RubyGarage

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a ticketing company based in Vienna, Austria

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We started our company and service 11 years ago. It ran (and grew) on Ruby on Rails in its 2011/12 installment. A decent upgrade to the current standard was necessary to ensure security and longevity of the site and project. Along the way we decided to also relaunch the look of the site and implemented a newer design.

SOLUTION

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

We were looking for a qualified and dedicated team able to work on and with Ruby on Rails and is used to rather complex cases like ours. We found RubyGarage after some research and were eager to work with them after positive initial talks and tasks.

We upgraded our package after the first rounds of work significantly once we managed to create a level of trust and a good work relationship base. Our internal team is rather small and therefore a solution like this was ideal for a big, challenging task as this was.

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

During the process, we "renovated" the code and got rid of old parts we didn't need any more and gave it proper documentation. Main platform runs on Ruby on Rails. Given this was 5-10y old code that was basically created by few "knowing" people from inside the company this was a very challenging and complex tasks.

We had several milestones defined, such as a general code upgrade, checking and upgrading the individual gems used, documenting these, intense testing of these and finally coating the site with a new design (design groundwork was done by us, programming from RubyGarage).

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

The core team consisted of six people, led by Alona V. as an excellent project manager 2 backend developers, 1 frontender, 1 QA and 1 QA/FR person all of them brightminded and positive people

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Quality of work and ways of communication exceeded expectations by far. Indeed the team lifted our standards in our own work a lot. The project has not finally launched yet, so actual results will have to be seen in a few months.

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

Extremely well organised team; strict, yet very friendly and patient project management. Communication mainly through slack (our internal standard platform) and Jira (for the project); plus Google Docs for shared documents on the workway.

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

Fantastic work on project management level and therefore very well organised; very interested in the project and understanding in the needs; also flexible; brought valuable input to the project as an add-on; great communication on all ends.

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

Not much that would be possible for a remote team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Clinix is a MedTech startup providing telemedicine services in the Paraguayan market. Our service lets patients connect with doctors through a mobile app. Patients also can get access to their complete health records and obtain prescriptions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

When we engaged RubyGarage, the project was at the initial stage. The RubyGarage team was hired to design and develop the whole technical platform including the patient app for Android/iOS, as well as a web platform for the doctors.

Our goals at the start of the partnership were to release the first order of features from scratch within one year from the start of development, including two mobile (iOS and Android) plus one web application. The next goal was to enter the market and analyze feedback from early users. Next, we plan to become the #1 private healthcare service provider in Paraguay within 24 months from the launch.

SOLUTION

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

We started to search for a contractor, having only ideas ready. This fact was a serious source of possible risks and placed additional responsibility on a potential contractor. We sought a development company that has had a proven reputation as a highly reliable tech partner, had proven experience in the Healthcare and MedTech domains, as well as deep expertise in both web and mobile development.

RubyGarage beat out their competitors because of their good reputation. They took our ideas and turned them into a plan. Finally, the team could realize this plan in full and provide the complete solution that we were asking for.

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

RubyGarage team started with the business analysis phase, where the team researched the Paraguayan telemedicine market and found the most important features from what we’ve ideated before. As a result, the BA team came up with a plan.

Next, the design team found a good fit with us creating the look of Clinix further apps. So, the wireframing and their approval ran smoothly. During the development stage, the team arranged video conference features, chat rooms, doctor profiles, clinic specialties, calendars, and many others. The tech stack includes React Native, React, Ruby on Rails, AWS, and some other techs.

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

They have provided a complete team structure consisting of designers, business analysts, product managers, web and mobile developers, and quality engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve launched a web application for doctors whose main features are delivering consultations and maintaining patients’ health records. Then, a scheduling calendar was added to help doctors plan their work better.

Next were both iOS and Android mobile applications for patients. The apps are featured with a booking system. Patients also can get access to their medical records within the app. HQ video conferencing and chat are the main tools for communication with doctors. The payments with both Pagopar and Clinix vouchers are implemented.

