QBurst

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Product VP working for one of the largest real estate technology providers in the US. We cater to the multifamily apartment housing space which accounts for 40 million units of housing stock.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Since 2014 I have been working in various areas of the multifamily real estate market. This market is extremely fragmented and my job is to streamline processes and integrations while driving costs down.

I contracted with Qburst to build hundreds of apartment property websites, integrations with HR systems and other ERP applications, as well as custom data processing and syndication systems.

SOLUTION

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

I was referred to Qburst back in 2014 by a colleague of mine. I have done work with many offshore companies over the years with mixed reviews; some great / some not so much. Qburst has been consistent in their work and that has been the reason I stay with them.

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

The scope was different in every project (and there have been hundreds of projects). But the project management and communication was never an issue despite the cultural and geographic differences. Every project was extremely well documented and follow-ups were never needed. I've had Qburst code in multiple coding languages and frameworks without issue.

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

I consistently worked with one project manager for web and application development projects and another project manager for more task-based labor augmentation processes.

For years, my main POC for each of these areas of business have never changed. At times, they have needed to bring in additional resources or specialists but everything really flowed well through the main project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

For confidentiality I am limited in my details, but on every one of my projects (when compared to similar websites, applications, etc.) it was found to be using best-in-class methodologies and earned praise from those that interacted with their deliverables.

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

For day to day, I communicated with them via Skype and zoom. For project management, I operated mainly our of basecamp.

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

They had a great "near shore" presence and was frequently visited by their teams locally in the US. Most offshore companies you never have face-to-face interaction and was very nice to connect with them on occasion and made the working relationship even stronger.

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

None - While they are not always the cheapest, I can count on them as the best.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a digital marketing startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QBurst?

Our four apps that had been built by another vendor were not performing well. We needed QBurst to conduct code testing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

QBurst did a month of extensive testing on our apps. Using the test results and market analysis studies, they advised my company on how we should move forward. They also guided us on a few other minor projects.

What is the team composition?

My team engaged with one marketing executive and three developers.

How did you come to work with QBurst?

We searched for software developers on Clutch. QBurst had great reviews. When we contacted them, they provided impressive work samples and excellent references.

How much have you invested with them?

The work was done at no cost to us because my company could not move forward with the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement occurred in October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Due to legal issues, my company could not proceed with the project. QBurst was extremely understanding of the situation and did not charge us for the initial testing, market studies, and industry advice.

How did QBurst perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was superb in terms of project management. They were professional and punctual.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team was organized. They answered questions clearly and provided great options for enhancing our app code.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I would have them do differently. They’re an outstanding professional group that offers many services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of an early-stage e-commerce startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qburst?

We needed support to build our e-commerce web application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Qburst has turned my request for resources around quickly, and the documentation was very smooth. We onboarded the candidates within a week, so it worked out really well for us. The engineers they brought on board were talented and engaged, and they had the experience we needed. They understood the product, and were able to contribute immediately.

They were focused on building the web app for our e-commerce site, but they also provided some backend support for us. They used Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and Python, and some of the parts were custom-built.

What is the team dynamic?

There’s been 2 team members from the beginning. My primary contact has been the business development head, and he’s available for any resource I need. If I need to connect with the actual engineers, then I talk to them directly.

How did you come to work with Qburst?

I heard about Qburst through a friend who was already successfully working with them. I decided to reach out to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2016, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been supporting us in creating a lot of the tools that helped us build our core product really well. We’ve won several awards over this year as the best product in the space, so Qburst’s work has really helped us.

How did Qburst perform from a project management standpoint?

Qburst offered project management services, but I didn’t use it because I handled it myself. The engineers were methodical in abating the status every day, and were always on time for standups and other calls we had. I didn’t need to have a separate project manager because it’s very easy to work with them. We communicate primarily through Hangouts, Skype, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a very dedicated engineering team. They’re very trustworthy and dependable, and always ready to start working. They required less time to prepare and were able to contribute quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m unsure if their engineers work in another time zone completely because I’ve never asked them, so maybe that’s something to explore.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I suggest having a very clear goal of what needs to be done, especially if working in different time zones. If engineers aren’t able to get the clarity they need when starting a task, it’s difficult to keep things moving. They were able to do a great job if I had all of those requirements laid out and properly explained.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of operations and customer experience at a consumer engagement and video exchange platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QBurst?

