Southern Code

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am coordinator of quarry operations at a cement company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Infovalue?

It was contracted to digitize the quarry operations, from the marking of the drilling wells, to the maintenance of the equipment, also obtaining the necessary information to control the production process, costs, etc.

What were your goals for this project?

obtain in real time the location, productivity, costs of the different work teams

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

on the recommendation of another person from Holcim who was carrying out a project

Describe the project in detail.

It was carried out in different stages. First, based on what was designed by the Holcim team, the workflow was designed. In a second stage, the limits of the project were expanded by taking into account the needs and the issues raised, but in the field of work (quarry), in addition to suggestions from the developer when having experience of working with this company (eg, adding Health protocols and Safety).

As a third stage, the development itself, and tests of it in the quarry (analysis of the type of equipment to be used, the form of presentation of the information obtained, etc.). As a fourth stage, the app is piloted.

What was the team composition?

The team was made up of 3 people total

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Due to a change in the structure of the area, the project is on standby

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very good, fully compiled in it and with many contributions not only technically, but also with ideas on how to carry out the corresponding analyzes and the effective way of displaying that information.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

the way to put an idea on paper to a development capable of managing an entire section of the company with more than 30 heavy vehicles and more than 50 people

Are there any areas for improvement?

no, we're completely satisfied with the work done

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT & HR coordinator for LaFargeHolcim, a company that manufactures and sells cement worldwide. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Infovalue?

We have global projects that require sophisticated platforms to oversee them. We wanted to develop custom software in our gradual migration away from WordPress.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided the Infovalue team with blueprints to convey the application’s desired functionalities. We also gave them the ideas we had for the design side, as well. In turn, they gave us their recommendations, which we approved before they incorporated them. They launched into software development and ultimately produced a web-responsive and mobile-compatible platform.

What is the team composition?

We cooperated with two teammates.

How did you come to work with Infovalue?

We’ve worked with them for other projects, so we could trust them. We knew that they’d be the right partner for this particular undertaking because they work quickly to deliver an effective solution.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000–$15,000. Phase one cost $7,000, and we spent some money on improvements and maintenance.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in November 2018, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app has since gone live, and we’ve received positive feedback for their work. We use GitLab to track the project, and it’s been useful as a way to organize documentation and oversee progress. Post-launch, we used an internal tool that reported issues and created tickets for troubleshooting.

I’ve appreciated their approach and work ethic. It’s always interesting to hear their ideas since they operate in an industry that’s so different from ours.

How did Infovalue perform from a project management standpoint?

We had bi-weekly meetings until the product went live, and since then, we’ve contacted them for any needed services.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve now worked together on four projects, and they’ve been quick about understanding tasks. They provide out-of-the-box solutions that enhance existing products. They’re structured, and they have great tools for implementation and follow-up.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their transparency about billing and communication regarding scheduling. They’re quick to accept and implement any requested changes, but they don’t inform you upfront about the incurred charges, or whether it'll impact their ability to deliver on time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In light of that, I recommend that you be very specific and explicit in stating a deadline.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the CTO of a software company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Portainer is a versatile container management software that simplifies the secure adoption and orchestration of containers across diverse platforms, from cloud to edge.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Southern Code to accomplish?

• QA platform stability and reliability
• QA security and complianc
• QA user experience:

SOLUTION

How did you find Southern Code?

Online Search

Why did you select Southern Code over others?

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

How many teammates from Southern Code were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

Ensure platform stability and reliability: Thoroughly test all Portainer features and functionalities across different environments, platforms, and container orchestrators to identify and resolve bugs, errors, and performance issues. This includes testing installation, configuration, deployment, management, and monitoring of containerized applications through Portainer.
Verify security and compliance: Conduct comprehensive security testing to assess the platform's vulnerability to potential threats, such as unauthorized access, data breaches, and misconfigurations. Validate Portainer's compliance with industry standards and best practices for container security.
Enhance user experience: Evaluate Portainer's user interface and overall usability from a user's perspective. Identify areas for improvement in terms of navigation, intuitiveness, documentation, and error handling. Provide feedback to development teams to refine the user experience and make Portainer more accessible to both technical and non-technical users.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Quality of product and numnber defects reported by end users.

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

Contractor  consistently exceeded expectations throughout the project. Their proactive approach to identifying and resolving potential issues before they became major problems was invaluable. They communicated clearly and effectively, keeping all stakeholders informed of progress and any challenges encountered. Their meticulous attention to detail and dedication to quality assurance ensured that all deliverables met the highest standards. Contractor's ability to adapt to changing project requirements and timelines demonstrated their exceptional project management skills.Their contributions were instrumental to the successful completion of the project.

What was your primary form of communication with Southern Code?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They communicated clearly and effectively, keeping all stakeholders informed of progress and any challenges encountered. Their meticulous attention to detail and dedication to QA ensured that all deliverables met the highest standards.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are the first Frozen Food Marketplace in Argentina with a b2c / b2b / b2e business model Project Leader

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Southern Code?

UX/UI Audit

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

by internal recommendation of the founding company

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

We are a b2b / b2c frozen food marketplace with an assortment and development similar to the retail channel

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

We had the meeting with the team

• 2 UX professionals
• 1 Marketing
• 1 team leader

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Many of the comments received were already mapped into the internal needs of the team, however others had gone completely unnoticed and the report was very enriching.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very good communication from the presentation of the brand, its members, what is its objective when doing an audit and the recommendations for the improvement of our front. It is important that the meeting is not only made with UX professionals but also Marketing or commercial professionals to identify the particularities of each business on which the evaluation is made.

