Ralabs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of UAMASTER

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

TOP-ranked digital agency. We make a strong performance for strong customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Ralabs to accomplish?

• Website update: the Development of New Features

SOLUTION

How did you find Ralabs?

Online Search, Clutch Site, Other

Why did you select Ralabs over others?

High ratings, Good value for cost, Other

What was the size of Ralabs’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope of work included a detailed analysis of the current platform and proposed features, followed by the development of a detailed project plan that included all of the necessary steps, key deliverables, and marking tools. The team from Ralabs worked closely with us throughout the project, providing regular updates and ensuring that all of our requirements were met.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• The results of the project were highly impressive, with all of our requirements met and the new features added to our platform seamlessly. We were particularly impressed with the quality of the code and the attention to detail shown by the team at Ralabs.

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

The workflow between our team and theirs was highly effective, with regular communication and progress updates. They are highly responsive and always willing to go the extra mile to ensure we are satisfied with the deliverables.

What was your primary form of communication with Ralabs?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

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

One of the most impressive aspects of Ralabs was their attention to detail and their commitment to quality. They took the time to understand our requirements fully and worked closely with us to ensure that we were happy with the final product. We would highly recommend Ralabs to any company looking for high-quality software development services.

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

Overall, we were extremely pleased with the services provided by Ralabs. While there are always areas for improvement, we felt that they went above and beyond to deliver a quality product and were responsive and collaborative throughout the entire project. We would certainly work with them again in the future.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a COO at a digital marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ralabs?

We recently engaged a DevOps consulting services company to help us streamline our software development and deployment processes. We were looking for a company that could help us optimize our DevOps practices and enable us to deliver software more quickly and with greater reliability.

SOLUTION

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

After researching several DevOps consulting companies, we selected a vendor based on their experience, expertise, and track record of success with similar projects. The scope of work included a detailed assessment of our existing DevOps practices, followed by the development of a comprehensive plan to improve our processes and tooling.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The Ralabs team was highly experienced in all aspects of DevOps, including automation, continuous integration and delivery, and monitoring and logging. They worked closely with our internal team to understand our needs and develop a customized plan to meet our specific requirements.

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

The project involved a DevOps expert, plus a project manager who served as our primary point of contact. The team was highly skilled and experienced and worked together seamlessly to deliver the project on time and within budget.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results of the project were impressive, with our DevOps processes and tooling significantly improved as a result of the consulting engagement. We were able to streamline our software development and deployment processes, reducing the time and effort required to deliver new features and updates.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between our team and Ralabs was highly effective, with regular communication and progress updates. We found the team to be responsive and always willing to go the extra mile to ensure that our needs were met.

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

One of the most impressive aspects of the consulting team was its depth of expertise and its ability to understand our specific needs and challenges. They were able to quickly assess our existing DevOps practices and develop a customized plan to address our specific requirements.

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

Overall, we are extremely pleased with the services provided by Ralabs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Steve Gaylord: I’m a backend software engineer for a facility rental marketplace. 

Dmitriy Bronin: I’m also a backend software engineer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ralabs?

SG: We had a lot of needs regarding additional and existing projects and needed to supplement our engineering workforce. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SG: Ralabs supports us by providing engineering staff to fulfill our custom software development needs.

DB: Our first step after choosing to partner with Ralabs was to review the project scope, requirements, and team composition. Once we defined the scope, we provided overview documentation.

SG: They’ve provided us with all-encompassing design, development, and QA resources. The Ralabs team has helped us design and build our next-generation search tool. For the design phase, we provided the system knowledge and requirements, and their resources turned the requirements into design documentation. For the development phase, the team has replaced our existing search feature with a more modern tool that enables users to efficiently find existing facilities through our platform. 

DB: With regard to technology, the team has used Node.js, MongoDB Atlas Search, JavaScript, and Vue.js. They’ve also used Figma for design work.

What is the team composition?

SG: We’ve worked with an engineer, backend engineer, frontend engineer, designer, project manager, and architect. 

How did you come to work with Ralabs?

DB: We found Ralabs through a referral from another company who shared outstanding feedback after working with them. We had an initial call with their co-founder to discuss the project and the type of services we were looking for. The call went well, and their capabilities fit our needs.

Then, they did their due diligence, which entailed reviewing our existing software and providing free recommendations. Their advice spoke to their integrity and knowledge, so we moved forward with the engagement.

SG: Ralabs went above and beyond during the sales cycle and spent significant time upfront. They provided a range of estimates based on various projects, which helped us understand their depth and breadth of knowledge.

How much have you invested with them?

DB: We’ve spent roughly $150,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

DB: We started working together in July 2022, and the partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SG: We haven’t launched the product publicly yet, but we’re pleased with the modern look and feel Ralabs has created for our search feature. We’ve conducted internal acceptance testing and launched the tool internally, and we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback. The engagement has been successful overall, and we expect everything to go smoothly when the product goes live.

