Scalamandra

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a business consultant for a financial services firm, and I’m also engaged in investments and trading.

What challenge were you trying to address with Scalamandra?

I hired Scalamandra to develop a mobile application that will allow for the collection of donations for projects and start-ups.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created an MVP for an app that lets people donate to projects that they like to help start-ups achieve its goal. We initially hired them to do the UI/UX design where they conducted a small discovery phase at the beginning with business analysts. After that, the business analysts came up with a list of requirements and user stories, and the designer made the mock-ups. 

The project is now being further developed based on the mockups they came up with. Furthermore, the product is a cross-platform app that’s being developed using React Native.

What is the team composition?

There were four people in total. The team consisted of a designer, the project manager, a React Native developer, and a backend developer.

How did you come to work with Scalamandra?

I had heard about them in our city.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent $30,000 USD so far, but we are still proceeding with the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since November 2020, and we’re still working together.

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

We showed the prototype to our investors, and we received positive feedback. We now have investors for further development of the project.

How did Scalamandra perform from a project management standpoint?

The team works in a scrum framework, and every two weeks we have a meeting. Everything is good, but we had some sprints that didn’t cover the user stories — they still did a good job.  

We use Skype and Confluence for documents, Jira for project management, and we have a screenshot monitor for tracking the time spent on the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everything suits me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were maybe times where it didn’t work out with the deadline, but it’s all good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They are a really good team and they have done a good job. I have already recommended them to my friends as well.

This review was published on 11/07/2020

Business Consultant & Day Trader, BI Startup

Financial Services

51–200 Employees

Lviv, Ukraine

Less than $10,000

October–November 2020

Project summary

A startup financial services company hired Scalamandra for their UI/UX design capabilities. The team's goal was to create a modern and intuitive web app.

Feedback summary

Upon showing the initial concept to third-party clients, Scalamandra enabled the company to increase close sales deals. They showed impressive communication and creative skills.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a Business Consultant. I develop a BI startup. I’m also engaged in investments and trading.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Scalamandra?

I develop a BI startup. This startup will help reduce costs for businesses. First of all, we needed a web application design. I don't have a professional designer on my team, so we contacted with the company

What were your goals for this project?

Make a modern and intuitive design. We had a prototype as we see the design, but it was outdated and unprofessional.

SOLUTION

How did you select Scalamandra?

I was looking for a studio that can help with the design. For this, I selected several applicants for the job. Based on conversations with the company, cost and proposed design options, I chose this company.

Describe the project in detail.

Firstly, we dealt with the UX part, for this we made a technical description of the project, made a Technical brief. Then, we defined the project structure and created a functional map. After that, we made the project structure and User flow diagrams. Then we took up the UI part and defined the product's stylist and developed the interface design.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a designer and project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We showed our design to the first clients and explained the concept of the project, made a presentation of the project. After that, the first sales were made.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication was at a high level. We have posted all the necessary information in Confluence, Google Drive and Dropbox. The manager and designer always answered on time and did not keep us waiting.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They didn't just follow our instructions. The team worked well with us, showed initiative and proposed new ideas. The team took their time to understand our unique challenges and goals.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Perhaps development could be done faster.

Star Ratings:

Overall Rating: 5

Quality: 5

Schedule: 5

Cost: 5

Willing to refer: 5

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a language education startup. We offer blended learning and a novel approach.

What challenge were you trying to address with Scalamandra?

We needed to make a website that showcased what we do in order to get funding. We needed to do so quickly, manageably, and at a low price.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I showed them what I liked and provided a wireframe of what I wanted. I’d already done research on what clients were expecting to find on the web page, so that wasn’t part of their work. Scalamandra took that and showed me the first draft five days later. I asked them to change a couple of elements, which they did in another two days.

I don’t know what technologies were used. There’s probably HTML, CSS, and a bit of JavaScript. This was just a temporary website that I needed to have as a placeholder. It’s more of a business card.

How did you come to work with Scalamandra?

I got introduced to them through a partner. She put me on a call with Scalamandra, and I gave them my requirements.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost was below $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with Scalamandra in May 2020, and they made the site in a little over a week.

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

I stumbled upon some difficulties with patenting so I haven’t been able to proceed with my business plan. I’m at the pre-seed stage, so I have little to show in terms of product. The site would’ve been a significant advantage for me had I obtained my patent and applied for the grant.

