Rubikal

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a consumer electronics company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rubikal?

We needed help building out our mobile applications for use with our products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built an iOS and Android app. It’s designed to work with our hardware product, so users can operate it through their phones.

What is the team composition?

We worked with eight people from their team.

How did you come to work with Rubikal?

I was introduced to the founder and we evaluated their overall theme and skillset and felt it was a good match, especially since their proposal met our budget and timeline.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to deliver the first versions of the app, and they’re very efficient in maintaining the application. The team is also very responsive and able to add features at a good pace.

How did Rubikal perform from a project management standpoint?

They have excellent project management and communication. They’re a very responsive team with excellent leaders. We used Jira for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very talented and efficient, which is what we care about.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re very satisfied with the team there.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be straight forward with what you’re looking for and ask them to present their ideas. Agree on a direction that you’re both excited about, and things will go well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of product development for InsideTrack. We provide college and career coaching for institutions and employers throughout the US. I lead all the teams that are responsible for developing our software products, which includes engineering, product management, analytics, and content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rubikal?

Rubikal is one of the partners we work with to meet our product development needs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our software development encompasses a number of different areas, so we leverage a lot of different skills and disciplines from Rubikal. They provide engineering services including frontend, backend, and data engineering.

The team also provides Native iOS and Android application development, as well as QA services, both manual and automated. On top of that, Rubikal offers product management services.

Rubikal works on our flagship product, a coaching platform that connects to a mobile app. It allows our coaches to communicate amongst themselves as well as with students. They use text messaging, phone calls, and email — all of which the team helped us build. There’s also basic web functionality.

What is the team composition?

We started out with seven or so people across mobile and engineering. We’ve expanded that to include more types of engineering and areas outside of engineering, because Rubikal is uniquely situated in an area where they have access to a lot of emerging talent. That talent has allowed us to add to our team. Now, they supply between 40–50 members to our team.

How did you come to work with Rubikal?

We know the founders really well. We respected their work ethic and the way they organize. 

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost so far is close to $4,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since June 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our success would not have been possible without Rubikal’s contributions. That includes shipping to customers, fulfilling our client expectations, and signing new contracts. They’re absolutely critical to our success and our ability to move any needle in any software capacity.

If we didn’t have Rubikal, we wouldn’t be where we are now. We wouldn’t be able to absorb or maintain the products that we currently have on the market. They’re essential to our business. 

How did Rubikal perform from a project management standpoint?

Their organization is multidisciplinary, so they’re really well-run and efficient. They understand the software development process from end to end, and they make sure we inject quality in every step of the process. 

The team understands how to work remote — they have a lot of processes, policies, and procedures to maintain the quality of work at a very high level. They deliver on time and within budget. In general, their project management is superb. We use a combination of Slack, Jira, Google Docs, and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and adaptability to meet the changing needs of our business is what sets them apart. They’ve grown with us when we needed to go, and shrunk when we needed to shrink.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could probably work to recruit a little faster, especially as their competition increases.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Look at your own company policy and make sure you’re equipped to work with someone like Rubikal. You have to be equipped to do some remote work and remote collaboration. Also, they’re going to work fast, so make sure you have all your information and documentation prepared.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of technology at a career guidance and education nonprofit. We build education tools and content to create software products that are distributed in schools and universities and individuals interested in career guidance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rubikal?

We needed staff augmentation, support, and QA for the work we were doing on some of our products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The engineers working with us from their team are primarily focused on JavaScript stacks, both on the front and backend. They are contributing to the main product families that we offer as a company and are pretty fully baked into the different teams and sprints that we run at any given time.

What was the team composition?

There are about ten individuals working with us directly, all of whom are developers working in a variety of QA, frontend, and backend roles.

How did you come to work with Rubikal?

Rubikal is actually the preferred vendor of our parent company, so they were assigned to work with us on the project. However, from the beginning, it was clear they were a good fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe the total cost of their services so far has been about $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project first started in September 2018 and we are continuing to work with them and planning to expand the number of resources we’re working with as we go forward.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve definitely helped us add skills to the team that we might be able to find here but would certainly have taken much longer. Because of that, they’ve saved us a lot of time and money just in being able to continue making progress on our developments without nearly the number of roadblocks we would have run into otherwise.

On top of that, as we have continued to grow the team we are working with, they have been able to provide us with excellent, highly qualified staff members virtually as soon as we needed them. We’ve never had problems with the fit of those individuals within our team either, which we are incredibly appreciative of.

