SENLA | Software Engineering Laboratory

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product at Apto, and we build workflow solutions for commercial real estate brokers.

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

One of our tools is a Salesforce application, which has to undergo a security review every so often. After our most recent review, there were a bunch of errors we needed to fix to maintain our partner status with Salesforce.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Once we went through our requirements, we walked them through everything they need to successfully fix all of the errors in our Salesforce application. We went through how to submit their work for review, what the deployment process looked like, and what tech stack they would be working with. Each day, we told them what to work on and asked for status updates.

What is the team composition?

There’s a team of three people who have worked on the process and our main point of contact is a salesperson.

How did you come to work with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

We started with a really broad search and were having a hard time finding someone with the specific skill set we needed. We reached out to a Salesforce partner community and found a collection of Salesforce development partners. We sorted through the list by looking at their rate cards. We were looking for a partner that was easy to communicate with and affordable.

We interviewed eight different companies and chose SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory because they asked great questions and were highly engaged.

We had a few conversations with the sales team to get a better understanding of their skill set and what they do. Then they offered to let us speak with engineers on the team before we handed off our requirements.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $80,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on this project in November 2020 and wrapped up in January 2021.

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

They completed the project and now we’re now in good standing as a Salesforce partner.

How did SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, the process was pretty smooth. They delivered on time and cost about half of what an on-shore provider would have cost.

They adapted to our processes very quickly and followed our agile ceremonies. We had a 15-minute stand-up with the team every morning and talked with our salesperson once every couple of weeks. We also collaborated through Clubhouse and Slack.

They always provided invoices and reports that aligned with what they were working on. If a task was completed an hour early or an hour late, it was clearly stated on the invoice, which helped me manage the project budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have an extensive team, so they could easily ask for additional support from more experienced team members when needed. That meant that the people working on my project didn’t have to learn new tasks on their own, which saved us time and money.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were a few miscommunications where they had a full-stack engineer whose skill set didn’t match the task they were working on. When that happened, they ended up bringing in another person. A better understanding of the requirements may have saved a few days of development.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important that new clients provide a clear definition of the project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Banx.One is a software company developing a commercial real estate platform. Our aim is to tokenize prime commercial real estate, post it on the primary markets, and then create a trading function for secondary markets.

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA?

We needed research and development services. We have a product development team in Israel, but not an R&D one. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re developing a web-based platform that uses blockchain technology. SENLA is working on software design, construction, and testing with us. They serve as our end-to-end offshore R&D team for the front-and backend of the platform. SENLA performs development along with our in-house team.

We’re running two-week agile sprints with them, which include sprint planning, sprint executions, and demos (all the tasks of a normal agile process). 

The platform has a few separate modules, on both on the front and backend. We’re providing what we call the “product solution design documents.” The product owner on SENLA’s side is writing more detailed specifications based on those documents. 

This part of the documentation is then moved to our developers and QA layer. The developers create the code with unit tests, and the QA guys create the test cases. SENLA has also provided CI-CD DevOps resources.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with seven people from their team in total. They've provided all the typical resources needed for a scrum process, namely product owners, developers, and QA. I have a project manager from SENLA who is based locally and works directly with me. The process is working just as well as it has within the large companies I’ve worked in.

How did you come to work with SENLA?

We approached SENLA as a professional that could provide us with a solution. If I need a DevOps, they’ve provided me with a DevOps. I’m using this DevOps as part of the project. Moreover, I’ve needed additional expertise in UI/UX, and they addressed that need.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re currently spending around $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SENLA in April 2019, and we’re currently deep in the development process. The partnership is ongoing.

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

I feel comfortable that I’ll be able to implement this platform with them.  They really want to successfully process the project they were engaged on. 

This was my first experience running an outsourced project. I can’t say we haven’t had issues with SENLA, but their performance has been close to that of our in-house teams. 

I appreciate that they look at projects in their entirety instead of the individual components (e.g. not in terms of developers, project managers, and so on). Also, they can provide additional services, which aren’t related to development or QA, such as DevOps.
 
How did SENLA perform from a project management standpoint?

I can’t say there haven’t been any issues, but the process is formal, they’re responsive, and they have clear communication. 

