Snowman Labs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the President of a Digital Product Development agency with clients in health tech, education, banking, and other high need industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Snowman originally to augment a development team with additional resources. We needed to deliver a stellar project in a short period of time, and they were able to not only meet our goals but raise our own standard of excellence.

SOLUTION

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

We found Snowman through a business networking membership. Our CEO developed a relationship with their CEO through this membership, and when it became clear that we had a need to expand our capabilities without adding internal headcount, they were a natural fit.

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

We have used Snowman on four projects now:

1. Web application with Next.js front end. Key deliverables being upload/download functionality of large file payloads, fast dashboards and analytics, and loads of email notifications for various workflow items. Technologies used include Typescript, React, .NET, D3, and Custom work. Snowman-related infrastructure work was on Vercel.
2. Flutter mobile application with offline-first functionality, multilingual support. Snowman provided team members who have worked in an agile fashion to shape the app to more than meet specifications. Features include Auth, subscriptions, push notifications, local notifications, internationalization, weather inputs and support from NOAA.
3. Healthtech Next.js and .NET application. Other tech used: Auth0, Mapbox, Sendgrid, Twilio, Azure.
4. Ecommerce web platform - Next.js customer facing site with custom built CMS, e-commerce with stripe integration, Google Calendar, Jira, and Zoho integrations.

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

We have worked with 11 people from Snowman. 4 Flutter Developers, One .NET Developer, and 7 front end Typescript and React developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clients who have interfaced with Snowman team members have unanimously praised their work. Two of our projects with Snowman have been delivered early and under budget.

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

We have not used Snowman's project management, but they fit well into our model using slack, Clickup, and email.

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

They were responsive to our needs, and the standards they hold their team to was impressive. I will hire them again.

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

I don't really have any area for improvement that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The founder and CEO of a training and consulting firm that focuses on digital transformation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Snowman Labs?

We hired Snowman Labs for custom software development work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Snowman Labs developed a chatbot that could integrate with Slack. We used Python, and the team built off of my product roadmap. They built the chatbot to have the ability to run and schedule daily meetings for agile teams and send direct messages and reminders to members to fulfill the daily story. It could also send messages and forward files to the whole channel. 

The last feature we’re now trying to implement is an internal data analytics capacity for the chatbot.

What is the team composition?

Snowman Lab’s CEO tested and brought ideas into the development. There were two other people assigned to the project: a Python developer and a person who looks after the backend server and infrastructures. 

How did you come to work with Snowman Labs?

They were recommended by some friends of mine. 

How much have you invested with them?

I invested around $10,000 for this first phase. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I first engaged with them in May 2021 but the project started in September 2021. The chatbot was completed in October 2021, but the team continues to do maintenance and improvements to it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a customer who’s currently testing the MVP, and they've said that the chatbot has completely changed their way of working. We have received amazing feedback about the product’s performance and how it has transformed agile team productivity. 

How did Snowman Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was perfect for me. Snowman Labs was top-notch. They had great internal processes and tools for keeping track of the project. We did encounter a bit of trouble estimating the work but that's only due to the complicated nature of the documentation. 

We communicated via Slack, which was an excellent channel for our asynchronous structure. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Snowman Labs forms great relationships with their clients. I felt like they really wanted to build out this software with me as a part of my own team. They did not just act as software developers; they were like our very own partners. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would’ve been nice to see them find a workaround to speed up the development. I was running on a tight budget, so we were only really able to get two developers on board. That aside, everything was good

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Engage Snowman Labs not just as a software development agency but also as a partner. They’re really good at bringing in ideas, taking the project to the customer, and making internal assessments, so it would be good to hire them in the fullest capacity. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a coordinator of a solutions company for the automatic supply chain management. Our company today is a multinational with more than 600 employees, headquartered in Joinville - Brazil, also has units in Porto Alegre - BR, São Paulo - BR, Rio de Janeiro - BR, Chicago US, and Amsterdam NL.

We have a platform that integrates more than 40,000 stores, 30,000 industries, and 5,000 distributors, turns data into strategic information to increase product availability, and, at the same time, reduces excess inventory.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Snowman Labs?

