Smplfy

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CEO, One Group Digital Solutions

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Simplify?

Our company had short of staff due to an unexpected project expansion. We needed to fill in the gap quickly and Simplify helped us do that.

SOLUTION

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

We got referred to the Simplify by our partner.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Simplify provided three developers and one Manual QA engineer to expand our team so we would meet the deadlines and quality standards set by the customer. The developers were well chosen, so they were able to start performing from the first day.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

The recruitment process was as simple as we can imagine. I`ve forwarded a project description with all the key skills and responsibilities to Simplify. Then their manager asked me additional questions and shortlisted seven candidates for an interview. We`ve interviewed each engineer to evaluate their soft/hard skills and hired the proper ones.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The guys from Simplify helped us in expanding our team with no additional stress and in reasonable timeframes. We did like the hiring process Simplify proposed since we didn`t have any extra taxes or expenses.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Team management was done on our end, so I can’t really say much. Everything was efficient, and all the engineers were reliable and followed management and customer requirements.

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

Quick results, moment feedback, ability to find a perfect staff based on our requirements and jump into a project in really tight frames with no stress.

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

Our collaboration with Simplify was satisfactory. We are happy with the service quality they provide, as well as with reasonable prices. In future cooperation, when we will take a bigger team with management inside their company, I would be able to emphasize some points, but not at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Project Manager in CBPM-Service, it is a global provider of IT consulting and software development services: integration, cloud migration, analytics, and safety. Our company philosophy is to turn our customers’ business issues into IT features and offer clients appropriate tools to focus on their core business while allowing us to contribute to their growth.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hire almost full development team for a new project. Main goals - team composition according to project needs, technical tasks estimation, product quality assurance, team management assistance

SOLUTION

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

We have worked with this company before, so there was no doubt to choose these partners again.

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

We had a kick-off meeting to discuss our main goals and objectives. Then we decide a team composition according to project needs. The composition of the team is constantly monitored according to changes in the project, team members are replaced or new ones are added. This allows us to quickly and effectively respond to business needs and effectively manage the project.

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

We have almost full development team delivered by the vendor. It consists of 10 people (1tech lead, 1 team lead, 2 front-end, 2 - back-end, 1 QA, 1 DevOps, 2 Mobiles)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The vendor provided us with a well-chosen team with high professional and soft skills that help us to create a good product for the customer

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

We have weekly stand-up meetings. When some urgent issue appeared, we can always manage it very quickly (in dedicated meetings). We use Slack and Jira for communication and management processes.

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

The company provides professional team composition services, responds quickly to new requests and changes, it is really open in communication.

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

I have a great experience in cooperation with this vendor, so no any areas for improvement are detected for me.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of an online clothing retailer. We sell evening dresses, corsets, skirts and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was created in October of the 2020 year, and since we didn't have in-house developers, but wanted it to keep growing, we hired this team to develop a Shopify site for us.

We were hoping to increase traffic; configure and adapt multiple features to simplify and in the meantime improve customers' experience in online shopping at our online store; create an ERP system to rectify and accelerate the communication of manufacturing processes to the customer support team.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online for web developers and after interviewing this team, we chose this vendor because of the great experience in e-commerce, a big team of developers, cost estimate and perfect understanding of our company's vision which is the core value.

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

The deliverable process was pretty flexible, we have designed all those tabs and iterations in Figma. All these tabs have been discussed during the weekly meetings. All the technological site was controlled by Rostyslav who is the project manager of the Developing team. The iterations have been closely connected with the process of developing the new features.

During the process, we have been taking into consideration the project that we are developing in order to make the one eco-system site. That is why the ERP system is connected with the e-commerce site and represent all the necessary information for the smooth manufacturing decision and customer support performance.

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

Our project has been implemented by a team of 5 Dev-ops engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After improving our site, we saw a 50% increase in traffic, and our sales are enlarged from 300 orders per month to 1000 orders per month. We also launched second e-commerce site, which has 30% increase in traffic. With thу ERP system, the customer support team saves twice as much time communicating and obtaining the necessary information from manufacturing team.

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

The communication tools that we have been using were weekly meetings personally via Skype and Zoom, they were very flexible and engaged in the project and into all the processes regarding the technical side. It was really comfortable and easy to communicate with Rostyslav as a project manager who has been always in touch with the clients, very quickly delivering all the tasks regarding the projects to their Dev-ops team, supported very quick reaction of all the requests from our side.

The deliverables of the results have been presented weekly, we have been creating the log of tasks for the week, most prioritized deliverables have been presented at the beginning of the week and less important stuff was presented later on. We have been making the monthly review of all tasks and changing the prioritization of all of them. The communication was really comfortable and very smooth. We have been using Slack for our inner communication.

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

I'm most impressed with their unique communication style and robust integration into the project. They were completing the tasks and recommending, advising, and influencing their points to the projects. Overall most of the effective decisions that have been made, were initiated by the team of developers.

