Software Mind

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the SVP, Engineering of a legal technology company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a SaaS company in the Legal Technology area. We provide cutting edge technology solutions to lawyers and legal professionals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• We hired Software Mind in a staff augmentation capacity. Their high quality engineers were able to help throughout the organization, being able to architect and implement performant, scalable, secure solutions.

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Mind?

Referral

Why did you select Software Mind over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Other

How many teammates from Software Mind were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Software Mind Engineers joined various teams to help with product delivery. They were embedded on the teams. For the senior engineers, they helped with architecture and system design, along with actual coding, deployment, testing and maintenance that all engineers did. Our teams are made up of both UI and BE Engineers. For the UI development, all new development is in React, along with transitioning from Backbone. For the BE development, we have a mix of C#, Python and Kotlin in various microservices. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Software Mind has helped us with staff augmentation for our Web App Development. As a startup, we were growing quickly, but had so much functionality and features to add. We needed more help with UI & BE development, in particular in the same time zone as the rest of the Engineering group. Of course, we were also cost sensitive.

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

 The 1st two engineers worked out so well, we expanded our relationship, adding more engineers over time. When we needed to increase our capacity, we would ask ourselves if we wanted to reach out to Software Mind or hire employees.

What was your primary form of communication with Software Mind?

Virtual Meeting

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

Some of the Software Engineers we have had are at the highest level and I would trust them with any software development challenge.

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

I can't think of anything
What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?
To get the best possible results, be very specific on what you need (skills, expertise, experience), examples of resumes of engineers that have been successful and recalibrate after the first round of interviews. Communication is key and I've always appreciated the relationship and collaboration between our company and Software Mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of AI Solutions and Research of Logically

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provides software development and UI/UX services across industries and geographies

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• To support us on UI/UX to design innovative products
• To support us on software engineering to develop innovative products

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Mind?

• Referral
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Software Mind over others?

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

How many teammates from Software Mind were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

• Back-end development for multi-modal auto fact-checking (MMAFC) prototype as guided by the roadmap
• Front-end development for the MMAFC prototype as guided by the roadmap
• UX designs for the MMAFC prototype to capture precise user journeys and also aid front/back-end development for high user satisfaction, retention, and feedback
• Implementation of scalable architecture, usability testing, accessibility compliance, and security control mechanisms to support a successful early access program for MMAFC
• Preparation of the MMAFC prototype for MVP development by the end of the early access program
• UX designs and wireframe refinements for the platform POC to capture the user journeys of expert user workflow and platform trust & safety user workflow
• Back-end and front-end development to deliver the platform PoC (the expected outcome is an interactive web application that provides a threat feed with actionable insights for platform trust and safety ) for an internal demo in March 2024.
• Based on the demo feedback, prepare the platform PoC for prototype development  
• Back-end and front-end development for the platform prototype as per the goals of the early access program
• UX designs and wireframe refinements for the platform prototype to capture precise user journeys for expert users and platform trust & safety users
• Implementation of scalable architecture, usability testing, accessibility compliance, and security control mechanisms to support a successful early access program for the platform prototype
• Preparation of the platform prototype for MVP development by the end of the early access program.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1. Successful design and development of the product for the early access program
2. Onboarding of external users to test and validate the product hypothesis
3. Iterative design improvements to depict product vision at stakeholder demos

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

Timely Delivery of Project Items
Adherence to Timelines:

Milestones and Deadlines: The technology vendor consistently met all major milestones and deadlines. Key phases such as initial design, prototyping, beta testing, and final deployment were completed within the agreed-upon timeframes.
Regular Updates: They provided regular progress updates, ensuring that all stakeholders were informed about the status of deliverables and any potential delays were communicated well in advance.
Project Tracking Tools:

Utilization of Tools: The vendor effectively used project management tools such as Jira  to track progress, assign tasks, and manage timelines. This allowed for transparent and real-time tracking of the project’s status.
Responsiveness to Needs
Proactive Communication:

Regular Meetings: Regular meetings were scheduled, including weekly progress reviews and bi-weekly strategic planning sessions. These meetings ensured that any issues were promptly addressed and adjustments were made as needed.
Feedback Integration: The vendor was highly responsive to feedback, often integrating suggestions and changes rapidly into the project plan, demonstrating their flexibility and commitment to meeting our needs.
Tailored Solutions:

