Snowman Labs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Caribros. We are an incubation company and we do consulting. We prepare and hold events for other agencies and companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Snowman Labs?

Sometimes we have software projects that need to be done. My clients are technology companies, and they are the one company that I rely on when I need to do a specific event, and they do everything I need to be done on the technology side of things.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did the UX/UI for the whole process of the event, from the event campaign, to creating the layout, to creating the app we have for the event. They created a map and loaded everything on it and make it work. We have had to change some UI to import things, and they were able to do that for us. They created the apps for us for iOS and Android, put them in the cloud, and published them to the App Store and the Play Store.

We are currently co-creating a new experience for digital events, where we are creating a kind of matchmaking tool for our products and offerings so users can have more information about the event. They have developed new ideas and have brought them to fruition.

What is the team composition?

We have been in contact with 4–5 people from their team.

How did you come to work with Snowman Labs?

They came recommended to us by the Soft Association of Brazil. They were part of the group that the Software Association was promoting. They proposed new ideas to us from the start.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working together since October 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to engage more people. We use the app not only as a thing that we show everyone but also as a marketing tool. We were the only booth on the show floor that had an app, and everyone was curious about it. We generated QR codes for people to download.

I think we probably had 300 downloads which was much more than we expected to have. One thing that was really good was the app had a web cycle within the landing page. I don’t exactly remember last year’s metrics, but there were thousands of clicks on the landing page and it was really good for us.

How did Snowman Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

The project was small, so we didn’t use any project management tools on our side, but I don’t know if they use it on their side. It was a very close relationship, and it was a sprint where everything was done in a month. They were really quick at developing it for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Over the three years that we have been collaborating, everything they created and designed was always surprising. We were always out of the box and had specific constraints from our funding partner and from the event manager, but they always made it work. It was always considered one of the best layouts that were presented. They made the UX light and easier to use, and people liked it a lot.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was only one error throughout the process, which was incredibly minute and they quickly fixed it. The color was in RGB, but it had to be in CMY, and there was a difference in color on the interface. It was really small, and I was the only one that noticed that.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Sebrae Canvas is a nonprofit organization funded by the Brazilian national government and serves as a hub for people who are interested in entrepreneurship in Brazil. Our mission is to promote competitiveness and sustainable growth to small businesses. We also have many solutions in teaching entrepreneurship to people in Brazil.

What is your position?

I'm part of the Innovation and Product Development Department. I'm a project manager focused on new digital solutions. My job here is to develop new digital channels or anything related to digital that could help our clients, which are Brazilian entrepreneurs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Snowman Labs?

We teach the Canvas Business Model in many of our courses, so we needed our own solution for entrepreneurs to create and share their work. Internally we felt that we lacked the knowledge to manage an app development project, and that's when I decided to contact Snowman Labs.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Snowman Labs developed our web, iOS, and Android version of the Sebrae Canvas application, optimized for tablets.

How did you come to work with Snowman Labs?

I met Danilo Brizola, the CEO, a few years ago, when we attended a Google developer event. So, since I knew him from previous events, we contacted them and arranged a meeting. We had a few other companies that we were looking at, but since I knew Danilo was an active part of the entrepreneur and local startup ecosystem, we thought Snowman Labs would be the best option for us.

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

We developed two versions of the Sebrae Canvas app. The first version was around 25,000 reals which is around $10,000. The second version was around $3,000. For both projects we spent just over $10,000 dollars.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What distinguishes Snowman Labs from other providers?

I think that the best thing about working with Snowman Labs is their leadership team. They are very interested in helping other entrepreneurs. They have this strong will and desire to help entrepreneurs and startups. Snowman Labs’ objective is the same as our objective, so that was the best thing about working with them. Snowman Labs is also very organized with strong project management.

Is there anything Snowman Labs could have improved or done differently?

They could improve communication. I thought that we could have had a few more follow-ups during the project.