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

I like their priority scale for the pain points. There will always be something to improve but being able to discern which are the tasks that are going to have the greatest impact on the customer journey seemed very practical to me

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

No, I think they did a great job and we do not rule out the possibility of doing a new audit in a few months with the development part already better implemented and being able to focus on other details

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

KDSoft is a company that provides integral web and mobile technology solutions empowering organisations through self-managed agile cells. I am currently PO in the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired the company to work on a project for the UK. Because we didn't have a UXUI expert at the time, we decided to hire the company to have this role in the project. By doing this, we were sure that the client would be very satisfied with the user experience and the visualisation of the product.

SOLUTION

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

We found the company through the technology cluster. Deciding factors were the excellent level of professionalism, flexibility and response times.

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

Initially there was a Product Discovery and after that the development sprints started. During each iteration, the need is discussed with the client and proposals are presented in XD. After approval, it is developed , tested and finally and delivered to the client.

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

A UXUI is the one who works with us by identifying needs and presenting prototypes as proposals to be approved and then implemented.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Almost 90% of the proposals have been approved without any corrections. The rest were only minor changes to the prototypes. The client is very happy with the vision of the UXUI and is very confident in her work.

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

All meetings are managed by Google meets. We have daily meetings, but also do retrospectives, refinements and of course, reviews with the client every two weeks. For daily communication, we use Slack. Tasks are logged in Jira and for prototyping the UXUI use XD.

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

The UXUI has demonstrated enormous experience in dealing with the client, the language and also in its prototypes. She is a very responsible and detail-oriented person. Her creations have demonstrated her professionalism.

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

All the work done has been truly excellent. Nothing to do differently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a software platform intended for business planning and data analytics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Southern Code?

We hire Southern Cone to conduct a thorough review and redesign of the entire platform.

SOLUTION

How did you select Southern Code?

We review their previous work and skills. They made a compelling offer

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

Their team conducted a thorough review of the entire app by section. After explaining some functionalities they started proposing a mock ups of a redesigned app. We iterated over this process until we reached a final agreement. After that approval they documented the app for our developers start coding.

How many resources from the Southern Code team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with a Project Manager, a Senior UX/UI Designer and a UX/UI Designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are on the track according to our plan.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We need to align our teams at the beginning. After that work flowed smoothly.

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

They were committed to fully understand what the platform was intended for and, they have proposed original ideas to ensure the accuracy of the platform.

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

none

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and co-founder of Ungga, an entrepreneurial venture in the Real State arena that aims to significantly change the way estate properties such as houses and apartments are marketed and sold for the benefit of both sellers and buyers by harnessing the power of exponential technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Infovalue?

For strengthening our team in the design and development work, although we have not yet reached the development stage because we are currently experimenting with rapid prototypes and envisioning the minimum marketable solution first.

What were your goals for this project?

To validate our key assumptions and come up with a highly usable digital marketplace design oriented towards achieving the desired outcomes of stakeholders (i.e. buyers and sellers, including property owners, estate developers and brokers).

SOLUTION

How did you select Infovalue?

We were thinking about complementing our team with people with strongs skills in UI/UX design and agile software development. So, we started the search locally and coincidentally, I was contacted by InfoValue.

So, we have some conversations about their value proposition and we became convinced that their offer (expertise, professonalism, price and working practices, which aligned well to ours) was the best combination for us.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected InfoValue, we had a series of meetings to discuss our goals and objectives.

Within the first weeks, we discussed our key assumptions about our business concept with the Infovalue team and were able to refine both the business model concept and the assumptions.

Then we received and discussed the initial designs for the buyer side of the digital marketplace and we were able to generate more insights. In the next weeks we proceeded with rapid experiments to validate our key assumptions in the market.

Similarly, we had strategic conversations with InfoValue´s team about the Seller side which resulted in digital designs for that part too.

As a result, the design would be concluded and we could proceed to test the usuability of the design interactively with a handful of appropriate users.

What was the team composition?

The team of InfoValue that complemented our internal team was composed of a Senior Business Innovator, a Project Lead, and a UX/UI designer.

They all worked under a previously agreed agile plan and estimated budget for an early stage. The hours dedicated by each person in each of this roles varied according to our goals.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After a little beyond of two months, we have been able to have a solid design for our digital marketplace and most importantly, have been able to conduct experiments in the market, with real prospects, that have allows to learn, iterate, and validate a value proposition and design that can work in a unique way.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The Business Innovator and Project Manager that we were assigned were easy to communicate with and provided us frequent updates. We connected over Whatsapp, Zoom or phone at least once a week and used Slcak for all other communication.

Overall, I was impressed by the timelines and digital tools of the team and their quick responses and adjustments to our comments and suggestions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed by the knowledge that this vendor has about digital web, app and user experience design, as well as about software development. But I was blown away by the business savvy, creativity and innovation skills of their people.

Since we are aiming to innovate and create a disruptive solution, these people are a powerful boost to our business and technical concept and very inspiring to our team.

Additionally, we appreciate that they have been very understanding with our constraints at this early-stage of the venture (e.g. budget) and finding a way to achieve the goal within this boundaries without sacrificing quality.

We also appreciate that they have been patient and thoughtful while we came up to speed. We have worked with other companies, but this company has been particularly collaborative and a positive experience.

We will certainly engage with this company again for any related needs that we have in the future.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As stated earlier, we have had a very positive experience so far. If there is anything to improve that could come to my mind now, perhaps would be related to establishing a more predictable cadence for Sprint planning and Sprint Review, although at this stage the way we have been collaborating is proving to be fine.

So, at the development stage I believe it will certainly be a good practice (that their Technical Lead, who will be involved soon, has commented they always use).