We decided to increase the mobile development team and UX Design by outsourcing.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to have faster and more efficient deliveries for the development team. 

SOLUTION

How did you select Snowman Labs?

We had a good indication of a collaborator who had already done other projects with the company.

Describe the project in detail.

We held some meetings to show our needs, then we were introduced to employees who would be part of our team as outsourced.

What was the team composition?

Initially, a mobile developer and a UX Design.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After the arrival of outsourced employees, we noticed a gain in development time, in bug fixes, and in the reduction of calls coming for assistance.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We obtained great results because from the beginning we worked as a single team, bringing more agility, flexibility, and communication between all collaborators.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Good level of knowledge of the professionals who were made available for the project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are always points to be improved but we are satisfied with the work of the designated team and with the support given when necessary by Snowman Labs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an IT Superintendent at a banking institution, which sells financial services to investors, and is located in Brazil, state of Paraná. Our company currently has 715 direct employees and approximately 350 indirect employees, working through live and digital channels throughout the country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Snowman Labs?

Development of an application for Android and IOS mobile devices. The app allows the customer to open a checking account, carry out financial investment transactions, track their investments, view their current account balance and statement, make contact with their manager, instant transfers of financial resources to other people and update their data.

What were your goals for this project?

Expanding our digital customer base in other states in the country where we did not have a physical presence, in addition to ensuring an exponential increase in our investor portfolio through the digital channel, without having to expand the number of bank employees in the relationship with investor customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select Snowman Labs?

Snowman Labs was highly recommended by some companies that carried out projects in partnership in our city. In addition, we researched information from other clients who were very satisfied with the partnership in the projects.

Describe the project in detail.

Design, architecture proposal and development of the integration bus and application for Android and IOS mobile devices. The services were carried out in conjunction with our business and IT teams, but the development of the design, integration services with our legacies, the mobile application and the service bus was carried out entirely by the SnowMan Labs team.

What was the team composition?

The product development team was composed during the project stages by the following SnowMan Labs employee profiles:

• 2 swift developers
• 2 Android developers
• 1 project manager
• 1 Java backend developer
• 1 designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results obtained with the delivery of this project were very expressive. In a few weeks, our portfolio of investors has increased significantly. It was possible to notice that there were opportunities that our institution did not exploit in the market.

In addition, we also noticed great satisfaction from our customers with the features that were made available in the application. We have identified praise numbers in Apple and Google stores. The project sponsors were very satisfied.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very satisfactory. Daily IT meetings and weekly alignments with the business areas were held. In addition, a specific forum was created with the sponsors for alignment regarding the progress of the project

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We realized that the SnowMan Labs team has always been very committed to building a product to provide an excellent experience for our customers. The team was very disciplined with the dates and commitments they made.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No additional comments

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m head of business solutions at a Brazilian marketing firm. We dedicate our work to find the best strategies and solutions to overcome our customers problems with cost effective and result driven approaches.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Snowman Labs?

We needed to redesign the web platform, performing not only a facelift, but working on: Automate the process, improving the reports and information extraction to assist in data analysis and campaign development. Improve usability and include new features to enhance interaction with partners.

Creation of an app that communicated with the website, to facilitate access to information, increasing the user base, and taking the campaign closer to the partners. Allowing more presence and interaction with all the public. Assuring they would have all the information they needed, at the moment they need in order to perform the work.

What were your goals for this project?

The main goal was to increase interaction and the amount of participants engaged every month with the platform (site+app), in order to be top of mind of business and solutions

SOLUTION

How did you select Snowman Labs?

They had already worked in another app – for the same company and had the best offer, not only in costs but also regarding the time frame and solution they needed. So after receiving the proposal from all the company and comparing them, we choosed snowman labs

Describe the project in detail.

First, we establish which features should be included in the project (both site and app), the deadlines and responsibilities. In parallel, the design team worked on the visual line, wireframes and technological solution. We held weekly meetings to check the status of activities, answer questions and align pending issues.