How did Ralabs perform from a project management standpoint?

SG: Ralabs has met the expectations we set at the beginning of the project. They meet deadlines and communicate openly. They always work alongside us to determine the best course of action for the project. Additionally, they’re good at comparing our feedback with the initial requirements and implementing it when necessary.

We use Jira to manage the project and communicate via phone and Slack. We also meet via Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SG: I’m most impressed with their knowledge level and collaborative problem-solving approach. We typically discuss our thoughts and leverage understanding on both sides to come to an advantageous solution, which I appreciate. 

DB: Additionally, they’re very honest partners who take full responsibility for issues, even when they haven’t caused them. For example, we faced a challenge with our technology stack, and Ralabs did a tremendous job finding the root of the issue and fixing it, which was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

SG: I’m satisfied with Ralabs so far. 

DB: I have nothing they could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

DB: Don’t be afraid to share feedback throughout each project stage so that everyone is on the same page and you can avoid surprises.

SG: I encourage you to challenge their ideas because Ralabs looks for opportunities to collaborate. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a lead senior full-stack engineer at the healthcare startup. I am cooperating with vendor and working together with their developers

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for a company that can quickly build an MVP for us. We needed a short demo to present to our clients. The building required some expertise in healthcare, ui/ux design and development. We needed something to be developed fast and we couldn't achieve with our in-house team.

SOLUTION

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

I have worked with the team in the past, so we reached out to them to get a quote. They provided us with some great initial estimate and we decided to hire them.

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

It started with a user research and wireframing. The designers asked us lots of questions and did their research afterwards. We were presented with wireframes and a different styles of the UI part. We were able to choose the style and mood, they did a great work of keeping our own brand identity. As soon as UI part was done, we started development with a talented engineering team. We worked in sprints and PM was overseeing the whole process. All finished with successful deployment.

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

2 Ui/UX designers, a Project Manager, 2 Software Engineers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got what we wanted on time. It enabled us to show the prototype to the clients and close more deals. So it was a great cooperation proving that agencies can help you achieve something fast without all the recruitment hassle.

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

We used jira and worked with Agile methodology. For Design they used Figma. The communication was done via Slack, Emails and online calls.

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

They are critical thinkers that know what they do. They want offer you some services if they are not confident this is the most efficient way. Meaning the result and happy client for them is always a priority, not a profit. They are more into long-term cooperation than one-time transaction.

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

nope, all good!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian national media Hromadske. Our team covers Ukrainian and world events. Currently, we are focusing on the coverage of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ralabs?

On our main site, we cannot implement special projects that would contain complex layouts and complex visual solutions. Therefore, Ralabs developed a special project for the Independence Day of Ukraine for us, which we were able to add to our website.

SOLUTION

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

We have worked with Ralabs before and were very pleased with the result. Therefore, we immediately decided to choose this contractor. Also, considering the socially important component of our project, Ralabs gave us a very large discount and actually implemented the project at cost.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

After a series of meetings, we agreed on our goals and shared vision for the project. The Ralabs company initially developed the design of the project (all pages) and offered layout options. After the design was approved, we proceeded to the development and filling of the project with content. Also, already after the release of the project, Ralabs kindly agreed to make all our additional edits that arose later.

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

In total, we worked with 5 people, including:

• project manager
• FE developer
• 2 designers
• QA

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was successfully implemented (https://hromadske.ua/project-azovstal). It had a good response from the audience. Views of this special project were 3 times higher than usual for articles on our site.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between our organizations was very efficient. We had weekly meetings with contractors to discuss updates and next steps. The contractors performed all stages of the work on time and took into account all our wishes.

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

I was very impressed by the readiness to meet customers and respond to all our requests and needs extremely quickly. Special thanks also for the design of the project, which was very much liked by our entire team and was agreed upon with almost no changes. Due to our activity, we often deal with developers and designers, and I could say that they were one of the best teams we had worked with.

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

Everything was comfortable for our team in this format and we are very satisfied with the result.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on June 29, 2020.

Artem Arutyunyan

Head of Product, hromadske.ua

Media

51-200 Employees

Kyiv, Ukraine

Less than $10,000

Mar 2020 - Jun 2020

Project summary

Ralabs provided website development on a donation system for a media platform. Their team supplied an engineer and UI/UX design.

Feedback summary

Ralabs successfully brought significant engagement to the platform. They managed the project well and were very dedicated. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Head of Product at hromadske.ua

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ralabs?

We hired Ralabs because we needed our website-embedded donation support system to be developed from scratch.

What were your goals for this project?

