Railsware

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder & CEO of Seedtime LLC, a garden planning platform. Users can manually adjust their plantings, create succession plantings, and it makes it a lot easier to visualize and plan out what to grow and when to grow it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

We needed an agency to develop our web app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Railsware developed our web app using Ruby on Rails. They also used React and JavaScript on the frontend.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two developers and one UI/UX person from their team.

How did you come to work with Railsware?

We did Google searches and used Clutch as well. We interviewed several development agencies but felt that Railsware came out on top for multiple reasons. One reason is they have a full in-house team that could do the development, design, and UI work that we wanted. We also appreciated that they build and sell their apps from scratch — they’re familiar with the entire process from making to marketing and supporting customers.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $200,000–$300,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June 2021–February 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’d be interested in hiring them again; they could accomplish most of our goals. We’ve also had excellent reviews from our customers using the app — they appreciated the product that Railsware developed for us.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was excellent. We used Jira and Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very good at communication and execution and worked exceptionally well. They also had an excellent sign-on process to ensure everyone was on the same page.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on — we worked very well with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Remain in good contact with their team; they’re excellent at communication, and that’s critical to success. Also, go through their initiation process because it’s highly valuable, and it will help bring clarity to your project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of One Pod Wonder. We’re a podcast agency that produces shows for various companies and platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

We realized that one of the most time-consuming parts of making podcasts was the revision process. When we share our shows with different companies, they’ll have to check it and see if they want to change anything. Right now, we have to send various links back and forth as well as receive comments on WhatsApp or Facebook.

It’s a very inefficient process, and we want to build a cloud-based audio revision tool. However, we have absolutely no technical experience. We don’t have any coders or programmers internally so we were looking for an agency who could do this project for us on a budget as we’re a relatively new company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We came to Railsware with only the idea and lots of inspiration on how we want to look and feel. We had absolutely nothing done so for. It was our goal to get to an MVP within a year. We wanted the MVP to work for us and be shipped to some of our customers. The MVP will be an online solution.

What is the team composition?

We work with Stanislav (Product Manager) and Alex (Engineer).

How did you come to work with Railsware?

We did some research for German agencies. Our team spoke with them but weren’t really satisfied with what they had built in the past so far. We weren't fond of their projects. Then, I heard a “How I Built This” podcast that referenced Railsware. After listening to that podcast, I went on Google and found them. I sent a message and talked with them. I really liked how professional they were and what they had to offer so we decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $40,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started around December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy, especially from the product management side, about how helpful they are with all the tools they named us. Railsware has been very flexible because at the beginning we didn’t have a lot of money or budget. They tell us what we need to do and what the next steps are. That has been incredibly helpful for us. We’re extremely pleased with what they’ve done so far.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

They quick to respond. Any delay that happens is from our side because we’re still a functioning agency. Sometimes, they have to wait on us to finish certain tasks. Their team is quite involved. We meet on a weekly basis to discuss progress. Our teams usually communicate on Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re incredibly professional. I feel that the journey we’re on, they’ve done it a hundred times and know exactly what to look for. They know how to do user testing and everything else with as little budget and time as possible. Railsware is so up to date. They know every tool that’s available on the market right now. We’re learning so much just from working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t see any needed improvement on their side. We’re super happy with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I highly recommend working with Railsware. Our experience has been great; not to mention, their track record of products they’ve built is amazing. I haven’t seen that from any agency comparable to their size in Germany. Even just talking to them can give you a good overview of what your product could look like, how much money you need, etc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder of Primary Record. We’re a family-based collaborative electronic health record system focused on parents, aging parents, and medically complex children.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

We wanted to organize a lot of our thoughts on what we wanted to do. We brought them on to do product management and design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project was scoped around getting to a testable MVP or clickable mockup of our product. Railsware started with a definition process and revisiting all of the problems. They painted the picture of all the users and stakeholders as well as mapped out all the problems, covering any areas that could pose a risk or hadn’t been discussed yet.

