could turn around a product quickly for a low cost because we had a smaller budget. Q agency was responsive when I reached out and provided a preview of their previous work. I had a lot of confidence in their capabilities from what their team showed me and I appreciated that they were in an EU member state. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around £4,000 (approximately $5,200 USD) with Q agency. 

What is the status of this engagement?

My engagement with Q agency was from December 2019–January 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Q agency delivered a usable interface, although there were some bugs because we only worked with them for two sprint periods. However, Q agency got us to where we wanted to be — we’ve used the interface in our research. Overall, as the key user, I was very satisfied with Q agency’s work. 

How did Q agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Peter managed the project well — we had regular check-ins with Peter and a designer to discuss progress throughout the project. We also had weekly sprint reviews. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Q agency quickly understood exactly what I wanted and turned around a high-quality deliverable within our timeline. They delivered to the workflow mockups we approved, which was impressive considering they were working with hardware they’d never seen before. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I had to address several issues throughout the project, and I think it would’ve been a more fruitful partnership if the Q agency had sought more senior advice early into the project. Since we were a smaller-budget project, we worked with more junior-level teammates from Q agency. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise customers to properly scope and define projects with Q agency at the beginning of the partnership. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company that develops small, autonomous tractors that can operate independently in unstructured environments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Q agency?

Our tractors have to be commanded by people using them, so Q agency is developing the application for us to monitor and control the tractors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a small pilot project — a bare-bones MVP of the application. After we were pleased with that, we proceeded with a second phase of development. This product will allow us to start and stop the tractors, monitor them remotely, and operate them under many conditions.

We’re still developing our tractor system, but we have a brain in a jar. They used a robotic simulation to test and build the app. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three people or so: a project manager, a developer and one more business resource. We mostly worked with the developer. The business resource is pulled in every once in a while to answer specific questions.

How did you come to work with Q agency?

A family member of one of our employees worked with them to good results in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $5,000 for the pilot MVP, and we’ve spent $20,000 on the current stage of development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since June 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m happy, and my software guys are happy; the app is functioning.

How did Q agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They are wonderful in this regard. We use Slack, Jira, and email to collaborate. There hasn’t been a lot of communication necessary throughout.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their speed of delivery, quality, and flexibility stand out. We have a non-traditional application, and they’ve been willing to give it a go — figuring it out along the way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of. We’d have already addressed any issues if they arose.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear idea of what you want to do and a functional goal. If you can communicate that to them, then they will execute on it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an oil and gas contractor handling operational systems improvement. That involves examining internal processes and implementing solutions that optimize efficiency. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Q agency?

We needed their help with resource forecasting, visibility, and utilization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were looking to create a solution that would allow us to take a standardized approach for estimating required resources for a project or SOW. Related data was then spread across a bunch of disparate Excel worksheets, so they helped us build a platform to increased data visibility and standardization. 

The application is geared toward our department of resource management. It was important that we understood where resources for our current projects get committed. It was essential for us to have full oversight of our current resources as well as potential resource shortages further down the pipeline. They built the custom software platform that gives us those insights.  

What is the team composition?

There were a couple of team changes during the project, so there were about 10 people we worked with in total. However, there was only a maximum of about six people working at a time. There was a business analyst, a UI expert, someone in charge of test scripting, a lead developer, and several other developers as well. 

How did you come to work with Q agency?

Our internal IT team found them and made me aware of their services. Our solutions team was impressed with their discovery workshop, providing a full breakdown of the work along with an estimate of what they were able to provide. Against the market, they offered a full scope of services. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €160,000 (approximately $192,800 USD).  

What is the status of this engagement?

We had 13 two-week sprints lasting from June–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

During the demos we’ve given of the software, we’ve received very positive feedback. People are excited to get their hands on it. Once we’ve made a few tweaks based on user feedback, it will be available on a wider scale. The response has been pure excitement with the company so far.  

How did Q agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They're extremely easy to work with and contact. Sometimes, they would push us to hit deadlines more than we would push them. They’re an organized team that’s committed to developing a solution that provides value. That showed through in their commitment to performance and project management.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and adaptability were both impressive. In my experience, designing a new solution is a learning process that needs an agile, quick team. They were able to move the project forward despite ambiguities, knowing that we’ll materialize solutions together as we progress. They’ve well to challenging situations and have allowed the project to develop as we’ve moved forward. They didn’t need to have all the answers upfront because they took a helpful, agile approach. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They did a fantastic job.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them be creative. Some of the best aspects of our project materialized due to their suggestions. Be flexible in allowing them to contribute to your ideas, even if you feel like you have a strong idea of what you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the service manager for a cloud consulting agency. We develop different projects on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Q agency?

We needed help with software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Q agency helps us develop software development projects on GCP. They work on our internal projects. Together with our team, they develop our product using Java, JavaScript, and HTML.

What is the team composition?

We started with one developer. After June, we saw the work was going well and they had good competency, and integrated two more people. We’re in discussions about increasing the team again.

How did you come to work with Q agency?

I had colleagues recommend them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000-$90,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They respect our product roadmap in terms of releasing new functionalities and things like that.