Hromadske.ua is a fully-independent media platform that takes no financial influxes from the media corporations or businesses. We are working for people and thus we are supported by people. Our goal was to have a user donation support system developed for our website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Ralabs have successfully dealt with a complete overhaul of our website, having improved its workload, hosting capabilities, and user’s experience. We were highly satisfied with their work, so the decision to hire them again was not even questioned.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Our donation modules on Hromadske’s website required quite an improvement. The widgets that were used to attract the users’ attention and actually propel them into donating have been outdated and obsolete. So, we wanted to have them improved and polished as well, as having a separate donation hub for Hromadske.ua developed. We also required an enhancement of the visual framework of the donation tools which would make it easier for us to tell our customers about the benefits that a donation made can actually bring them like, for example, a subscription discount.

What was the team composition?

Ralabs have allocated 1 engineer, QA, PM, and UI/UX Designer to our project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The system delivered by Ralabs helped us to engage hundreds of people to support Hromadske. As Hromadske is a non-profit organization, the development of the donut system for support was critical for us.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Ralabs manage their projects in a continuous manner. They start managing when you accept their proposal and do not stop until the maintenance phase is over.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are dedicated to what they do and it can be seen. And yes, they take your projects seriously as if it was their own product.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I cannot think of any. Having shown dedication to what we’ve asked them to do, Ralabs did not leave any blank spaces in our confidence that they are a truly reliable partner.

RATINGS

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 5

Cost: 4.5

Schedule: 4.5

Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for a global advisory firm in London as an Associate Director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

As our cause-based campaign started picking up a lot of traction in the media, we needed our website to reflect the global positioning and outreach of the initiative.

SOLUTION

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

Ralabs approached us and offered to help us develop a new website, with improved functions, that would allow users to engage with the campaign. We decided to collaborate with them because their portfolio looked impressive and their team was experienced in such projects. They also showcased strong work ethics from the very first conversations we had with them.

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

Ralabs went above and beyond to provide us with a custom solution for our website, after website builder solutions failed to really cover our campaign's needs and accommodate the design. The team handled the project very professionally and always looked for ways to make the end solution work smooth for the users.

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

We worked directly with the founder, 2 people from the marketing team and an extensive team of developers and project managers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After launching the website, we received very positive feedback from the campaign's stakeholders and we saw an increase in website traffic, as well as an increase in session time.

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

The communication with Ralabs went very smooth, via email, Zoom, WhatsApp, and they always managed to find time to reply to us very promptly.

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

They really went the extra mile to accommodate our requests and implement the designs very rapidly. We were also very impressed with the way the CMS was set up to allow us to further update the website very easily.

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

Everything was amazing in this collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Head of Sales and Strategy at ODSC. We host large scale Data Science conferences globally. I lead the corporate sales team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

With the pandemic hitting, in-person events disappeared from the map and many organizations were hosting virtual events with platforms that were "ok" but not to our standards.

SOLUTION

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

We searched for a company that could help us build the next virtual conference platform and when we found Ralabs and their vast experience in a wide variety of projects we decided to go with them.

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

We had a kick-off meeting when we presented our project and what were our goals. After that, we presented a project plan with the requirements for the first MVP. Then we worked in bi-weekly sprints to make sure all priority requirements were in track.

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

A project manager was our primary POC. We also had 2 full-stack engineers, one front end engineer, a designer and a QA.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clients and conference attendees have praised the user experience when using our platform. The look and feel of it has been also a point many people have enhanced.

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

We had a sprint planning call at the beginning of every week. Daily standups and one platform every other week. Timelines were always set realistically and if any delay would happen the Ralabs team would explain the situation and work thoroughly to deliver on time or the less delay possible.

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

It's very easy to work with an organization and team. They were very flexible and always willing to help. They really adapt to last-minute changes.

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

A few minor bugs appeared during the conference but they were promptly fixed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a front-end lead developer at a startup. We are developing a highly innovative product in the facial recognition industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Support with React Development. We hired a couple of developers to help us boost our software development process. The main goal was to launch the MVP fast and the team helped us with it.
• Also we were cooperating with the Project Manager to ensure smooth communication and great task management.

SOLUTION

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

• A friend of mine recommended reaching out to Ralabs since they have proven to be a reliable and professional team.

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

• We have been working with React developers that were helping out with fronted tasks. Mostly we were working on the dashboard, login page and incorporating designs that UI/UX agency has provided us.
• The project manager Olha was taking care of the communication, task management and tracking the progress.

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

• 3 people have been involved. 2 Senior/Middle React Devs and a Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Ralabs team we were managed to release a great MVP in a short period of time. Our investors were pleased to see the outcomes so did the first users. Now were are getting ready to proceed with more complex functionality and we will ask Ralabs team to help us with it.

