Singlemind

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I work for Final Strike Games. We’re an independent game studio located in Bellevue, Washington, and our primary focus is multiplayer titles. We just spent three years developing our first title, which we’ve only recently announced.

I ran operations at First Strike for about two years and just recently moved into a production role. I’m now overseeing all of our outsourced art.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SingleMind?

In 2016, when the company was first founded, we had a very basic website up. Our team hadn’t thought too much about it because we were quite small and laser-focused on development. We’ve grown substantially over the years, and, with our game announcement coming up, we realized that we wanted a more professional-looking site.

Our goal was to have a site that reflected our company’s culture and brand while highlighting our amazing team and our new game. We also wanted to make sure that we had links on our site to our publisher’s website, because that’s where the game was going to be hosted.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We told them what we were looking for, but didn’t give them much to go off of as far as the design of the site. We showed them a colleague’s website that we liked and went from there.

At the beginning of the project, we hadn’t announced the game yet and couldn’t send any initial images or assets. SingleMind took the reins on that and presented us with a bunch of different template options. We were working on a six-week timeline, so they showed us a variety of different styles and designs, rather than designing from scratch.

The team built two versions of the site; one that they launched before the game announcement, and another that could be launched afterward. Chris (Chief Creative Officer, SingleMind) was able to program the link for our game to take users from our website to a beta sign-up page on our publisher’s website. He also wrote code that linked their site to their company logo on our site. In addition to creating links, the team implemented a widget from our external HR platform.

What is the team composition?

I spoke primarily with Damon (Director of Operations, SingleMind), and he took care of scheduling and email communication. Chris was the engineer who handled coding and would jump on calls with Damon to answer technical questions. I occasionally communicated with Cort (CEO, SingleMind) and the CTO at SingleMind.

How did you come to work with SingleMind?

We found out about SingleMind through a referral from one of our partners. We called a couple of different firms and eventually reached out to Cort. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from March–May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a functional, fast, and nice-looking website that accurately reflects our team and company culture. We were really happy to have our team showcased on the site. Also, the new HR integration has worked wonderfully. We now have a much easier time processing applications and collecting revenues.

How did SingleMind perform from a project management standpoint?

We couldn’t be happier with their approach. We had a lot of internal changes happening while we were trying to build this site, and SingleMind was transparent in letting us know how long tasks would take. They were more than happy to take on extra work and still delivered within our deadlines.

We made a lot of requests, and there was a very strict final deadline, so their adaptability went a long way. Everybody, especially Damon, was so responsive. We communicated primarily via email and delivered some assets to them via Google Drive. We also had several calls on Google Hangouts.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were extremely personable and friendly. We had a great relationship throughout, and I am so glad that they were a small team. They genuinely care about what they do and even reached out to us after a gaming conference to see if we were still liking the site.

Also, at one point, towards the end of the project, we were having trouble with our link requests, and their CTO somehow managed to find a solution for us. He made it work without us having to use another option that would’ve taken more time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no, there isn’t. We threw a lot of stuff at them, and they were never fazed by it. They were transparent with us throughout the whole process. I would definitely work with them again.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The best way to go about working with them is to be as transparent with them as they are with you. They’ll give you details about executions and dates, so make sure to let them know about changes that are coming. They can handle changes and will work with you to meet your deadlines.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the president and chief strategy officer at LearningMate Solutions. We’re an EdTech and media solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SingleMind?

We needed to perform a UX/UI audit on a new cloud platform designed for state and local education agency officers.

What were your goals for this project?

We set out to evaluate the design of our initial prototype and obtain guidance for incorporating best practices and design principles into our MVP build.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We spoke with a handful of consulting firms around the world. Our decision to work with SingleMind was guided by their team's experience, understanding of the design process, willingness to be flexible, and availability to complete the work within our schedule.

Describe the project in detail.

They evaluated our existing prototypes several times and discussed the nuances of their feedback.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a couple of UX resources and a project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We were able to make specific improvements to our platform design that will improve its ease of use and efficiency.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

My internal team found it easy to work with SingleMind’s team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were easy to work with and had a deep knowledge of technology and user behavior. Their consultant-like approach was quite helpful.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It doesn’t get better than being on schedule and within budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a music technology startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SingleMind?

