SEVEN

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Help Me Fix My Plumbing, a repair service app.

What challenge were you trying to address with SEVEN?

SEVEN helped us develop our app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our app connects qualified tradespeople with members of the public via video, so they can solve some of their housing issues on their own. It’s a pay-per-minute service, primarily designed for businesses like housing associations, landlords, and so forth, to offer their tenants. 

SEVEN built the app from the ground up, providing the UI as well as all of the development. At the moment, the app is compatible with iOS and we’re currently working on the Android version.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with between 8–10 people.

How did you come to work with SEVEN?

I wanted to find a company that could provide a video chat software. I came across SEVEN’s website, and they’d previously had experience creating that kind of service. I reached out to them, and they responded with a fantastic in-depth estimate for me, and we went forward from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $40,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since July 2019.

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

They’re extremely professional, and they pay great attention to me as a customer. I get comments from users that our app is higher quality and easier to use than those of my competitors.

How did SEVEN perform from a project management standpoint?

I can reach out to SEVEN whenever I need to. They offer a great structure, and we’ve found Adrian (Founder & CEO) to be the common thread throughout the success of our project. He oversees everything, and we’ve developed a very strong relationship.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SEVEN under-promises and over-delivers. That applies especially on budget delivery — they always come in at or below where they predict they will. It’s a massive strength for them. Overall, their communication is fantastic. They’re able to understand and interpret my ideas very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of. I’ve been very pleased.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The best thing to do is keep all of your documentation written and concise, so they can refer back to it throughout the process. You’ll get things done a lot quicker.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founded in 1984, LED Group ROBUS is headquartered in Dublin and now has branch offices in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Guangzhou in China.

We embrace emerging lighting technologies and the benefits they bring to the market, creating enduring products with low energy, low maintenance, outstanding performance and return on investment. I am a Digital Design/Project Lead and I am responsible for all company's digital projects.

For what projects/services did your company hire SEVEN?

We hired Seven to build a step-by-step calculator for the new ROBUS range of LED strips. The Calculator calculates, based on the strip type and length, which parts are necessary to build an optimal electrical circuit.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to create an easy-to-use web application that would offer users accurate shopping lists for their VEGAS LED flexi-strip lighting projects. The calculator was to be implemented on the company website and to operate as a stand-alone browser app, as a Chrome extension.

How did you select this vendor?

I sent the project documentation to about ten companies capable of meeting our requirements. Each companies' quote was rated based on factors such as presentation, reputation, costs etc.

Seven got to our narrow choice with another company because their project breakdown was the most detailed one and their portfolio showed they had the experience in building apps similar to ours.

In the first meeting, I got the impression that we're dealing with true professionals and that they understand our needs.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Seven received a detailed project brief and in the kick-off meeting they proposed Angular framework and one three week sprint and two two wee sprints to project completion.

I signed off on the mock-ups and this agile approach worked well for us. In the agreed timeframe we had the completed, functional app.

I decided to continue my cooperation with Seven, as the Vegas range evolved, expanded and more complex calculations were required. And they followed us successfully in every step of the way.

What was the team composition?

The basic team consisted of Project Manager, QA/QC Specialist and Full Stack Software Engineer. Other team members ould come and go as needed.

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

This project resulted in a powerful tool used by electrical contractors accross the UK and Irish markets. It was so well received that we decided to create a version for the Australian and New Zealand markets as well.

Our Internal Sales finds it much easier and faster to respond to customer orders since more and more Vegas orders are coming through the app now, rather than the phone. A huge improvement in our customer service.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I found it easy to work with Seven. As Vegas range evolved so did our needs. They would carefully listen to our needs and come back with proposals and time frames within a day or two.

Deadlines were never breached and all work was done within the agreed budgets. I was informed in time of any potential events that could affect the project plan, such as their local national holidays, staff annual leaves etc., so I could plan my deliveries and convey my decisions to them in time.

Their Project Manager was very helpful when it came to finding solutions that would suit our budgets and deadlines. If I needed to speak to him, he would always have time for a quick chat and would warn me of any oversights I or my engineers made in the briefs we sent them.

