Rose Digital

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the project manager for a website that provides lodging services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rose Digital?

We reached out to Rose Digital to help customize our CMS on Contentstack.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Rose Digital took over where another firm left off, providing development services on both the frontend and backend of our platform built on Contenstack. They've integrated our own tools and assisted with the overall roadmap in developing our product, using React and Node.js. Most of their work consists of frontend development, but they consult our internal backend engineers as needed on other aspects of the project to ensure we're building something scalable and portable. 

What is the team composition? 

We work with an architecture consultant, a tech lead, two engineers, and a document manager. We provide project management on our end. 

How did you come to work with Rose Digital?

The initial firm we partnered with to do the work was unable to deliver what we needed, so Rose Digital was able to come in and take over within a very short timeframe and deliver on our original deadline.

How much have you invested with them?

Our current scope of work is around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project isn't completed, but so far Rose Digital has been a tremendous help. When it became evident to us that the original firm we were working with couldn't source the correctly skilled engineers for this project, Rose Digital was able to do so in just five days. They were also able to source those resources within the country and deliver on our original timeline with fewer people.

When our own internal team couldn't finish some backend work, they created a shadow backend so it wouldn't slow down their progress. They've been very flexible in that regard, making sure we stay on track with our timelines without pointing fingers.

How did Rose Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They're embedded within our team, so they act as an extension of our staff. While their firm is based in New York, they have an engineer in Seattle that sits on our team. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

In addition to the quality of their work, they've also been very flexible and able to pivot as needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

That's a hard question to answer. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Provide clear requirements and designs, because their ability to deliver is very dependent on that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of digital operations for Fuse Media. We run a cable television network that reaches 65 million homes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rose Digital?

About a year and a half ago, we decided to change directions with our brand, our products, and our digital strategy. We brought in Rose Digital to revamp a video-centered website that would engage our audience, drive video views, and help build our social networks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Rose Digital first outlined their intended timeline for the project. The team gathered requirements and translated them into product and technology. To do this, they vetted our stakeholders and our current site infrastructure. Their team found an alternative platform that would be more efficient, more cost-effective, and better suited to our intended technology stack. They convinced us to give up our proprietary system and go with that new infrastructure.

Once we settled on the design and user experience, Rose Digital then built the platform using React, Redux, and Next.js. They led an agile development process and offered intelligent suggestions pulled from their experience as well as data-driven research.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a head of technology, a project manager, a head designer, and 3–4 engineers throughout the project. The project manager serves as the intermediary between the engineers, the head of technology, and our stakeholders.

How did you come to work with Rose Digital?

We launched an RFP, and Rose Digital’s proposal stood out from the competition. Their budget, focus, and ability to provide both technical and strategic expertise were essential factors. The team also demonstrated a sense of ownership and integrity in our initial conversation—integrity that carried throughout the project once we started.

What is the status of this engagement?

The main development project took place between February–August 2018, but we’re still working with Rose Digital to create new iterations of the platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our video views and engagement have increased by 30% since we debuted the platform. We’re also able to launch authentication for our cable products, allowing subscribers to access content on our site. We’ve seen a 3% lift from the authentication.

How did Rose Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is highly available. We have weekly standups, and they ensure that their communication channels are open at all times. They can explain the product technology and design to our stakeholders who lack technical expertise. If any issue arises, Rose Digital is on top of it immediately. They tell us their plan and the resources they’re dedicating to solving the problem.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Rose Digital's commitment and innovation stand out the most. Forward-thinking and driven, they constantly look for ways to improve on our platform. They also push us to regularly think about how to create the best product possible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Rose Digital could improve their project management. While they’re highly agile, adaptable, and willing to address their faults, sometimes their plans for their engineers are not as easily understandable to our less technical stakeholders. It’s never been a huge issue, and we’re overall thrilled with the collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the senior producers for Annex 88. We are a digital marketing company, and my role is to find vendors that can help us execute the creative ideas we pitch to our clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rose Digital?