We needed someone to transform my conceptual drawings and algorithmic sketches into something that was practical and functional.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a very specific task: iterating my idea. The best way to showcase the platform and its purpose was to develop an app. It isn't designed to be customer-facing; it's a proof of concept for potential partners, team recruits, and fundraising.

They've been crucial to developing an minimum viable product (MVP) of the mobile application. We work very closely to achieve what I want it to do and how I want it to make people feel. They've created it from the ground up, bridging the gap between our challenge and the results we were looking for. I supply detailed schematics and flowcharts of inputs and outputs. They aren't in a programming language, but their inputs, process, and outputs are extremely clear. That's what they need. 

The product will eventually be platform agnostic, since it's a hybrid between a language, an operating system, and an application. We knew that the best way to explain it to a potential partner would be through an iOS app. Although this isn’t the technology's final result, it will likely be one of its offshoots. It will eventually be part of the company's development plan. 

What is the team composition?

I was in contact with up to five team members, but primarily talked to three people. The team was small enough that everyone understood everything they had to do. I was glad that the crew was compact.

How did you come to work with SingleMind?

They were recommended to me by a design firm in London who initially consulted on the demo's look and feel. They knew that SingleMind had the right combination of technological capabilities, a team with a musical background, and an understanding of musical concepts. That was important because our project is stretched tight between those worlds. It would have taken more time to explain the concept to programmers who didn’t understand musical concepts.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We wanted a working demo with some functionality by the new year, and the product successfully made sound by Christmas. Within two and a half months, we could hear it was going to work. The initial set of work was set out in an extremely concentrated way which was great.

The first phase is being used as a demo, but we're refining and extending the technology. Currently, it's on hold as we wait for funding to come in. I intend to continue working with SingleMind for a significant amount of time.

During the first three demos, the person turned around and said they had goosebumps. Anyone using the demo should have goosebumps. SingleMind continues to exceed any measurable metric we give them.

How did SingleMind perform from a project management standpoint?

Their performance is exemplary. The lines of communication are always clear, and they are extremely responsive. No one has ever turned around and said they couldn't do something. They always come back with a solution, cost, schedule, and clear breakdown of the work involved. All I need is transparency and clarity about information and deadlines, and they've hit everything.

Their project management is personal, and I don't feel like they're working on anything else. I have their full attention when I need it. I have all the information I need about what they do, where they are, and what it costs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They've gone far beyond the brief, and put in more energy and imagination than the budget would normally command. They've assured us that our project is great. In a way, they've become partners rather than contractors. I wasn’t expecting that, but it has been one of the best things.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

To get the most from them, take them information about what you want to achieve rather than how you expect they'll do it. The reason we work so well together is because I told them which results I was looking for and what I was going to put into it. They're great at envisioning the complex connection between those two things. They were hungry for the diagrams and technical information, and they understand the effect that we want this to have.

The other thing that helps it work is the fact that I'm prepared to spend face-to-face time with them mapping it out. That helps everyone understand what we want and how we're going to achieve it. We don't get frustrated because we know exactly who they are. We've seen them work, which is important for us. It was great to spend time hacking out ideas and ensuring they would work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of smart data company. We make enterprise software that people put in their data centers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SingleMind?

The enterprise software industry is a big and slow-moving marketplace. I saw the opportunity to create a new product that would complement that space, yet have a different trajectory in terms of people buying and using it. We understood what it needed to do because we’re subject matter experts, but we still needed help building it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first went through a collaborative process where SingleMind listened to our pitch and asked questions. We created the architectural specifications and further refined it with their help. Then, we broke that down into a multi-phase development process. We helped some, but they were the key drivers of the project.

They developed our web app and there’s nothing else like it on the market. The tools currently in the enterprise software space revolve around research and computer science. It’s all very textual and the traditional approach relies heavily on menus. Our product is the exact opposite of that. It’s very light on menus and emphasizes graphical displays instead. The app consists of two distinct pieces that fit together seamlessly. One section enables users to draw things, while the other section facilitates administrative tasks like saving, sharing, renaming, and organizing documents.