This addressing the issues ahead of time resulted in a very smooth workflow and less back-and-forth communication. Their Project Manager and I communicated directly via email. I was impressed with how quickly he became an expert in our Vegas range and the logic behind it.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing about this company is how they deliver a project with ease. At least from client's point of view. They would do their best to help us reach our goals. And I felt they truly understand and own the project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

From my experience of working with dev companies, I can confirm Seven is one of the very few top companies I ever worked with. I had one complaint to them, once, about a minor QC process issue, and they rectified it immediately and for good. I think Seven is an excellent example of what a company and what customer service should be.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder/CEO and lead engineer at a company that develops environmental monitoring and control solutions.

For what projects/services did your company hire SEVEN?

For this project, we needed a data visualization dashboard that would allow our customers to view data from many devices in a centralized and user-friendly web application. It was also important that the web app was responsive and easy to use on a mobile device. The application also had to be able to send commands to devices deployed with our customers.

What were your goals for this project?

The solution had to be intuitive and provide a positive user experience. It was important that the software had a high-level of reuse and provide a good foundation for additional functionality and features. We also had a tight budget and schedule for the work.

How did you select this vendor?

I interviewed over a dozen different agencies prior to selecting Seven. Not only was the team at Seven very qualified for the job, they also seemed great to work with and highly organized. Prior to even starting, Seven focused on understanding the needs of the project so that a systems engineering approach could be implemented. This was a deal-maker for me.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Seven provided UI/UX design, front-end + back-end development, and testing services. Throughout the process, I was in contact with a project manager from Seven that understands the project very well and made my involvement easy.

What was the team composition?

My primary contact for the scope of the project was a project manager who effectively conveyed requirements and information to the development team. Early in the project, I also interfaced with a UI/UX designer and engineer.

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

The work product met and exceeded our expectations. Multiple customers and sales/prospects have complimented the look, feel, and function of the software. We are looking forward to building out the platform further with Seven.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management for the work was awesome. I met regularly with the project manager who quickly learned the intricacies and requirements for the job. I give her a lot of credit here because we work in a very niche market! Also, throughout the project, requirements changed and features were added/removed. Even with this, the project concluded on schedule with less than 1% budget over run which impressed me very much.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The organization, documentation, and project tracking system used by SEVEN is great. Also, very effective and honest communication.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't think so. I plan to continue using Seven as we grow our product! If something comes to mind, I will let them know.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

MyMed is an online medical consultation and prescription delivery service. We provide users access to medical practitioners for consultation. I’m the CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with SEVEN?

I had almost no product at all when I first approached SEVEN. The challenge was to create a minimum viable product (MVP), something we could test with beta users. We needed it to reliably send chat messages between a test doctor and patient, and collect information when a user signed up. We also needed it to link to the partners in the business for filling prescriptions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did a planning phase with them before we had our own CTO on board, so I went in as a non-technical person. I explained to them exactly what I was after. It was essentially a chat platform, a front website that links into that, and then the backend functionality. I wanted to have a non-technical way of adjusting the service on an admin page, so that was a key part of what SEVEN ended up building for us.

The other technical aspect was linking to a pharmacy partner. The built the API to link to a prescribing system that our doctors could use to prescribe medications and send the information securely to our pharmacy partner.

How did you come to work with SEVEN?

I found them online and looked at their previous work. They had some impressive work, so I asked for more detail around how they worked.

How much have you invested with SEVEN?

It was in the range of $10,000 to $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in July or August of 2016, and we are still engaged with them. We had four or five months of ongoing work, but we had to pause the work on our end. We’re now in the process of re-engaging them to finish off that piece of work.

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

We have very limited metrics. We used the MVP in controlled internal testing to ensure that we have all the regulation processes complete before we do a public launch. I don’t think there were any issues that are worth highlighting. It was very well executed, and it worked as requested.

How did SEVEN perform from a project management standpoint?

At the beginning, we had a group Skype introduction. They had the whole team in one room, and they introduced me to each team member who would be working on the project. I had one key contact person and a couple of engineers who were also accessible. The team on our end was growing, so I was able to put the right person in touch with a counterpart at SEVEN. We used Redmine, which showed us everything that was being done at different points and where the hours and money were going.