What was the team composition?

When we started the project, we were introduced to the project manager. In addition to it, I held meetings with the designer and the developers, but only when there was a specific item to be worked and that needed closer attention. Furthermore, the project manager went over the needs and aligned everything internally.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a significant increase in interactions, comments and views on the platform. It became the main tool to relate with the team and keep them updated regarding the company, campaigns, results

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had a very short deadline for the development of both the website and the app and it could not be postponed. The team worked well under a lot of pressure and managed to deliver. Our project manager was extremely dedicated, available and helpful, always trying to solve problems/items as quickly as possible.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team was very organized and had tools to make all the needs and steps of the process really clear and easy to follow up/accomplish, Which helps a lot to deliver quality results on time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

When we talk about development, the developer usually makes all the difference. Changing someone on the team during the process can lead to delays. We had some changes in the team over the course of the project, which was inevitable, but generated a little stress because of our deadline. But Snowman Labs managed to replace the person without prejudice to the final result.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The company's focus is the development of IoT solutions for the pet segment. I am the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The company was very important for the development of Android and iOS elements of a solution.

SOLUTION

How did you select Snowman Labs and what were the deciding factors?

The design of previous projects was what most called the attention to the company.

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

The project had the interface of the Snowman team and the team of our company. The work was very positive and Snowman's technical work for the user experience elements was very important.

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

There was one iOS developer, one Android developer and a designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The result of the project was good. At the time, because it involved the integration of extremely new technologies in the market, it was necessary to overcome a series of challenges. At the end of the project, the teams managed to finalize what was proposed.

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

The monitoring of the project was very good. Noteworthy are the meetings with the business area that was concerned with the project's activities and not only at the time of hiring.

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

Design is something that deserves to be highlighted. In addition, the team's commitment to results impressed us.

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

I don't remember an item that deserves to be highlighted.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a full professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná - School fo Medicine, involved in education and research in Microbiology and Antimicrobial Resistance Subject

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Snowman Labs?

To develop an App that would automatically interpret the zone of inhibition of bacterial growth and give its susceptibility or resistance interpretation

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to help and make it easier for clinical laboratories to interpret the new protocols just released in Portuguese to determine if a bacteria is susceptible or resistant to a given drug rapidly and safely.

SOLUTION

How did you select Snowman Labs?

I had a position at the Innovation Agency at our University and received an indication of one of our mentors to check Snowmanlabs' skills. Since the beginning, they were very professional and right on time with their duties.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a very extensive Excel file (more than 80 pages), which had many values for testing different bacteria against different drugs, resulting in more than 1.000 lines, plus comments and notes in most of the 20+ sheets.

We wanted to make it more user friendly. Usually, we test 15 to 20 antibiotics per bacteria. Our App gave us the results in less than one minute, compared to 3 minutes of manual reading of the tables.

What was the team composition?

One project manager, two designers, two programmers, and one microbiology specialist (part-time).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was finished just in time. The App was fully functional. We did some validation with specialists and the system was considered very useful and user-friendly. We didn't upload it at the App stores because our institution couldn't afford the maintenance costs.

We are now negotiating with the Minister of Health if they are not interested in hosting the App and distribute it to all clinical labs in Brazil.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very, very satisfactory. We demanded a meeting at our site which is 10 miles away from their office, and they attend it. Their manager would call up our attention to the project timeline and schedule. They fulfill all the schedules established in our contract.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The way they engage to acquire knowledge in such a specific subject, and also they were able to recognize the intrinsic value of the App and how it would be helpful for lab professionals and felt proud to be part of this solution.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Yes, for sure. The Brazilian Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test (BrCAST) updates its files annually. So a new version of the App needs to come out each year.

Also, we think that the App could evolve to

1. take an image from the agar plate (where the bacteria are tested against the drugs) 
2. determine the size of the antimicrobial inhibition zone
3. automatically interpret it and generate a PDF with the results.