What is the team composition?

The team construction varied throughout the process, but we worked with six people in total. Richie (CTO, SingleMind) was heavily involved in the prototyping phase but eventually rotated out of the project as the process continued. Chris (Chief Creative Officer, SingleMind) is the coordinator and our primary point of contact. A couple of software people joined the project, along with a few others. Cort (Founder/President, SingleMind) is always involved when he needs to be.

How did you come to work with SingleMind?

The first project I did with them was in 2008 with a different company and they were recommended to me. I’ve come back to them a few times because they know what it takes to build a web app and the infrastructure behind it. For this project, they listened carefully to what we knew we needed to build.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $200,000 and $1 million thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2016 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

What we did was new, so it’s not like SingleMind could copy what someone else had done. As simple as the app is, it has a lot of complex interactions underneath it that we hid from people. The quality of their code is high and has limited bugs.

I can count on them to deliver within the number of hours we agreed on. Our success is the result of the process they’ve set up and their persistence to understand what needs to get done. They don’t go into development ill-prepared. They’ll take the time to sufficiently define a project scope and execute on it. The reliability of their development process is remarkable.

How did SingleMind perform from a project management standpoint?

SingleMind utilizes a development process that works well for them. They break a project down into tickets and allocate time for each one. Then, they give me an estimate of what they think it’s going to take to deliver each phase.

They’re a big fan of Redmine and Slack, which works really well. Chris helps architect and coordinate things. His leadership is a significant factor in the success of our projects with them. He’s an experienced, driven, and actively involved team member. We have regular short meetings several times a week to make sure everything is on track.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with other firms in the past who say they can do good work, but don’t think about the big picture. SingleMind has a good understanding of the whole process from ideation to implementation and beyond. They’re able to take our ideas and turn them into functioning code. Most vendors don’t have it together as much as they do.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am part of a large cultural institution. We have a bookstore that is largely for students, but also open to the public. We sell sheet music to the general public and all around the world, and have an e-commerce site that we started in 2010. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SingleMind?

The goal when we built our new site was to accurately display as many items as possible, while having the site be searchable and browsable for our customers. We sell up to about 30,000 items online and in-store, we carry more than 80,000. The big problem with the website was that there was no real way to categorize thousands of SKUs and to display them well. There was no search or browse function that met our needs. We were only able to get about 7,000 or 8,000 items online and they were a mess to navigate or to find. 

The other part was to develop a workflow in the backend where our buyers, our sales associates, and our shipping manager could all use and understand the statuses of orders. We needed to categorize orders, when to ship them, and how to mark them wherever they were in various stages of the order. It was a big frontend need and then the backend was like developing a whole new workflow and processing orders. We imagined our order volume was going to go up significantly, which it did. We needed to be able to manage that on the backend.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We completely threw away the old website because it was so bad. SingleMind built it from the ground up after we submitted basic wireframes to them. It’s built on Drupal 7. They did the nuts and bolts of starting a website from scratch: advising on security and integrating our payment processor. They couldn’t really initiate a new payment process on our behalf, but they walked me through the steps of how to do it and made sure everything was up and running and secure. 

They handed all of the technical work with the shipping integrations. When someone orders something, we go through and we can create a custom shipping label for them. They built those features into the website, as well as the entire order management interface. They didn’t really do design work except to smooth out the theme a little.  They did offer design services, but we decided to do that in-house to save some money and to match the institutional theme. 

What is the team dynamic? 

We had a project manager who is my main point of contact. We had one lead developer who we dealt with a lot and then we had one or two other developers who did some initial work. We had a couple of other guys along the way who did some smaller projects.

How did you come to work with SingleMind?

We put an RFP [request for proposal] for the project and SingleMind responded to it. They were on a budget and very realistic with what they could do with that budget. We received such a range of budgets in the proposals that I questioned whether some of the companies even read the RFP. SingleMind came with a very professional response that addressed what we had asked for. After speaking with them on the phone, we liked their approach the best.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2012 and the work is ongoing.