Customization: They provided tailored solutions that addressed specific requirements, such as developing custom algorithms for enhanced detection of harmful content and adapting the UI/UX to better suit user preferences.
Scalability: The vendor anticipated future needs and incorporated scalable solutions, ensuring that the platform could handle increased user loads and expanded functionalities.
Support and Training:

Comprehensive Support: Post-deployment support was thorough, including round-the-clock technical support and regular system maintenance to ensure smooth operation.
Training Programs: They conducted extensive training sessions for our internal teams, enabling them to efficiently use and manage the new AI products.
Overall Project Management Effectiveness
Risk Management: The vendor demonstrated strong risk management skills, identifying potential risks early and developing mitigation strategies to prevent project derailments.
Quality Assurance: Robust quality assurance processes were in place, including multiple rounds of testing (unit, integration, and user acceptance testing) to ensure the final product was reliable and met all specified requirements.
Client-Centric Approach: Their client-centric approach was evident in their willingness to go above and beyond to ensure our satisfaction, often incorporating last-minute changes and providing additional resources when required.

What was your primary form of communication with Software Mind?

Virtual Meeting

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

What impressed us was their professionalism, and proficiency in different areas of design, engineering, project management, and customer service. Also, their ability to be flexible to meet the demands and needs of the customer with quick turnaround and relentless passion to deliver high quality service

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Engineering of Retail Insight

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provides data insights and products to improve on shelf availability and reduce grocery waste for retailers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• IT Resource Augmentation
• Create a product engineering function

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Mind?

Online Search

Why did you select Software Mind over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Software Mind were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

New features have been delivered across our three core products which have modernised our application interfaces and web applications. The new features enable greater insights for customers and reduce labour costs in store. The solutions have been truly full stack encompassing data engineering, data science, orchastration, API and web apps.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Product roadmap milestones being reached and increased value delivered through the solutions.

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

As product engineering was new to our company we had some initial challenges with prioritising items and ensuring scope was clear. This led to some delays but Software Mind intervened and brought in their own technical project manager / software delivery manager who helped to bring things on track and improve the processes for our company.

What was your primary form of communication with Software Mind?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The ability to work fully remotely was key for ourselves as we are a global organisation. The account management was also very impressive with a genuine desire to exceed expectations and intervene ahead of any issues. There is a willingness to go above and beyond and provide insights and learnings on other innovations which makes them feel more of a partner than a vendor.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Engineering of Pythiasports

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide B2B services in the betting industry

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Staff Augmentation

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Mind?

Referral

Why did you select Software Mind over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Software Mind were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We needed to build a small team with different profile: software engineer, devops and QA. The team was meant to be onboarded with our existing staff and join our delivery cadence. Software Mind managed the sourcing of the staff and the regular touch points with them, ensuring a continuous delivery of service throughout.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sourcing the new talents was very fast and to high standards. The onboarding was very smooth thank to the ability of the team to regroup physically in the remote location. In 4 weeks the team started to contribute nicely to our project. Software Mind kept a close eye on the team performance and helped us make sure teammates were always at the expected level. Software Mind stayed available to feedback and helped going beyond the original scope of the project by expanding our resources with them.

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

Software Mind stayed on top of delivery from their talents, keeping a loop of feedback with us and reacted quickly to changes when they happened. The added staff truly boosted our team velocity as a result.

What was your primary form of communication with Software Mind?

Virtual Meeting

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

The quality and dedication of the staff Software Mind provides are impressive. Also, the level of support teammates benefit via Software Mind's infrastructure.

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

They could be a bit more engaged into sponsoring business trips / on site events for the resources we hire ; this is very beneficial to them and the balance of the project. Everything else is spot on!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a delivery manager in the IT department of Baillie Gifford & Co. Our headquarters are in Edinburgh, Scotland. I head up the Kraków office and am based in Poland for most of the year.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Software Mind?

We wanted to extend our application development capability and it was getting tougher to hire experienced IT staff in Edinburgh.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Software Mind has collaborated with us on several tasks and are currently working across eight different projects. These projects consist of in-house applications for our office back in Edinburgh—some are for the front office, some for the back office, and some are client-facing.

We work with Software Mind on a wide range of development tasks. We have a web-based frontend, so they have been using a development stack comprised of .NET, Visual Studio, PFX, C#, JavaScript as well as Angular.

What is the team composition?