We needed developers who could build us an iOS and Android mobile application for our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The development has been divided up into two phases. In the first phase, they created a working prototype in about a month, which we took back to our investment team. When we got the green light to move ahead with a full release of the app, they began building both its backend databases and frontend user-interface. They’re currently working on integrating other social media platforms into the app and ensuring optimization. We’re about 80 percent done with phase two.

What is the team dynamic? 

At the beginning of the project, we engaged most frequently with QBurst partners. Now, we check in periodically with the partners and have a nearly daily interaction with their development lead.

How did you come to work with QBurst?

They were referred to us by someone within our start-up business community. We looked at their website and found out more about their areas of expertise. We then had an initial call with them and decided they were a good fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

For both phases of production, we invested about $105,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in May 2017 and our engagement with them is ongoing. We will likely continue our engagement with them for any subsequent phases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Despite the number of changes we requested throughout each phase, they remained within budget and continue to work within the timeline we agreed upon. Their work was excellent and we are very happy with what they have produced for us.

How did QBurst perform from a project management standpoint?

I can’t speak highly enough of our partnership with them from its inception. They were able to understand our business model and put together a team that supports our needs. They composed a project timeline that the team adheres to. We check in with each other periodically usually via conference call or email, but they are very responsive whenever needed and address our concerns immediately. Throughout the process, we have also communicated through Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Trello so that each respective team is able to remain organized and update information as we move forward.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their development team is stellar. There have been instances during both phases where we’ve made a requirement change or altered the path to production, and their team has been very agile and flexible to our needs. 

Their executive team behaves as our partners. They have a vested interest in our success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One of the challenges they have is being able to keep up with the most up-to-date standards and trends of mobile application industry. However, this did not pose any serious issues for this project or affect the quality of their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have full review sessions early in the process to go over your requirements in detail. That way, you’re able to set expectations and ensure they are abundantly clear on deliverables and deadlines.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a managing director of Silicon Valley Capital. We are a venture capital fund based out of Orange County, California. We invest in a number of medical device companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QBurst?

Our firm needed help with development for start-up businesses.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Most of the time, start-ups have a common theme with a big idea, an aggressive timeline, and very little money. For these reasons, it's hard to find a development house that will work with start-ups.

One project they worked on was the development of a consumer software in the entertainment industry. It's a mobile app for iOS and Android. We have an internal team that creates the vision for the product and a designer who creates the general product structure and flow. QBurst will then take care of defining the architecture of the product, including its actual implementation, coding, and development strategy. The app has many features, screens, and complex workflows. QBurst was able to accomplish all of that development work in about 3 to 4 months. 

We also had them work on a web project for a medical device company. It is a $30 billion-dollar industry and we believe that this product has very significant potential in making it big. It was a unique situation where the company had FDA approval, but they didn’t have a portal to sell, nor a resource to support the sales process. I connected the founding team with QBurst, and that project also took about 3.5 months. They were able to quickly come on board and produce the web assets that the company needs in order to go to market.

Overall, I have been really impressed with their quick turnaround, and how fast they come up to speed. They are very flexible, which is necessary when working with start-ups. In both projects, there were many deviations along the way, and they were able to manage the development within the cost set out in the beginning.

How did you come to work with QBurst?

I was considering a couple of other firms at the time. QBurst was recommended to me by one of my other associates who had a good relationship with them. We did a test project with them, during which we were able to understand their capabilities and how they work. QBurst is now one of my top options when we need to hire offshore.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent anywhere between $100,000—$1,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January of this year, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Start-ups live and die by quantitative metrics as they have very little room for error. Everything is driven by two metrics: cost and time. QBurst somehow managed to put an offshore team together to meet the launch date.

From the time they delivered code to the time we went to the QA and QC cycle, the defect rate, defect density, find and close rates were all within acceptable parameters. The QA and QC phase was within a week, which tells you that their defect density is low, and when there were defects, they took care of them quickly. For both qualitative and quantitative metrics, they do a nice job compared to a lot of their peers.