BACKGROUND

Please briefly describe what your company does.

SEBRAE Paraná is a Brazilian Small Business Support Service at Paraná State. We are a non-profit organization that started in 1972 to support entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs] throughout Brazil. We are a private institution with a public mission. Most of our resources come from social contributions paid by employers.

What role do you play there?

I’m the manager of the digital marketing department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address when you approached Snowman Labs?

We needed to improve the user experience of our website to better support clients and our mobile solution.

SOLUTION

Can you tell me about the scope of the project, what were the exact services or methodologies Snowman Labs provided/implemented?

Sebrae Responde is like a Quora for entrepreneurs. The main goal of the project was to connect an entrepreneur with a Sebrae business consultant thought a question and answer application. Snowman Labs provided a web application and iOS application. We wanted our entrepreneurs to be able post questions about finance, human resources, and entrepreneurship in a huge database. We also wanted them to be able to ask a Sebrae business consultant directly, in case they couldn’t find their answer through the database.

Snowman Labs provided us all of their app knowledge and helped us to get all of our mobile services running. They used the agile methodology to deliver back-end, front-end, web application and iOS app development. Each portion was on a 15 day sprint. At the end of each sprint we had a prototype, just to ensure our goal was on track. We finished the project at the end of the sixth sprint.

Can you give us a sense of the size of the project in dollar terms (feel free to use a range), deliverables, or personnel work hours?

This project was approximately $10,000 dollars.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

When working with them, was there anything unique or special about them compared to other companies that you may have worked with?

Snowman Labs’ attention to detail throughout the duration of our project really stood out. In addition to that, Snowman Labs had a lot of patience with our team and explained every aspect of the project.

Looking back on the project, is there any area that they could improve upon or that you would have them do differently?

In development projects there are typically things that could have gone better, but for this project everything went as expected. The planning and the scoping of this mobile project was very good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Volvo Trucks Latin America is located in Brazil and we have plants where trucks and buses are assembled.

What is your position?

I'm responsible for the production program regarding a specific type of our trucks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Snowman Labs?

We attend a fair that occurs every two years. Volvo is the only truck manufacturer that attends the fair. We wanted an app to reveal at the fair that showed we were innovating the way we are selling trucks. In the past we were selling trucks utilizing forms and paper. Two years ago when we decided to start innovating, we started with another vendor before Snowman Labs, and that project didn’t go very well. For this reason, Snowman Labs has been contracted for this year’s fair.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

The solution Snowman Labs provided is an offline solution. We are very confident with the app that we are presenting at the fair in the coming weeks. Snowman Labs is going to support us during the fair. During a period of five days, they will be with us full time which is very important to us to ensure a smooth time at the fair.

How did you come to work with Snowman Labs?

Our purchasing department gave us four vendor options. We gave each vendor a brief explanation about what our expectations were for the project. We chose Snowman Labs for their fair price. Another point that was crucial in our decision was that they had already developed an app for a company in Brazil, and this app has been used during a fair. It was an app that had been used offline and this was exactly the experience we needed.

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

This project was in the $10,000 to $50,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project is a few weeks away from completion.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Snowman Labs was always cognizant to meet the targets and the deadlines of the project. We had a calendar where they promised product deliveries and they basically achieved all the deliveries they promised.

How did Snowman Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Snowman Labs gave us very good support. One positive point is that they work in two shifts at their company. This means that if I arrive at 7AM and I want to contact somebody, there is somebody available and the same is true for 7PM. This is a very positive point for us. They have been available every time we have called—available via email, via cell phone and even when we ask them to come to our location.

What distinguishes Snowman Labs from other providers?

Largely, their availability but also their ability to understand our needs. They were very open-minded and they really listened to us when we called them. They were really trying to understand our previous experience from the last fair. Snowman Labs has been able to give us a solution, exactly the one we were waiting for. They are very patient and they really listened and took notes about our requirements.

