The Software House

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

trommsdorff+drüner is a digital agency with around 90 people in Berlin and Beijing. Our services aim at leveraging untapped data resources, creating smart strategies, client-centric tools, forward-thinking business models, and game-changing insights. To do so we build our own Smart Data Solution. The Software House supports us in the development.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the CTO. I lead the development, technical project, and product teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your company's business goals for the project?

We are developing a SmartData Product that is project driven. The Software House helps us constantly to improve the product and supports some of the projects. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of the project.

The Software House developers are integrated in our development team remotely. They take part in technical discussions, sprint planning and, mainly, development.

How did you come to work with The Software House?

The Software House was a recommendation from our biggest outsourcing partner. We usually try out one of their developers for two weeks and if it fits, we ramp up. They were the third company we tried to outsource some of the product development to. At this point, it is the only company it really works with. 

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

We have actually three developers booked for the whole year and hope to get more. The total volume is a six-digit number.

When was the project completed?

It is still running and will definitively go on into 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project, and are there any metrics you can share?

We have actually four big companies using our product, and they are very satisfied.

How did The Software House perform?

We have worked with The Software House for more than one year and, during this time, their developers added great value to the project and were significant producers for the achievements of our delivery dates. The proactive and productive developers make remote work easy.

When working with The Software House, was there anything unique or special about them?

The quality of the developers is outstanding. 

Looking back on the project, is there any area that The Software House could improve or you would do differently?

Only bring more developers.

BACKGROUND

Worldwide101 is an international virtual assistant company offering business-class services to successful small businesses around the world. As co-founder and director of marketing and technology, I am responsible for ensuring that our systems provide the functionality that our clients need to work with their assistant and manage their account.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Worldwide101 has grown rapidly since founding in 2009, and our systems have been based on a mix of existing commercially available cloud-based systems for managing time tracking, providing client dashboards, billing, and invoicing. 

Our goal with working with The Software House and in developing a new system was to increase the professionalism of our client dashboard and create a more customized and robust solution. Additionally, we wanted to increase automation and reduce the amount of manual processing involved in onboard and provisioning for new clients. 

SOLUTION

The Software House developed a custom application built in Ruby on Rails, integrating into our accounting system, Xero, payment processor, Stripe, and CRM [customer relationship management] system.

We evaluated solutions in PHP and Ruby on Rails before settling with Ruby on Rails due to its rapid development capabilities.

We had worked with The Software House on a number of previous projects and have been consistently impressed with their service levels. Both their account management team and their project and development teams are accessible, friendly, and a pleasure to work with in addition to the technical skills. The Software House demonstrated flexibility during the project as requirements changed and were extremely good at staying on time and budget.

We conceptualized the system and developed wireframes and then their team carried them forward recommending options for implementation. The project duration was four months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

We are currently beta testing the new system and, so far, everything is working very well. The Software House team is professional and responsive. They are efficient in resolving any bugs. We are on track to enter full production next month.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Our company is a mobile wallet service. We have flipped the shopping cart upside down and made payments a lot faster and more secure.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m a project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Software House?

They started by helping us with an MVP, a prototype and model to present to investors to show them the concept actually works, and it would be well used. They did such an amazing job we kept them on as a full-time extension of our team and they are doing a lot of the core development today. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

It’s only development work.

What was your process for selecting Software House with which to work?

I found them through a CTO of a major gaming company in New York. He recommended these guys. They turned out to be really amazing. I’ve done outsourcing before through Canada, Russia, India, and Ukraine. 

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

[It was] $1 million to $10 million

When was the work completed?

It’s open ended and we’re growing the partnership in 2015. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I do, but I can’t release that because we’re still in a stealth beta mode. I can tell you that they’ve completed a Web application in Android and iPhone, a native mobile Web app all within the last 15 months that have been used by less than a million users with no complaints.

Are you satisfied with their performance?

In the beginning, I was leery about using outsourced work again. But, the MVP [minimum viable product] that they did was really amazing. We used two of their developers with two of our developers here. We really liked them because they weren’t code monkeys. They didn’t just ask for tasks and then complete them. They actually put thought into it. Within the first three weeks, one of the developers told me I was wrong and that this was not how we should do it. That earned my respect because he was right. I appreciated that. I trusted him to do it a different way. He showed a faster, quicker, and more secure way.

Is there anything unique about Software House that really makes them stand out, compared to other online marketing companies?

They have the ability to work with other third-party integrators. Because we’re a thin tech company, we have to deal with Visa, MasterCard and a lot of banks and other security companies associated with it. I never have to have a three-way call or a forwarded email. I’m comfortable with them talking directly to those third parties directly. There was no language barrier. They definitely go above and beyond in that area as well.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

They’re doing such great work, and we’re constantly asking for more people. The ramp up time to get a new person or a new quote on a new person creates a delay. It can take 30 to 35 days to find a person since they only bring in really qualified resources. That can create a headache for us since we want to scale faster.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Operations Manager of Handi.cash Ltd

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Electronic Money Institution

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Software House to accomplish?