Then, we transitioned into designing flows and the jobs to be done for the family members with those health records, focusing on how they’d use that on a regular basis. Railsware produced clickable mockups with Figma. They have an engineer observing to make sure that what we were proposing was feasible.

So, there’s a lot of engineering feasibility but they haven’t put any engineering codes together beyond product design and definition yet. We have done clickable prototyping with users testing the prototypes Railsware has developed. Deliverables included roughly 50 screens.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a product manager, product designer, and an engineering architect.

How did you come to work with Railsware?

We heard about them through a reference on the "How I Built This" NPR podcast. There was a case study where someone said they found Railsware and really liked their approach. We took that recommendation and contacted them. Our team liked the founders and how they were willing to work with us. They were willing to work at our pace and do everything that needed to be done to get this initial goal.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $35,000–$40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement was from November 2020–February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were making progress on a regular basis in order to hit our goal as far as the timeline to test. We were getting validation from testers that the quality was good.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication was excellent. We asked for a product designer and they gave us a product manager who also did project planning. We worked with the team and that’s how they operate.

In the first couple of months, we had daily contact. We had long daily sessions in the first couple of weeks as well. As they were wrapping up the prototype, we checked in at least three times a week, primarily meeting over Zoom across multiple time zones.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed that they were more focused on ensuring the initial product was designed, feasible, and had value instead of just filling hours. It was clear that they wanted to have a good product that they could continue to work with. The better they built it, the more invested they are in continuing a relationship. Railsware really took ownership and stake even though they were the provider.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had to work in some capacity. Sometimes, they were having a lot of success so lining up a time to work with an engineer or product designer was somewhat difficult to discern demand.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust in their process, and make sure that everyone is aligned on their goals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of Knowa, a software platform for the pensions industry in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

We brought them on to develop our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We went through an extensive period of testing our users to understand the concept, so we had interactive prototypes and fairly extensive design beforehand. Railsware developed our web app using Ruby on Rails. Initially, we worked with them just to develop an MVP. 

Once we validated the need for the product for our target users, we’ve been working with them to build out platform features. The team also helped with product management and design on an ad hoc basis to improve certain parts of the UI. They help us revalidate everything.

What is the team composition?

I worked with about seven teammates. Their managing director was our main point of contact, and I also interacted with the developers and a product manager.

How did you come to work with Railsware?

They were recommended to us. We did a small proof of concept (POC) project with them to test the working relationship, and we were very happy with that so we launched into a big project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about £300,000 (approximately $392,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in March 2018, and we launched the MVP in May 2018. We’re still working with them. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We occasionally liaise with other developers to look at other things, so we know that the code that Railsware is producing is good. From a security standpoint, any time we have an external penetration test done, they speak to the quality and security of the code and the platform. 

Every bit of external and third-party feedback we’ve received has helped to cement our relationship and confirm that they’re the right people. They’re not the cheapest, but we’re happy with them.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

I went on paternity leave for two weeks at the beginning of September, and Railsware stepped up and took over my day-to-day management role, made sure that everything was being delivered on time, and continued to iterate and develop without me.

The team was capable of stepping in and taking over at any point. The product manager we deal with is fantastic. They’re robust and thorough, and they have some of the most efficient processes I’ve seen in any tech or development firm.

We feel that we can rely on them almost as an extension of us. They’re not just a contractor; they feel like part of the team. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their engineers is high. Railsware tests pretty extensively before they take on a new hire, and they try to attract the best people from all over Europe. From what we’ve experienced and from third-party feedback, they have some of the best developers out there.