Initially, we started with two developers and now have 35 developers and two security developers on board. We have two tech lead architects who I speak to daily, as well as a project manager, who deals a lot with the people, helps with the recruitments, and keeps up with the projects and the work that we need to do. Some people from their team are relatively new to development and some are just new to Software Mind, so part of the focus has been getting them up to speed with the Software Mind’s processes and development style.

How did you come to work with Software Mind?

We looked around Europe, and after a bit of research, we chose to look for a vendor in Kraków and spoke to a few companies. We found Software Mind through a networking agency for multinationals and chose them because they had the flexibility, experience, and talented people.

How much have you invested in them?

We spend around €2 million per year (approximately $2,232,998 USD) on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2018 and the collaboration is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with your partner evolve?

Started working on one project with some augmented staff and over the years the team has grown to the extent that we have just under 30 people spread across multiple internal projects. Relationship with the Software Mind team has grown where we now share best practices and also learn from each other in different areas such as guilds, big data, AI etc.

In what ways can they improve?

Happy with the relationship just now and hoping we continue to build out more capabilities across different areas.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Start small, get used to working with the team and then build up when you are happy the team are adding value.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on October 8, 2019.

Derek Martin

Delivery Manager, Baillie Gifford & Co

IT Services

11-50 Employees

Poland

$1,000,000 - $9,999,999

May 2018 - Ongoing

Project summary

Software Mind ramps up the company’s development efforts, assisting with a variety of tasks that span several projects. Some of the apps they’re working on are client-facing and some are for in-house use.

Feedback summary

The products that are live get only positive feedback from users, and have had minimal to no bugs or other issues. Collaborating with Software Mind is easy thanks to their daily-stand up calls and regular face-to-face meetings. They have really high standards when it comes to producing quality code.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a delivery manager in the IT department of Baillie Gifford & Co. Our headquarters are in Edinburgh, Scotland. I head up the Kraków office and am based in Poland for most of the year.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Software Mind?

We wanted to extend our application development capability and it was getting tougher to hire experienced IT staff in Edinburgh.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Software Mind has collaborated with us on several tasks and are currently working across eight different projects. These projects consist of in-house applications for our office back in Edinburgh—some are for the front office, some for the back office, and some are client-facing.

We work with Software Mind on a wide range of development tasks. We have a web-based frontend, so they have been using a development stack comprised of .NET, Visual Studio, PFX, C#, JavaScript as well as Angular.

What is the team composition?

Initially, we started with two developers and now have 35 developers and two security developers on board. We have two tech lead architects who I speak to daily, as well as a project manager, who deals a lot with the people, helps with the recruitments, and keeps up with the projects and the work that we need to do. Some people from their team are relatively new to development and some are just new to Software Mind, so part of the focus has been getting them up to speed with the Software Mind’s processes and development style.

How did you come to work with Software Mind?

We looked around Europe, and after a bit of research, we chose to look for a vendor in Kraków and spoke to a few companies. We found Software Mind through a networking agency for multinationals and chose them because they had the flexibility, experience, and talented people.

How much have you invested in them?

We spend around €2 million per year (approximately $2,232,998 USD) on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2018 and the collaboration is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Users have been pleased with the products that have gone live. These have gotten through testing pretty smoothly, without many bugs or defects. We've received positive feedback so far.

How did Software Mind perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has gone fairly well. Most of the team is based in Edinburgh, and the Software Mind team is here in Poland, so we use Microsoft Teams for day-to-day communication, Zoom for video conferencing, and a Scrum-based approach to development.

We do stand-up meetings every morning through Zoom, which we find easier and more effective than doing it over the phone. We also have face-to-face meetings every six to eight weeks, or three months at the latest, where a specific team of four or five developers will go over to Edinburgh for a few days and work with the in-house developers there.

Two or three months later, the team from Edinburgh will come over and work with the team here. Everyone in the office here has been to Edinburgh at least once, and most have been two or three times. Most of the projects have been carried our here.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive things about Software Mind are their high standards and the quality of the code they build. They strive to make their code as best as possible and want to deliver within a decent timeframe. We tend to focus on making sure the type of solution is what our users want. Software Mind works on the priority features first and then continue to develop the product, making sure it's all usable for the business from the start.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The main thing I've received comments about is that Software Mind will sometimes be very quiet via Zoom conferencing, making it a challenge to try and get enough conversations going. I think it's more of a cultural and distance-related issue. We don't experience the same situation when meeting face-to-face. When it comes to the quality of the code, it has all worked really well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that someone is working closely with them. There has to be constant communication to make sure that things are moving along and the desired quality is being achieved.