• Analyse of AWS costs
• To diminish AWS fees

SOLUTION

How did you find The Software House?

through other projects

Why did you select The Software House over others?

• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Software House were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope was to investigate Handi.cash infrastructure with an ultimate goal of cost reduction. Audit,recommend and implement the necessary actions to make sure that infrastructure costs are lowered.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have more than halved the infrastructure costs we set out to reach.

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

They were extremely helpful and we were held on track with developments, besides communicating efficiently with our IT consultant at our end.

What was your primary form of communication with The Software House?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They are down-to-earth and ready to help and explain everything that is going on besides being super professional.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Software House could have done differently?

No as we were pleased with both the time taken and outcome of this project. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Product Manager of MEMSYS

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We build self-powered wireless IoT devices

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Software House to accomplish?

• Design a new webapp
• Build the front-end of the new webapp

SOLUTION

How did you find The Software House?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select The Software House over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from The Software House were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Design the webapp in Figma, based on initial sketches and feature descriptions
• Develop the front-end of the web application

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• 100% of development deadlines and timelines were met

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

Very proactive in communication, clearly communicating timelines that were mostly very accurate. Very flexible to our quickly changing needs and priorities.

What was your primary form of communication with The Software House?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Great communication, and great experience from the sales process until the end. They had very skilled designers and developers. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Software House could have done differently?

The front-end code was a little overengineered such that it was difficult for us to continue development after the project was concluded, though it is understandable based on our changing needs during the project. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Product Manager / Product Owner of a sports company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Governing body for international football, with the mission to make football truly global.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Software House to accomplish?

• Improve front-end development skills

SOLUTION

How did you find The Software House?

Clutch Site

Why did you select The Software House over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Software House were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Design system
• Client performance optimisation
• Regular front-end development
• Graphs & maps development

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Front-end code development velocity
• Performance indicators (lighthouse & pageSpeedInsights)
• Design system shared across different teams

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

We have developers embbeded in our team together with developers from a different vendor. The collaboration spirit has been always good, same goes to the attitude, commitment and responsibility. When we worked with senior profiles they have been always delivering good work.

What was your primary form of communication with The Software House?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Nothing in particular. They have always been proactive, open to feedback, and interested in the well-being of their employees in terms of challenging and interesting work, project mood, collaboration, being heard, etc. They have also been generous in organising an initial in-person gathering with the whole team.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Software House could have done differently?

• Probably the selection of some of the developers has not been always fit for purpose for our project, and that has caused some disturbance on the team. This was fixed switfly and we appreciate that

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Engineering of the company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Platform to enable Brokers to collect information securely from clients looking to obtain a home loan.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Software House to accomplish?

• Develop frontend applications
• Build supporting REST services

SOLUTION

How did you find The Software House?

Other

Why did you select The Software House over others?

Other

How many teammates from The Software House were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Build and maintain customer facing assets.
• Liase with Product and UX designers to bring the vision of the platform to life.
• Build and maintain infrastructure and backend services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Building and maintaining customer facing assets, customer frontend Next.js applicationss.
• Building and maintaining infrastructure and backend services

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

TSH is there to provide support and additional resources when required.

What was your primary form of communication with The Software House?

Virtual Meeting

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

• Their team members and engineers have a keen passion for engineering and learning.
• And the ability to take on any challenge and work autonomously.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Software House could have done differently?

TSH has been doing very well in our team so far.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Team supervisor of Furgonetka Sp. z o.o. s.k.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Courier shipment broker

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Software House to accomplish?

• Refactor frontend to ReactJS.
• Create the architecture in ReactJS

SOLUTION

How did you find The Software House?

Online Search

Why did you select The Software House over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from The Software House were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Create core application
• Programing common function
• Refactor frontend to ReactJs

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All goals were achieved.

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

The project was completed on schedule.

What was your primary form of communication with The Software House?

Virtual Meeting

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

We were impressed with their flexibility and adaptability to customer needs.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Software House could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO & MD of an other industry company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company is a central Plattform for Corporate Mobility

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Software House to accomplish?

• Software Development
• DevOps

SOLUTION

How did you find The Software House?

Referral

Why did you select The Software House over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from The Software House were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Providing Dev, QAA and DevOps Resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Solved tasks

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

We do project management

What was your primary form of communication with The Software House?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They give fast response time and qualified people.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Software House could have done differently?

Not really

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the ceo of the company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Software House, and what were your goals?

We wanted to refresh a platform and build it again

SOLUTION

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

From references of friends

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

Front and backed development

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

4-5 front and backend developers and project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was as delivered

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

Friendly and efficient

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

Ease of communication

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

Maybe quicker allocations