We’ve also talked about their processes and ability to step in and handle other aspects, whether it’s design or product management. They’re a holistic team, and they’re quite incredible. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I also push them to use the knowledge that their whole company has. As individual developers, they can occasionally become a bit isolated, and they don’t leverage the full breadth of knowledge that the whole company has. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come in with at least a clear idea of what you want to do. Because they can offer a lot, it’s tempting to offload a lot onto them. There’s a danger of offloading too much and losing control. If you come in with a clear idea, you can focus instead of leveraging every aspect of what they can do. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior marketing director of a nonprofit organization spreading the gospel message of Jesus Christ throughout North America, Australia, Africa, and Germany. We’re a global ministry primarily based online, so we’re not a brick-and-mortar church.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

The main challenge was reaching people more effectively in an ever-changing global landscape of how people absorb information and where they look for it. We identified that we had a weakness in our web portal and ability to share the information we’d already created in an effective manner.

We were looking for a web and product development team that could create quality user experiences and tools customized to our specific needs, instead of out-of-the-box or templated solutions. They had to adapt to our unique needs and vision for taking the next step for the ministry, namely to provide a much more interactive web portal that people would spend a regular amount of time on. We were looking to build something that people would check in with daily, and that our more avid users would spend several hours a week on.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re still in the very early stages with them, but we’ve gone through an extensive research and development phase, including a thorough initial analysis. Railsware has a process called ‘inception,’ which I think is unique to them. It’s a window of 3–4 full days of their team going through the entire scope of the project and breaking down the different epics and means in which we’re going to achieve things. They broke things down into a refined roadmap that’s guided our development process.

They’ve developed a highly customized CMS for us, which is intuitive for people that aren’t very sophisticated in terms of tech. They have also guided us on the UI/UX design of the site. They took mockups that I designed and refined them to fit more of a realistic model.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 6–7 people from Railsware, from the beginning of the project until now. We have a three-person core development team consisting of two engineers and one project manager. We’ve had auxiliary team members come in to handle certain strategies regarding SEO and article writing.

How did you come to work with Railsware?

We looked at a lot of development groups before landing on Railsware. The task fell on my plate exclusively, and I turned to Clutch, where I went through around 300 profiles. I conducted interviews with 50 companies from around the world, including from the US. 

I narrowed the search down to 10 companies, of which Railsware had the right skill level and product history to back it up. They were the developers on a very popular scheduling app, and they had better capabilities than some $300¬–$500-per-hour US engineers we looked at. We felt that Railsware was top talent for the best price, with the best track record for proving that they could execute. So far, that’s exactly what they’ve been. I would hire them 10 times over again.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Railsware in May 2020, and we’re looking to have an ongoing relationship for the next couple of years. The initial version of the site is set to launch in early-September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Railsware’s UI/UX design has been a positive outcome in achieving what we wanted to, namely giving the best possible experience to the user. They’ve played a role in developing our frontend.

They’ve been the real leaders in the process. They’re organizational experts, putting together what needs to occur in order to realize the client’s vision and dreams. For us, that meant taking a lot of big-picture things and organizing them down into tangible two-week iterations, then putting those into a well-documented process. No one on our team had experience with this, but, as clients, we wanted to see what was happening on a regular basis within the larger picture. 

Railsware has done a very good job of documenting what’s happening and why, as well as how user and client feedback will be put into the development cycle. We could see that our feedback was not only heard but also planned for. They excel at making sure that the client is aware of what’s happening and when, and how it all fits organizationally within the development cycle.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

We used a custom agile organizational model that’s led to really productive two-week iterations. They implemented a daily sync, which we’d never heard of before. We’d worked with online specialists before, and there had never been daily accountability from the client-end. It seemed daunting at first, but it’s proven very valuable in retrospect. It consists of 15–45-minute morning syncs that allow us to understand where we are in the project and to give real-time feedback from the client’s and Railsware’s perspective. It’s been valuable in making sure the project didn’t hit a bottleneck. We never got inundated with unresolved issues.

Their project management has actually changed some of our internal business practices, and we’ve seen a nice boost in productivity by adopting them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From my experience, they’re extremely accountable to what they promise to do. They also do a very good job of keeping the client from getting too far off track from the original scope and goals. They push the project to stay on pace rather than flailing around. The web companies I’d worked with previously simply accommodated what the client wanted to do at the moment, which can be very dangerous because the client’s mind can change on a whim. Railsware stands out by knowing how the successful model works and how to keep on track. They incorporate what the client needs, but they don’t allow it to get off track.