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

We are satisfied with transparent and comfortable communication with the team. They are always online and ready to deal with our issues.

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

What has impressed me the most about working with RG has been that it has gone so well working with each other even though we are working from different continents with a 7-hour time difference and have never met in person.

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

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am in the process of founding a fintech company in the payments space. It will have a payment gateway and processing functionality. The goal is to develop a payment software that will make it efficient, affordable, and accessible for businesses and customers to transact across Africa.

Making it easy for businesses to be paid by any customer with their chosen method of payment and making it easy for any customer to buy from any business, with a focus on the African market digital space. The foundation of this project is to create a payment gateway upon which various payment processing functions will take place.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I reached out to RubyGarage to understand the complexity of developing the payments software, how long it would take to develop as well as cost. I needed this information to complete a comprehensive business plan which I want to use to raise the funding I need to get my project off the ground.

SOLUTION

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

I wanted to understand how to go about building payment gateway software if I am already working on the acquiring relationships. Also I needed to know the approximate cost of the project and how long it takes to develop such a solution ‒ and RubyGarage was able to provide exactly what I was looking for during the ideation phase of my business.

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

RubyGarage provided the service of the project discovery phase ‒ the business model was defined, as well as the scope & features to be included in the product. I got a time and money estimate, so I may say that the Project Discovery was successful.

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

The team was actually one business analyst, who was in direct communication with me. The business analyst defined business goals and needs, prepared the scoping of the solution, provided me with a functional decomposition of my future product, as well as the user roles that will be involved in the system’s work. Also,

RubyGarage estimated the scope of work to deliver the product. At the end I got a scope decomposition and time and money estimates to create a business plan and present it to investors.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I needed help with my product ideation. Now, I know what features my product should have, how long it will take to create it, and how much money I need to collect to start the development. More than that, all this data and documents allowed me to create a comprehensive detailed business plan for my investors.

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

The project management, specifically time management and communication activities were top-notch. From the very beginning we established a transparent communication plan that helped us prepare and review project artefacts containing information I need.

I always knew what was happening at the side of RubyGarage and I knew what to expect from the calls with the business analyst responsible for my project as we had a clear and transparent agenda and communication roadmap that dealt with the activities and tasks at hand.

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

The main thing that impressed me the most was how the company handles the clients’ requests and time. I communicated my budget and deadline expectations before we started and stated that they are definitely not flexible, and the company was able to adhere to them and deliver everything on time and within budget.

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

Honestly, I can't think of anything because they exceeded my expectations and would happy work with them even if they didnt change anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are Airbnb for sports facilities. Our sports booking system enables venues to manage all aspects of bookings on their sports pitches online and our webstie enables the public to search and book their local sports pitch in a few simple clicks. We enable venues to tear up their spreadsheets and move all aspects of their bookings and payments online whilst making it far easier for the public to find and book their local sports pitches I'm the Co-Founder and CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire RubyGarage?

We were at the start-up phase and we only had approximately 100 venues using our platform. We need to stabilss and rebuild the product and get the new features released ASAP.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase the market share. Bookapitch's goal is to become the world's leading sports booking software. We aim to have the same impact on booking sports facilities that the Smith brothers had on golf. We set the task for the RubyGarage team to prepare our platform for quick scaling and develop a number of important modules.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Initially, we were developing our platform with another vendor but we weren't completely satisfied with the quality of the obtained product. My friend, with whom we were in one governmental funding program, referred RubyGarage. They did a great job extending the functionality of his booking marketplace.

I requested Rubygarage to perform a code review of our platform. They showed us a wide list of weaknesses that our platform had. Their team seemed to have strong technical expertise, so I’ve decided to not shop around for other developers.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

RubyGarage performed a rigid review of existing architecture, investigated user security, and overall application performance. Their experts detected stability and scalability issues and other concerns and advised us to rebuild some of the main models of our platform and change the technology that is used on the Frontend from the old version of AngularJS to modern React.js.