The bulk of the work was completed in December 2012. We now have an annual contract with them for hosting and general support and updates on the site. If we need little things done here and there, we are billed at an hourly rate, though if I ask them a question or send them an email, they don’t just start billing me. They maintain a spirit of a contract, which is why we’ve continued our relationship with them. It’s been very easy to deal with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first year after we opened the new website, our online sales increased 45%. People can find what they’re looking for. I’m always surprised at what people actually end up buying — the search and browse function is clearly working properly if people are able to find the more esoteric pieces they order. The website was very well received compared to our previous site that completely lacked a search function. We’re really happy with it.

How did SingleMind perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed exceptionally well, especially with them being on the West Coast. Their response time is very quick. I’m always amazed. We do things at lots of different times. Sometimes when we have to do scheduled maintenance, we’ll do it around midnight on the East Coast, which means they’re still starting it at 9:00 pm their time. I know they’re not actually a 24-hour shop, but I feel covered 24 hours a day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They don’t nickel and dime us. They give me very honest answers. I don’t feel like they’re constantly trying to upsell me on doing certain things. Since it has been about five years, in the next year or so we’re going to have to make the investment again to build a new site. They’re going to be on the list of people who I want to submit a proposal. I’ve talked to them a lot about it and they have offered to do research for me regarding a new site’s path. 

I value their honesty most. They give realistic answers. I’ve been talking about moving off of Drupal onto another platform and they’ve been honest that it’s not their expertise but they’re willing to take a look and see what we’re doing. 

It’s been a very good, open, honest relationship. At times where they do have to bill for certain things, it’s very upfront. I understand what’s happening. Overall, there is good communication and honesty. I’ve really been satisfied with our relationship with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only issue is because they are based in Portland, sometimes if I’m at work early in the morning and I see something is wrong, it might take them a couple of hours to get back to me. They’re actually really good at being on our time. I can usually get a response by 6:00 or 7:00 am on the West Coast.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of a video platform that allows brands to collect, curate, edit, and use consumer-generated content for marketing purposes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SingleMind Consulting?

We needed the whole platform built from start to finish.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

We started completely from scratch. Initially, we needed a minimally viable product (MVP) and started on a Ruby on Rails platform. SingleMind helped with the design to some extent as we needed the MVP to be developed on a budget. They did a good job of ensuring it still looked good but wasn’t too expensive on a platform level.

We had a couple versions of the Rails platform and database. We used a lean startup method: build, test, and iterate in a cycle. It was a content management system, which had a database, and it involved three different user roles; admin, sponsor, and what we called, shooters. The work also included a lot of keyword tagging and database material, some video processing, and we built an API into the system.

What is the team dynamic?

We had three members of their team working on the project. One person was working on the frontend, one person on the database admin, and one on things in between such as the API specification.

How did you come to work with SingleMind?

I had worked with Cort, the founder, previously when I was with another company, so for this new venture I decided to work with who I knew. There were other considerations at the time as well, but I liked SingleMind. There was some ideation, as well as the overall consultation, and scaling the project in the right way. I felt I fit really well with them, and that they could make stuff happen.

How much have you invested in them?

$10,000–50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2012, and the work was completed in mid-2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was able to get funding because of their work, which was the main goal with the MVP. I got into an accelerator here in Portland, run by Jaguar and Land Rover, which was what we wrote the API for.

People that came across the platform thought it was great. They commented on its applications, such as the video collection, and also how easy it was to tap into it via API. The automotive industry liked it and was interested in pulling video footage from cars and putting it on our platform to be instantly shared.

How did SingleMind perform from a project management standpoint?

They did really well—they are personable people. In terms of communication, they were really transparent and were always available if I had questions. They kept me up to date on how much time and budget had been used. 