I very much feel that they separate themselves through how they report back on what they’re doing and why. We have had no issues in terms of billing or questioning why something’s taking so long. Their documentation negates any concerns we’ve had with previous companies, where we’d simply be given a bulk timeframe without knowing how it was calculated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If I had something to say, I’d mention it openly. We’re still early in our planned project with Railsware, but I have no negative feedback regarding their practices. I’ve been blown away by pretty much every aspect of their development process.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Specifically regarding Railsware, I recommend remaining open to approaches that may be different from what the client’s organization intended. They’re experts, and, looking at their past clients, they’re still working with almost all of them. To me, that’s an indication that Railsware is a valuable part of those teams.

From a more general standpoint, as it relates to evaluating web companies, Railsware won’t be the right choice for setting up a simple website for a mom-and-pop shop. There are probably a lot of people out there that can satisfy those needs, but Railsware is best suited to more complex, larger-budget projects that involve real engineering solutions and outside-the-box thinking. They’re definitely a more enterprise-solutions specialist.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a SaaS software company. We are in the enterprise application space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

My company needed to outsource development work for our web and mobile apps. We utilize React.js, and it is difficult to find qualified experts in this rapidly developing area of technology. Also, our mobile app is monolithic, meaning anyone who works on it can add tech and clutter. We were therefore very particular about who we brought on to develop the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Railsware has done full-stack development. They have developed our backend using Ruby on Rails and our frontend using React.js. The team has also developed our mobile iOS app using features from our existing web app.

What is the team composition?

We currently work with six full-stack developers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Railsware?

We considered several prominent agencies in the U.S. and abroad. My team ultimately chose Railsware based on their React.js expertise. We also did not want staff augmentation, and Railsware offered their own development personnel.

How much have you invested with them?

Costs will likely exceed $600,000 over the next year.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in November 2017. Our work together is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We initially engaged them to support our product’s functionalities, but they have become part of our core team. The mobile app has been very well received.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

They do some aspects of project management exceptionally well. For instance, their team is very professional. The developers are self-sufficient, executing top-quality work without much oversight from us. 

In our case, we had engaged a sizable team of their developers so we could definitely have used more resources on the project management side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Before Railsware committed to the project, they assessed our code repository and completed an independent evaluation. We appreciated that Railsware took this precaution to ensure they could meet our requirements. They did not overpromise.

Developing the mobile app has been particularly complicated because it is not a standalone product, but instead built off of our web app. Our internal development team has been impressed by Railsware's ability to understand such complex software and work within it. They are forthcoming about areas they’re not knowledgeable in and do not hesitate to bring in other experts to supplement their expertise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Given the complexity of our project, we have often necessitated stronger project management.

Any advice for potential customers?

I wouldn't hesitate to work with them. If you have a strong vision for what you want to build, you won't be disappointed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Knowa, a communication and collaboration tool built specifically for trusted and protected ports.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

We wanted to move existing tools and technologies into a complex backend structure that mirrors the complexity of governance that boards face. In particular, we had complexities surrounding commissions, privileges, accessibility rights that required third-party expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve had to build a variety of functionalities for a minimum viable product (MVP) in short order. In addition to custom integrations, the team is creating pieces for communication, document storage, and task management. The backend runs mostly on Ruby on Rails and uses Turbolinks and HTML CSS. Currently, Railsware is almost 50% complete and about halfway through the initial budget. We have about four months of runway left.

What is the team composition?

The team includes a full-time backend engineer and frontend engineer, as well as a product manager that also serves as the UI designer. We scaled the team to build quickly because we wanted enough time for testing.

How did you come to work with Railsware?

Another local company recommended them after testing several comparable firms. We then ran a proof of concept with Railsware to test our working relationship and got off to a good start with the team. We knew that group wouldn’t be the team for the engagement, but the experience was a good indicator of their project management skills.

