Shark Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Project Manager of a Media Publishing Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Media publishing company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Shark Software to accomplish?

• create a mobile app

SOLUTION

How did you find Shark Software?

upwork

Why did you select Shark Software over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Shark Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

1. Wireframes and prototypes of the mobile app.
2. UX/UI design of the app for both iOS and Android platforms.
3. Backend architecture and functionality development.
4. Fully functional mobile app for iOS and Android.
5. Testing reports and debugging documentation.
6. Deployment of the app to the app stores.
7. Maintenance and support post-launch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

1. Timely and Efficient Communication:
   - Number of scheduled meetings/calls held per week.
   - Average response time to emails, messages, and inquiries.
   - Utilization of project management tools to track and document communication.

2. Smooth Feedback Loop:
   - Percentage of feedback incorporated into design and development iterations.
   - Feedback resolution time (from receiving feedback to implementing changes).

3. Delivery On Time:
   - Comparison of planned vs. actual project timeline.
   - Number of milestones completed according to the project schedule.
   - Meeting project deadlines for app development stages (wireframes, design, development, testing, deployment).

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Their project management was extremely efficient and well-organized. They consistently met deadlines and delivered items on time, ensuring that the project progress stayed on track. Their responsiveness to our needs was exemplary, addressing any queries or concerns promptly and effectively. Their proactive communication and problem-solving approach made the project run smoothly and successfully. Overall, their commitment to timely delivery and responsiveness truly made a positive impact on the project.

What was your primary form of communication with Shark Software?

Virtual Meeting

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

Shark Software's standout quality lies in their strong commitment and professionalism. They were dedicated to the project, consistently meeting deadlines and delivering high-quality results. Their professional approach was evident in their clear communication, attention to detail, and adept problem-solving skills. Working with Shark Software was a smooth and professional experience, thanks to their unwavering commitment and professionalism throughout the project.

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

Everything ran smoothly with Shark Software. Their performance was excellent, and we couldn't have asked for anything more. They handled everything expertly, and we were thoroughly impressed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of a software company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A data driven fintech company that helps accountants to be a trusted advisor to their customers

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Shark Software to accomplish?

• Visual/UX design
• Frontend development

SOLUTION

How did you find Shark Software?

• previous experience

Why did you select Shark Software over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• good previous experience

How many teammates from Shark Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

ai-Gust is a data-driven Fintech Platform, built by accountants for accountants. Whereas accountants have focused for a long time on making sure “all figures” were correct, modern business leaders expect more from them. And that’s where ai-Gust kicks in. Our platform seamlessly connects to the most popular accounting platforms in the market (e.g. Exact Online).

It centralises all accounting data in a multi-tenanted cloud-hosted data warehouse and brings the data into a common format. Smart algorithms subsequently detect customers requiring follow-up and generate suggestions on how businesses can improve their performance. We engage with Shark Software to help with the UX design as well as the development of the frontend. The frontend is built in Vue.js.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• a new branding for our startup was elaborated and integrated into our product
• the shark UX designer helped us convert our ideas into nice visuals
• this design has then been converted into a working product
• currently we are evolving the product and adding new features

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

People were integrated into our company's workflow and basically extended our team

What was your primary form of communication with Shark Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• They were very nice people to work with, even in difficult circumstances
• Listen to feedback and willingness to improve
• Drive to deliver

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

• Level of English
• better documentation (in the code)
• keep code simpler and better maintainable

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product manager at Netaxis Solutions, a systems integrator and software factory in the telecommunications industry. We do systems integration, but we also do certain deployments and configurations of core networks for service providers like Orange, MTN, KPN, Proximus, and others.

We also do software development. We have our own product portfolio which complements the solutions we integrate. These solutions are sold to those same customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shark Software?

As one of our products, we build customer-facing portals for our telco service provider customers, helping them manage their customers. 

We do backend and API development, and we already had a frontend running, but we needed help to expand specific features that were already built in React, so we hired Shark Software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handle the frontend development and UX design for the web portals. We use React on the frontend. As an example of the product, if you’re a customer of MTN and want to manage your hosted telephone system (virtual PBX / UC as a Service), you can log in to one of our portals to do so. We sell that product to the telco providers and it’s customized for them for their customers. 

For the development, I started by giving them all the directions and they executed what we asked. They started working on a small module of the solutions but as the relationship grew, we’ve given them much more work as well as independence.

Right now, they’re developing part of the product fully independently. I give specifications for how it should look, along with some technical insight about the kind of APIs to be implemented. We review and it's me who makes the final decisions. However, they have the technical leads and do everything on their own from that perspective. We manage the quality assurance and integration in the wider picture.

What is the team composition?

There are currently four full-time developers, a project manager, and one UX teammates. We’re also in contact with Sergei (CEO) and Dmitry (Account Executive) on the management side.

How did you come to work with Shark Software?

I did a Google search for developers with React expertise to scale up our team and found Shark Software.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between €100,000–€150,000 (approximately $120,700 – $181,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019. The engagement was very limited at the start with only one developer, but in early 2020, we started another side project with them. Later, we decided to take the engagement to the current level and we plan to continue working with them in 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback we receive about the product we built together is very positive. We were originally working with some other partners, but the feedback we were receiving from our customers was just so bad, we knew we needed to change. Now, people are really satisfied and we get very positive reactions. I also expected the work to take six months, but it was completed in four. 