SENLA has been very flexible with our requirements. When we request a certain way of working with the team, they’re very flexible. There have been some missed timelines, but by days, not weeks or months. Also, they’ve made an effort to resolve those issues.

Their attitude is very good, but I’d say that “excellent” is too high. Their management team is great with regard to their responsibilities. When there are issues, they’re very responsible. We’re using a modern set of tools like Jira for project management.

Their level of English is good, and all our correspondence is in English. The people are generally quiet. The main team’s spoken English is not the best, but good and clear enough for the work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have good processes inside the company. They’re flexible and adaptive to what the customer requires. For example, I’ve asked them for CI-CD (continuous integration and continuous delivery) services as an additional requirement. 

They were willing to discuss the entire process and delivery sides of our project, and they found it to be an important issue. The motivation didn’t come from wanting a higher invoice. I’d rate them a 8/10 overall, which is great for a team that isn’t my in-house one.

I’ve worked with a few Israeli companies, and I’ve used outsourced companies from multiple countries. Not all those experiences were good, but SENLA provided a good experience.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had a relatively small team, and I didn’t have any issues with them. My concern would be in terms of scaling it up. From my point of view, that would be a real exam for SENLA. But for our small team, it works well.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the COO of WePay. We want to open a digital bank in Israel.

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

We hired SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory to develop a mobile eWallet for payments.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a web app and a mobile app for iOS and Android. It allows users to add money to their eWallet from a credit card, transfer money from customer to customer, or pay with our wallet using NFC technology. It also allows users to make government payments and receive credit if a user wants to receive a loan.

SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory works in a very methodological way. They receive our business requirements from myself and the product manager, and then we do a design review. They provide us with a business analysis and we discuss the design as well as the technical design. Following that, they move into development. They work in more of an agile methodology and every one to two weeks we check on the progress of the project.

What is the team composition?

Depending on the phase of development, we have a team of up to 16 people. The team includes a project manager, a business analyst, and an architect. There are usually 2–3 software developers on the backend and 2–3 people working on either iOS or Android. We also have a QA team of 2–3 people. Now that we’ve received the product and are in more of a stabilization phase, there are fewer people working on the project.

How did you come to work with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

We chose them as a partner because of the price and their experience in banking and insurance. For example, if we provide the requirements to the product manager or certain functionalities, the business analyst from SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory provides us with insight based on their previous experience.

How much have you invested with them?

The entire project cost will be around $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in February 2019, and the work is still ongoing.

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

We’re still working on the project, but we’re really happy with the product.

How did SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s always easy to work with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory. My project manager works with them on a daily basis communicating through Slack, email, WhatsApp, and Zoom meetings. I am usually involved when there are any problems. We have a status meeting once a week and I am in touch with the CEO and the delivery managers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is very professional and is dedicated to the project. If we need resources or to speak to someone during their non-working hours, they’re always available to answer questions and help us find a solution. We value communication and have been impressed by their understanding. We always promote them to other people.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have told them this as well, but it would be helpful if they have a delivery manager in Israel or Europe. This would help them to understand more about the people in Israel and what they can expect from the software developer in the company they are working with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s very important to establish a main point of contact to be involved in the day to day projects.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a software development company.  

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA?

We wanted to increase our development capacity.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked on several projects with SENLA. The first one was a small-scale software development task, that was done from scratch.

Then, we moved into a Java team of around 15 engineers. They’ve been working for us for about two years already.

We started another project with them about a year ago, for mobile development. We also have QA engineers there. Overall, we’ve had a successful partnership thus far.

What is the team composition?

We have a main point of contact for each project with SENLA, in the form or a team leader. We hire fulltime resources from SENLA, who work only for us.

How did you come to work with SENLA?

We got in touch through LinkedIn while searching for software development companies in Belarus. We connected by email, and they came to visit us later on. We also visited them in Belarus, and decided to work together shortly thereafter.

How much have you invested with them?

We have a long-term commitment and work on a monthly basis with SENLA. One of our fixed-price projects cost around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first project with SENLA started in September 2017 and took around six months to finish. One of our projects is still ongoing.