Furthermore, Railsware had a good track record of implementing solutions quickly and had the requisite knowledge for building an MVP. Going into the engagement, we assumed the sector was ready for the MVP’s functionalities and workflow enhancements, which made the team’s quick turnarounds very exciting.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in December 2017 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re still building the MVP and should meet targets for that delivery in a few weeks. Likewise, they’ve always delivered the right functionality on time.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very thorough in all aspects of the project and provide a full-up management package. Railsware knows how to pluck resources from the extended tea in an effective and efficient manner. They straighten out, roadmap, assess budgets, and track their time on a regular basis. The team is not only impressive, but also exceeds the performance of most other agencies.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Reassuringly, the engineers are full-stack developers that do everything well; we don’t have issues with them. They have a rare eagerness to problem solve, which helps them understand each functionality and ensure its future proof. The team is youthful and has great technological expertise; they had no fear using a variety of technologies for the proof of concept. Railsware is happy to tackle anything because they’re confident in their ability to allocate resources and work in agile effectively. That approach and reliability make them unique.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While they could lower their prices, we’re definitely getting our money’s worth. But otherwise, I can’t think of anything. Railsware does many things well, including demos, retrospectives, and daily check-ins and standups. The team prioritizes being as visible and clear as possible.

Any advice for potential customers?

Although they do remote work in two locations, clients should visit Railsware’s office if only at the start, but preferably throughout the project. In-person meetings help them scope everything out as much as possible, which enhances the team’s ability to plan and implement. Although it’s tempting to be skeptical about a new partner’s performance, Railsware is fully capable in all aspects of development. Their process has many iterative steps and inceptions phases, so have faith that they will get the project where it needs to be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for BoughtStuff, Inc., a company located in the mobile app space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

Our mobile app project, for iOS and Android, enables consumers to maintain products they’ve purchased from a retail store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The engineering team designed the graphics and architecture for the entire app. Backend development for our online database included communicative ability with the frontend smartphone software. The database pushes content to the mobile app, including user account information, PDFs, and video links.

In terms of branding and marketing work, they published the app on Google Play and iTunes, where it’s available for purchase. Advertising on the iOS and Android platforms required submitting screenshots for approval.

What is the team dynamic?

Anywhere from three to six developers worked on the project at a time. Specialists focused on the backend database, graphics, and QA testing, respectively.

How did you come to work with Railsware?

Of the various companies in consideration, they had the best mix of capabilities. Rather than having an exclusive area of focus, their tech specialized in all our areas of need. We preferred for a team to work on it, rather than one person attempting to take on the entire project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $200,000 for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together four years ago, and the project itself lasted 14 months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main utility of the app is functioning as a proof of concept to look for partnership arrangements. Since this has been up and running, I’ve moved forward with discussions in that regard. This is a side project and I often get busy with my fulltime career, so I haven’t kept abreast of specific metrics. I primarily needed a license, and delegated the tech development. Both objectives were met successfully.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

While they’re fairly strong at communication, the time zone difference can be inconvenient. Daily phone calls gave us constant visibility, and helped monitor the project's status. We used online software tools to requests new features, and watch how they progressed along a project timeline. In particular, we used a tool called Pivotal Booster, which is based on Ruby on Rails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

An entire team focusing on your problem offers a richer diversity of opinions than one person, and a better-quality product as a result.

Even though I worked with the engineers, I had access all the way up to the CEO. This was critical to resolving any issues. Their post project support is really good. Even after completion, they're always available to answer quick questions or concerns.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Having consistently strong people on the team with a cohesive level of seniority would be useful. I noticed that some employees were definitely more junior than others.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s crucial to allocate and certify the time you have available. Stay in regular contact with them. They'll work on the project every single day, and expect corresponding feedback, unless you say otherwise. Commit to being there, and to be responsive. If you're not available for conference calls, the project can get delayed or derailed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Impact Dialing was an SaaS [Software-as-a-service] company that provided technology for political campaigns, helping staff and volunteers make phone calls more easily. For the first three years of our business, we worked almost exclusively with contractors and fluctuated between 1–7 partners. I was the CEO and sole employee of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

During the 2012 elections, we were getting a ton of new customers, and we were having scaling problems. We couldn’t keep up with the development work using our contractor at the time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Railsware worked on our web application, addressing the scaling bottlenecks we were facing. They provided performance tuning and database optimization and moved us to a more efficient load-balancing system. There was a lot of deep, technical, performance-related work to do, but none of it was customer-facing. It was all about solving technical problems in order to address scaling issues.