How did Shark Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We have our own project management tools and communication tools, in terms of development. All the task management goes through Asana, which is where we structure our collaboration. 

They’re a very flexible team — the project manager follows up very well with their progress. He makes sure the development team does everything that has to happen. We collaborate on Slack, where people can post any type of question.

We have a weekly follow-up call to go over the progress of the project. The project manager also does weekly reporting on progress. We have a technical call each week if they have questions for us, vice versa.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very capable with the work they do and they deliver really quality software. With the previous partner, we had a lot of bugs and they didn’t comprehend what we needed — this is not the case with Shark Software. 

They’re always open and listen to what I tell them, and they come back with suggestions. If they have objections, they make those. They take the technical lead and ownership, but they’re always open to my questions and are very flexible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can’t think of for them to do better — I’m really satisfied with the collaboration.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend working with them. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and general manager of Х on Board. We’re a software development company based in Lebanon. We develop software for clients based on whatever needs and use cases they may have.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shark Software?

Shark Software is our development partner, specifically mobile development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Shark Software developed a native Android and iOS app for one of our recent client projects using the Flutter framework. We handled management and facilitate between parties.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with two main people from their team, including Sergey (CEO).

How did you come to work with Shark Software?

I found them through Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we’ve paid them more than $10,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them at the beginning of 2020. We’ve been together for almost six months now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve provided extremely high-quality services and are very attentive. My main contacts are always available, always delivering on time. All the code is high-quality and easily readable by other developers.

We’ve had low downtime with them, which is very important for software development. They’ve been very prompt and always able to find solutions for our issues.

How did Shark Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very professional in taking our requirements and dividing them into tasks. We’re using Trello to track all their tasks. All deadlines are respected, and everything’s gone smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve had experience with other developers. In comparison, Shark is proficient and knowledgeable. They’ll tell us beforehand whether or not they’re familiar with something. I feel that their primary motivation is to have a happy customer, rather than to make money from customers. They’re very professional, and they make us feel like we’re a partner, rather than just a client. This is one of the reasons we’ll be using their services in the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything’s been smooth from my end.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’d just advise them to go with Shark Software. They know what they’re doing, so the client is in good hands.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of One Surgery, a medical professional platform for medical surgeons.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shark Software?

I needed someone to help with web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were responsible for creating the calendar from React.js. Another member of their team was responsible for rendering the models in the frontend, along with also a lot of logic for the patient portal and CRM calendar.

They’ve also done a lot of research and rendered models with different tracks on the browser. We’ve provided them with the design, defined requirements, and they code it. 

What is the team composition?

There are two developers.

How did you come to work with Shark Software?

I found them on Upwork. Their manager contacted me and introduced me to the developers before we started working together.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $4,000 per month for two developers.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019 and the first project took 3–4 months. We will be starting another with them soon, so it’s an ongoing project. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their developers have done a great job and worked pretty quickly. Although we’re not finished yet because of logic changes, they'll complete it soon. 

How did Shark Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fast and never waste time. Our tasks are very defined and we explain exactly what we want. For all of the financial information, they have a good manager who handles it. I work with developers directly and we communicate via Telegram and Skype.

At the start of the project, we worked together for a month and changed one developer because he didn’t have the time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of research they do is quite impressive. Their prices are also good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re good developers if you’re looking for React.js.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the IT System PIC of a consulting company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

ThinkNature inc. is a "researcher's startup" of nature data scientists. We propose solutions for sustainable relationship with biodiversity and ecosystem services through cutting-edge data analytics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Shark Software to accomplish?

The task was to create a commercial platform.

SOLUTION

How did you find Shark Software?

Upwork

Why did you select Shark Software over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Shark Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Bulit E-commerce on AWS

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

 We started work on the project in October 2023. The project has been completed and is now at the stage of adding additional data volumes.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes they had a weekly meeting to adjust

What was your primary form of communication with Shark Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We were most impressed by Shark Software's ability to clearly understand our needs and offer innovative solutions that improved the functionality of our product. Their willingness to cooperate and result-oriented approach was top notch.

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

 General, we were very pleased with the cooperation with Shark Software. The only aspect that could be improved is a slightly faster response to some less critical requests. However, this did not significantly affect the overall success of the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Product Manager of Taurus

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Create mobile phone applications

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Shark Software to accomplish?

• To be our product team building our social media app named Mark:MetaEarth
• To be our product team on an SLA basis for our other app named Stitch

SOLUTION

How did you find Shark Software?

Referral

Why did you select Shark Software over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

What was the size of Shark Software’s team?

15+

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To create the first AR social media application named Mark:MetaEarth. In Mark:MetaEarth the goal is to seemlessly bridge the physical world with the technological world. Our biggest challenge was getting an accurate and consistent AR objects to stay in a location on both an X and Y axis. This challenge is at the core of our user experience with the application. Together with the Shark team we created the entire app experience from UX & UI to AR development and creating our own AI algorithm for the application. Moreover, we have implemented an NFT Marketplace within the world of Mark:MetaEarth.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Accuracy and consistency of a posted Mark Ability for map to show viewpoints accurate

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Shark team have always maintained a professional work ethic to any situation we’ve encountered. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with them so far.

What was your primary form of communication with Shark Software?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their genuine care towards the project. Not only are they professional, but their culture is also very warm and inviting.

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

Better discovery techniques before jumping into development