How did Q agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We work with them in an agile way. We have daily standup meetings to discuss. Q agency works very closely with our team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really focus on their employees. Their employees are happy to work with them and now are happy to work with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, our collaboration is very good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re great people to work with. They have a lot of developers with good software development skills that aren’t always easy to find.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Bring Your Own Data (BYOD). We’re a virtual hospitality application and platform, concentrating on operational excellence and ROI to the bottom line of restaurants.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Q agency?

We originally worked with Q on an application build.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We presented them with an idea we had to enhance our platform, and they did our front- and backend platform build. They’ve now launched five applications for us.

Because the architecture is fairly sophisticated, and we wanted to do some custom stuff, Q brought in different skillsets and expanded their own team. Not only are they managing the scope, but they also go out and recruit the resources that we need. Our backend is built on a lot of different coding, like Python, while the frontend is more traditional, so we needed Q’s resources to have those jive together. 

Our team worked directly with them on the architecture, and they recruited the tools that they needed to ultimately deliver the solution. Machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and other things on the backend are integrated into the solution, so it’s a lot of different pieces to put together. They’ve done a fantastic job navigating through all of that.

We just started up with a different scope with them. We’re still working with the entire team and are actually expanding a little bit. 

What is the team composition?

At the high point of the project, we worked with 10–12 people, which included the development team, the backend management team, and all of their administrative people. Vedran (Founder & CBO) handled business development, Matej (Senior Software Developer) did backend development, and someone else did frontend development.

Since I’m on more of the business and commercial side than the technical side, my main contacts were Vedran and Adrian (Key Account Manager). However, my chief architect, chief DevOps person, and data scientist worked with the people on the front- and backend teams. 

How did you come to work with Q agency?

Two years ago, we were working on another project and were introduced to Q. However, we’d already picked the vendor. In the meantime, we kept their file. When this project came about, our Swiss partner Frank called them. They were very gracious. We actually met them in New York, and then Frank met them at the office in Zagreb. 

How much have you invested with them?

To date, we’ve spent around $250,000–$300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began at the beginning of 2020, and we’re still in process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have an interesting background in that I own restaurants, too; I have a restaurant management group here in Michigan. Before we thought we were going to commercialize the solution, we looked at using the tool to manage our own business. We tested some of the market out before going to Q. We did our due diligence and determined there was a commercial opportunity.

We’ve had a chance to test those solutions internally, so the measure of success has been this idea translated into what we wanted to test and what the market is looking for. Using that beta in my own restaurant allowed us to sign an exclusivity agreement with a big association here in Michigan. They were really able to interpret what we were trying to do and put that into all of the applications, as you can tell by all of these commercial opportunities going forward. Then, just based on the market willingness and the feedback that we get on those particular applications, we’ve signed onto a new deal with them.

How did Q agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication and project management have been great, from my standpoint. I see the deliverables at the end, so I’m not necessarily interacting with them on a daily basis. However, all of the people that work for me have been very positive about Q’s interactions, deliverables, timelines, and communication. My communication with Zedran and Adrian is second-to-none. Even if there were issues, they were very willing to finding a solution.

They’re a great company to work with. They’re very flexible. Even though we’re international, it hasn’t affected any of it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their energy and experience are impressive. A lot of people have a ‘flashy brand’; they have a uniqueness and coolness to them, which is easy to do from a branding standpoint, but then they underdeliver. Q agency has that whole package; they have the image upfront, but it goes through all the way to working with their people and their teams, which I think is very difficult to do. They’re very polished and edgy, which you need to have on this kind of project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Offhand, I can’t think of anything they could’ve done differently. It was a very fluid process, and everybody embraced change whenever necessary. In true agile style, they really delivered.

Any advice for potential customers?

Anybody looking for someone that has the ability to do full-stack traditionally but then also push the envelope, understand they’re a company that likes to understand the project and scope. They’re very easy to deal with, but you need to be prepared; they challenge you to make sure you’re getting back exactly what you want. Expecting to be challenged on the customer side is needed for a successful project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of NXT Level Studio. We create experiential websites for corporate organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Q agency?

Q agency is our UX design partner. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Right from the beginning of a project, when we’re building a new website for a client, we turn to Q agency. We meet with the team and explain the scope of what we were trying to build. Before even getting to work on the development, they take on a consultant role, holding workshops and working collaboratively with us to come up with UX and software design that fits the project.

What is the team composition?

We’re in regular contact with between 6–7 people, though the team fluctuates depending on what the project calls for.

How did you come to work with Q agency?

Q agency gave us the assurance that they had the skills, resources, and experience to be effective partners no matter what technology we were working in. That’s what originally attracted us to them, and after working with them, we realized partnering with them was a better option than growing an internal team.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about €50,000 so far (approximately $56,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In our most recent project with them, they were able to produce an MVP extremely quickly. Our clients were blown away by the speed and the quality. Q agency is very hands-on and able to tackle problems as they come. 

How did Q agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management structure is excellent. The team is always on hand when we need them, and if we ask for something to be done, it will be done. We use Slack, Trello, and other online tools. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We approach our projects very creatively, and Q agency fits in really well with that aspect. The team is ready to tackle anything. They respond really well to challenges — we throw a lot at them, and they’re always able to move quickly and nimbly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You must go there and visit the team to get to know them on a personal level. Start with a small project so you can get to know their system and how they work. Then you can jump into the big projects.