We have been very conscious of making the product intuitive and easy to use. We wanted to adhere to our tagline – ‘Sports bookings made simple’. Their developers build easy-to-use booking functionality and integrated Stripe and PayPal to provide bookers with secure and simple payments. We also added the support for invoices, shared payments, and scheduled payments.

For venue owners, we created a special widget they can use to promote their facilities on their websites and on partners’ websites. This widget directs end users to the booking page of a venue owner and enables pitch bookings with just a few clicks.

What was the team composition?

Since we needed things to be done asap, we started working with two backend developers. Our team also included two frontend developers, one quality assurance specialist, one business analyst, and a project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The revamped platform performs flawlessly. We got many positive reviews from the existing customers. Our in-house team also complimented the new look and functionality of the product. We gained traction straight away and we're planning to grow even more.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The communication between our teams was smooth and transparent. We mainly used Slack for the daily catch-ups and emails for urgent questions in the non-working period. Our project manager has a similar mindset to ours, he is a football fan, so he could comprehend the idea behind our product and create a trusting atmosphere. The time was crucial for our business. He was able to arrange the development processes in such a way to maximize delivery.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

RubyGarage was not just another development team; they do care about their client’s projects. I felt that their team invested so much in our product. Relying on their extensive experience, we filtered and prioritized my business ideas and turned them into cost-effective and functional solutions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing comes to my mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of the mobile startup that makes editing books fast and simple. With our application, writers can upload their novels, transform it to audio, and listen to it. We help authors experience their works from the perspective of their target audience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire RubyGarage?

We were looking for an experienced technical vendor to get a technical audit of our application.

What were your goals for this project?

We have an RoR app on the backend for an iOS mobile app. I've developed much of the RoR backend myself. So I needed expert advice on how to improve the app performance.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Initially, we were googling for an agency with specialization in both mobile and web development, in particular, Ruby on Rails.

Describe the project in detail.

The RubyGarage team was able to perform an audit of our entire platform. They provided us with a detailed report where each issue was prioritized and described and a recovery plan with suggestions on how to fix the issues.

The following technical services were provided: Security issues detection, Bottlenecks detection, Structural similarities analysis, Code smells detection, Autotest quality analysis, Style guides and code standards checking, Ruby on Rails code quality analysis, Database structure analysis, Servers infrastructure analysis.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned two senior developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Once the RubyGarage had done its work, we received a detailed code audit report that showed our platform weaknesses and proposed solutions. We got the estimation for fixing each issue so we could plan our budget.

After the final upgrade and implementation of the audit we got, we improved product quality (due to fixed mistakes like mistypes, security bugs, architectural errors and business logic flaws). We also were able to reduce expenses for maintenance and support and got confidence that our users will get a smooth and delightful experience with our application.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

In fact, we didn't communicate much, we had only one call, but their team did everything quickly and perfectly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The RubyGarage team has technical expertise and well-established processes that help them deliver quality results.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I know.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of an innovative full-service digital marketing agency. Our digital agency provides the full spectrum of marketing and sales services, including PPC & SEO, web design, and development. We offer our clients a perfect mix of imagination, technological expertise, analytic background, and unrivaled reputation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire RubyGarage?

We needed a strong development team that had the fundamentals down in order to help work with our third-party client. We also needed a partner who could do the interactive and visual design for a client of ours.

What were your goals for this project?

The main focus of this project was to help our client create a new business model and roll out new services to the market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We did an extensive online search looking for a vendor who could provide soup-to-nuts development services. Toward the end, we shortlisted ten agencies, arranged the initial meeting with each of them, and checked their previous works. RubyGarage stood out with the questions they asked and the feedback they gave us. We believed they could not only provide us a great design but ongoing development and support as well.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

RubyGarage started with conducting market research to identify different customer personas relevant to our client’s market. Beyond that point, they move on to UX, laying out state-screens and flows and wireframing. Then, they develop specific page elements and add a visual design layer. Once that was done, they build out a site map and a feature set. They developed the whole new shop using Ruby on Rails and React. RubyGarage was communicating with our client directly to organize what they want, which helped avoid scope creep.