How did Rubikal perform from a project management standpoint?

We manage the project management for the most part internally with our teams that they are integrated into, but they have been nothing but helpful in terms of their communication and willingness to drive the pace forward with us at all times.

We use JIRA for communication about milestones within those teams, as well as a product called Mavenlink for project management. Those are helpful in sort of the high-view approach to the projects, and then about 90% of the actual day to day workflow is done through Slack and lower-level individual communications.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have scaled their company, largely along with our parent company’s hiring needs, and have done a phenomenal job of doing that quickly while maintaining the level of quality that they provide and the range of skills their developers have. I think that’s an incredibly difficult thing to do, and they have delivered seamlessly in spite of that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any changes that I would recommend to them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Because they’re in Egypt, the time difference is something that you should be aware of and have a plan for how to approach before you start the engagement. It worked well for us, but it’s just important to understand going in that you can’t just assume they’ll be working at all of the times you are and vice versa.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Gaming Director of Endless Studios, an educational game company. We make games that teach kids how to code.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rubikal?

Rubikal assists us with game development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When Rubikal first came on board, they were engaging in game development projects in Unity. They started with two desktop games, compatible with PC, Mac, and Linux. As the project went on, we began bringing in more games we’ve developed with other studios, and the team does maintenance and bug fixes across each of them. There've been about a dozen games that have passed through their hands so far. We’ve also used their services to port our desktop games to mobile. 

Eventually, we realized a need for more engineering resources as well, and the team stepped in to support us with web development. Now, not only do they build games, they also help us to build a product platform around the games. 

Currently, Rubikal is working on the frontend frameworks for the website, working in Vue.js. The team is also helping with hosting and backend set-up with AWS and GoDaddy. They’ve created a lot of different pages and functions. We also have some features in our roadmap that we’re planning to build soon, like user authentication and payment systems. We’re in the process of prioritizing those features, and once they’re ready, Rubikal will help us build them out. 

We also have a Native desktop application built by a different team, and Rubikal will potentially be helping us maintain that application, which is built in Electron.js.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with four people. Nada (People Partner) has been my main point of contact. Yasmine (Game Developer) and Mahmoud (Game Developer) are our two Unity developers. Noran (Software Quality Assurance Engineer) QAs the team’s work.

How did you come to work with Rubikal?

I worked with Rubikal at a previous company, and they did fantastic work. When I joined Endless and we were looking for game developers, I reached out to Rubikal again. At the time, they didn’t have any Unity developers, but they were interested in branching out into that sphere, so they assembled some developers and came on board.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $90,000–$120,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration began in January 2019 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re a small startup and at times we’re strapped for resources. Building our products can be chaotic, but the value that Rubikal has brought is in the security and stability they provide. As long as we can provide them with our detailed roadmap, they get it done. That reliability has been awesome.

We couldn’t have been able to develop what we have today without Rubikal. They’ve ported five games to mobile, with between five and eight more in progress. They’ve helped us bring together the multiple studios that have developed games for us, aggregating and maintaining all of the work. Without a solid team like Rubikal, our product would still be in multiple pieces, owned by multiple different teams. They’ve gone far beyond what we’ve expected of a development partner.

How did Rubikal perform from a project management standpoint?

Nada is a fantastic project manager; it’s rare to find someone as skilled as she is. She always meets me halfway, or even more than halfway. Her work allows me to focus on my own responsibilities rather than micromanaging and checking in constantly.

As a team, Rubikal has always been able to keep up with our speed and deliver on time. If anything ever slips, it’s always for an understandable reason. 

We use Slack to stay in touch, as well as Monday. Rubikal uses Trello as a tracking tool. Together, we have a shared Google Drive, Unity CoLab, and GitHub.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their dedication is extreme. When we launched our site, they worked way past working hours to get it done, because it was something they’d committed to and wanted to follow through on. Other companies I’ve worked with haven’t shown that same dedication. Rubikal is extremely excited and passionate about the work they’re doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their engineering team is fantastic, and it’s been nice to see them work to expand their skill set.  They recently brought on designers as well to expand their offerings and services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be a good client. Provide clear roadmaps and plans, and be willing to work in an agile fashion.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the former CTO and VP of engineering at plays.tv.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rubikal?