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

The project was done on time, with no arguments, and everything worked well. They’re very pleasant people to meet with, and their hospitality’s always great. If there’s something wrong with the technology, they alert the people who need to know about it, and we settle things together easily. We get all the needed information online, in regards to timelines. When we need to improve or change something, we just message them over Skype. It’s a very good system for both parties.

How did SENLA perform from a project management standpoint?

We log all our activities and working hours in Jira, and there is a direct communication between the teams in Israel and Belarus. We also travel there once in a while, to meet the team working with us and make the collaboration more personal. When we’re not meeting, we have daily communication and weekly or more frequent meetings, depending on the necessity.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a professional team, and they know and love what they do, which is very important for their business. I’m pleased to work with them and can recommend them to other people as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. They’ve delivered everything I wanted and they’re very flexible. We need to discuss prices once in a while, since those change all the time, but that’s a commercial issue. We’ve always found the best way to work together and enjoy business collaboration.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should make sure they have an internal person that knows how to communicate with remote teams. This is not only because of the physical and time distance to Belarus, but also the cultural difference. If a person who knows how to work with remote teams is assigned, they will be successful.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO for Beam, a new, confidential cryptocurrency company that was launched in January of 2019.

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

Our development infrastructure is completely distributed. We have a lot of developers from around the world who help us create our products.

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we had someone working for us part-time. They provided consulting and set up basic things such as continuous integration and a continuous delivery platform. 

When we needed someone’s complete attention to make it really robust and reliable, we brought SENLA in. They have provided a very good specialist. He took over this operation and replaced our part-time consultant.

A DevOps engineer handles the entire infrastructure, system administration, and the infrastructure that we have today. He works with the Amazon cloud, helping with EC2 computing, S3 storages, the load balancing, the domain handling, etc. He handles the entire infrastructure that we need to run our product.

An Android developer is working on our Android mobile wallet, which is one of the three wallets that we provide. It’s very important because it’s a key point for our company’s visibility and user-friendliness. Having a well-functioning Android wallet is very important for our user adoption.

What is the team composition?

We initially hired someone for Android development and a DevOps engineer. They provide us with employees, but we manage them directly. They provide all the logistics, including the offices and the handling of their salaries.

How did you come to work with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

SENLA was recommended to us by mutual friends as a great contractor that could take on the tasks we needed them to accomplish.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2018, and the work is ongoing.

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

Both of the people they provided were very professional. They allowed us to roll out high-quality products very quickly. We were very satisfied and continue to work with them. 

Our mobile wallets are one of the most usable in the industry. I attribute a lot of that to the quality of the developer and the interaction process within the company. 

The DevOps are even more important because there’s only the only person in the company who handles the entire infrastructure. This includes monitoring, servicing, and deploying the servers. The engineer often has to be available outside of office hours. I can completely rely on them regardless of the time of day or the day of the week. He’s doing a great job.

How did SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very proactive when resolving problems. I trust them, and I can rely on them. I’m completely confident that both professionals are working on what they claim to be working on. 

I manage them directly, and I can trust them to ask the right questions. We didn’t encounter this with other companies we’ve worked with. We have ongoing communication. We use GitHub because the entire community is monitoring our progress and it’s completely open to the public.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What’s impressed me has been their attitude toward building their workforce. They don’t just go and hire random programmers and put them in the office. They have a well-defined process that they explained to me. They get the best of graduates from universities and train them from the ground up. Both of the experts they provided are very friendly, and they are team players. Also, they have a positive attitude toward the project itself.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re very satisfied with the results.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Potential customers should meet with the management of the company to establish a personal relationship. It’s very important because then they’ll understand your needs better. They’ll be able to provide people most-suited for your specific tasks. If you can find someone who speaks Russian and understands how they think, you’ll get better results.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a cofounder of DGROOPS, a software service startup for a B2B travel platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

We needed to find a developer to help build the frontend and backend of an MVP web application to test among some of our early adopters and loyal clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SENLA created an MVP web app that allows corporations to book group travel arrangements. We provided them with wireframes and requirements and met with them to go over any questions and provide background information about our industry. They've finished the first stage and are in the process of fixing any bugs as we move onto the second phase.