I was pleased with Scalamandra’s work. There was a glitch at one point that led to images not displaying. It was a problem with my hosting, and Scalamandra asked me to give them access, and they fixed it in a flash. They provided great support, and they offered me some extensions at an affordable price.

How did Scalamandra perform from a project management standpoint?

They were focused, and there wasn’t too much overhead on their side. They were on time with calls, were quite consistent with what they offered, and were open to feedback. They had a practical approach, and management was generally good. We didn’t use any management tools. This wasn’t a big project, and I provided them wireframes and examples of what the site should look like. We didn’t need multiple iterations, milestones, or numerous approvals. We basically had just two reviews.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re well-organized.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I gave them a clear indication of what I wanted the site to look like, and the style of their design was far from what I wanted. They either did whatever they felt comfortable doing, or they allowed me to stand out the way they understood it. Had it been a website I was using for production and attracting clients, it would’ve been a no-no. Given my goals and the price of the work, it was good. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I advise clients to do preliminary research, identify their target audience and goals, and give Scalamandra more input.

Please describe your company and your position there.

AOG is IT Outstaffing company established to provide clients with highly qualified Ukrainian IT Talents ready to join your project already today. Located in one of the major offshore development spots in the world, we offer expertise in web, mobile and game development as well as software engineering. Effectiveness and flexibility are the core values of AOG. From turn-key projects to delegated tasks, from dedicated teams to a few extra hands to augment your in-house team — we offer cooperation models that will work perfectly for you. Team Lead/L2L Sales Manager

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

We work with a UK company that developed its cloud platform for m-commerce webshops. The platform is being expanded, new features are being developed and customized and clients are getting their native mobile shops, so 40-50 applications have already been launched.

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

Regular customer

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

Collaboration on the project depends on the project and how many features the client has. Either way, BA creates the tickets in Jira and the developers then take the tickets on themselves and close them after the feature is done. Projects users are from all over the world (USA, Australia...) and sometimes there can be millions of users. It is therefore important that the system can support such load and can be optimized as needed. Also as it is a complex system, the sustainability of the code is important to us so much is covered by tests, units and integration.

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

Up to 10 developers

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

The product spoke for itself. Since launching recently, we’ve already had thousands of visitors to the site and terrific engagement rates.

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

We had weekly or twice-a-week calls where the project manager went over the plan and the goals. We had a few team member changes over the project, and all the transitions were very smooth. SCALAMANDRA was really helpful with sticking to the scope, even when we were asking for more. They were able to figure out how to make things work within the budget and deadline.

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

They are incredibly nice and great to work with. They were extremely polite and dedicated to the project

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

The process was very smooth, and the product was great.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Co-founder of The Startup Studio. We help startups solve their digital problems like software and application development and help students get experience on these projects

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

We hired Scalamandra for consulting and software development.

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

I got to know this company through Clutch and was interested in their profile. They seemed to me to be suitable because they meet our criteria and they have expertise in Scala, interestingly our first project was not to do with Scala, we did a small test project first.

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

We work on an ongoing basis in different directions. For example, the last work was related to the UI & UX audit for website.

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

- CEO; - CTO; - software engineers; - UI/UX designer.

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

We were really happy with the results we got - the team was really professional and quick to turn the task around

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

Everything was planned in advance and completed on time. We communicate through Google Meets, Zoom, Gmail and Telegram(Eastern European WhatsApp).

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

The team is really professional and want to do each job really well. They are ambitious and talented and from the very beginning we communicated very well. Each problem we gave, a solution was proposed and it made it very easy to work with them.

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

We’re pleased with the direction of cooperation and look forward to continued work with the team.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of the medical center.

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

We have ordered a website so that people can find a place for an appointment with our medical specialists. Also, so that people can get acquainted with our clinic and find out our news.

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

We chose this company because it was recommended to us. They also gave a quick estimate of the cost and offered to develop the site faster than other companies.

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

A website that allows patients to sign up, then sign in, make appointments with doctors, and view their schedule. Moreover, it allows doctors to view their schedules and registrars to make appointments manually. The website has an admin page, where an admin can manage users.

1. They analyzed our wishes and requirements.
2. Drew up requirements for the project.
3. Created a design outline. After that, we approved it.
4. Made the design.
5. Programming.
6. Testing.
7. Deploy

Tech stack: React.js, PHP.

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

A team of 6 people worked with us. Project manager, designer, 3 programmers, and a tester.

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

We have made it easier for our medical registrars. Now, most people make an appointment with us on the site. Also, people read our news and get to know us better.