I was worried at the start about the time difference, as they’re located in Ukraine. However, our project manager was always accessible. He could often contact the team outside their working hours, or he would get back to us the following day before we even started our workday.

What did you find most impressive about SEVEN?

I had a low budget for this project. The alternatives in the market for my budget were much lower quality in terms of what they’d produced before. I think SEVEN offers a very good value for money. They’re at the top end of the lower-budget services.

The project management is a great strength for them. I could go to them at any point, and they were always responsive and available to help us.

Are there any areas SEVEN could improve?

We couldn’t hook up the most commonly used analytics tools to the MVP easily due to the technologies that we used, so I think they could tailor the technologies to future scaling requirements.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Activation Products has been in business for six years. We manufacture high-end and premium food products and nutritional supplements. We sell to businesses, but our focus is selling directly to the consumer online. I am one of the owners.

When we started working with SEVEN, I was COO, but I’m now part of the board of advisors. 

What challenge were you trying to address with SEVEN?

We have a need to see data at many levels of the company but particularly in marketing, which is where I was spending most of my time. We tracked quite a few metrics, including how much we were spending on marketing and comparing that to the results of those campaigns. We wanted to know how much revenue they were generating both immediately and over time, and we had to do that by product and by campaign. We also tracked overall finances like P&L [profit and loss statements]. We wanted to track our purchases, production, inventory level, raw material, etc. so that we could be more efficient with everything we do and increase our profitability.

The reason I chose to develop a platform instead of using one that’s already available is because we have a lot of unique information that we need to track and know. We tried to use existing platforms, but we had a lot of problems getting them to do exactly what we wanted. As a result, I felt that it was prudent to make something custom for us. Even though it would cost more up front, we knew we would have a better result. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

The product that SEVEN built is a mobile web-based app. It’s a dashboard that’s organized by department in the company. On the left of the dashboard, there’s navigation for marketing, operations, human resources, finance, etc. Each of these categories drills down into deeper levels of the report that are specific to that department. When everything is complete, data from one department will affect a report in another department. Within each report, there are multiple sections that are relevant to that report.

One major feature I asked for was granular permissions so that when we give somebody a user account, we can give very specific permissions for them on what they can view or edit. They can have access to a whole department, specific reports within that department, or specific sections within a certain report. Based on our experience with employees and contractors, we learned that this is very important as a security feature as well as for information control. Not everyone in the company needs to have access to everything because that can be detrimental. Having this control helps employees stay focused on what they need to do and what they need to know.

We had 12–15 resources working on our project, which included a project manager, lead designer, several business analysts, and a number of developers. At this point, we haven’t launched phase one because our needs from the dashboard are quite deep. There are many different types of reports that we’re developing, and SEVEN followed directions very well. The product they developed is visually appealing and well-organized.

How did you come to work with SEVEN?

I posted a job on Upwork about creating a dashboard for the metrics we needed. SEVEN was one of the first firms to apply for the job. I chose them because they were very professional in the way they answered my questions and in the work samples they showed me. I traveled to Ukraine to meet with them in person to discuss the needs of the project and to brainstorm with them. It adds a lot of cost to the project because of travel and time, but I ended up getting a lot of work done while I was there. SEVEN demonstrated that they have a large infrastructure. They have a lot of people on their team who are professional and know their jobs very well.

How much have you invested with SEVEN?

We have spent between $40,000 and $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SEVEN in September 2016, and the work is ongoing. 

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

Technically, SEVEN is very capable. I felt the project went slower than it could’ve, and that was partly because our team was slow to get SEVEN the answers they needed. It was also delayed due to misunderstandings related to the language barrier, which was not as severe when I was with them in Ukraine. Despite the language barrier, I thought they did a good job. Clients need to take the time to ensure that the team understands the work that is needed.

How did SEVEN perform from a project management standpoint?

We had no issues with scheduling. We were assigned a dedicated project manager, and he communicated with us every day. The methods and tools they used to make the documents available were sometimes difficult to use. We used Skype to communicate and Redmine for project management that was more specific to the developers. We also used Red Pen for design collaboration. They were using Microsoft’s version of Google Drive, which I don’t like at all.