What was the team composition?

We worked with an account manager, project manager, developers, and designers. The overall size did not change, but some of the members changed depending on what was being worked on.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped us successfully execute the redesign of a site for a big-name client and reduce bounce rates for their e-commerce platform. RubyGarage has the ability to understand end-user and developing appropriate solutions to meet their needs. I also need to mention their people skills. They’re personable and deliver critical information to clients in a comprehensible way.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We were assigned a project manager who was extremely helpful during brainstorming and quick to respond to any questions or concerns. Whenever we had an issue, the RubyGarage team was able to provide a quick resolution for it.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Since we had an unfortunate experience with the previous provider, we expect that there can be some issues when partnering with the outsource company. The last provider we were working with was unorganized, were lying and delaying the project.

Against this background, RubyGarage showed exceptional project management. Yes, it took several weeks to set efficient collaboration, but RubyGarage was always available and responsive, addressing any question we had in a timely manner. RubyGarage is extremely flexible and can comfortably scale to meet the project demands. We never felt the shortage of resources.

They quickly adapt to our new requirements and always try to find viable solutions. Their fast-paced delivery allowed us to finish the project ahead of schedule. I’ve been impressed with how well they communicate and able to add helpful ideas without being asked. Taking this into consideration along with their deep expertise, we trusted them to join on the client’s calls with us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don’t have much to add. Work with them if you have the opportunity.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a vacation booking company in Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with RubyGarage?

Our former partner became prohibitively expensive. We needed to reduce cost by hiring a new vendor to maintain quality.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

RubyGarage did a re-implementation for the frontend and integrated our website to a new backend system and third-party APIs. The team used Ruby on Rails, AWS, and Heroku. They then worked on frontend and UX enhancements.

RubyGarage has done smaller projects since completing the integration. We have weekly and biweekly deployment schedules, executing 1–2 deployments per month.

What is the team composition?

The project manager was our main point of contact. During the main integration stage, we had a user acceptance testing (UAT) resource for the backend and frontend. Post-integration, the team includes the project manager and two full-stack developers. RubyGarage now allocates resources based on need.

How did you come to work with RubyGarage?

We found our first vendor on Clutch and then went back to the site to engage a new partner. I researched a few firms before selecting RubyGarage.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $200,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2017 and the partnership ended in May 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Yes, but I’m not in a position to share the data.

How did RubyGarage perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is excellent in this area. I speak with the project manager several times per day. We communicate via video conference calls, messaging, Slack, and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team was extraordinarily flexible, which made a huge difference. They didn’t force any constraints on us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

RubyGarage’s approach to the architecture could have been more strategic from the onset.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The quality of the work clients put into the engagement is the quality of what they’ll get out of the partnership. We owned the experience and design, and we now own the architecture strategy to a greater degree. It benefits the client to own and manage those components.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and director of a largescale affiliate aggregator in the niche of luxury clothing. We have e-commerce partnerships around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with RubyGarage?

Our site is built on an open-source online retail platform called Spree Commerce. We were introducing dynamic user functionality so users can create their own profiles and save favorites. Users would also receive alerts based on those favorites.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I provided RubyGarage with basic utility and functionality statements and concepts that I sketched out on PowerPoint. Then, their team went through an iterative process with me.

What is the team composition?

I mainly communicated with their lead developer. He had a team working with him.

How did you come to work with RubyGarage?

Our former software agency connected us with RubyGarage. We were told that they were skilled with Spree Commerce.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with RubyGarage in November 2018, and the project wrapped in January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We released the updated platform in late-January, so it’s early to say. The platform is going through some fine-tuning and maintenance. From my perspective, I’m happy with their work.

How did RubyGarage perform from a project management standpoint?