I saved some money by doing parts of the project management myself. They helped with scope, and set up a project management ticketing management system using Redmine that was easy to use. They stepped in and did what they had to do to get the project completed within budget and without expanding the scope too much.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated that they were willing to embrace a startup that didn’t have a lot of money. They treated me just as well as their bigger clients and never made me feel any less important.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Perhaps on the architecture side, but I can’t attribute that to them; it was more on my end. I can’t recall anything I was frustrated about. Development is development and has its frustrating parts. However, as they communicated so well, we didn’t reach a point where there was a lot of frustration.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We’re a UX-focused software design firm. We specialize in application design, including enterprise and consumer software. We primarily focus on enterprise software

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with SingleMind?

Initially, we had a customer who was in more of a consumer space, rather than enterprise. They needed a large scale learning platform that was social based. Based on the capabilities required, Drupal was the best option, and SingleMind's team are experts.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We’ve actually worked with SingleMind several times. Some of the projects have been software engineering: PHP, Flex, JavaScript, Android. However, most of the work has been Drupal projects.

The first project, a large scale learning platform with social capabilities, was written in Drupal. Another Drupal application was built for sales teams. It offered the ability to for someone working in in-person sales to use a handheld catalog for things like industrial products that were not necessarily purchasable through E-commerce. It was for use onsite with the customer and was a Drupal-based hybrid web and mobile application.

We also worked with SingleMind on another product for a really large farming and GPS company. They developed an E-commerce platform using a large Java E-commerce framework and content management framework. The end-product was highly configurable, meant for purchasing of GPS chips.

Another project was around the real-time delivery of food, where orders could be placed and either picked up or delivered. This project was in the mobile and consumer space.

Currently, we're working with SingleMind on a fund management tool. The project is using PHP, and it allows for funds to create a mechanism for taking on investment.

Throughout all of these projects, our company does the design. SingleMind provides development and QA.

How did you come to work with SingleMind?

We had an RFP out on a project site and SingleMind answered it. Their qualifications around Drupal were a good fit. We decided to work with SingleMind based upon their expertise.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We've probably spent between $600,000 and $700,000 with SingleMind.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them 2007 and have been working together since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

One of the products we worked with them on was a three-year development product. That project was really great for us because we have a long term engagement with the client.

The fact that we keep going back to them also says something. We typically don’t work with vendors that don’t deliver and have success with, and we’ve continued to have success with SingleMind. The reliability and stability of the solutions they provide are solid. Every development project has hiccups and hitches, but they are usually related to either shifts and requirements from the customer or just unclear things that we may have missed for educations and designs. Everything has been great with Single Mind.

How did SingleMind perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great. Sometimes we were running them from our Scrum; our project management and Agile framework, and sometimes they’re doing it on their end. The way we work with them is flexible. They’re amenable to utilizing either our or their project management styles, and we typically use Jira and Pivotal.

What distinguishes SingleMind from other providers?

Their CEO has a lot of candor, and we work really well together as executives. I really appreciate his honesty and just his ability to adapt and work with us as projects change. It’s hard to be a subcontractor of a contractor, so we really appreciate their flexibility in working with us. When we bring them onto projects, we do great work and can be flexible with one another to get the right solution done.

Is there anything SingleMind could have improved or done differently?

Nothing that’s relevant now. We’ve been working with them so long that every issue in the past has been addressed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm one of the co-founders and COO of a computer software company. We come up with product concepts to license to major OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]. Based off of the consulting work that we do, we're trying to understand human needs, behaviors, and pain points around technology. Sometimes, we identify what might be a great product idea through that research; we make a pitch and license it to OEMs that will pay us to develop the product and distribute it on their systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SingleMind Consulting?

Primarily, our company has resources on the frontend dealing with human-factors engineers — they have a scientific focus on the physical and psychological factors that affect the design of devices and systems for human use. However, we don’t have a development team.

We partnered with SingleMind as we were trying to get our product license. They acted as our technical lead (essentially filling in the CTO role) and helped us answer some of the more technical questions and requirements that the OEMs asked of us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first worked together on a couple of smaller consulting projects, such as building a B2B website, creating a prototype, and that kind of stuff.

