Ratioweb

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re in the web unit of the communication section of an international organization. I’m in charge of the website. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ratio Web?

We were changing our platform form SharePoint to Drupal. In the midst of this transformation project, we brought in their team to assist us with a foundational training on Drupal development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

While they didn’t handle the actual migration of content to Drupal, their team did provide training sessions for our team of 10 people on how to handle a Drupal development process. We did full-day trainings for an entire workweek. They to our offices from Poland and walked us through the main aspects of Drupal development. That gave us a good idea of what Drupal was capable of and how it could be applied to our site.

They worked out an agenda for each of the five days. It functioned as a workshop, where they had us download a Drupal site onto our computers and move through exercises on that interface. The week was a mixture of presentations and workshops.  

What is the team composition?

We worked with two of their resources.

How did you come to work with Ratio Web?

Our project manager found them through the Drupal community site while looking for Drupal training service providers. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $5,000–$10,000 on their services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The trainings took place in January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was less structured than we thought it would be. After the second day, it was clear that they were explaining Drupal and adapting to our team’s technical understanding of Drupal. The requirements we gave them made it so they had to think and teach on the fly.

That really worked because it helped us see different options we could take with our platform. In the end, we got the foundational understanding that we were looking for with the platform. Overall, they were a pleasant and knowledgeable team.  

How did Ratio Web perform from a project management standpoint?

Because the trainings weren’t overly structured, they could adapt to our needs and show flexibility. We covered all the points they proposed but changed focus areas according to our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge and flexibility were their high points. They came across as true developers. It was a different approach than we were expecting, but it worked and was appreciated by our team. They were able to get a feel for our needs and work within those parameters. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They did fine. Sometimes, one of the presenters went off on tangents, but it always contributed to the topic in the end. There’s nothing I would recommend changing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to keep in mind that they don’t have a very structured approach to their work. I’d recommend providing them with a clear sense of your requirements. That would help them work within your frameworks.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a technology-enabled career transition services firm. We’re hired by companies to help transitioning employees accelerate their job search.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ratio Web?

We were doing a redesign of our website. We had a site that was built by another vendor that was on WordPress and wanted to leverage the Drupal platform to build a more robust version of our site. There were limitations with WordPress and we wanted greater customization as well as a higher degree of security in authentication. We hired Ratio Web to do the development and the visual design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ratio Web is based in Poland their project leader was outstanding at coordinating communication. We had weekly meetings via video call at their suggestion, which I appreciated. We gathered the right people from both of our teams to ensure that we were setting objectives and progressing toward our goals.

Are there new features they built into your new site?

One of the key things in the first release was a different form of authentication. Previously, our users logged in with a company code that was used across an entire client company of ours. Everyone had the same code within a company. What that meant was that it could be easily shared and wasn’t very secure. It also meant that when someone logged in, we didn’t recognize that user as an individual. Now, we preload everything we know about the individuals who are eligible for our services into our CRM system. Our authentication is based on a registration code that’s unique to the individual. When that individual logs in on our Drupal site, it references that information in our CRM and we already know their title, their company, the package they’re eligible for. It’s a much smarter login experience that creates more personalization for the individual.​

​​​​​​How many resources were assigned to your project?

We worked with three people. We had a project manager, a lead developer, and a designer. We had weekly scheduled video calls. I was in Europe and went to visit them in Poland.

How did you come to work with Ratio Web?

We were looking at two possibilities of what platform to build on. I sought out Ratio Web based on the fact that one option was Drupal. When I connected with the team, I felt confident we were making the right decision. I asked them whether they thought Drupal was the right platform given our objective, and they made me feel confident that it was a good fit.

How much have you invested with Ratio Web?

It was a five-digit project.​​​​​​​

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2015, and we launched the initial release of the site within three months. We had a series of supplemental milestones and development projects. We continue to work with them because we’ve always got more projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did Ratio Web perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Google Hangouts for video conferencing. We had a platform for development updates where I could log bugs and see progress on different milestones. When we were in the thick of development, we were very active on that. The designer had a mock-up platform where she would share visual designs and I could comment on them.

What did you find most impressive about Ratio Web?

What I saw in Ratio Web was a very professional, well-coordinated team. There’s great value in having a designer and a developer who is in regular communication and are part of the same team. The designer was not making design decisions in isolation. She was ensuring that her designs were aligned with the capability of the development team and that we could execute within budget and wouldn’t conflict with the development roadmap. The integration of development and design was a real bonus.