They worked with Ruby on Rails, SQL, Amazon Web Services, Redis and Heroku.

What is the team dynamic?

We started off by using two of their developers, quickly moved to four, and added another two by the end. 

How did you come to work with Railsware?

A friend who was working for a U.S. development and consulting company at the time referred them to me. I reached out to him, explaining the challenges I was facing and how I needed a high level of expertise quickly. That’s difficult to find. He told me that his company couldn’t do it because of the short turnaround and advanced skill sets required, but he thought that Railsware could do a good job.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work was around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Railsware in September 2012, and finished in early November. The collaboration lasted for 6 weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before Railsware started working on our project, we were having 99th percentile response rates in the 600-millisecond range. By the end, they dropped to 20 milliseconds.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

We were already using Pivotal Tracker, so we added them into that system. We were also in communication over Skype.

I don’t remember a lot of details, but I have a great impression of them, and I appreciated the work they did. No problems stick out to me.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were top-notch developers, solving difficult problems quickly. Railsware had clearly done similar types of work before and knew how to approach it.

There were many areas in urgent need of fixing and they triaged the issues really well. They made hypotheses using limited information and focused on the areas that were likely to be hot spots.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t recall any.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If I had to do this project again, I would engage them a lot earlier in the process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is a leading provider of in-motion satellite TV and communications systems for use on maritime vessels, vehicles and aircraft, and a global broadband communications provider. We are also a leading news, music, and entertainment content provider to many industries including maritime, retail, and leisure.

One of our subsidiary companies is the market-leading provider of training films, computer-based training and e-Learning. We also manufacture fiber optic gyro-based systems that address the rigorous requirements of military and commercial customers, such as autonomous vehicle projects.

I am the Chief Information Officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Railsware?

Several years ago, we decided that we needed an overall portal in order to enable customers and internal users to manage the communications systems and services that we provide. Essentially, we needed a large-scale IoT application that captures data from antennas and other systems, and presents them in a customer-friendly format, with expanding levels of details.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Railsware was engaged for our greenfield project. I handled the initial conception with them, which consisted of a very carefully-facilitated brainstorming in which Railsware captured data and requirements rapidly, organizing it into a sort of roadmap. Our development was 100% agile, but so was the requirements collection, enabling us to get our site up-and-running quickly.

We created a large-scale IoT application, in which antennas push back data every few minutes or even seconds. We have a mid-sized architecture, using the full suite of AWS services. Railsware often opted for already existing AWS services, instead of building something from scratch. We capture out a lot of telemetry data, and plot vessels on a map.

Our whole site was built using just 3 developers from Railsware.

We've worked with the same developers for a few years. To help us manage the site and collaborate with our in-house developers, Railsware has built a How It Works wiki for our code. This type of practice is well-understood by Railsware, unlike some other dev houses that are constantly trying to protect their turf. Railsware understand our desire to not be completely dependent on them – and that part of their culture has prompted us to extend additional work to them.

Railsware promotes “pair-programming”, so we never have single-person dependency. All of the core developers are full stack developers, sometimes supplemented by specialists, such as a web designer or front-end engineer. Periodically Railsware brings in new hires for a few weeks on one of our applications, without any charge. We've found that, without exception, the new employees brought in to learn the Railsware working methods, were of the highest caliber, and were quickly productive - a benefit of the pairing method. We've come to trust their judgement, so, if Railsware brings us a new frontend engineer or developer, we don't need to review particular credentials. Railsware isn't just a body-shop; they're more of a boutique-style firm and have very high standards. My understanding is that the top Rails developers in Central and Eastern Europe find their way to Railsware, so they don't have to put much effort into recruiting.