We already had a desktop application that allowed users to automatically record their gameplay, edit it, and share it on a website that also allowed them to tag those clips. We hired Rubikal to develop a mobile application that would allow users to watch live gameplay with their friends.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a native Android and iOS mobile app from scratch by leveraging an API that the desktop app also shared. The backend was done by our internal staff but the key features of the app that Rubikal developed included live streaming of gameplay, real-time discovering, connecting and chatting with friends, and sharing of gameplay clips in a content feed. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with different teammates at various times. We engaged with Moustafa (Co-Founder & CTO, Rubikal) and another teammate to kick off the project and then we worked with one primary iOS developer, one primary Android developer, and a project manager who was assigned to our project but wasn’t full-time. Additionally, we worked with another iOS developer who was on the project part-time to help with some of the streaming challenges. They also provided internal QA on the project. 

How did you come to work with Rubikal?

I had worked with them previously when I worked with an educational investment company. Rubikal did work for a coaching app for education owned by that company and I was brought on as a consultant for a mobile project for them for about a year. I really liked the work they did. Their team had strong project management skills and was reasonable to work with, so it was easy for me to make a decision to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $75,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from August 2018–October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We didn’t have any performance metrics but being able to launch any version of the app was a big milestone. The proof of concept (POC) for beta helped secure an additional round of funding. The fact that we were able to show that we could get a mobile app launched so quickly was helpful for our investors when deciding to reinvest in the company. With Rubikal we were able to do commercial releases every two to three weeks–at least once monthly. We were also able to do a few fix releases because they were very good at turning bugs around fairly quickly.

How did Rubikal perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was very flexible so they worked with the tools and processes that we wanted to use. At plays.tv, we used Trello and the Rubikal team was able to work with that tool.

Sometimes we had a lot of internal resources that they were waiting on but they were good at communicating and working in two-week sprints to meet their bill, internal release, and, eventually, commercial release deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re high-integrity individuals who are committed to their client’s success and their own improvement. I traveled to Egypt to work with them in person a couple of times so I got to know their team. When you approach them with tasks that other engineers would consider unreasonable, they listen and they get them done.

All of the engineers that we’ve had on our team have been really strong. They do a good job of recruiting from top universities and screening for good technical skills. Rubikal is also one of the few Egyptian companies that hires women, which impressed me. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s tough to say. The one challenge was that their schedule was a little different than other outsourcing firms I’ve worked with. Some of their national holidays and vacations didn’t match up with ours so it was a difficult to train our team to take note of those days in advance. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate your expectations as clearly as you can. They are very direct communicators so they want you to tell them what you want done rather than talk about whether it’s possible or not. They would rather try to do it and then communicate when they run into a hiccup and adjust the plan. Be aggressive with your asks and deadlines from the get-go and then let them adjust as they go. It’s a very effective way to work once you learn it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Executive Manager in the fastest eLearning platform of the Gulf called Tadarab.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Rubikal to develop a mobile app for iOS and Android platforms. Our primary goal was to improvise our current conversion ratio for which we needed plenty of design and functional changes for our web version.

SOLUTION

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

We searched various platforms like Upwork and Freelancer.com for app developers across the globe and shortlisted a few. After plenty of interviews, we finally chose Rubikal based on their past projects, design skills, cost estimate, and especially for their exclusive experience of working with the Arabic language.

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

At the beginning of the development cycle, we had plenty of meetings to finalize the road map. I genuinely admire the key deliverables explained by the team. The team has excellent experience with all the relevant technologies required for app development.

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

A project manager was assigned to be our main point of contact throughout the project. Additionally, I mostly interacted with two lead Backend Developers along with the UI/UX Designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our entire team is extremely happy with the project outcomes and we are very much grateful to the Rubikal team to finalize the entire App development cycle before the projected timeline.

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

The project manager was easy to communicate with and provided frequent updates. We had both in-person meetings and phone calls, but most of the feedback was through Slack.

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

Their tremendous design skill of mobile app development mesmerized me away. They knew everything about UX and its proper execution. Since this was our first mobile app, they were also patient and willing to walk us through their process while we learned.

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

Well, I didn't feel any loopholes in their work system. Hence, I felt the entire process was flawless.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Benchmarq, a predictive analytics firm. We supply information tech to governments

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for a talented team to build a prototype for our product service. We wanted to build out the early architecture of a machine learning tool to be used by governments.

SOLUTION

How did you select Rubikal and what were the deciding factors?

The Rubikal team successfully delivered on its promise and gave us more than what we asked for. They were very smart, and thorough in their work. We would work with them again happily

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

12

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Great team! Will happily work with them again for additional phases

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

Great project management, good communications

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

They were well versed in new artificial intelligence techniques