RIOT

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a creative agency that designs solutions for companies, both big and small. We pair inventive design with imaginative content to create innovative branding solution. We are a bi-coastal firm with an office in NYC and LA. I am a co-founder and Executive Creative Director.

For what projects/services did your company hire RIOT?

Riot has been a longstanding partner of Standard Black. We've partnered and consulted with them for several development projects over the years. The most recent e-commerce development project was for an NYC based brand Billy!

What were your goals for this project?

The Billy! project had some specific goals where the solutions needed to be the best practice for an e-commerce platform but fit into the unique aesthetic of the brand. A delicate balance of brand and commerce.

How did you select this vendor?

Whenever a project of ours needs a group that's a talented group of backend developers but needs to hold onto or really maintain beauty from a frontend -- Riot is our place. So for many of our projects, this is an easy choice.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

All front and back development were handled by Riot. Not only that Riot often times will offer up additional design / UX solutions if the project requires (this one did). Also for this project Riot translated all design of the site to mobile.

What was the team composition?

Their team that we worked with and interacted with was a small, responsive group. I'm really not sure of the exact makeup behind the scenes of who was doing what. Never really mattered as they always get the job done. Our day-to-day was with a project manager, and we typically had conversations with the lead developer on the project. We also always get attention from their upper management team who ensure all is running smoothly.

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

Since Riot is a partner of ours often in the brand building, launching of a brand, it's hard for us to quantify exact numbers like this. But here's a useful fact -- all of our clients, whom we have ever worked with RIOT on their sites are very happy and have all been repeat, longstanding relationships maintained by the agency.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was a relatively simple process. Like many projects, there are typically hiccups here and there along the way. There's a time zone difference, we always worked around, but could be a challenge.

Also, not being able to meet in person at times had can be a bit challenging for some clients. But the Riot team did everything they could mitigate these issues. Always available for a conference of a video call. Their team always could add more team members to a project if timelines ever became really tight.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their respect for design and attention to detail set them apart. And ultimately being true partners in a project. If ever there was a fast-paced client who needed a problem solved "now" Riot was up for the challenge.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Riot is a good partner. They've always done what we've asked of them and then some. Like any long-distance partnership like this, both sides always strive to approve communication.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a designer for a real estate developer that provides non-standard solutions for the local market. We focus on two types of apartment modules (specifically two- and four-room apartments). We are both a real estate developer and architecture company, and we handle digital marketing processes in-house.

What challenge were you trying to address with RIOT?

We needed to develop a sales platform, website, and other communication tools to be used with clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

RIOT helped implement our back-office sales platform and frontend website. They also designed and developed an application for our physical showroom.

The sales platform is a responsive web solution that’s both an internal and a client-facing tool. Clients looking to buy an apartment can make a reservation, select different features of the building and its interior, and communicate with our team through the platform.

What is the team composition?

They assigned a team of front- and backend developers and a UI/UX designer. I was the product owner during the design process.

How did you come to work with RIOT?

I was familiar with RIOT’s work from past collaborations. I requested offers from a few companies and ultimately selected RIOT.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was €150,000. ($185,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with RIOT from January 2015–March 2016. We now have an internal developer.

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

I was satisfied with the collaboration. Their code and UX designs were perfectly executed, although the frontend code could’ve been better in terms of future maintenance.

How did RIOT perform from a project management standpoint?

Their management and communication were excellent, and we didn’t experience any delays, which is unique for a digital project. I’m also a designer, and they used all the typical tools needed for this type of project.

RIOT kept us updated and let us know about any glitches. They provided summaries or held meetings whenever we requested them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is open-minded and proactive. If there was something wrong in our way of thinking, or if they identified potential problems, we discussed them. It’s not often that software houses or digital agencies are so proactive in thinking about the scope.

We had a true partnership. Instead of me just telling them what to do, RIOT came up with great ideas that we hadn’t thought about.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The quality of their frontend development could be improved, specifically in creating products that remain maintainable after many years. We’ve told them this, though, and they’ve made improvements.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of Diagnostyka, the largest network of medical laboratories in Poland. We have a database of 22 million clients across the country for whom we perform 80 million tests per year. We have more than 140 laboratories, and I’m in charge of all the IT departments.

What challenge were you trying to address with RIOT?

We needed a mobile application for delivering results to our clients. Security was a big consideration. We developed one ourselves, but it didn’t meet customer requirements. It was time to refresh it, so we decided to delegate the task to an external company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

RIOT developed our app for Android and iOS. The team worked with us on all digital production, including conceptualization, creative and technical decisions, and UX/UI design.

What is the team composition?

They assigned four people to the project.

How did you come to work with RIOT?

I’d worked with them before on a project for a startup company. RIOT was a natural choice.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of the project was $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2017, and finished in August. We’re considering using their team to build more functionalities.