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

We worked on the Scrum framework. The team responded quickly to our messages and advised us on our issues. The communication took place via Skype, e-mail, and Telegram messenger.

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

This company has a warm atmosphere. Their feature is the speed of project development; they completed the work quickly and efficiently.

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

We are completely satisfied with their work.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a startup and I am a CEO

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

nekocart. I hired Scalamandra for developing an e-commerce platform: nekocart.

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

My developer friend's recommendation

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

We first developed a MVP for an exhibition. There, we found that a lot of people are interested in building online shop so we continued to develop a full functioned e-commerce platform

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

3~4. 1 PMO and others are developers

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

Great team. Professional work was done. Very much appreciated.

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

Communication was smooth. Development was carried out very smoothly meeting every deadlines set by us.

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

Their developers were highly skilled.

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

No

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO at a company that integrates supply chain data and creates a single source of truth to empower supply chain professionals with data-driven decision making

For what projects/services did your company hire Scalamandra?

We hired the team to concentrate specifically on the UX/UI design for the platform.

How did you select this vendor?

My friend recommended me Scalamandra team

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We are an AI-driven platform to automatically source and collect supply chain data from enterprise management systems in a cost-effective and scalable manner. We had rough wireframes of the platform, which we presented to the team.

They designed the wireframes in Figma with some improvements over our design and then designed the UI in the same platform.

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

There was a project mananger and one UX/UI designer which did the entire design in Figma.

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

We just finished our design.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything has been addressed in a timely manner: there’s good communication, easy access through email and phone, good availability -- I mean, we’ve even spoken on the holidays!

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

Scalamandra was quick, reliable, and receptive to feedback throughout the project. They take feedbacks and comments and modify the design based on feedbacks.

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

I can’t think of any

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Partnership Coordinator at JetSoftPro. JetSoftPro is a team and network of tech professionals ready to help your business achieve its technology objectives, through superior software development and data science.

For what projects/services did your company hire Scalamandra?

Scala and JavaScript Consulting

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

Since Scalamandra's main technology stack is Scala and React.js, we chose them as partners.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Scalamandra organized 3 training camps for our company on Scala and React.js. It also helps us validate Scala and JS interviews.

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

We dealt with mainly 2 Senior Developers.

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

Due to the conducted camps, we have expanded the number of our employees. Scalamandra has prepared good candidates for us and helps to conduct interview for Scala & JS developers position.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The learning process was built in 2 parts - academic and practical. The senior arranged online consultations so that each participant could receive an answer to their questions. On the practical side, the project was developed using the Scrum framework.

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

The team provides quick feedback even at late hours, which we find impressive.

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

It's a pleasure to work with them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founded in 1989, ScienceSoft is a US-headquartered provider of IT consulting services and custom software development. Among our customers are Walmart, IBM, Nestle, eBay and NASA JPL, as well as many other large and midsize organizations located internationally. My position is Partnership Manager.

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

Ongoing support & development of back-end application logic written on Scala

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

We were short of Scala resource in-house, were recommended to get in touch with Scalamandra

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

Back-End development: Implement new features and modules, legacy code support, modules architecture, modules API design, DB schema architecture. Tech stack: Akka-HTTP, Akka-Actors (both typed and untyped), Scala, OracleDB, Slick, OpenAPI.

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

1 Scala Developer

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

The development of the project is moving according to plan and the end-users receive new useful functionality, and support of the application.

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

Jira, Confluence, Microsoft Teams. Agile software development under the hood, with strictly defined requirements.

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

Working with them has been one of those rare experiences as a partnership manager; I can't remember anything bad. Everything goes as promised.

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

It would be great for them to expand their development capacity and have more Scala developers available.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder and owner the brand of BAVkA We are producing high quality Montessori wooden toys.

For what projects/services did your company hire Scalamandra?

UI/UX design for an online store.

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

My friends advised me to contact this company.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Determination of the target audience and scenarios. Creation of an СJM diagram. Construction of the application map. Development of the wireframing. Development of the final design.

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

UI/UX Designer and a part-time senior developer who advised us.

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

With the development of the design, we have created an aesthetic and unique website that allows us to sell more products.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow was great and I was extremely impressed with the level of detail. We had weekly calls and used Telegram for basic conversations. We received summary of all work completed each day, as well as main points of our meetings.

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

The team was fantastic, and the honesty was impressive.

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

Everything suited us.