Are there any areas Ratio Web could improve?

The biggest thing is for the client to set expectations around project scope and timing. Because they’re working on multiple projects, it’s up to the client to set expectations around what the requirements are going to be and to give visibility into the roadmap so they can carve out time. It’s not a negative for them.

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

The client needs to be sure to have the project scoped and the future stages scoped, such that Ratio Web knows how much time to allocate in the current cycle.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

[My company operates] an online property platform. It has a website that allows people to sell their homes quickly and easily, without the need for a real estate agent. It offers an end-to-end solution for home selling in mainland England and Wales. I was the chief technology officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ratio Web?

We engaged with Ratio Web to have them to build some key functionalities for our existing platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There were several key features which Ratio Web built for us, like automating the inquiry process for our partner portals. Our system automatically responds to any requests and gets customers to register. There was also some early-stage work on a messaging system between users, and other functionalities of this sort.

In addition to new bits of functionality, Ratio Web augmented our own development team and chipped into many tasks that we were working on.

Ratio Web worked primarily using the PHP/LAMP-stack, as well as Apache and MySQL. We used Drupal as a content management system. Ratio Web also did a fair bit of work with frontend technologies like JavaScript, CSS, and HTML.

We primarily worked with two developers from Ratio Web, one of them collaborating with us for around 6-months, and the other for about 15-months; he is still engaged in the project. We also worked with a designer from Ratio Web for around 2-weeks. I managed and recruited the team directly.

How did you come to work with Ratio Web?

I found Ratio Web on a job posting platform, where I got pitches from different suppliers. Ratio Web was technically superior to any of the other candidates and offered good value. We were looking for a near-shore outsourced team and found that Ratio Web charged similar rates to more distant developers. They also had strong contributions in the open-source community, instead of just providing tech development for money. Ratio Web had a real passion and dedication towards the technology, as well as good experience.

How much have you invested with Ratio Web?

We've spent between $30,000 and $50,000 in total for Ratio Web's services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Ratio Web in the summer of 2014, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Much of the work done by Ratio Web was in collaboration with our team. They helped us get more things done, and I can't think of anything directly attributed to Ratio Web which leads to a higher conversion rate or other metrics increases. We're a startup ourselves and are ever-evolving. Ratio Web significantly reduced our technical backlog and helped set up our continuous integration pipeline, which had a direct impact on reducing our bug count.

Ratio Web contributed with many small items within the scope of our titular product, like updating our onboarding process and recommending additions within the main work.

How did Ratio Web perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Jira for tracking our work with Ratio Web. We also used Google Hangouts and Drive, as well as Skype.

What did you find most impressive about Ratio Web?

Ratio Web's team are nice people. They're very good at communication. They have excellent English, are flexible, technically-competent, and produce high-quality outputs. Ratio Web is the sort of developer I'd expect to be operating in a big city in the United States, but much cheaper.

Are there any areas Ratio Web could improve?

There wasn't anything significant for Ratio Web to improve, but I would have appreciated if they pushed suggestions more rather than just following our scope.

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

Clients should make sure that the developer is integrated into the team, especially at the beginning of the engagement. Having meetings and good communication in general and establishing rapport, has generally worked well for us, rather than just writing specifications, sending them by email every 2-weeks, and waiting for results, which can be risky.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I work for a digital agency. We’re internationally headquartered in New York with offices in Montreal, Paris, Singapore, and Poland. We are a full-service agency. We offer digital business strategy, marketing strategy and execution, but also a huge offering in product development. So, that includes building websites, mobile apps, the requirements related to UI/UX [user interface/user experience], design and also development, QA [quality assurance], and full-scale launches. We don’t specialize in any particular industry, although our senior team has decades of experience in the media industry. We have clients in financial, health care, retail, transportation, and so on.

What is your position?

I’m the chief operating officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenge that you were attempting to address when you first approached Ratio Web?

We were looking for qualified Drupal developers to help us with a current client, in order to augment our Drupal team to build out a new website, and that’s both front-end and back-end. We didn’t have the resources in place that we would need to fulfill our client’s needs, so we went looking for additional support.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

They were responsible for front and back-end development. They were also involved in validation of the requirements. We shared the requirements ahead of time when we could, and asked them to provide an estimate of the work needed to complete the project. We also welcomed any questions or suggestions they had.

How did you select Ratio Web as your partner?

They came highly recommended through our core development team.