How did QBurst perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. I get regular updates from two of the project managers. In start-ups, you need to have an Agile mindset. They use methodologies and are very pragmatic in realizing that not everything goes smoothly. They are very communicative as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There are not many offshore companies that are wired to work with start-up and early-stage companies. QBurst definitely has that start-up mindset. I believe they are a good fit for any early-stage company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

To be more successful, they could have a better sales presence. They are a hidden gem, and they are not doing themselves full justice without hiring a decent sales team to reach more people than just by word of mouth.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to do a test project with them and see how you like them. Hopefully, your experience will match my experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder of Sales Canary.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QBurst?

We were looking for a company that could help us build a Salesforce Apex product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us design, architect, build, and test our solution. They’re also providing ongoing support for any changes within Salesforce and expanding the product as we evolve. It’s been full-scope product development from design to delivery.

Beyond the basic Salesforce capabilities, some of the major components of our solution include third-party reporting tools, specifically Highcharts. They’ve not only helped on the architecture and product development parts of our solution but also the UI piece for both desktop and mobile devices.

We have an artificial intelligence productive modeling component, the infrastructure of which they helped us build and integrate into the Salesforce platform.

What is the team dynamic?

We work with 2–8 people from their team at any given time. They can scale as we need it, both up and down.

How did you come to work with QBurst?

Someone referred us to the company based on past experience. We evaluated QBurst and found that they had a Salesforce-focused team. We felt good about their capabilities and signed up for building a solution.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been between $125,000 and $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with QBurst at least 2 years ago, around August or September of 2015. The collaboration is ongoing, and we plan to keep using them in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customers have been using our product, and most of the feedback has been on the feature side. So far, it’s been positive for the desktop version, but we're still working on the mobile piece.

How did QBurst perform from a project management standpoint?

Their flexibility in scaling the team was important for our business. It’s been an ongoing relationship for us, and we’ve been fairly happy with the timelines. There have been some delays, but I attribute those more to the security policies within Salesforce, as the platform itself was not fully mature at the time. We communicate through WebEx, WhatsApp, phone, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our experience with them has been phenomenal. Their customer service is very good, and we’re impressed with the quality of their resources.

Beyond Salesforce, we also needed UI, web development, analytics, and Amazon Web Services expertise. They provided those resources seamlessly, which has been good for the lifecycle development of our product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The Salesforce Lightning framework was new at the time, so it was new to their resources as well. It caused some delays, and it was a learning experience for everyone, but I attribute it to the platform we chose.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of StayNTouch, which was started in 2012 to bring change in the hospitality industry. My partner and I came from MICROS, which is a hospitality technology leader that offers PMSs [property management systems], POS [point of sale], and similar products. After working for MICROS for 10 years, we decided to start our own company, building cloud-based solutions for hotels and offering a more mobile-centric enterprise product through which clients can manage their reservations, publish rates, and integrate with online travel agencies and other third-party providers like SiteMinder, Synxis, Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire, and Priceline.com. Our platform also lets guests check-in and check-out remotely through their mobile devices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QBurst?

When we started in 2012, our business had limited funding. We were looking for a partner who could prototype our product at a reasonable price. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

QBurst has been involved in the design, architecture, and overall build of the product. We have an in-house designer who created mockups and flows. QBurst translated these designs into HTML and CSS and engaged a few of their resources to create some assets for our mockups. They’ve continued to provide enhancements for our product.

We have a development office in Bethesda, Maryland that QBurst augments with additional resources in India. They provided our first developers before starting the U.S. office. We have also worked with their architect at the Calicut office, who was involved heavily in ironing out the details of the design and the overall architecture.

The product has multiple features. The first phase of the project involved building a user interface [UI] layer on top of an existing PMS. If the customer has a system in place, they can use our platform on top of their application. We communicate via the services they provide and the end-points they have, exchanging data between our system and theirs.

QBurst built this overlay module, which we call Rover PMS Overlay, as well as the iOS and Android apps that allow guests to look up reservations and send messages. 