Rostyslav as the project manager was very kind and attractive to all our requests. He has been interviewing us for each issue so closely and deeply that none of the questions have been going up after, and it made the process of the developing project very professional, easy understandable, and clear.

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

That would be really great if they could double or even triple themselves! We wish that a lot! And also they have to promote themselves to the clients better because it's really easy and pleasant to recommend them, but it's hard to find them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Head of Marketing and communications at Lviv Handmade Chocolate, the Company, that actively developing franchising projects in all parts of Ukraine and abroad. Nowadays there are 48 restaurants in 24 cities within Ukraine, including 4 succesful shops in Baku.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The company needed to update the online shop's website with maximum adherence to the company's agreed budget. This site has a complicated structure, the ability to process customized customer requests and localization on other resources, the creative design for which was developed by another company.

SOLUTION

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

We considered Simplify as one of the possible parnters on the recommendation of another company. After comparing the price offers on the market and considering the professional competencies, as well as the implemented Simplify's projects, we held preliminary meetings with the team representatives and decided to cooperate with.

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

Once we finished the page design and UI/UX, we started work on the programming part. Each week, the project manager sent us reports and invitations to discuss working sprints. The work was clearly structured and organized. After the work on the design part was completed, we began to work more actively directly with the programming team to identify bugs of the front and back design.

The work lasted more than a year (because of some difficulties due to the COVID-19 lockdown). All this time we stayed in touch and coordinated the process with the help of online meetings. Despite this difficult period and the difficult financial conditions of the company, the management of Simplify was sympathetic to the deferral of payments under the contract. Thanks to this decision, we did not cancel the project and were able to continue the planned work.

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

The Simplify team consisted of tech lead, project-manager, 2 back-end devs, 2 front-end devs, DevOps and QA specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The result of our cooperation is a well-structured and functional e-shop with a large capacity of customers. The biggest modernization affected the admin-part, where the user design was significantly improved and many new management features were added. Integration of various modules, automated CRM, increased cyber security was carried out.

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

At the beginning of the cooperation we met to discuss all the nuances, but during the lockdown we had to quickly restructure communication and set up new means of communication. We used all possible means to exchange information: skype-calls and google-meets, working groups in the Telegram, JIRA-boards for tracking and processing tasks depending on the distributed roles in the project.

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

The strength of the team were the constant support and operational feedback they provided. All requests were processed quickly and when a difficult situation arose (illness or absence of any of the participants) - they tried to solve it instantly.

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

During the work there were situations when it was necessary to change the existing technical tasks or add new elements proposed by the designers. Animation and the ability to switch between dark and light themes have been added to the site. Most of the urgent work occurred during the testing of the design part, connected modules and the work of the admin-part.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Creative Director, in Bambuk Studio, the team of creative people who rely on ourselves, our teammates and our collective experience. The important goal of the studio is to achieve unique design features that distinguish us as not assembly lines for standard products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had a website request with a complicated structure, for which we created the design. Simplify helped us with the web development part. Our goal was to deliver a well-structured, modernized, and creative website with the appropriate functionality. We needed a ready-made version of the site in the shortest possible time.

SOLUTION

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

We selected Simplify due to their experience of numerous projects and great feedbacks from other companies. We were confident that they would ensure the rapid implementation of the project.

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

As soon as we approved the design part with the client, the team set to work. Every time we sent part of the design, they implemented it in the shortest time. In total, 1.5 months of coordinated and very fast cooperation.

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

The Simplify team consisted of tech lead, one back-end dev, two front-end devs, one DevOps and QA specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The result of our joint work is a creative, well-structured, and functional site. You can rate it by following the link https://skypower.com/

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

Due to the difference in time zones with the client, often urgent updates were needed after working hours. The Simplify team treated this with understanding and was in touch all the time.

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

his was an effective collaboration. We were impressed by the team's supportiveness, responsiveness, and speed of work.

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

There were some issues with the design adaptation, it was only due to the plenty of urgent and unexpected updates from the client during the main process, and all of them were fixed perfectly. If the team was not limited in time so much, the result from the beginning would be superb.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the initiator and head of the project Magic Wold (Charivnyj Svit in Ukrainian). This is a long-term, strategic project for preservation and popularization of Ukrainian mythology, supported by Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Simplify?

The first stage of the project is the development of an educational and entertainment mobile application, based on illustrations and stories of mythological characters, with augmented reality (AR) for children and teenagers. We hired Simplify team to develop and implement the technical part of the project

What were your goals for this project?

We aimed to present Ukrainian mythological characters in modern environment: mobile app based on edutainment methodology, with augmented reality (AR) where 3D-models of characters should interact with audience.

SOLUTION

How did you select Simplify?

We have chosen among number of companies, based on three main criterias: understating of the idea, skills of the team and price. Simplify provided us with the best offer.

Describe the project in detail.