What did you find most impressive about SEVEN?

One of the reasons I chose them was because of their price. Getting similar work done from North American-based agencies would be more expensive. We’ve heard other companies have had success with cheaper firms in India or Russia, but when we tried them, they didn’t work out. For working with a foreign agency, I think SEVEN worked quite well for us.

Are there any areas SEVEN could improve?

I think they could improve their understanding of English and the culture of their clients. That would help things go faster and limit misunderstandings. From what I understand, English speakers are a good part of their client base, so it would add value to their company if they were fluent in English. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the technical lead of a social impact startup.

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

We wanted to create a marketplace for charity based on Magento. We needed help to setup the sever infrastructure, the platform and develop custom components sitting on top of the software platform.

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

We compared SEVEN with other IT companies. The factors for the decision were technical skillset, experience, flexibility with new developers and pricing going a long with an excellent pitch presentation.

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

We setup a requirements documents, developed a project plan with timings. Than SEVEN developed in Figma a site structure with layout drafts. SEVEN setup our infrastructure in the cloud and the platform using Magento. We extend the platform with a lot of custom applications, payment methods and extensions.

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

Different persons worked with us. Project managers, backend developers, frontend developers, UX/webdesigner and dev-ops for infrastructure.

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

Deliverable was a working e-commerce platform including staging enviroment.

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

We are using Jira, Confluence for planning and execution, Skype and Zoom for communication.

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

Their flexibility and friendliness were impressive.

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

Everything worked as expected.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Managing Director (MD) at Acumen International.

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

We have hired SEVEN team to help us develop the Global Payroll Tax Calculator covering 190 countries where we offer global employment services as a service provider.

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

The expertise and experience were vital in selecting the SEVEN team as our preferred vendor. When I was talking to the team, namely to Oksana, she was able to understand our company objectives and the challenges that we were facing. Oksana offered us not only the solution that would fit with the company's short-term objectives. But she also has demonstrated 'an eagle-eye' approach and offered us the long-term perspective in our product development.

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

The key deliverable for the project was the calculation module adjusted for payroll taxation for both local citizens and expatriates in 190 countries. Quite a challenging task!

Technologies used:

• Java - backend.
• Laravel - frontend.

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

2-3 people including Oksana as a Senior Project Manager, a Project Manager, and also a Head of Engineering.

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

After launching the Global Payroll Tax Calculator in September 2021, we have been both using it internally to prepare employment cost simulations for our clients and to sell the software (SaaS) to our clients. The product has proved to be profitable and value-adding

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

The communication and the project management of the SEVEN team is highly appreciated by me personally and our team as well. I could ask the questions based on my technical background and overall understanding of the task to get the Calculator live. However, the SEVEN team and Oksana and Julia, and Serhiy were able to hear what was said, and suggest the technical implementation that would help mitigate various consequences and risks that might arise in the future as the product grows. The recommendations we have received from SEVEN team were exclusive and added a great value as they were based on the rich experience with other products too!

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

The knowledge of the consequences, both technical, financial and others, which SEVEN team has helped us avoid. Their professional recommendations during the whole process of product development has helped us save costs and time too.

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

I would suggest improving the Reporting on completed works. But this is a minor change. If you are looking for a robust solution with the team of professionals that might be your Development team extension, I would 100% recommend SEVEN!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a brand new company called Chatremedy. We do mental health video therapy sessions; it’s like a mental health counseling app. It connects therapists to people who seek immediate counseling, and we’ll be releasing the app in the next three months in Japan and the UK. In the meantime, we have a welcome page. We just use it to get emails for people who are looking forward to the app launch.

What challenge were you trying to address with SEVEN?

In Japan there isn’t Talkspace or BetterHelp, so we wanted to build something similar. We needed help with mobile app development. We tried to start back in 2019; we worked with several companies to build the software, but it was a complete and utter nightmare. We wasted lots of time and money.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, SEVEN had a turnkey app that we wanted to use. They offered to build it from scratch, but we just modified it. We told them what we needed the app to do, and they’ve done everything. They’ve also built a web server that connects to the app so we can control the backend through the server.

