SOLID - Design & Development

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Be Consulting We are Purpose-led consultants. Our work is about provoking a fundamental transformation helping organizations and places understand, define and express their role in the world. We work with leaders and senior teams partnering for greater impact on creating shared-value beyond growth. Head of Strategy and Design

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SOLID - Design & Development?

SOLID was hired to build a web platform for one of our clients. It's a Shopify custom experience integrated with an e-learning platform.

Our goal was to select an excellent vendor to translate our strategy into a digital platform where customers could buy courses, coffee packages, and also learn more about this universe.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Tree different professionals that I talked to indicated SOLID as a perfect fit vendor for this complex, custom, and unique project. So, I reached out SOLIDs CEO, and we decided to start this journey together.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Its was a web platform developed using Shopify as its core, plus a custom experience designed in the front-end. Also, SOLID developed a custom dashboard as an application inside the Shopify platform, creating a unique environment to manage all the project data.

Running a custom application for the CMS, they used Polaris to follow the same visual language that Shopify uses.

What was the team composition?

A project manager, a front-end developer, a PHP back-end developer, and a motion designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

This project was an experimental project for my client. For them, this project represents a new era of their company, an innovative moment they're trying new things to deliver more value to their customers. This project is a shift for them and was an excellent opportunity for my company, helping them to create the new, putting the status quo aside.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We didn't have any troubles during the project management. We just had some small changes into the deadline regarding some definitions about the e-learning platform they were waiting for the client feedback. SOLID was very effective and focused on delivering the project as was expected.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're capable of seeing far beyond the technology and the visual aspects. SOLID has a team of experts that are aware of the customer context, not just on the surface, but going deep and sharing insightful thoughts around the solutions as a whole. We realized SOLID is not just a vendor, but a valuable expert partner for the success of our own company.

Are there any areas for improvement?

At the moment we're waiting for our client to organize all around the logistics to put the project running as it may be. For now, there's no improvement to be made.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of a creative services business that designs websites and other materials.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SOLID?

One of our clients operates a Shopify e-commerce site. We coded most of the HTML and CSS, and created most of the designs, but the client wanted more specific functionalities. I knew about SOLID, so I reached out to them for help and took care of it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The client had a list of specs for the site. They wanted to receive certain types of notifications based on each form that was submitted. They wanted some forms on the site to behave in unconventional ways.

For example, Shopify allows people to create accounts out-of-the-box, but the client wanted users to have either wholesale or regular user accounts. This would provide additional information fields to the wholesale users. The client also wanted users to receive different types of email notifications for regular or wholesale signups.

How did you come to work with SOLID?

We were members of the same Facebook group, and I’d seen some of the work SOLID posted. I was impressed by it, and I had a couple of conversations with them. They seemed eager to help and knowledgeable about what they were doing. When the client had a problem, they were on my shortlist.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $4,000 on their work.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SOLID in late May or early June 2018. The project was completed in about two weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Most importantly, I had a satisfied client. I was the main point of contact throughout this project, acting as the conduit between SOLID and the client. We’ve worked with this client for a long time, we have a great relationship with them, and I hoped to do business with them in coming years. It was important to me that they were satisfied with the entire process and the result.

The client had a great experience and saw the desired results. The website became a lot easier for them to use, and fewer user details fell through the cracks when compared to their previous manual process. That was probably the biggest win.

How did SOLID perform from a project management standpoint?

I never had any questions about the process or schedule. They adhered to the timeline they set, and I always knew where I stood. If they ever needed anything from me, they communicated it. Everything was very clear, and I had no complaints. We used phone, email, and videoconferences for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They asked a lot of great questions outside of my area of expertise. I’m in the creative services business, and I leave the in-depth field knowledge to developers. SOLID asked me about things I hadn’t considered and explained concepts in layman’s terms. They showed knowledge of the backend QA and made any changes we requested.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

SOLID is like every other developer: it’s important that they clearly understand the client’s goals. They need access to credentials and assets to complete their tasks.

For the sake of time and efficiency, prepare everything you can in advance. Have a clear vision of what you’re trying to accomplish, but be open to alternatives. I thought that features would be best created in a certain way, but SOLID had the expertise to recommend more sensible solutions. You're hiring experts, so leverage them.