What was the duration of this project?

Their engagement started in July of 2013 and went through April-May of 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

I don’t have quantitative metrics because that wasn’t the nature of their work. It was more augmentation of our internal team. Anecdotally and qualitatively, it was a real pleasure to work with Ratio Web’s developers. Their developers were talented and very responsive. They were also extremely flexible in capacity planning, which I greatly appreciated.

In terms of quality, our own CTO [chief technology officer] expressed complete satisfaction when reviewing their code; and from the client side, we’ve received nothing but positive feedback from end-users. Whenever big technology projects come up, we always consider Ratio if we know we might need additional support, and we know we can rely on them.

When working with Ratio Web, is there anything that you’d consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology?

They were more well-rounded than other developers I’ve worked with and used. They were always well aligned with us and our objectives and goals. They had the business objectives in mind while doing their custom coding, and that was extremely appreciated. They’re also not afraid of making recommendations that might conflict with our original requirements or goals. They’ve been able to offer valuable insight on several occasions regarding best practices and process improvements, which isn’t something you’d always get from external developers.

BACKGROUND

Could you provide a brief description of your organization?

The client is a software development firm that specializes in building custom business technology solutions for private and public organizations.

What is your position?

I’m one of the co-founders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges that you were attempting to address when you first approached Ratio Web?

We were facing challenges around not having the skills needed to build our solutions. We had limited knowledge of Drupal, so we knew we needed to find a qualified technology partner that would be able to support our development projects.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

They’ve provided technical development for the Drupal platform, training, and ongoing support. We worked together with them through each phase. The project was managed directly by the customer, and we were primarily responsible for the technical development of the system. There developers on the client’s side, too, but most of the developers were on our side. The whole process was very collaborative. 

How did you select Ratio Web as your solution partner?

We searched first in the local markets. I don’t remember exactly how we found them, probably through a Drupal contact in our town. We talked to them about our project and liked their approach. They seemed to have a lot of experience with Drupal, which is what we wanted. Based on those initial discussions, we decided to award them our work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback you’ve received that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

I don’t have any metrics that I could share with you. The process was quite good because the code is reviewed by other developers either within my company or the customer’s part of the team. In both cases, I have received very positive feedback about their code from experienced, senior developers. Overall, we’re very impressed.

When working with Ratio Web, is there anything you’d consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

Speaking strictly in technical terms, I personally don’t have history with Drupal, and I cannot assess this part of the development process. From the organizational point of view, the whole development process set up by the customer was very effective, and Ratio was able to adopt it without issue. That was extremely convenient from a project management perspective.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

I don’t see any real improvements needed. There’s no specific direction I can point to and say that they need to improve on. Our experience has been nothing but positive.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

We work with Fortune 500 customers, and provide them with IT [information technology] tools that allow their people communicate more efficiently with their internal and external audiences. We work with a bunch of content management platforms, from vendors like HP and Adobe, but also with some open source platforms, including Drupal.

What is your position?

I’m one of the board members in the U.K., and I’m heading the U.S. operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges that you were attempting to address when you first approached Ratio Web?

We had a couple of Drupal projects running, and we didn’t have the in-house expertise needed. We decided to reach out to Ratio Web to help us increase our capacity and deliver our Drupal projects. There were a number of applications that were custom written in Drupal, and there were a couple of complete websites, too.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

We engaged them for purely technical development using Drupal. We had them working in our offices, close to our team, next to our project manager. We would be in charge of the communication with the customer, and they would be more on the delivery side, designing and implementing the solutions. They took real ownership of the delivery side of the process.

How did you select Ratio Web as your partner?

I used to run our delivery center in Poland, which is where Ratio is located. I was referred to them through one of my contacts there. They came very highly recommended as a Drupal shop.

Does this relationship remain ongoing?

No. The relationship concluded with the end of this project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, and user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

We had a number of meetings with our customers during the course of the project. I don’t have any hard statistics that I could share with you but, overall, we were very satisfied with their services. We had some bumps in the road, as you always do in these kinds of projects, but we were very happy with their services. The quality was usually very good and it was delivered on a consistent basis.

When working with Ratio Web, is there anything you’d consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

They’re very focused on the agile approach, and they’re very focused on the open source solutions. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what your needs are and where you’re coming from, but that’s definitely something that differentiates them. Our experience has been nothing but positive.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

We had some communication issues at first, so that would probably be an area of improvement. Other than that, I can’t really think of anything.