Then, for our larger and more complex project, they developed an actual cross-platform product that was licensed by an OEM. This product was a cross-platform app for PCs and smartphones. The trick was getting the two to connect and stay connected, and to exchange information and interact with one another seamlessly for the user.

The product was to help facilitate communication through a smartphone or PC. It aggregated all of your contact information and communications on both devices, whether it's email or texting. Essentially, I could reach out to any of my contacts through text or email or find out what my last communication was with that person on my phone or PC with it all being synced with the latest information.

As to the technologies used for the product, there was a proprietary middle-layer connectivity that we licensed from a major manufacturer. Some profiles were licensed from other major manufacturers. We also had the standard C++ and, depending on the format, Java for Android.

One of the things that my company does really well is not just researching, but also design, so a lot of the experience was designed internally. SingleMind only assisted and made suggestions or recommendations on where to change to adapt to some of the technical requirements. About 15–20 workers were assigned from SingleMind to the project.

How did you come to work with SingleMind Consulting?

We met Cort [Founder & President, SingleMind Consulting] through a professional organization and learned more about what his company did. Over the course of a few meetings and test riding a couple of smaller projects, we decided that they would be a good partner for our larger project.

How much have you invested with SingleMind Consulting?

It was just under $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

It might have been towards the end of 2014 when we first started working with them. The project was completed in March 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don't have any hard numbers, but in order for this product to get released, we had to pass a very stringent technical and security evaluation. The OEM sent one of their top security guys who spent 3 or 4 days on site, working with the team and going through all the code and all the aspects; we ultimately passed and I guess that's a compliment in itself to the work that SingleMind did.

The quality of their work was great. They met all our expectations and exceeded them in some cases. Whenever we encountered a problem with a functionality that wasn't performing right, they made recommendations on not only how to fix it but to help improve the experience quite a bit. I'm very happy with their overall effort.

How did SingleMind Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Very good. Cort started as the primary point of contact with the goal of us getting ramped up, getting the license signed, and working with us and the OEM on some of the initial technical requirements. We would bring in different resources when required, knowing that he would scale back his hands-on effort. At some point in the project, he helped us find a very qualified product manager to step in and facilitate the effort. He hit the ground running and did a great job in keeping the team in sync, performing, and delivering.

In regards to tools used, they introduced us to Slack. We also used some of the standard tools to check in and out of software development.

What did you find most impressive about SingleMind Consulting?

What’s most impressive is their flexibility and willingness to go the extra mile to work with us. We pulled SingleMind in initially; there wasn't a signed contract. They worked with us knowing that with their efforts, a big deal could come to fruition and it could mean a lot of good work for them. Then, when things started to become a reality, they were quick to respond. Throughout the whole project, there were a lot of challenges and changes, and they just rolled with them.

Are there any areas SingleMind Consulting could improve?

Quite honestly, I can't think of anything. Given the challenges and constraints, I think they did a great job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and founder of Partywirks. We’re a web-based reservation system for party and event venues.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SingleMind?

I needed to find a good vendor to take over our product. We had bounced around between different IT shops, and eventually we were introduced to Cort [Buchholz, founder and president]. The owner of the previous agency we worked with was a tyrant, and it was hard to deal with him. Before that, we had been working with an engineer we had hired on our own for a one-year contract. After his contract ran out, he found another position. He built us a great product, but we needed another IT company to support it after he left.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took over our product for about five years, managed it for us, kept it running, and made some additions to the product. They basically kept the product functioning and healthy. They did troubleshooting, maintenance, and added new features.

They added an online invitation feature for us, and they did some integration with different credit card processors. The product is built on Ruby on Rails, which takes a lot of maintenance. They kept that up and did some upgrades for us. They took the core product built by the original engineer and extended some of the feature sets, added integrations, and just kept the thing running. We had some memory leaks in the system some time ago. Our system was bogging down frequently and something was consuming all the memory in the system. They were able to fix that. We had different issues around the database, things that had to be cleaned up.

