Skillwork

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of manufacturing for a company called Swytch, and we produce and sell electric bike conversion kits all over the world. I manage manufacturing, shipping, distribution, and system development.

What challenge were you trying to address with Skillwork?

We needed someone to provide us with custom software development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Skillwork is developing our cloud system software using PHP and Laravel, and it’s hosted through a standard Linux server in Germany. We run two-week sprints where they’re also teaching us how to manage good software development.

The core feature of our product is to have a server that’s both accessible to our internal agents and customer service agents. We’ve implemented Zendesk to our customer app, which allows our customer service agents to see all the information in our database without having to leave the platform.

The work that they do consists of developing tools that allow us to integrate with our warehouses — like a pseudo-ERP system, but on a smaller scale. This software provides us with a holistic overview of our operational performance. We’re currently working on improving the product, so we’re planning to develop a custom app that would quicken the customer service turnaround.

What is the team composition?

We’re in contact with Ali and Jan (Co-Founders) every week and have two software developers on retainer, as well as a senior developer for ad hoc work.

How did you come to work with Skillwork?

An intern who was doing some development work for us, recommended Skillwork before leaving to go work for another company full-time.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested about £50,000 (approximately $69,100 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership started in January 2021.

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

Since partnering with Skillwork, we’ve had a 50% reduction in order tickets, which would translate to a 25% reduction in headcount of upstream customer service. We were able to expand and cope with the higher volumes without firing anyone. Skillwork earned their bread and butter, as they helped us save a lot of time and money.

How did Skillwork perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve only just moved to the sprint methodology, so we’re not at the point where we forecast how many story points we can complete in a single sprint. However, they’ve been really good at communicating and teaching us as we get better at the process.

We use JIRA from project management, Slack for asynchronous messaging, and Confluence as a document knowledge base.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re very impressed with their hands-on approach. They’re very keen to make sure that we, as clients, are getting the most out of their service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In order to further improve their service, I think they should have more documentation and a preference on how to manage projects like this. They’ve been really good at getting us up to speed with the development, but it does take a long time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

To get the most out of the engagement, I would suggest reading a book called The Phoenix Project before you start. This will provide you with a window into what it’s like to be a software developer, as well as general knowledge of the industry.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder and CEO of skindoc, a new 100% online Dermatology platform that allows anyone is the UK to to send in photos and information about their skin concerns or book in with a dedicated Dermatology Consultant. We provide private skin care but are building our brand to a point where we can help the UK's NHS with their huge demand as well as help them recover from COVID19.

For what projects/services did your company hire Skillwork?

As a brand new enterprise we needed a modern, fresh, efficient, easy-to-use and widely accessible website and a portal that behaved like a native app but without demanding our patient have to download one. It also needed to be super secure and work for both the patients it serves and the doctors that use it. Skillwork were involved in IT consultation, development, software functionality, security testing and support (amongst other things!)

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a robust and super easy service to access and use. Basically taking the hassle out of healthcare but going further and allowing patients to use it from anywhere in the world. We also want them to have a choice and feel supported all while not breaking the bank or having to endure stressful waits and busy overpriced clinical rooms.

How did you select Skillwork?

Skillwork were shortlisted by another 3rd party and the task put out for tender. They were selected on reputation, price, approachability and professionalism.

Describe the project in detail.

This has been described in other sections. My role however was to oversee from my end, submit specific knowledge-based data (ie. clinical protocols, patient perspectives, etc - nb I am a Dermatologist as well) and guide the project toward our vision.

What was the team composition?

skindoc: 2x doctors who are the co-founders/directors skillwork: development team, project manager, integration specialists etc. Another 3rd party company: UX, strategy and wireframe design

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

We are just about to launch but we have had a lot of interest expressed in our product even before we began advertising or reaching out. We have run several test simulations which were extremely positive. Since we have not launched yet, we cannot comment of success but progress of the build was steady, and undertaken with dedication, commitment and professionalism. Skillwork are a very approachable and forthcoming enterprise.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent. They work extremely hard to ensure we're happy and never faulted.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The two founders and great guys and really accomodating, even when we were being demanding. Their development team are brilliant and integrated me into the process stream which enhanced everyone's efficiency and built a better rapport between the two companies.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not at all. They are a fantastic group and the best decision we made from skindoc's conception was to choose them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

A venture development firm - COO

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

Fast track development to develop venture smoke tests, then into live a front end and platform for a oral health proposition

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

Personality, capabilities and flexibility

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

The team delivered to the design and technical requirements a HIPAA compliant solution for our venture.

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

We worked closely with the founder and CTO

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

Delivered to time and budget. Quality throughout. Amazing work ethic and can-do attitude. Great at problem-solving and being creative when we needed to be. Excellent partner to the business

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

Good communicators, collaborative and evidence led in decision making

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

They were always capable of solving our problems. first to it and impressive in delivery

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

COVID stopped us buying these guys a beer

Please describe your company and your position there.

Makette is a UX consultancy that focuses on building digital MVPs to validate business ideas. I am a director of the company

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

Skillwork were hired to deliver the MVP frontend and backend. Our goal was to have a stable platform that could register users with an admin system to visualise the data

How did you select Skillwork and what were the deciding factors?

I knew the founders of Skillwork and the value for money was a deciding factor.

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

Creation of a HIPAA compliant database to store anonymised user data and responsive frontend to promote the service to users and facilitate registrations.

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

Lead backend developer Project manager Senior front end developer

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

The project was delivered on time and within agreed budgets.

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

Status updates were delivered in a timely manner plus ad hoc communications via slack

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

They brought on compliance experts that audited their code in accordance with our strict data standards. Moreover, their turnover schedule was always on time. 

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

Some of the minor frontend tweaks could have been managed more efficiently but it was all covered in due course.