As we continued to build the product, we added features and functionalities around payments, as well as a standalone PMS. The same platform could be overlaid with other PMS or work as a standalone product, offering features like creating reservations, managing rates, setting up and configuring room types, and publishing them through different channels. Both QBurst and our own team were involved in this process.

What is the team dynamic?

At peak capacity, I’d estimate that we had 30–35 developers from QBurst. Since the beginning, no one left our team unless we decided to let them go because of cost considerations. The team has been stable, and we enjoy working with each other. Not every resource is top-notch, but the team definitely possesses good talent.

Our CEO and I interviewed each candidate based on the project requirements. We were looking for both backend and UI developers, so we gave sample tests. We hired around 25 developers, and then we slowly onboarded architects and development managers in the company, who made hires on the same basis.

How did you come to work with QBurst?

I had worked with them before and knew what to expect, so I hired them for this venture as well. QBurst has a good setup in India with offices in Calicut, Trivandrum, and Kochi. I also come from Trivandrum, so I knew about these places. I was satisfied with the results of our previous projects, so I decided to give them an opportunity to work with us on this venture. We did get quotations from other companies in India and Eastern Europe. QBurst offered reasonable pricing and a solid infrastructure with a pool of available talent, which made me inclined to work with them again. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent close to $2 million on QBurst’s services in the last four years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with QBurst in July 2013. I had been involved with them prior to this. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product started with zero installations in 2013 and has reached around 200 today.

How did QBurst perform from a project management standpoint?

Our attrition rate is nonexistent. One of the key challenges for any company working with an offshore vendor is managing developer turnover, as resources will constantly have to be trained to understand the business practices and roles. We have not experienced this strain at all with QBurst. The team has been consistent from the start. After they picked up knowledge of our industry on their own, they started teaching the new team members themselves.

We follow an Agile methodology for our development process with two-week sprint cycles. Our product team is based across the globe, with members in Croatia, Germany, Australia, Dubai, and Ecuador. Across these different time zones, everyone has been able to work together with the QBurst team. They have modified their schedule to ensure sufficient overlap with us and the other product managers across the world.

In each sprint, QBurst’s team works according to an Agile process and delivers the output for QA [quality assurance] and production. In a few sprints, the team didn’t deliver well, but this wasn’t just QBurst’s fault; features or requirements were not clear, things were moved, and so on.

We’ve used all kinds of tools for communication, including Skype, email, JIRA for managing work items, and other Atlassian products.

What did you find most impressive about them?

QBurst is a good-sized company to work with. They have a great talent pool, coming from some of the best colleges in India. Everyone is really bright, and even the newer people on the project tend to acclimate quickly and contribute to the product development. QBurst also has a helpful technical support team, and we use their services for managing our server setups and overall technical operations. For any startup company, a partner like QBurst is a great fit. They can offer reasonable pricing for prototypes and product launches. Plus, if the system is hosted on the cloud, they’re able to manage that setup. Clients can focus on the business, while the QBurst team will handle the actual product development.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Like any other offshore company, they tend to say yes to everything, which means they can over-promise and under-deliver at times. QBurst could definitely improve their communication as far as the real expectations of what can and cannot be delivered.

Project management could also be improved, but the working method is different for us: instead of assigning work to them, we make the QBurst developers a part of our own team and manage them on a day-to-day basis. They have met most quotations, but they could still improve their project management activities in India. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I'm the president of Pet Connect, a marketplace for pet service providers based in Washington, D.C. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with QBurst?

We needed an integrated web and mobile app developed for our pet services company.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

QBurst scoped out the project, determined timeline, and created a set of milestones within it. They helped me transform features into a product delivery schedule, and then they delivered on everything.

It’s a mobile and web application, but it’s primarily mobile-first. The app is a marketplace that allows pet owners to connect with pet-friendly resources, like a groomer, boarder, trainer, pet store. We’re like OpenTable [online reservation platform] for the pet industry.

The app was first developed for iOS, and then we hired a second developer from QBurst to take on an Android project. He did such a good job that we brought him on full time to be our frontend developer for both iOS and Android.

