Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
I like the way SingleMind handles the business. They know what they’re doing, they’re very intelligent, they have a lot of experience and they cared about us. We would have conversations, write up statements of work, make sure we understood what the issue was. They were always there to handle problems on a weekend or at night. They were responsive, attentive, and just nice people to deal with.
I don’t have specific metrics. Being a salesperson, I’m concerned with whether it works, if my customers have complaints, and whether there are problems. That’s how I gauge if it works. A lot of people use our invitations; they’re very popular. The fact is, our product is running today faster and better than it has in years. SingleMind kept it going for many years, and that’s a sign of success to me.
We haven’t had any problems in quite some time, but there were periods of time when we did, such as the memory leakage issue. The system would run so slowly, it would take minutes to change a page. Those problems have been addressed by Cort and our hosting partners.
How did SingleMind perform from a project management standpoint?
They performed very well. They really don’t do anything until they have a defined statement of work. We sit down and talk about our goals, timelines, and what we expect this thing to do when it’s done. Once they go through that analysis, they assign somebody to the team who works on it. We have regular meetings to check in on the progress. I thought that was a good skill. I had no problems with the timeliness of their work. We used Basecamp, and that was very handy. We could get on there with the engineers and Cort when we had a problem or an update. We had good tools for team collaboration.
What did you find most impressive about SingleMind?
In a world where there are lots of engineers, it’s really the personalities of the people you work with, who understand what you’re trying to do and share interest in helping you achieve your goals. I’ve been through countless difficulties with a variety of engineering companies. If you don’t find the right one, and you have conflict about some basic stuff, it really gets in the way of achieving your objectives. I never had any problems with Cort and his team. Calls were always made and emails returned. I was never chasing them for information. They were on top of things and always gave me information, or at least they had updates when I called.
Are there any areas SingleMind could improve?
No. It’s very complex stuff. It’s like creating a painting; you don’t know how it’s going to turn out until you see it. Not being a technology guy myself, I had to have confidence that the team I worked with picked the right tools, all the things that go into the mix. I left that up to them, and I thought they gave good advice.
SingleMind manages the platform’s development with tact and professionalism. They’re truly empathetic towards the goals of this undertaking, as shown by their diligent work ethic. Flexibility, competence, and intelligence are core attributes that make this vendor a treat to collaborate with.