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 4.5

Quality: 4.5

Cost: 4

Schedule: 4

Willing to refer: 4.5

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a principal for a management consultancy. We specialize in procurement and supply chain management. My core area of responsibility is roadmap delivery in the software field. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Software Mind?

We have in-house developers, but we needed Software Mind to provide us with staff augmentation resources who could be more flexible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When a developer role opens on our team, we search for candidates ourselves first and bring in Software Mind for support as needed. They’re responsible for sourcing candidates, submitting them to us, and including us in the interview process. Once we’ve hired a resource, Software Mind also helps with the onboarding process by running them through demos and getting them up to speed on the project. 

Software Mind has provided us with software developers that we’ve incorporated into our own teams. Our cross-functional teams consist of a project manager, QA tester, and a blend of our developers and theirs. They’ve also identified a software tester for us. 

The Software Mind team members work alongside us to build upon our proprietary software for consultants to use during projects. They write software in PHP, but our underlying architecture infrastructure is powered by AWS. They’ve also written software in Go. Our main focus is to create software rather than configuring third-party technologies to achieve certain functionalities. The software helps with efficiencies, reusable content, and reusable data to support the product development process. 

Some team members from Software Mind have been involved in the technical planning and designing of the architecture, but we handle the UI/UX.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with an account manager, a software tester, and various developers. 

How did you come to work with Software Mind?

We found Software Mind through a referral.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested close to £1 million (approximately $1.2 million USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure success by how quickly the Software Mind team finds qualified individuals to fill our open developer roles. Additionally, we look for certain soft skills during our interview process with candidates. 

Once we’ve integrated a developer into our processes, we hold them to our internal DevOps metrics. Our DevOps metrics consist of counter-deployments, how many deployments lead to bugs, and how quickly the team addresses issues when they arise. 

How did Software Mind perform from a project management standpoint?

Our account manager is responsive, transparent, and friendly. They’re always willing to help and be flexible when our plans change. Our technical leads who oversee Software Mind’s developers speak highly of them. We’ve had no issues with the developers; they’re very much a part of our team. They’re responsive via Microsoft Teams chat. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed by their professional demeanor and the level of talent they’ve introduced us to. The staff gets up to speed quickly during the onboarding process. The Software Mind developers really embody our company values; they adapt to change and operate as part of our team. It’s hard to tell the difference between our in-house developers and theirs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t asked for this, but they could be more forthcoming with their ideas and thought leadership regarding what they’ve seen on other projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you already have an internal software development team, I encourage you to integrate Software Mind’s resources into your existing process. This will enable them to perform to the best of their ability.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of portal and UI for an asset protection business. We strive to minimize ownership costs for automobile owners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Software Mind?

We needed to find high-quality developers, engineers, and partners who could help us build the best solutions for our business, so we hired Software Mind for staff augmentation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked together on multiple projects throughout our engagement. They normally perform design, development, DevOps, deployment, and QA for us. We already have systems in place, but sometimes we modify them or have a new launch with almost the same code base to make a new branch, tool, or product for our business. Software Mind has also helped us build an e-commerce website. 

In terms of the design, Software Mind uses Figma and gives us a lot of options with color patterns and UX, and they take care of deployment to AWS. They also help us define user personas; we will normally lead the beginning of the process and then let them take it from there. 

What is the team composition?

We work with one technical lead, three senior developers, an API team, and a few QA individuals. We also have people from their team working in our mobile e-commerce department. 

How did you come to work with Software Mind?

We wanted passionate developers because technology is always changing, and needed a team that could keep up with best practices. We were also looking for people who could write clean, simple code and would think about all of the situations that could occur. We needed a team to build high-quality code that could last as long as the software. 

Additionally, we wanted an offshore team with similar time zones to the US. Software Mind was one of the companies we chose and used on a trial basis and then decided to move forward with. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invest between $150,000–$200,000 per year. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. We continue to work with them on different projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They provide high-quality work and take the time to coach other team members. When something is incorrect or there are other options, they always express their opinion, and we know that they want to do things the right way. When it comes to code, architecture, and QA, they’ve never failed us. 