For now, the app will only be available for iOS. It’s a platform where therapists can register, and people who are looking for therapy can go through it in the privacy of their home. Users can set up immediate video chats and counseling, and they can message each other and get counseling through text, emails, and so on. We’ll release the Android version in about nine months. 

How did you come to work with SEVEN?

We were looking at several companies to work with; we looked online and came across their website. After speaking with Adrian (Founder & CEO) and seeing their turnkey product, we knew they understood what we wanted and how to make it because they’d done it before.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our engagement in January 2021, and we’re still working together. They’ve just sent me the final draft of the app, and my team is looking at it.

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

We haven’t launched yet, so we don’t have any customers. The app is pretty much finished; everything looks promising. The quality is excellent, and every stage of the product has been very professional. We’ve worked with other companies before, and it was a complete mess. We had to spoon-feed them what we wanted.

With SEVEN, we just tell them what we need the app to do. Every single stage, they’ve brought us something that we can understand easily. Working with them is great because we don’t have to know anything about development — they break it down for us.

Moreover, they think about what we need and anticipate it. They have experience in building these types of apps, so they know exactly what payment systems we need, and so on. Since we’re releasing the app in Japan, there have been some issues. However, they bring them back to their team and come back with a solution. If we’d found them in 2019, we would’ve launched already.

How did SEVEN perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is fantastic. Other companies go over deadlines and charge through the roof. SEVEN explains every single step. If we need a change, they go away for a couple of days and come back to tell us how many hours it’ll take and how much it’ll cost additionally. We can agree before any commitment’s made, while other companies wait and just tell you how much more it’ll cost.

On the other hand, SEVEN has never gone over deadlines. If it looks like they’re going over, they explain to us why. Also, from what I understand, a lot of the work is delegated to different departments. Everything’s built simultaneously, so we don’t have to wait for something to be done.

We mainly communicate through email and Zoom. I speak to Adrian through email, and I also have him on Skype, which makes things easier. Additionally, we have meetings on Zoom with him and a couple of the programmers, and they explain everything to us in layman’s terms. We hate these technical programs, but with email and Skype, it’s just like being in the office with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re easy to work with because they anticipate our needs. Also, they explain everything to us. Even without a programming background, we can understand them. Moreover, the app is high quality, and they excel in professionalism. If something isn’t working properly, they don’t show us. The team waits until it’s 100% ready, and then they present it to us. In general, everything with them is fantastic and problem-free.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t point out anything that they’ve done wrong. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I definitely recommend them and would work with them again. They really know what they’re doing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of a telecommunication solutions company with branches in Europe and East Asia.

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

The goal was to develop a custom Softphone solution with some special features.

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

We select them from few companies which could deliver such solutions. We were convinced by their previous projects.

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

Android based app, Kotlin, Java.

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

There were 3 persons in the core team, a project manager and 2 senior developers. Other resources according to the project needs.

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

Project was finished in good quality and in time.

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

Good communication and project management with the tools like Redmine, Skype, Teams.

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

They were always available for necessary meetings during the collaboration.

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

Just keep the current quality.

Please describe your company and your position there.

At Kings Distributed Systems, I lead the motivated team behind the Distributed Compute Protocol, a high throughput distributed computing framework built on web technology.

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

All of our engineers were all busy and focused on building the core platform. We didn't have enough resources to simultaneously work on front-end components, so we decided to outsource.

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

We were introduced about a year ago, discussed potential collaboration, and kept in touch. When our need arose, we reconnected and launched the project.

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

We provided designs and mockups, as well as a mostly functional backend, but a lot of work needed to be done to implement the new frontend and connect it to the backend. Some backend work was also required to streamline functionality and connect it correctly to the user interface.

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

One excellent web developer was able to deliver all aspects of the project.

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

100% satisfaction with our internal team, testing underway with live clients. All appreciate the interface's new aesthetic.

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

Quite mechanical, which we appreciated.

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

They promised high-quality engineers/web developers, and they delivered.

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

Honestly, no negative feedback, all positive.