At times, I had to repeat small details around specific tasks to make sure the work was done. Some things were forgotten, but I’ve been a business owner for a long time and have learned how to work with this.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In the past, I’ve worked with other vendors that weren’t upfront about their in-house capabilities. I’ve never had to question RubyGarage. RubyGarage is knowledgeable in the realm of e-commerce and other skillsets. It’s satisfying to see, and I’m confident that their team can work with any assigned task.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there are none that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Having open communication channels is essential. If the client checks with their team, the results will meet their expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CTO of a Silicon Valley company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire RubyGarage?

We hired them to refactor our app and create new features.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Initially, we compared a few Ukrainian companies that we found online. Eventually, we chose RubyGarage because they specialized in the Ruby on Rails programming language and offered excellent quality at a good cost.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

RubyGarage was able to refactor most of the code and wrote good RSpec tests. They joined the team a few months after the project got launched.

What was the team composition?

They provided us with two developers and a project manager. We also worked with a business analyst for a short period. The fact that they can supply resources on demand made things easy.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to the application that RubyGarage developed, our revenue increased tenfold. They were critical to the success of our startup.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I posted requirements and tasks to Jira during evening my time. It was nice to send a ticket at night and see that the code is ready the next morning.

We were in constant communication with them through Slack and Skype. They would communicate on a daily basis and tell us of any outstanding questions they had.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with their day-to-day reliability. Not only did they rarely take days off, but they also churned out consistent code.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

The time difference between California and Ukraine is pretty large, so we would not have much time to talk.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO [chief technology officer] of a software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ruby Garage?

We needed help with B2B, and sometimes B2C, marketing automation. We perform automated marketing research for clients against a target group and we make that target group in an automatic way. Based on their target group requirements, and in order to implement that feature, we basically performed the marketing study about a marketing study. The end goal is to have big data and AI [artificial intelligence] in place to do that for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

They provided us with software engineering services in the past and, more recently, marketing work. For example, a company releases a Father’s Day whiskey bottle which is targeted for a specific company. They want to market that specific celebratory whiskey against consumer goods networks such as Walmart for instance. We merge that company with those networks so that they get better feedback and have a better chance of having that placed in the right place inside that network itself. It is a little bit of merchandising.

What is the team composition?

We work with 7 people. We have a team of 4 people on the software engineering side. There are 2 people on the marketing side, and 1 person on the UX [user experience] and UI [user interface] side.

How did you come to work with Ruby Garage?

We worked with them on a previous project and I felt comfortable reaching out to them again to perform this project. When I started this new endeavor, I didn’t consider other vendors.

We initially started to work with a third-party company for marketing, but then we went back to Ruby Garage a short time later. We went with them directly for the engineering and UI.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent around $300,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them on this project in April of 2017 and the project launched in July of 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Marketing was one of their weak points initially; however, they have improved in that area. They grew their marketing team and hired better people, and we are happier with their work now than we were initially.

How did Ruby Garage perform from a project management standpoint?

My biggest concern in the last few years has been the marketing aspect, and project management hasn’t been an issue. I wasn’t entirely happy with the UI work, but both of those things have improved significantly as they brought new people in.

I speak with all of the members equally through Slack. The engineering team and I speak on a daily basis. I speak to the marketing team once every 2 to 3 days, and the UI person once a day. Most of the communication is with the engineering team just because the project is mostly engineering heavy.  I appreciate direct contact with them so I don’t have to go through a difficult process to get things done quickly when needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their services have always been top notch. Speaking as an engineer myself, I am very happy with their work. There hasn’t been an issue with software engineering just because their founder is a software engineer himself, and he was more into that aspect. 

Their cadence cycle is the most impressive. I remember when we just started to work with them beyond software engineering, we hadn’t been moving at the pace I would have liked to. However, their performance has improved significantly. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can improve by finding more people as they have started to bring more clients aboard. When they work on the things that we ask them to work on, it is fast, but sometimes we need to wait before they finish some other projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go ahead and do it. There are some hiccups and miscommunications here and there, which does happen due to time zone difference and a little bit of cultural difference, but it is still worth it as they provide great value and performance. They deliver things on time, especially when it comes to software engineering. I have personally referenced their software engineering services more than once.