It’s been a moving target, but they delivered the core foundation well within 6 months, so right on time. We launched in December 2016.

How did you come to work with QBurst?

They had worked with a colleague of mine and had done a good job. It was recommended that I add them to the RFP process, which I did, along with 5 companies under consideration. QBurst came in with an affordable rate and had a proven track record of being able to produce, and so I brought them in.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Probably $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them May 2016 and have been working together since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We have 100 businesses signed up at this time and we have users downloading the app in 34 different states.

How did QBurst perform from a project management standpoint?

The original team was 3 people and then we went down to 1 person after the core product was delivered. We recently hired a second full time. We also had one dedicated project lead.

I probably talk with them once a month. Email is the primary source of communication with them, essentially because of the time zone difference. We periodically communicate by phone, too. And when we have to do something visual, we’ll use either WebX or Skype to connect.

Even though they're based in India, one of the best aspects of them is that, when I have escalated issues to them at non-optimal times, they’ve responded right away.

What distinguishes QBurst from other providers?

I’ve hired many offshore developers before but QBurst is the best offshore developer I’ve ever used. Their model is simple to use. The technologies that they incorporate as part of their offering are very user-friendly. They’ve met all their deadlines, which is a critical factor for me. They’re also very affordable. A lot of the offshore development teams consisting of recent graduates with little experience, but Qburst can put teams together that have serious talent.

Another important thing is that they can always prioritize developing new features that are likely to immediately impact the business.

Is there anything QBurst could have improved or done differently?

As with any offshore developer, you have to be willing to put in the QA time. To keep things affordable, they will do partial QA, but you also have to be willing to put in some of your own.

If an offshore developer is not willing to put in any QA work at all, that’s probably not the right choice. But overall, their code comes back pretty solid. I have very few complaints about these guys. I would definitely hire them again.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder of a company that provides a fleet management solution for mobile and web platforms. It’s delivered as a SaaS [Software-as-a-Service] package and designed to keep fleets as efficient and effective as possible, acting as their central nervous system. We touch on a handful of modules, including file management for drivers, trucks, and the companies themselves, electronic tracking of driver hours, GPS and telematics, as well as post-accident processing and vehicle inspections and repair tracking.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QBurst?

We became disenchanted with our previous developer. They had resource constraints and a hard time allocating developers on a consistent basis. They also transitioned us through 3 different project managers in a year’s time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

QBurst put resumes together and we interviewed the developers or rather were introduced to them and their capabilities. They handle project management internally for their team. They line out sprints, handle development, and also help us with server, security, and architecture work, guiding us in that regard.

Our initial provider continued to work on new features while QBurst worked on bug fixing. As time went on, it became apparent that our first company wasn’t able to keep up with the philosophy of the project. We spun up an 18-person dedicated team from QBurst and have since backed down to 7 full-time resources. They were able to handle the bandwidth we needed.

We continue to develop the product — the biggest items we’re working on now are integration-focused. We have white-labeled the product and now provide it to third parties, which can sell our solution under their brand. We also tie into hardware devices so that we can gather information from the electronic control module of the vehicle. There are a number of hardware devices on the market to which we integrate.

How did you come to work with QBurst?

They were the runner-up choice when we hired our initial developer. We decided to talk to QBurst one more time, and they proved to be able to satisfy some of the things we couldn’t satisfy with our initial company.

How much have you invested with QBurst?

The cost of their work has been at least $250,000, but I couldn’t say specifically.

What is the status of this engagement?

We transitioned to a full-time collaboration with QBurst in August 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have gone through a stage of modularizing the code; our previous developer had more circular code, which QBurst streamlined and fixed to a degree. The communication with the team members was improved dramatically, which was a big success for us. We had found ourselves struggling to communicate clearly with the prior team, so QBurst was a good improvement.

How did QBurst perform from a project management standpoint?

The development team is based in India, while we’re in Houston, so we never met face to face. It made sense for QBurst to manage the resources. I regularly correspond with the whole team through biweekly phone calls, where they ask us questions about the architecture and compliance. We also trade emails and Skype messages on a regular basis.