Today, only steps 2 and 3 happen.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

GP Imports is Delinte’s national distributor for Brazil of high-performance tires and we were tackling big challenges on the omnichannel implementation, so I was conducting the team as Head of Innovation to develop Delinte BR digital Omni Channel platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Snowman Labs helped us to better understand customers' needs and conducted field trips and discovery sessions to design and implement the best user interface for us to test some hypotheses and manage to define a clear view of the solution we would come up with.

SOLUTION

How did you select Snowman Labs and what were the deciding factors?

They’re the best developers in Brazilian market and for sure their bright team members and broaden expertise was the defining factors that lead us hiring them for the challenge.

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

There were several technological improvements during the MVP implementation as geofence and heat maps to better understand the user his navigation and location details to tackle logistical and fiscal issues, credit card and payment gateway set up, algorithms to predict and suggest the price, and pick-up store based on the user's location.

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

We had a dedicated squad of 7 people for the project including front and backend developers, Java and react DevOps, a solution architect, a process specialist, and a product owner involved.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been able to double our sales each month and we’ve validated important matters as SAP integration requirements, the best look and feel for the platform and the technology gaps we would need to fill in to have a robust solution ready for the market.

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

They are very well organized, team players and they went all-in with us to bring the platform online in no time. Sure they have a proper way to handle difficult issues and they lean on design thinking and agile methodologies to spark the innovation and ignite the extraordinary.

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

They are one of a kind and the type of team you’d dream to work with and the unfair advantage is to be talented enough to stand out among all others.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always something to improve as to check the balance of technological feasibility, business profitability and people desirability to hit the sweet spot.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am SW Coordinator of the Mobility area. We are one of the largest technology manufacturers in Brazil. The company started its trajectory in the computer industry and today has a portfolio of various technological solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Snowman Labs?

We are developing a new App version for Smart Home solution and we hired SnowMan Labs to help us.

What were your goals for this project?

We are working to give a new and better user experience with Smart Home and SnowMan Labs have helped us to improve the UI/UX of the App that is in the field today.

SOLUTION

How did you select Snowman Labs?

We hired SnowMan Labs after a selection step with 4 companies. We started an interview process to get to know the companies and their work and finally with our team together we discussed all the points and saw that SnowMan could offer us a better experience

Describe the project in detail.

Our company has an area working with IoT devices and one App to configure and manipulate lamps, plugs, IR devices, cameras and others. We decided to remodel the App that is responsible to connect and control devices, link with Alexa, google and Siri and make automations to facilitate the people life

What was the team composition?

We have a technical team and SnowMan helped us with one designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The scope for UI and UX was finished but our App is in a finalization phase. We are expecting positive feedbacks with this new version but internally all the business team have liked the result.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

In the beginning happend a discovery event to align expectations, objective and profiles. During the development we worked closely , with weekly meetings to validate and give feedbacks.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Flexibility and openness for dialogue, exchange of experiences and willingness to help beyond what was negotiated. They are always willing to grow together with their partners.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are always things to improve as many other companies, and they recognize and seek continuous improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

It's an insurance company and I'm the IT manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Develop a policy issuance portal, easy, agile and simple.

SOLUTION

How did you select Snowman Labs and what were the deciding factors?

SnowMan Labs presented us with an innovative proposal to build the Business Portal.

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

The project started with the participation of the business team and the SnowMan Labs technology team, in the sprint design stage. The final result of the Design Sprint was a prototype of the Business Portal.

They presented the technologies that would be applied.

BackEnd

• Python Database
• Postgree

FrontEnd

• VueJs We use Agil methodology, with biweekly sprints.

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

The SnowMan Labs team consisted of:

• Project Manager 
• Team Leader
• UX / UI Designer
• 1 FrontEnd developer
• 3 BackEnd developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When the project was presented to the market, the result was surprising. Our company became a reference in the market, reaching our goal of agility, simplicity and easy operation.

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

I like to define projects with small scopes, for fast deliveries and adding value to the business. We use Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Discord, Pipefy, GitLab.

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

Snowman Labs is more than a technology provider, it´s a business partner!

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

Everything that was developed and delivered was approved by the business areas.