Magic World.UA mobile app is the first shot of the project aimed at preserving and promoting Ukrainian mythology in Ukraine and abroad. The app is designed primarily for children and teenagers between 8 and 13 years old, but is sure to captivate adults as well. 20 mythological characters “come to life” thanks to augmented reality technology. But first users need to listen to their stories, learn about the traditions and beliefs of Ukrainians and pass a series of quizzes. All these is wrapped in such a bright and modern “packaging” that learning will become a real pleasure. The project was implemented with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager, who served as the main point of the contact. Also the team included frond-end developer, back-end developer, Q&A specialist and DevOps.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was implemented and published on Google Play and App Store right in time. And we got 1000+ downloads and dozens of positive reviews during first two weeks after launch.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was easy to communicate with Simplify. They were totally integrated in our project's workflow and became part of our team for the time of development.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Simplify team has great experience in mobile app and AR development and impressive vision of how to make processes more effective and products more interesting.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As far as I can see, Simplify team is constantly studying and growing. They are on the right way

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the senior consultant for our company, we provide IT Managed Services & Digital Transformation Services. We are headquartered in UK, and have offices across the Middle East.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have various digital platforms and projects currenting running or are in process with our client base, which covers a wide vertical market. We faced a challenge with enhancements and second phases where we required subject matter experts and an experienced development team in order to achieve our targets and meet our clients expectations.

SOLUTION

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

Simplify were selected due to their excellent track record, complete understanding of the requirement and time scale in which they could deliver. Communication is key, and their availability at all times for feedback sessions and calls was superb.

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

The project steps were to analyse the current platform, understand the enhancement requirements and to deploy them in a timely manner. The key deliverable were to enable features and tools which the customer would avail of to make important business decisions. Various technologies were used ranging from AWS, MySQL, Laravel, and PHP

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

There were approximately 5 members of the team who were in constant contact. This included (but not limited to) Customer Liaison Manager, Technical Project Manager, Senior Developer and a couple of software developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The measurable outcomes where that the output, information and matrices which were overwise not available to the client previously, became available so they could make informed and important decision in there day to day business operations.

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

The project management style was very proactive, and they used market leading tools such as Slack, etc. to communicate at a technical level and Hangouts/Zoom etc. for general liaison. The timelines where clearly extended to us and adhered to accordingly

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

The technical ability was a given, as that's why they were selected. However their common sense, professional and polite attitude in the face of delays and scope changes really stood out.

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

I think they are constantly making improvements in regards to communication skills, and availability for support during non working days and hours in adherence to other parts of the world.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is working on digital and physical wellness products. I am IT outsource manager in that company who is controlling external IT companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We searched for the good team of developers experienced with Shopify. Develop a fast-loading and easy for on-line navigation shop for healthy food products.

SOLUTION

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

One of our partners recommended Simplfy as a professional and quick working development company.

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

The task was to provide back-end and front-end development services for the online shop based on predefined theme and ready-made mock-ups.

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

Project Manager, 1 designer and 2 developers. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site was developed on time and launched on the forecasted date.

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

Our PM, Julia, was always (I mean it) connected and ready to help. We are fully satisfied with the project management organization.

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

We`ve appreciated most of their non-conventional way of problem-solving. Additionally, we admire their perseverance in the process of looking for the right solution.

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

There is always a possibility to grow. I would advise Simplify to pay more attention to developing and promoting its own solutions and products to the market. Dealing with the standard theme, we all want an individual approach and unique result.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the branch director at JV Lviv-Trading

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to create an on-line duty-free shop in a concise period.

SOLUTION

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

Its wellknown in our region. We had good recomendations from previous clients of this cimpany. One of our partners recommended Simplfy as a professional and quick working development company.

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

At the beginning of the communication with Simplify, we had a very approximate concept of the site's visual image. The only portfolio of products, pictures, and all items descriptions were prepared. The team of Simplify put it all together and delivered a well designed and performed site.

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

1 designer and 2 developers. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received well functioning and an aesthetically great site, which is easy to maintain.

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

As Simplify started working on our site in summer vacations period and a lot of its staff was on vacation, the CEO itself ran the company's main communication. It was constructive and comfortable to see a quick implementation of all changes and proposals

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

We were impressed by the ultimate responsiveness and the speed of implementation.

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

Simplify is an excessively modest team; we would advise them to tell more about its proficiency and excellent performance on the public to make it easier for new clients to find them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Head of PMO of UX/UI and branding agency

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had an e-commerce website request, for which we created the design. Simplify supported us with development services. Our goal was to deliver great website with the appropriate functionality in the approved timeline.

SOLUTION

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

We select Simplify due to several factors:

• previous collaboration and great experience
• strong portfolio and expertise
• immediate responses in Terms of proposals and changes

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

We had a kick- off meeting where discussed all the details of the project, scope, constraints and concerns. We build the plan of the project and continued with the execution of the website and support of the fixes.

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

4 of them. CEO, Front end developer, back end developer, QA

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Feedback is positive. The website is Working correctly and, what is more, delivering great sales.

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

We had daily stand ups with the team, used Trello for the tasks management and confirmation of timeline.

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

Very supportive and fast.

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

New technologies, probably, so that they expertise is even stronger.