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

It was a very good experience working with them, and we have no complaints. RIOT delivered a good-quality, complete product at a reasonable price.

The user feedback has been very positive so far, and completely different to that of our first version.

How did RIOT perform from a project management standpoint?

We met regularly. The team was friendly, communicative, and proactive. Everything was delivered on time. I didn’t expect to have such a good collaboration considering how young their team was.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have very good UX experience, and it’s the strongest part of the team. RIOT is also strong in terms of frontend development and business thinking. When we met them, they understood our business, and the communication was simple. They also have strong project management skills.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of House-Med, a platform that enables medical professionals to provide patients with medical services at home. We’re in the first stage of providing the medical service, and we’re launching the nurse home visits for patients in Krakow, Poland this month.

We’re starting by providing patients with online medical consultations, but right now, we’re mostly consulting on blood results.

What challenge were you trying to address with RIOT?

I used to work with another company from Poland, but I wasn’t happy with them because they were unable to focus on our projects. We needed an advanced, global approach. We wanted someone who we could consult with.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our relationship started with developing a telemedicine platform. There is a side for professionals and a side for patients. RIOT developed the backend and the UX design for the frontend, which we want to build out further. We’re adding new features. Now, we have the online consultations, but we want to sell the blood retests via our platform.

We’re launching the platform for medical home visits. We started with nurses’ visits, but the bulk of the service will revolve around collecting blood from patients. We want to make the health checkup process very easy. Users consult online, call for a nurse to visit their home, and then receive consultations on their results with specialists. The service will be seamless and easy, and users won’t have to leave their home for a checkup.

RIOT does all of the work. We give them the idea and our visualization of it, and then they help us structure it into a product. They create sketches, and the person in charge of UX does prototyping work and market analysis. I connected him with some medical professionals, but he also managed to reach nurses in Poland that weren’t connected to me personally. He reached out to people and thought about what the platform’s functionality should consist of.

The platform is also mobile, but it’s not native. It’s a progressive web application, which is what RIOT advised. They used Ruby on Rails for the backend, and JavaScript for the frontend. They’re doing the UX for the app as well, and we’re currently developing various products.

What is the team composition?

We are in contact with two people from their management. Bartek [Partner & Head of Concept, RIOT Agency] and Szymom [Partner & Head of Technology, RIOT Agency] are the founders, and they assist with strategy.

We also have a team of two backend developers, two creative frontend developers, one person who acts as Scrum master and handles communication, one graphic designer, one UX specialist, and one website copy specialist.

How did you come to work with RIOT?

I’d developed half of the project with a previous developer, and it was hard to find a group of professionals that would finish the work. I also didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it. I needed a company that would take the code that was already written and add their own onto it.

Someone from the previous company I worked with referred me to RIOT. They said Bartek had strategical thinking revolving around businesses, graphics, and design. That’s why we switched to them.

I was very satisfied that RIOT took on the challenge and continued the work, which is pretty rare in the IT sector. Many companies just want to start over. I was able to save money with RIOT because they continued where the other company left off.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $100,000–$150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

The telemedicine platform is going well, and we’re increasing the number of consultations every month. The conversion is better, but we’re still working on it.

Their contribution to the whole strategy is great. They not only gave us the technical skills, but also focused on the business side of the project to help us capture the whole idea. They’re from the prototyping side, and they don’t want to work with very detailed functionalities. They’re a big fan of a lean startup approach with sprint reviews, sprint work, and Agile development.

It’s very nice that they didn’t really produce a market-ready solution. They’re building together with us as we move forward. They’re more than a software house because they also offer consultation.

How did RIOT perform from a project management standpoint?

We have monthly checkups to discuss what we want to do in terms of business development. They advise us on what we should or shouldn’t code from a startup approach, which is very helpful.

Their responsiveness is great. We started to become friends at the beginning. Our communication is open, and we can always contact them. Their responsiveness to failures or issues is also impressive. I can call Szymon and tell him something broke down, and he’s always willing to help us, even if it’s after hours. We didn’t have any problems with hitting deadlines. We have an agreement that they have to pay a fine if they are going to delay the project, but we haven’t had to do that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The best thing about RIOT is that their founders work alongside their developers. They’re very involved with their clients, which is important as a business owner. It’s very nice that I can speak with the founders about functionality.

They do really well, and it’s not just about making money from us. They always seem happy that their assistance is helping us reach our goals. Their strongest asset is design. Our site is comparable to those belonging to greater companies. RIOT isn’t a hardcore programming company, but they’re very good with design.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My co-founders and I are the ones writing the copy for our side. After our suggestions, they hired their copy specialist. They may need to hire someone who will be in charge of marketing to help with sales and SEO for Google in order to assist us with a global approach.