What is the team composition?

We work with five people on their team, including a project manager, some frontend and backend developers, and a QA testing manager.

How did you come to work with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

They were recommended to us by a friend who was very happy with his experience working with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2018 and the relationship is ongoing. They're now finishing the second stage of the MVP, and we plan to work with them to develop the commercial version of the platform.

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

SENLA delivered on everything we needed on time and within budget. The MVP they built is very stable and our initial customers have provided a lot of positive feedback.

How did SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory perform from a project management standpoint?

They've been very communicative throughout the engagement, asking relevant and smart questions from the start. They're also very responsive and agile, making themselves available even outside of working hours to answer any urgent questions we may have. Project tasks are tracked proactively through Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to restructure code is fantastic. They've been both flexible in meeting our needs as well as customer-oriented throughout, regardless of which department we're dealing with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to provide their team with as much information about your business and requirements as possible. They're good at adapting and learning about new industries as needed.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of corporate purchasing at Bosch in Russia.

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

To program our iOS app, we needed to supplement internal development resources.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the front- and backend of our iOS app, which we use for internal analysis of our equipment, to calculate different modes, and generate related reports. In the final stages of the build, we met with them and they showed us everything. Because we had a tight timeline, we did live tests of functions they were adding.

The app is ready now, but we’re continuing with them because we like their approach. We’re discussing the possibility of them adding some cloud, storage, and exchange features to the app.

What is the team composition?

We have a team of between five and eight. We interact primarily with a project manager, who then assigns tasks to the development team. Occasionally, however, others (e.g., interface design) who can describe something in greater detail get involved.

How did you come to work with SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory?

We did a market scan of IT companies. We checked their capabilities, the number of employees, and their references. We chose them because they had the best price and timing.

After the initial offer, my German colleagues and I visited their offices to review the technical requirements and team capabilities. After we did a digital audit, their team updated the offer based on our requirements and advised us on the interface.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2017 and the partnership is ongoing.

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

They work fast and cost less than the second-best offer we received. We’ve received positive feedback from our 50–55 daily users (e.g., suppliers, internal manufacturing), which is a higher number than expected. Plus, the UI is more streamlined and user-friendly than we envisioned originally.

How did SENLA, Software Engineering Laboratory perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira internally to track work and milestones, but they created a nice timeline.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They proactively suggest better alternatives to make our application better than we anticipated.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT and process manager for a game development company that’s working on different titles.

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA?

We hired them to build a custom internal tool for creating Gantt charts based on our database. We use it to manage both big projects and operational tasks.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SENLA developed our tool based on our specifications, working on both the frontend of the platform and the server-side tool used for entering data. The team also created the documentation for deploying and using the tool. SENLA worked with our own IT team during deployment.

What is the team composition?

I mainly worked with one project manager and one representative of the development team. The manager overlooked the working environment and allowed me to get in touch with the technical team without any barriers.

How did you come to work with SENLA?

We were looking for a vendor that could build our tool within our required timeline, which spoke the same language as our team, and that we could personally meet. SENLA is in the same city as we are and their estimate allowed for a buffer within our budget for any unexpected changes.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SENLA in January 2017. Developing an initial version took very little time, but the process was delayed by some internal decisions on our end. The initial phase ended in the summer of 2017, after which we continued to work on some small changes.

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

SENLA delivered everything we requested. The tool increased our project managers’ efficiency and they’re now able to undertake more tasks than before. There were some bugs, but they were fixed, so I can’t really say anything bad about their work.

How did SENLA perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered each iteration on time and within budget. We used Skype for communicating with the project manager and their lead developer. SENLA was open to questions, addressed everything we wanted to discuss, and were available whenever we had a request, which made working together quite pleasant.

We didn’t request a strict project management methodology, however, the process included some scrum elements. We didn’t have any issues in this regard.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They deliver what they promise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great for SENLA to handle the creation of technical tasks and work orders as part of the business analysis. This would make the process more comfortable for clients, but it isn’t an essential part of their service.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a business relationship manager for a large, international company. I’m responsible for the Russian region, covering both front office and back office applications.