Is there anything Snowman Labs could have improved or done differently?

No, I don't think so. The fair hasn’t taken place yet, but for the time being, I don't have any constructive comments.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the CEO of a software company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Field consultant enablement software platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Snowman Labs to accomplish?

• Re-build our Swift mobile app on Flutter

SOLUTION

How did you find Snowman Labs?

Referral

Why did you select Snowman Labs over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• timezone

How many teammates from Snowman Labs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Rebuilt our highly-successful iOS/Swift mobile application in Flutter so we could deploy from a single codebase to both iOS and Android.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We accomplished everything we set out to accomplish.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Very timely and responsive.

What was your primary form of communication with Snowman Labs?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Quality work from quality people. They made it a priority to become part of our team, they're not a vendor, they're an extension of your team.

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

nope.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I`m the head of engineering team, here we develops an survey satisfaction system and we are in more than 10K point of sale across Brazil

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

get more strategic users

SOLUTION

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

portfolio and price

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

• Refactoring UX of survey satisfaction survey
• Interview with our external clients
• Interview with our internal clients
• Usability test with strategic users

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

One UX designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

No measurable outcomes at this moment

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

We communicate with Google Chat, e-mail, google meet and Figma. The dead lines was successfully completed. At this time we have some points with rework.

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

The know-how of the company helped us to create a new UX design from zero.

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

they could have been more diligent with the review of the components and features that been designed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am IT Manager 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to update our bank mobile app with a new UI and UX and adding some consortium functionalities transforming it into a Financial Services App

SOLUTION

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

We searched online and had selected 4 by the customers that they had, then we had presentation of the companies and the quotations. The deciding factors was the experience past in the meetings and the principal projects that they had

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

We had discovery meetings then we start with weekly plannings meetings to start with the development. With the development done we received app for tests and with our approval went to prodduction

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

We had one project manager, designer and two developers one for each plataform android and IOS

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We d not had any measurable feedback to give

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

Very simple, easy and effective way to manage the project. We had a some tolls to work but they are very flexible working in our way too

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

Their flexibility to work with us was impressive.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Leader of the Exclusive Lounge project and an event consultant in the area of ​​innovation at 4Network, the company that most brings together CIOs in Brazil through its customized events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Snow to design a new virtual interaction platform that could act as an expanded network of contacts for the events we produce. Transform physical network into virtual business continuity and experiences for our guests.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We researched among 5 companies that could provide the product conception and platform development service. Snow was a better fit in our plans due to its flexibility in the business and concern for service.

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

We started with platform design thinking through a co-creation between snow, our team and our guests. The complete design came out in about 4 months with an MVP more than complete for the start of development.

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

We work directly with snow designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From the design created, we started the development of the platform putting into practice everything we had thought.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was essential to achieve a good result in this complex work.

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

Their communication skills were impressive.

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

Flexibility in presenting proposals that fit the client's universe, providing quality and trust.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a corporate services company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Online Portal and App Development

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to develop an online portal to our customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select Snowman Labs?

Snowman Labs offered the best relation cost x benefit and a great portfolio.

Describe the project in detail.

Web development and interface to connect with a future app.

What was the team composition?

Myself and their whole team: project manager, designer and developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was successfully deliverd.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Really good.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The general customer service was impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Unimed Uberaba is a health operator in the mining triangle. Today I hold the position of development coordinator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired to assist us in several developments, within the Unicare app.

SOLUTION

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

We found a snowman through an ex-member of our team.

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

The main delivery was the unicare app, where the patient can follow and participate in the management of their care.

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

Around 5 people, including a project manager, and some backend and frontend developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After the publication of the application we have 8 thousand users using it daily.

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

Scrum metogy has been used since the beginning, we always communicate through slackware.

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

The commitment from taking requirements to the quality of the final delivery.

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

We learned a lot from them, and there was a great exchange of knowledge. However, if it were the geographical distance, the use would be even better.