We wanted to display our client's products through a web–based AR experience that was accessible worldwide and over any device.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The AR experience, especially on mobile devices, is something that is fairly new in the technological world, so we were asking them to do something that hadn’t been done before. They created a website from scratch that acted like an app and allowed users to interact with a product in AR. This included having sites that wouldn’t typically ask for camera access—like Safari—ask for that permission, as well as giving users the option to share their experience on social media. They also had to design and build 3–D animation that would load quickly on a global scale.

What is the team composition?

We had a dedicated project manager who managed the workflow, budget, scope, and timeline. There were two animators and four engineers. One animator was experienced in animation compression, and one engineer was specifically focused on video compression. Since this was such a new avenue for us and Rose, we included Evan (founder and lead engineer, Rose Digital) in our client–facing meetings. He began working closely with us on the project, and about six weeks out he is the one that managed the entire project.

How did you come to work with Rose Digital?

Rose was first recommended to us through mutual business connections. We decided to go with them because of how highly they were recommended, because they are a smaller vendor, which meant clear lines of communication, and because it was a wonderful opportunity to diversify the vendors that we work with.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent within the range of $200,00–$300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them December 2017 and the project finished March 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We began with 200 MB 3–D scan of our client’s product and Rose repackaged that animation into a 6 MB file that remained high–resolution. They were able to have that file load for users around the world in less than six seconds, and users were staying in that experience for over a minute and a half, which is an incredibly impressive ratio. We had thousands of users per second, and Rose was prepared to handle more. We worked in New York executing tests on the newest mobile devices and when the website launched, we saw surprising results in countries with technology that we hadn’t tested, like South America and Asia. There was an eight–hour period where we saw 1,000 users per second just from South America.

How did Rose Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They built a calendar and made frequent updates as the project developed. They were very clear about the scope and cost, especially as new ideas arose that could affect the budget. They communicated exactly how our money was being used. They were very patient and created review schedules for all involved parties, but would also be more hands–off if that was necessary.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is composed of knowledgeable and experienced people that choose projects based on what they’re passionate about, and it shows. They were very excited to work with us in this new realm and would provide us with discounts because of this. Since the work was so new, the research they did and provided us with was impressive. They found things that had never been done before, identified where there was competition, and validated and tested the product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We did not ask them to do this but I could see how in a large company their big data analytics could be overwhelming or misinterpreted. I would suggest simplifying or clarifying the data so that it can easily translate to a larger audience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a tech company that develops analytics software for public institutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rose Digital?

We were awarded a contract to develop analytics software for a client that would require spatial data storage, so we reached out to Rose Digital to assist in developing the software in a cloud computing environment.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Rose Digital started the process by evaluating all possible end-user needs and developed requirements documentation with the information that they gathered. Their requirements analysis guided the design and development work that followed. They set up a MongoDB as a flat database that utilizes postscripts and PostGIS, which supports spatialized data. The database also allows for convenient search categories by way of preset query caching. The frontend was developed with React, which produces fast search results by limiting the amount of data is refreshed on the page. They hired contract vendors to help develop the mapping and interactive features.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was the liaison between our company and their development team.

How did you come to work with Rose Digital?

Rose Digital was one of three software development companies that we interviewed to work on the project. We were impressed by their intelligence and communication skills, and they possessed the necessary experience in both software design and cloud hosting.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $150,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began this project in October 2016 and we have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We get numerous compliments on the software’s state-of-the-art features, but its design is disappointingly second-rate. The GUI design interferes with the presentation of content on the software. Although the presentation layers did not meet our standards, the technology works well. Users have expressed their content with the fast-paced search queries.

How did Rose Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

From a process perspective, their project management was solid. They were always responsive to our needs and they always offered practical solutions. However, they failed in communicating the visual aspects of the project with our team, so we never had a clear understanding of what the end-product would look like.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Rose Digital is very confident in their software developing skills, which was very comforting for our team.  Their in-house staff is exceptionally talented at translating the needs of the end-user into a useful platform.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The vendors that they brought in to assist with developing the mapping feature and designing the interactive elements were unqualified for the job. The map system is technically sound, but their vendor didn’t have the necessary skills to optimize the feature for the end-user experience. The company that worked on the interactive design had little to no understanding of the project’s goal. Consequentially, their graphic design work failed to meet our expectations.