How did Software Mind perform from a project management standpoint?

Software Mind delivers on time and within budget, and they have great communication skills. They do really well with self-management and are easy to work with. Software Mind knows our system inside and out, and they get things done very quickly. We communicate daily via Microsoft Teams and use Jira for project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have high-quality senior developers who are passionate about software development and the projects they're working on. They go above and beyond for our business in a way that we haven’t experienced before. Everyone we’ve worked with from Software Mind meets our standards and expectations and is a pleasure to work with. 

The team from Software Mind collaborates effectively, and they consistently introduce us to new technologies. They don’t just go with whatever we want; they guide us and help us make the right decision regarding technology. It gives us peace of mind because we know we’re making the right decision at the end of the day. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve been impressed with everything they’re doing. If we had no budgetary limitations, we’d hire them for everything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Software Mind is the company to go with if you care about quality and speed. Start with a small team and grow from there. If you’re in a complicated industry, teach them slowly and help them understand your business. Once you’re comfortable, you can really trust them to work on the whole project. If you have a schedule that is well planned out, you’ll be successful with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am founder and CEO of EatApp Inc., a company established to create visually rich, POS integrated restaurant menus.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I hired ValueLogic to help me conceptually develop the idea of visually rich, POS-integrated restaurant menus, as well as to create a mobile app and backend system manifesting the idea in the real world.

EatApp is an application that takes the restaurant menu experience to the next level. It is a platform that connects chefs, restaurants, and diners. Chefs and restaurant owners are able to easily upload rich media content to tell their stories and create striking rich visual menus, while diners get a whole range of benefits from EatApp It is an easy-to-navigate menu app with a warm and inviting design that showcases images of dishes and adds depth to the menu with descriptions and backstories.

SOLUTION

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

1. Analytical and creative ability to transform my idea into a detailed working model.
2. Ability to work collaboratively with the the founder.
3. I needed my developer to take their unique understanding of the ever-evolving mobile app technology and enhance and transform my original idea into something customer-focused, feature rich, globally scalable.
4. And perhaps MOST CRITICALLY, I needed a developer that had the culture and character to act as an organizational extension of my own company. I needed my clients to feel that my small company had a reliable and cutting-edge technology partner that would service the product, as well as continue evolving and growing the product into the future. I wanted to be able to put my clients directly in touch with my developer and have them feel that I had an in-house development team, and wasn't simply outsourcing the development work to a 3rd party developer.

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

Scope of work:

• Native mobile application for the digital menu in restaurants;
• A cutting-edge website to promote the app.

Project steps:

• Discovery sessions;
• Delivery in SCRUM methodology in 2-week sprints ended with review meetings;
• Application delivered in a few phases covering the most important features first and then creating nice-to-have features in subsequent phases.

Key deliveries:

• Working application
• digital menu with photos and video feature;
• Direct payment from the app;
• Restaurant web application panel.

Technologies:

• Kotlin;
• VueJS;
• Native IOS and Android Application.

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

1. ValueLogic founders;
2. Needs analysis expert;
3. Usability expert;
4. IOS developer;
5. Android developer;
6. Backend developer;
7. VueJS developer;
8. Project manager;

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have had over 20 successful trials with restaurants, individual chefs and restaurant training programs (our visual menu is being used as a training tool for staff-facing applications, as well as a diner-facing application). We are on the verge of rolling out the EatApp menu app South Africa-wide.

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

The team was highly efficient in the way they managed my project over two years of multiple phase development. I had a dedicated project manager assigned to me, with daily updates and app screenshots (as it was being built) via our shared Slack channel, as well as weekly video meetings, with various members of the team when required, including regular communication with the two co-founders. A whole range of digital project management tools we being used to ensure efficient execution.

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

• I'm impressed with their ability to convert my idea into a working model.
• Expanding my basic idea into a robust, multifaceted, application.
• Rapid speed of implementation and subsequent product updates.
• Extreme ease of working together despite the constraints of Covid and my location in South Africa (ValueLogic is located in Poland and Germany).
• Superior support post app development as new ideas or modification requirements emerged in the process of testing the app in real-life context and I needed these ideas and mod requirements to be quickly implemented.
• ValueLogic founders' participation and oversight throughout app development and subsequent market introduction.
• A strong marketing team that assisted me with conceptualising marketing strategies, the design of a super website to support the app and other helpful services and insights.
• Fluent English language skills of all staff members I was dealing with. Despite the company's German and Polish roots, everyone member of the team I deal with (management, various developers, usability experts, marketing specialists, etc.) all had a super strong English language ability.