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

We had regular daily meetings, always on time. The team always were within the deadline. We used slack for written communication and hangouts for online meetings. All the tasks were tracked in Jira and supervised by the PM.

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

Being a human being. They were always trying to find the best approach, or a win-win solution to benefit us in the first place. Also, they are very professional to work with while also very friendly and easy to talk to.

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

all was good!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing director at a financial tech firm called InvestiNet. We simplify the debt collection process by automating it through software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ralabs?

We needed someone to provide us with React software development and UI/UX design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ralabs uses a lean methodology to develop our web app through WordPress. They work in two-week sprints that start with UI/UX, which will eventually move into breaking down different items into time buckets and prioritization. From there, several aspects are implemented and further developed.

It’s fundamentally a payment portal, but we also incorporate different payment types and connect it to APIs and various systems — we also send information to Google products like Analytics through JavaScript.

What is the team composition?

Over the past year, we’ve worked with several front- and backend developers, DevOps engineers, UI/UX designers, and senior designers.

How did you come to work with Ralabs?

Our company was already engaged with Ralabs prior to me accepting this position. We’re continuing to work with them because we’re pleasantly surprised by the results they give us.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested somewhere close to $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership with Ralabs started in January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is superb and as a result, we haven’t experienced any bugs or technical issues on our web app.

How did Ralabs perform from a project management standpoint?

We had some turnover where Ralabs had to bring in a new product manager, but the handoff was excellent, and the team continues to deliver and stay on top of our projects.

They manage the project through JIRA and we typically communicate through Slack and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with how they manage the project because they don’t let anything slip. We also like how their UX designer is able to translate our weird and complex challenges into a great experience consistently.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any constructive criticism at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would say hire them sooner rather than later.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the technology director for House Buyers of America, a real estate company that’s into home buying and selling. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ralabs Design?

We have our own website, but we want to start a new project and design a new system. Because of that, we’ve hired Ralabs. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ralabs is designing a new portal for us using various front- and backend technologies, including Angular. They’ve built APIs on the front- and backend sides using PHP, among other tech stacks. Meanwhile, they’re also creating a mobile app that uses a piece of technology that can be used on both Android and iOS systems. 

The portal and the mobile app talk to each other using various APIs, and the idea behind this entire system is to manage our business operations better. The Ralabs team has designed the project from scratch, and they’re currently working on the products’ development. Their resources also do QA tests; they’ll also provide post-delivery support.  

Right now, we haven’t officially gone into the maintenance phase, but we’ve already gone live. We’ve finished phase one, and we’re only working on some fixes and mobile app design tasks. To be clear, the portal isn’t a public site; it’s only for our internal business operations. The same goes for the app. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around 10 people from their team, including junior and senior developers and designers. A project manager also works with us. If I want to split the team in two to work on the portal and the mobile app, 3–4 people will work on the app, and 3–4 people will handle the portal; one QA tester, one project manager, and a DevOps specialist will work in both teams. 

How did you come to work with Ralabs Design?

We found Ralabs through Clutch — we use Clutch when searching for vendors because of the reviews; we’ve also found good companies on the platform — and that was how we connected with them. We wanted to outsource the project to a team in a different time zone, and Ralabs matched our requirements. 

Apart from that, we also asked them for references and looked at the quality of the websites they’d done before. We asked them to present those sites, too. Then, we explained the project to their resources, who gave us the best technical feedback we’ve heard. 

Another deciding factor was their pricing and hourly rate. We didn’t want to hire a team that was too cheap. We also checked whether they could provide senior technical experts. Other vendors would tell us they provided us with senior developers, but they’d only deploy junior developers in reality. Given that, Ralabs let us talk to their designers and developers. Finally, Andrew (CEO) himself was also a technical specialist, so he understood technology. That was another deciding factor for us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $100,000–$200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Ralabs in June 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Ralabs provides great designs. Their designs don’t have many flaws, and their designers are always available for review. 

Moving forward, we expect to have 100% dependency on the system; we’re trying to move away from manual paperwork — we want to do everything online. In a couple of months, our operations will be 80% dependent on the system that Ralabs has designed — we expect that that will have a high business impact on us. 

How did Ralabs Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Ralabs is great in terms of deadlines. They’ve missed some timelines since we’ve changed some orders, but their overall performance has been great. To communicate, we use Zoom. Our members use Jira as a project management tool. Their resources also use good design tools such as Figma when designing wireframes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design is highly intuitive, and the team understands our business needs. They have amazing designers that seem to read our minds because of the way they know exactly what we need. They’ve spent about a month learning about our needs, and then they’ve delivered perfect designs. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their QA tests weren’t good at first. However, they’ve gotten better eventually. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Your requirements should be written out so Ralabs can start working on them quickly. Your requirements should be clear — that’s the most important thing in any engagement. You should discuss such requirements with the team.