Simple Thread

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of research in the custom applications consulting services department at the University of Virginia. We do custom software applications for anybody throughout the university.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Thread?

We had to change the scope of the system; it was becoming more of an enterprise-wide system. We also wanted to implement automated testing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Simple Thread helped build software, which we were developing as an in-house grants management system. It’s an enterprise-wide system that supports the research community for proposal development, award management, and other workflows. Their team helped us get up to speed with writing a test and implemented an automated testing infrastructure. They also helped implement the functional areas of the system including the electronic sponsor action requests. Basically, the component replaced a number of paper forms within the university into an electronic request and workflow system for first sponsor programs.

From a technical standpoint, we used all Microsoft .NET technology. We used C sharp, SQL Server, and everything was hosted in an Azure environment. A lot of frontend work involved JavaScript, TypeScript. From an automated testing standpoint, we used the Microsoft Native unit testing components but also used Selenium for user testing.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one contractor—David (Senior Software Engineer, Simple Thread).

How did you come to work with Simple Thread?

My manager had a relationship with Simple Thread through the university. We looked for expertise in certain areas such as automated testing. We contacted their team and felt comfortable with their background as well as the type of services they could provide.

How much have you invested with them?

We ended up investing $525,000 over the course of a few years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with David in November 2016 and the engagement ended last week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There were four major areas of functionality that were implemented while David was on board and it wouldn’t have happened without him including automated testing, proposal development, non-funded agreement module, and the electronic sponsor action requests. Those four things all happened while David was with us. He was a key member of the team.

How did Simple Thread perform from a project management standpoint?

We handled the project management on our end because we had David on as an extra developer. Even though he worked remotely, we were engaged with him every day through ZOOM meetings and Slack. We’re an agile shop, so he participated in sprint ceremonies. His communication and availability were excellent. It was easy to keep him on task and know where he was in the process. Plus, he kept us up to date as far as what he was working on and how it was going. The engagement worked out fantastically.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Simple Thread was not a huge operation. All their developers are competent as well as their principals. Not only do they have their client’s best interest in mind, but they also understand the talent of the people they’re providing for their services. Bigger agencies have products or people that don’t work out because they’re just another body that moves through the company. Simple thread invests a lot to keep their staff up to date on technology. They provide top-notch talent to work on projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything negative to say.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Like any project, keep communication channels open so that everybody is on the same page. Not everybody at Simple Thread works on-site, so interact with their team daily to keep a pulse on what’s going on.