The original engineer told me that he estimated the software could handle up to about a hundred businesses before it might be maxed out. We’re about triple that now, and SingleMind has kept it going with their diligence in applying fixes and patches. It wasn’t like they built the product from scratch. They took over a product someone else had built, which can be more difficult because they had to figure out what someone else did. They were able to do that quite successfully. They got us through a period of about five years where we needed some outside help.

How did you come to work with SingleMind?

I think it was just word-of-mouth. Somebody told me about them, we met, and that was it. I’m not a technology guy, so what I’m looking for is a trusted partner who has my back, who I can call and talk to, who has a nice personality. Some of these technology people can be a little rough around the edges, they’re not sales people. The leaders of some companies we’ve had in the past weren’t necessarily the best on the human side of the equation. I think Cort does a very good job of bridging the gap between the technology and the humans, the people who have to use and understand the product. I needed someone who could take the ideas out of my brain and put them into code, and that takes some skill.

How much have you invested with SingleMind?

We spent about $200,000 over the course of the engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement ran from November of 2008 to February of 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a leading educational content technology and services company for the K-12 market, as well as higher education, professional, and worldwide library markets. We provide print, digital, and library products within various fields. We're headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, operate in 40 different countries, and have around 5,000 employees.

What is your position?

I am the technology programs manager within the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with SingleMind?

My role within the company involves the integration of external systems (primarily for learning management in the education and professional space) and our own platform. We have a number of different platforms which we make available to customers with different areas of specialization. They could be focused on chemistry, accounting, economics, and so on.

The market demands a seamless experience. Clients don't want their students or employees to have to register or log in again when connecting to external learning resources. The instructors or the company offers our resources within a learning management system and, as users utilize those resources, they want to offer a unified experience. We also provide features like grade synchronization.

We engaged SingleMind Consulting to provide the infrastructure for some of these integrations.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Originally, we worked on one-off integrations between specific systems. Over time, their involvement grew into a more general-services type of infrastructure, where we connect a lot of different learning management systems to a number of different company platforms using a common infrastructure. Their work is done in Java.

We're currently working with SingleMind on an ongoing basis, leveraging, at least, two of their employees in order to maintain our current system, as well as to help develop new features and functionalities. We interact mostly with our project lead.

For the most part, SingleMind controls who is assigned to our project, but we do have influence over these decisions. We've been involved in the hiring process for individuals when our team was expanded. It's a collaboration, but we don't exercise too much oversight. These positions have seen little turnover.

How did you come to work with SingleMind?

We initially worked with another company which collaborated with SingleMind’s president. He left that company in order to start his own. As such, he retained contacts with the old company’s clients and eventually came to work with us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with SingleMind for over ten years. Our initial engagements had turnover times of about six months. Currently, we work with them on a full-time, ongoing basis. We don't engage them for individual projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

It's hard to attribute metrics to their specific work. I can say that our integrated platform has seen a tremendous amount of growth over the last few years. This is because more and more customers are demanding an integrated and seamless experience.

Our flagship platform can be used either directly from our portal or can be accessed from customers' management systems, for which we've seen an increase. About 62% of our activations (or purchases) for our flagship product are done through integration. To me, this is a testament that we are providing a solid service which meets customer demand.

How did SingleMind perform from a project management standpoint?

They're a consistent and reliable vendor in terms of sticking to the agreed-upon budget and timeline.

We use Jira for managing development tasks. We use it to assign work and monitor its process as it goes from specifications to development and quality assurance.

What distinguishes SingleMind from other providers?

We've engaged at least one of their developers in a way that goes well beyond their normal role. Any software will develop issues that are reported by customers. We call them escalations. Initially, when a client reports such an issue, it will go to our customer support group. If it cannot be resolved there, it becomes escalated to our team for more advanced troubleshooting and investigation. SingleMind provides more advanced troubleshooting and investigation of reported issues. In addition to that, they are always able and willing to meet with customers and talk about particular issues in-depth. This is a very valuable and helpful service to us.

Do you have any tips for potential clients?

SingleMind has provided project leadership services for our company in the past. A company with less experience in developing software might want to take advantage of this capability. We stopped using this service when it became redundant due to the additional positions which we added internally.