They have been extremely supportive and willing to adjust their hours, given that they’re half a world away. QBurst’s team comes in a bit later so that we can have more schedule overlap, but they’re always there in writing, anytime we need a call with a new customer.

We use JIRA for task tracking. Our biweekly meetings are usually done via Skype, but we also use GoToMeeting.

What did you find most impressive about QBurst?

I don’t know if I’m qualified to answer this, given that I’m not familiar enough with all the offshore options. One thing we do like about QBurst is that they have an office in Washington DC. If I need to get to someone during our own office hours, I can do so right away. QBurst is also strong in terms of support. The culmination of everything I’ve said differentiates them.

Are there any areas QBurst could improve?

I don’t know if this would be consistent for all customers, but having a cookie-cutter platform we could fall in line with instead of creating a custom one for us would be an improvement. Our previous company had a system in place for project management, using JIRA and other tools. When we went to QBurst, they asked us what we wanted to do. That conversation was a bit different for us, given that we’re not as technically experienced as some of their other customers. This is not a negative point, but it’s something we could have benefited from.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a company that connects athletes with coaches for private training.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with QBurst?

We needed to do some development, primarily frontend development but also a little on the backend. We don't have anyone here to code, so we had to partner with an external supplier. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

QBurst basically designed the entire website, including the mock-ups and the final product. We designed the backend in-house, but the whole frontend was done through QBurst. We used their CSS/HTML designers for the page layouts. We also used various technologies, primarily Angular and Java. At most, we had four people from QBurst working with us at once, but it’s typically around two.

How did you come to work with QBurst?

We were really looking for a firm that could offer us great quality at a good cost. I’ve worked with other firms before and a common problem was that resources would get switched out all the time. So, we needed a firm that could commit to keeping whatever resources we were working with.

How much have you invested with QBurst?

When we have two developers, we spend about $5,000/month with them. At the level that we’re getting, it’s about $2,500 per month per resource.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around March 2016 and we’re still working on feature development. Our product just launched; we’re continuing to work with them to do feature enhancements and take it to the next level.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy with QBurst. The project took longer than we had anticipated, but that was a combination of some things on their side as well as some things on our side. We experienced feature creep and things like that, but it’s standard stuff. There were a couple of times when I thought the resource was not producing at the level we wanted, but I’d reach out to the Saju or the other leaders and have a very candid discussion with them. I always appreciated that we could always have very candid discussions. If I told them what I was unhappy about, they always did their best to address it. They would add another resource without additional cost to get the project to where it should be. In other situations, they would get mentoring for that resource or whatever was needed. They were always willing to work with us to make sure things got done.

How did QBurst perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of project management systems, we’re using Assembla. We tried Asana, but that didn’t work well. They’re familiar with JIRA. Assembla seems to be working really well for us now, but that’s one of the things that’s up to the company to figure out what process they want to have. It’s something that can get out of hand if you don’t manage it.

Another thing I liked is that the project manager understands technology. At the same time, he has a strong command of the English language. He can understand what the issue is, quickly distil what the challenge is to his team, and oversee the solution. He even had input on changing the design layout to make the UI [user interface] easier, suggesting other technologies. He had good input on those types of things.

What did you find most impressive about QBurst?

Everyone on the team is really hardworking. They’re available no matter what time of day it is. If something wasn’t working, they would typically respond within half an hour. I also like that QBurst doesn’t do BS. If you have a concern, you can easily state it. They’ll listen and they’ll exert effort to resolve the issue. Unlike a lot of firms, they realize that the expectations of U.S. companies are particularly high. QBurst recognizes that a certain quality standard that would be okay in India isn’t okay in the U.S. There was no BS; they’ve very straightforward. It’s been a good experience.

Are there any areas QBurst could improve?

I would say that one area for improvement is independent thinking for their developers. I know that’s a tough one because some customers want their resources to just do exactly what they’re told without any input. But that wasn’t our mindset. If we’re doing something that doesn’t make sense, I want the developer to tell us. We’ve been encouraging the developers to feel free to let us know what they’re thinking, but it’s a work in progress.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with QBurst?

Just as with every outsourcing project, over-communicating instead of under-communicating is important.