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

I can't think of anything. My team and I were delighted with every aspect of my ValueLogic relationship and their work for EatApp.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Globitell Wholesale - international telco carrier providing voice and messaging services and other telecommunications based services for partners and clients around the Globe. I work in position of CTO at Globitell Wholesale.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Software Mind to help us design, develop and deploy Class 4 SIP Software Switch. We were looking for a solution that would keep up with our fast growing business and technical requirements. Our goal were and is to base our telco bussiness on rock solid and flexible solutions. We have it all provided from Software Mind.

SOLUTION

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

We knew Software Mind from previous projects, in which they proved their professionalism, reliability, punctuality and quality of work at the highest level. We had no doubts that it would be the same this time.

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

We went all the way of creating a new platform. Starting from collecting the requirements, the architecture design and applied solutions, through the process of developing, testing and implementing. Currently, the platform is constantly developed and enriched with new functions derived from the current needs.

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

We have contact with project managers and leaders of key teams in the process of creating the platform and ongoing improvements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The implementation of the platform allowed for faster development of our business, it was possible to achieve further goals that would be impossible to achieve without this platform.

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

We are very pleased with the style of project management by Software Mind. Conversations, meetings and workshops allow for efficient determination of details. The tools used, such as JIRA, allow to organize and efficiently manage changes in an ongoing project.

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

Top-class specialists, professional approach to work, high business and personal culture. Nothing is impossible. Always on time.

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

So far we are 100% satisfied. No changes needed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the senior director of application development for a financial services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Software Mind? \

They work for us in a staff augmentation capacity, regarding architectural evolution and updating some of our legacy solutions. We’re like a large bank, but on a smaller scale. People apply for a number of credit products with us, and we handle all the underwriting. Software Mind was involved with our stack down to the domain API layer, meaning the entire frontend down to underwriting. On the service side they helped with all of our functionality, including making payments, viewing statements, logging in through security, and resolving and mitigating application security issues.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Software Mind was mostly responsible for moving specific services into the cloud. We also had a new platform we were building, and they got some of our legacy systems into this new home. They also made a number of behind-the-scenes architectural enhancements around automation and improving our monitoring.

We’re an Azure shop, so Software Mind supported us with migrations out of MuleSoft over to API Gateway. They also did Azure B to C implementation and a lot of C#, Angular, and .NET development.

The amount of documentation we provided them with depended on the project. On the today-card implementation, Software Minds ran with a lot of that. They’re great at creating their own documentation for tasks on the legacy side. They’re really good when they come across new things. They excel with software improvement and finding better ways of doing things.

What is the team composition?

Their team reported to our application development manager and our team leads, so I only interacted with an account executive. In general, we hired senior software developers and a couple of junior software developers and automation engineers.

How did you come to work with Software Mind?

We found them through my boss, who’d worked with them in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $250,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2021–September 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They focus on automation first, which has allowed us to mitigate issues going into production. We’re finding issues much earlier in our development cycle. There aren’t necessarily metrics that are associated with this, but I know that we’ve experienced a lot fewer incidents in multiple areas.

Another part of their work that stand out is their ability to understand new environments and business quickly and start producing value. Other contracting firms I’ve worked with take six months to get going, and they may even slow roll you a bit. Software Mind hit the ground running on all of our engagements.

Software Minds does really well in terms of code quality rates. There are very few defects and instances of poor code quality. They’re consistently one of our top-performing outside vendors.

How did Software Mind perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re certainly one of our better vendors from a cost perspective. We don’t really have structured project plans, as we're an agile group, but Software Mine is really good at rallying around us and putting in the extra time when we have an aggressive deadline. We typically communicate through Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team spirit was fantastic. Software Mind as very easy to work with and a strong partner. We really appreciated their transparency as well. If we encountered challenges, they were on top of those. Biweekly meetings allowed us to catch up on what we needed to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing really comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Definitely choose them. One of the things that was very helpful for us was including them in our early planning, rather than treating them like order takers. Software Mind is a talented, smart group of individuals that can offer better ways to implement our software and infrastructure than even we can think of. I tried proactively to make them a partner.