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA?

We were trying to optimize our training solutions, specifically by automating our business innovation game. It’s a simulation of real medical representative functions. We wanted to make it available on the fly. Before, it took several days to prepare everything because it was a purely manual process.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked directly with three members of the SENLA team. We had a project manager, a designer, and a developer. I assume they had more specialists dedicated to the project.

How did you come to work with SENLA?

It was by reference. One of our colleagues worked with them before, and he had excellent feedback for them. We invited them to send a response to our request for proposal, and it was outstanding. They have quite good competitors, but they really tasked themselves to deliver a detailed response, showing us that they understood the business problem. More than that, they understood right away the technical layout and solution.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in January of 2016 and ended in March. After they completed the first phase, we saw that it was working well, so we gave them phase two, with additional requirements and scope. We are in the process of several new tenders, and we would like to see them winning these projects, as we had a great experience with them.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I really like that SENLA’s team was able to think through the task and come up with a solution. They didn’t say it wasn’t possible or unlikely to be done. They did their best, and they even implemented additional technologies to fulfill all the requirements. A lot of vendors just take the scope and relay the technical possibilities. SENLA really searched for opportunities to use technologies that no one has used before. Also, with the solution they built, we optimized a process that usually took at least a night and a day. Right now, everything is complete. All of our business stakeholders are happy with the solution. It was magical for them. Everything runs smoothly and is wonderful.

How did SENLA perform from a project management standpoint?

I like that I didn’t have to micro-manage them. We agreed on milestones and certain breakpoints of functionality that we’d need to test. In most cases, you have to micro-manage a vendor to ensure things are delivered on time and within the agreed scope. With SENLA, they really gave me their diligence, and I’m totally satisfied with that. They’re very structured, and they also use Agile methodology so they’re quite flexible. I really enjoyed their approach, where I could really see the incremental product development. In most cases, we used email to communicate. We also used Trello and instant messaging throughout the project. SENLA’s response rate is quite good. They always respond within one business day.

What did you find most impressive about SENLA?

First, they deliver, no matter what. Whatever the problem is, they will find a solution for you. The second point is that you don’t have to micro-manage them—they are quite mature and responsible. If they have a task or a deadline, they will fulfill everything and deliver on time.

Are there any areas SENLA could improve?

I don’t see any point where they could improve.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Internal System Development Group leader in Forex Club. We are an online trading company.

What challenge were you trying to address with SENLA?

The most important challenge was a redesign of our CRM system to integrate with Salesforce. The redesign was about the core functionality and key features of the CRM. With this project, we needed high quality specialists who could help us to provide those changes on time and with a high level of quality. We’ve found such people in SENLA.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope of the first stage of the project with SENLA was focused on the development and redesign of the lead-to-client funnel. This task was very complex because of how many customizations were done during the past several years. Because of that, there was a lot of legacy code that had to be changed carefully, as the system has 400 internal users and is being used 24/7. SENLA provides us with high-quality Salesforce integration. After we successfully finished our initial project of CRM improvements, we plan to continue with them.

How did you come to work with SENLA?

We have a long list of potential partners among different outsourcing companies, and SENLA was included in this list. When we began our project, we looked for outsourcing providers who had a Salesforce experience—SENLA had that. We organized several interviews and meetings with different companies and finally chose SENLA because they had the best offer.

How much have you invested with SENLA?

Right now it is about 50-200k, but we plan to involve SENLA in other projects as they show us high performance and quality of their job.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first and second stages have been completed, and currently, we are working on the third.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I can say that mine and my team’s feedback including the product owner of the CRM has all been positive. Unfortunately, because of an NDA, I cannot share any details about workloads and functionality realized.

How did SENLA perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed perfectly. They always react on time without delays and are always ready to help us.

What did you find most impressive about SENLA?

I have experience with several providers, and SENLA differs from them with their agile approach and fast response time. Also, their staff is dedicated to working hard. This mattered because it was remote work. We never felt that the team we were working with were working on different projects.

Are there any areas SENLA could improve?

Currently, I have no issues with them. All of our concerns were both small and eliminated during the first month of our partnership.