When I am planning to launch a new site using Railsware. I know that I can approach them with a few conceptual ideas and Railsware will not only do a good job of building the site, but also of helping us map out the project into stories and sprints, so that we can concentrate only on the requirements analysis and project management. Once the site is up-and-running, Railsware will also maintain it for us. I'm a very pleased customer and recommend Railsware highly.

How did you come to work with Railsware?

Railsware was recommended to me by trusted associate in my company who has employed them on projects in his prior company.

How much have you invested with Railsware?

The cost of our engagement with Railsware is around $450,000 per year. We have an ongoing project with them, but the total cost could increase if we bring Railsware in for other work.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement has been very successful, and we’re expanding the types of work that we reach out to Railsware for.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was the product owner in the development of our customer portal. Prior to the development of our portal, we felt that we had a competitive gap in our product/service offering. Railsware worked closely with us to development minimally-viable product (MVP), and we’ve continued to extend it. Today, feedback from our customers is that what was once a void in our offering has become a powerful differentiator. I credit Railsware with helping us get there rapidly. Our site is beautiful and modern, with mobile integration. We've figured out how to make it airtime-free in the network. We’re fully leveraging the economies and flexibilities of the cloud. We could have built it in other ways, using other teams, but Railsware allowed us to get there faster, bringing in a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes complexity to a simple user interface which differentiates our products and services.

How did Railsware perform from a project management standpoint?

We have daily standup meetings with Railsware's team and have demos of the work. For this project, their developers are dispersed throughout multiple countries, including Poland, Russia and Ukraine, while ours are in the US and Norway.

Railsware stuck to our project timelines and budget. We used Jira and Confluence for project tracking. They're the tools that we use across the board, for all our external development partners.

Railsware is also a great source of innovation in methods and tools. Over the past few years, we’ve used a number of emerging tools for project management, mockups, collaboration, DevOps, etc. – ideas brought to us by Railsware. They have a good eye out for what's new and valuable in the market, and they easily share good suggestions around all the dev teams and projects they work on for all their customers. These suggestions have even cross-pollinated to our non-Railsware projects, which has been another fantastic part of working with them It is not just the tech they deliver, but the ideas and practices as well.

What did you find most impressive about Railsware?

Across-the-board quality, innovation and speed. I've been in charge of complex application development for many years, as a CTO and VP of Engineering, so as a CIO, I know exactly what I’m looking for in app development. Railsware has enabled us to work with some of the best full-stack developers and DevOps in the field. Additionally, Railsware can provide a range of skillsets. If we need a JavaScript developer for a few hours of frontend work, or a top-notch graphic artist or web designer, they’ve were able to provide them from within the company. Again, we’ve found that we never have to vet the resources they bring to a project – they’re all great!

We do use additional coding resources outside of Railsware, often feeding them strict instructions. With Railsware, we're dealing with more senior developers who have superb English skills. They can take a look at a particular part of a project, collaborate on capturing stories, ask us question after question until they understand where we are going, estimate story points, etc. and break big complex tasks up into sprints. They collaborate, question and sometimes educate us, instead of simply producing code on spec. Railsware understands us, and we understand them. These guys live Agile – always practical though, and never doctrinaire.

Are there any areas Railsware could improve?

Railsware is primarily a Rails and project-oriented shop, not a body-shop in any way. Rails aside, high-end AWS work, big-data, building mobile apps, etc. is in their portfolio of services. The one thing that I'd like to have with Railsware is more Salesforce-side development, and we’re starting to do a little work there now with them. We are also a global, public company, so we often need more of an enterprise focus - more discipline in design and features than perhaps some of their start-up business customers require. However, without fail, they’ve come up to speed on our enterprise requirements and practices, without slowing down and getting muddled in bureaucracy.